Habt Ihr zuvor schon mal von den Bands GABRIEL oder RIPPED & RIVERSEA gehört? Ich auch nicht. Aber einen der Musiker dieser beiden Gruppen, den kenne ich nun. Paul Cusick heißt der Mann, kurz Q, und er war bei den Gruppen für die Gitarre zuständig. Seit 2009 ist er nun solo unterwegs und daher auch gleich für das Songwriting, die Mehrzahl der Instrumente, den Gesang sowie die Produktion seiner Musik zuständig.

Dass sich das auszahlt, bewies gleich seine erste Solo-Scheibe “Focal Point“. Der Brite zelebrierte…Read more

Als twee van ’s werelds beste drummers op je plaat willen meespelen, moet je wel uit het goede hout gesneden zijn. Na het goed ontvangen debuut,  ‘Focal Point’, moet Paul Cusick op ‘P’dice’ (kort voor prejudice) definitief bevestigen. De Britse multi-instrumentalist doet wat van hem verwacht wordt.
Binnen een retrospectief genre als prog toch vernieuwend uit de hoek komen, het is de aard van dit beestje. Niet Yes of Genesis, maar Porcupine Tree, OSI en Tool klinken door in de eigen composities van deze…Read more

Some folks love the collaborative efforts of being in a band. Others just get the urge to do things on their own. It was the later that finally caught up with Paul Cusick. After spending time as lead guitarist in a number of bands the urge became too great and he struck out on his own and created his first solo CD entitled Focal Points. The response was so positive he’s done it again and given us P’dice. Cusick is playing pretty much everything here although he does have help from two drummers including… Read more

Si le premier album de Paul CUSICK « Focal Point », n’avait pas provoqué chez moi une quelconque hystérie, et bien il n’en est pas de même sur cet opus appelé étrangement « P’Dice », et pour le coup cette livraison fleure bon l’excellente cuvée discographique.
L’inspiration est au rendez-vous, et l’inventivité allant de pair, ce disque grimpe directement en haut de la pile des albums majeurs, voir fondamentaux, et par voie de conséquence à ne surtout pas louper en ce début d’année.
Le thème central de cet…Read more

At first the name Paul Cusick did not ring a bell, than I found out he spent his time playing guitar in Gabriel and in some lesser known bands. After reading my colleague's review of his first album Focal Point (see review) and after listening to Paul's latest CD P'dice I will have to find his debut as well. As a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist everything on the album is played by Paul himself with the exception of the drums. A very positive point is that Paul did not decide to use programmed drums but… Read more

Podobał się nam płytowy debiut Paula Cusicka (o albumie „Focal Point” 2010 pisaliśmy na naszych łamach dwa lata temu – bezpośredni link tutaj), zachwyciły nas utwory wypełniające tę płytę, poruszyły dźwięki układające się w przyjemną w odbiorze, pełną emocji, całość przepełnioną ładnymi melodiami oraz nasyconą intrygującą, wręcz wciągającą atmosferą, na którą składała się istna mieszkanka stylów i klimatów. Bez niepotrzebnej próby definiowania za wszelką cenę, propozycje tego brytyjskiego artysty nazwać… Read more

Mit seinem zweiten Album „P'dice“ macht Paul Cusick da weiter, wo er mit „Focal Point“ aufgehört hat. Perfekt gespielter, atmosphärischer, melodischer, packender New Artrock, der sich geschickt alle Möglichkeiten zu nutze macht, die moderne Studiotechnik so bieten. Cusick spielt wieder so ziemlich alles selbst und singt. Am Schlagzeug hat er diesmal mit Gavin Harrison und Marco Minnemann Hochkaräter am Start, die das musikalische Erscheinungsbild nochmals aufwerten. Vor allem Minnemann glänzt mit souveränen… Read more

Je hoeft er niet lang over na te denken waar Paul Cusick de mosterd vandaan haalt, want je hoort inderdaad verschillende referenties stevig doorklinken in zijn muziek. Er wordt opzichtig geflirt met Porcupine Tree en vriendelijk geglimlacht naar Pink Floyd, terwijl ook de (wereld)muziek van voormalig broodheer Peter Gabriel voor inspiratie zorgde. Voeg daaraan twee absolute drumkanonnen toe, die beiden dikke vriendjes zijn met Steven Wilson en je kunt je vast een voorstelling maken van P’dice, het tweede… Read more

  Fort d’un premier album de belle facture, l’anglais Paul Cusick revient à notre bon souvenir avec P’Dice, opus subventionné par plus de 500 personnes (dont votre serviteur qui a eu de fait l’honneur de voir son nom apparaître sur la dernière page des donateurs). L’homme a ainsi pris son temps pour peaufiner sa deuxième livraison.

Dix titres forment cet opus et, si la majorité des plages n’est pas enchaînée, il peut être considéré comme un concept album de part l’histoire relatée ici, celle d’un homme qui… Read more

Focal Point was one of the most impressive debut albums of recent years and Paul Cusick continues to punch well above his weight on this sophomore release on his own label Q Rock Records, this time round with an atmospheric and emotional lyrical intensity added to his impressive musical armoury.    Cusick writes, produces and plays all the instruments (except drums, this time round impressively played by special guests Gavin Harrison and Marco Minnemann) and allows the songs to breathe, taking on their… Read more

Quando crediamo fortemente in un progetto, nessun ostacolo dovrebbe impedirci di provare a realizzarlo; Cristoforo Colombo era convinto di poter raggiungere le Indie viaggiando verso Ovest e per intraprendere il suo viaggio chiese aiuti logistici e soprattutto finanziari a diversi sovrani europei; dopo aver subìto il rifiuto del potentissimo re del Portogallo non si perse d’animo e rivolse la medesima richiesta alla regina di Spagna, la lungimirante Isabella di Castiglia, che gli concesse credito, un…Read more

P’dice est un album composé par Paul Cusick avec Gavin Harisson, Marco Minnemann et Sammi Lee au chant.

Everything est un morceau direct, énergique, très rock, couplet refrain, peu de chose à voir avec le progressif sauf cette rupture à la dernière minute, pas d’instrumental mais un changement de ton et de vitesse.

God, Paper, Scissors sonne comme le début de Invisible Man, ces percussions, ces petites notes de claviers, le son de la guitare, et comme Invisible Man, le titre décolle lentement après plus de…Read more

Paul Cusick is a multi-musician from the U.K, he released his debut "Focal point" in 2009 and managed to get 500 pre-orders for his next album from fans helping to finance his music, which is a really nice gesture and a great way to support an artist. Paul´s influences come from songbased progrock with artists like Porcupine Tree, Marillion and Pink Floyd but also epic pop like Coldplay and U2. Even though his new album "P´dice" (the title is Paul´s play with the word prejudice) is 1 hour long, it doesn´t… Read more

As if Paul Cusick wanted to commemorate himself, I stepped at one of his promo cards lying in the photographers pit at the Düsseldorf Concert of Dream Theater. The target audience of these progressive metal giants are quite smilar to that of this British guy. With his new Album P'dice (released in January on his own label Q Rock Records) he is fishing in the pool of the progressive and hard rock fans.
With the last notes of Dream Theater barely out of my ear, I listened to Cusick's album again. One… Read more

  I like to think that advertising never sucks me in, as in “I am an individual, not a number”, and probably you all think that way too. Now take a look around your home, how many things are there because you’re familiar with them, a familiarity reinforced through endless advertising. And how many things are there because you thought “that might be good” having seen something that caught the eye on TV or Facebook or wherever.


Such a thing, if he doesn’t mind being called a “thing” is Paul Cusick who I’ll…Read more

With 2009′s Focal Point, guitarist Paul Cusick set out on a solo career, taking over all song-writing, production and instrumental duties (bar the drumming). That album created sufficient buzz (largely due to Cusick’s canny use of social media) that there was a large enough fan base to fund the follow-up, P’dice. He has also earned the clout to hire 2 of the greatest drummers of recent times, hell, of any time – Gavin Harrison and Marco Minnemann.     P’dice is a concept album. Prejudice gives the album… Read more

  Paul (Q) Cusick returns early 2012 with his second album entitled P'dice. In Paul's own words P'dice is "short for prejudice" or like it says in the booklet, "The Personal Possession Of A Random Prejudice".
    Prejudice is something we all are guilty of in one way or another, at least enough to inspire one of Britain's finest multi instrumentalists in making this album.

As with the first album Focal Point, Paul has done most of the work himself. Writing the lyrics and music, producing and mixing. In… Read more

Like many of you out there, I had never heard of Paul Cusick until I saw the ads on Facebook and the like, and the tone of them intrigued me enough to get a copy of the Focal Point album. And am I glad I did or what? This was one of 2009s hidden gems to be sure.

For those of you who are still unaware of Paul Cusick (or "Q"), he is a British multi-instrumentalist, formerly of bands such as Gabriel, Ripped and Riversea. A couple of years ago, he decided to "go it alone" and record a solo album. And "solo"…Read more

Focal Point

Review by Gary Hill

I like this album a lot. It’s rather moody progressive rock that gets pretty crunchy. It’s very atmospheric. There’s plenty of alteration here and while some of the music borders on metallic, it never crosses into metal. All in all, this is a fine album that should please fans of neo-prog for sure, but I think classic progressive rock fans will dig it, too.

Track by Track Review

Focal Point
Starting with "Chopsticks", this moves out into fusion from there and as it continues it…Read more

I discovered British born multi-instrumentalist Paul Cusick, while visiting Facebook on the internet. Facebook is a wonderful medium to meet new friends with common interests. Mr. Cusick must have had the same idea, when he tried to reach a bigger audience for his debut album Focal Point. He put an announcement for the album on Facebook that drew my attention. I asked him if I could get a copy for a review and he was so kind to send one. For those who are not familiar with Paul Cusick here’s a very short…Read more