Rock-n-Roll pioneers Jethro Tull have resurfaced from the ocean depths and jet-propelled their new studio album, Curious Ruminant, on March 27th, 2025, through InsideOut Music.
Formed nearly six decades ago, Jethro Tull is legendary for the seamless integration of the flute in its signature sound. Ian Anderson has remained the Pied Piper behind the band, and he has charismatic vocals and intricate fingerplays on the flute. With many exceptional musicians a part of the project through the years, including Guitarist Martin Barre and Drummer Clive Bunker, Anderson has consistently kept the talent pool surrounding him extremely strong.
Prolific with Jethro Tull in recent years, in 2022 came The Zealot Gene, and in 2023 RökFlöte. Now, in 2025, you have Curious Ruminant as the ripple effect of RökFlöte is still visible and going strong. With Curious Ruminant being Jethro Tull’s twenty-fourth overall studio album, the band is set to go on a European tour from May until the end of the year. Undoubtedly, the season of Jethro Tull is in full bloom.
Now, after so many years of music and touring, what makes Curious Ruminant an interesting addition to the Jethro Tull legacy? Nine unique, elegantly crafted songs will sufflate your mind with coded messages designed to penetrate the noggin and make you think! With Ian Anderson on the record are former Keyboardist Andrew Giddings and Drummer James Duncan, along with the current band members Bass Guitarist David Goodier, Pianist John O’Hara, Drummer Scott Hammond, and making his recording debut with Jethro Tull, Guitarist Jack Clark. All of this considered, all the tracks are impactful, and the ones that truly stood out were the following.
Explaining it all, the contemplative instrumental melody in the title track “Curious Ruminant” is muted to showcase Ian Anderson’s strong signature vocals as he ruminates on the question each person has asked, especially during these challenging times: “Why am I here? …….” Each stanza is punctuated with an energetic wailing guitar riff. There is a buildup of anticipatory suspense as the music is peppered with the interplay of airy flute sounds.
Meanwhile, “Puppet and the Puppet Master” starts with a soft piano intro that escalates into a feverish twirl spin with flame-kissed skirts. Fluttering aerial flute note work swirls round like sonic waves to a portal. The willing puppet, the puppet master also….. reflects how we follow the mandates of the chosen but orchestrate our individual lives simultaneously.
Later on, “Drink From The Same Well” resonates on a primal level. Despite social status, orientations, and cultural norms, we all drink from the same source. There is no distinction, so why do we hold the batons of prejudice and ignorance for others’ plights? In solidarity, we rule and overcome obstacles. It hits one like a baseball between the eyes. The fluttering notes of the intro speak volumes to the soul. It is poignantly melancholy and ethereal at the same time. It brings one to the brink of tears as it then changes into a thoughtful flutter of notes that makes one realize the simplicity of the nature of life. This is like the rebirth of humanity, joined in the pleasure of just living.
Overall, Curious Ruminant takes a bite out of social norms, ruminates over respect and tolerance, and regurgitates it in a hypnotic manner that uses poetic references that tap at the door of the heart and soul. The nine ocean-drenched pearls of song suggest that the selfish mindset that humanity creates a numbness to the feelings of mutual respect and tolerance of others. These essential moral codes have been trampled upon to the point of being unrecognizable. It is time that these forms of compassion be reintegrated into interactions with others.
As such, the album is thought-provoking at the least and captivates the mind with the emotional expression of an inquisitive mind. This is why Cryptic Rock gives the exceptional Curious Ruminant 5 out of 5 stars.
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