Adventurous new release fortifies Question of Honour

Here's a health care plan that really works.

It's a full-service, rock 'n' roll "Apothecary," expertly staffed by the long-laboring trio Question of Honour. Pop, progressive, electro-pop, metal, Bohemian rock -- brothers Hugh and David Wygmans, and Ken Pitchford gild the 12-year-old band's seasoned sizzle with affecting gray matter.

Feeling full of violent angst? Try some "Power." Suffering from somnambulism (sleep walking)? Wake up with "Rhapsody in Q."

Question of Honour, with strong radio play and film soundtrack credits under its belt, is literally all over the map geographically, too. While singer-keys-guitarist Hugh is anchored in Johnson City, David (drums) lives in Colorado, and Pitchford (bass) calls Michigan home.

But they're as tight as Difford and Tilbrook, with Hugh Wygmans frequently channeling Billy Corgan on "Apothecary's" 11 tracks. Five of them, though, are truly inspired scrips.
 

Take the breezy, but poignant, Smashing Pumpkins-Squeeze mash-up on "So She Sleeps." Come alive in the grip of the sage shredder "Power." Or take it hard on the rocks in the cautionary "Tribe of Strangers."

But "Apothecary" really opens for business on the infectious "My Apothecary," serving up superficial self-confidence amidst fallacious assumptions, while the six soaring minutes of "Rhapsody in Q" pay homage to Queen's bombastic splendor. And Question of Honour's swagger here certainly has Freddie Mercury's spirit smiling more than it must have for his band's last studio derailment.

On "Apothecary," Question of Honour has figured a way through the health care quagmire -- fill everyone's prescription.