My Favorite Albums of 2021
(In some semblance of order)
***Author's note: Below you will find two different rankings for this year's albums.
The first list consists of a Top Thirty albums with a following list of "Honorable Mentions." These are my favorite albums of the year, that is, the albums to which I have formed the greatest emotional attachments.
The second list consists of The Reviews. These are ordered according to my more 'objective', yet still personal, judgment as to their quality, that is, the "best" albums of the year. Here I have tried to order the albums reviewed according to a metric determination (my own numerical rating system--which I call the "Fishscales"). These help me determine what the "best" albums of the year are from a more critical, qualitative, and quantitative viewpoint, that is, without as much emotional attachment as "My Favorite" albums.
Despite a waning interest in remaining open to certain sub-genres of progressive rock music, and, verily, music in general, I have been able to listen to over 150 new releases from 2021.
According to my calculations, 2021 presents Prog World with three (3) "masterpieces," 14 "minor" masterpieces, and 23 excellent "near-masterpiece" albums!
***Author's note: Below you will find two different rankings for this year's albums.
The first list consists of a Top Thirty albums with a following list of "Honorable Mentions." These are my favorite albums of the year, that is, the albums to which I have formed the greatest emotional attachments.
The second list consists of The Reviews. These are ordered according to my more 'objective', yet still personal, judgment as to their quality, that is, the "best" albums of the year. Here I have tried to order the albums reviewed according to a metric determination (my own numerical rating system--which I call the "Fishscales"). These help me determine what the "best" albums of the year are from a more critical, qualitative, and quantitative viewpoint, that is, without as much emotional attachment as "My Favorite" albums.
Despite a waning interest in remaining open to certain sub-genres of progressive rock music, and, verily, music in general, I have been able to listen to over 150 new releases from 2021.
According to my calculations, 2021 presents Prog World with three (3) "masterpieces," 14 "minor" masterpieces, and 23 excellent "near-masterpiece" albums!
The Rankings
(My "Favorites")
The Reviews
1. ACCORDO DEI CONTRARI UR-
Italian jazz-rockers set forth a goal of achieving Birds of Fire-like power and ecstatic energy. Result: Mission accomplished. Especially on the first two songs.
3. "Più Limpida e Chiara di Ogni Impressione Vissuta (Pt. III) / More Limpid and Clearer Than Any Lived Impression (Pt. III)" (4:23) More clean power jazz-rock, this time with a little more Italian/ADC feel to it (until the Rick Laird violin enters to shred). It's the piano and clean whole-band power chord structures that make it ADC--especially that gorgeous piano-guitar-cymbal interlude at the end of the second minute. Sax solo in the third minute reminds me of some early KING CRIMSON, but then dirty organ solo brings us into different territory. Maybe MUSEO ROSENBACH, BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO, or even OSANNA? (8.7510)
5. "Secolo Breve / The Short Century" (4:35) Here we get a complex jazzy rock tune that feels more avant garde and yet follows some standard jazz and rock rules and forms. Again, the talents of these instrumentalists--especially the keyboard player, but even the bass and drums--are on full display here. Not as engaging or "beautiful" as the previous two. (8.75/10)
6. "Contrari ad Ogni Accordo / Opposed to Any Agreement" (5:53) piano and plaintive sax perform a duet that almost sounds like a VINCE GUARALDI jazzed up a little but still maintaining that deep, timeless beauty in its melodies. Violin and then drums and bass join in during the third minute bringing us back to Mahavishnu territory (reminding me that some Mahavihsnu songs often had a very simple foundational chord structure--this while the soloists went bat-ape shit crazy over the top). Great tune; great work by all, somehow managing to keep that understated Vince Guaraldi essence throughout. (It was the piano, of course!) (9.25/10)
Total Time 42:26
One of my favorite artists of the 21st Century continues to evolve in ways and directions that keep blowing my mind!
3. "Vacrys" (5:38) I hear HAROLD BUDD and ROBIN GUTHRIE in this one. (9/10)
4. "Nydised" (9:24) like an ambient percussive exploration that PAT METHENY & LYLE MAYS would use--especially if collaborating on a HANS ZIMMER soundtrack. Incredible! Like waiting at a Far-tube stop somewhere out in the cosmos! (18.5/20)
5. "Jikan" (6:07) more piano-based floating. More Budd (and Battlestations) than Guthrie or Eno. Incredible chord changes! More hypnotically incredible! (9.25/10)
6. "Unelind" (6:39) beautiful waves of synth washes among a mix of celestial "sounds" and temporal atmospherics (drums). Gorgeous and transportive: like an Ed Unitsky album cover or a steam ship into the Galactos! (9.5/10)
Total Time 61:01
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ole Michael Bjørndal / guitars, vocals
- Kristian Karl Hultgren / bass
- Lars Fredrik Frøislie / keyboards, Mellotron, synthesizers
- Andreas W. S. Prestmo / backing vocals
- Henrik Fossum / drums (1)
- Arild Brøter / drums (2,4)
- Iver Kleive / church organ (2)
- Åsa Ree / violin, backing vocals (1,2)
- Stephan Hvinden / rhythm guitar (2)
1. "Emperor" (14:35) opens with piano sprinkling notes over the keyboard like John Coltraine's Love Supreme before going prog metal on us. I call it brilliant! Refreshing! At the 2:15 mark the music settles into a kind of folk rock format as lead vocalist begins singing in a mellifluous voice that most reminds me WOBBLER's Andreas Prestmo, Magic Bus' Paul Evans, or even Hatfield's Richard Sinclair. The Wobbler similarities remain until the middle instrumental section which sound more like Red-era King Crimson--a trend that continues into a more stark, spacious section at 7:50 in which violin and multi-voiced harmonized vocals join in. At the 9:00 mark the drums go a little wonky, then there is an odd, out-of-place piano-accompanied vocal section. Fortunately, this is short-lived, as we fall back into the KC-supported motif from the ninth minute for the eleventh minute. At 11:25, then, there is a display of heavy -like over which some truly inspired emotional Frippery burns and wails. At 13:50, nylon-stringed acoustic guitar takes over as the primary accompaniment as female background vocalists lay a nest of folk harmonies over which Ole Michael finishes the song in a kind of MICE ON STILTS way. Wow. That was a ride--and quite fresh and different. I loved the dynamic diversity. Except for that odd piano motif in the tenth minute, they made it work amazingly well! The best prog epic I've heard of the year! (28/30)
2. "Hushed" (10:43) fast arpeggiated Flim and the BB's-like guitar opens this song before Ole Michael enters. The sound is very much like The Decemberists--both musically and in the vocal tones and stylings of Ole Michale Bjørndal. Thick vibrating electric bass takes over before drums and other folk instruments join in for the second verse. This is great. Now church organ adds its oddly timed arpeggi before a break allows violin to solo. The next section notes Ole Michael's vocal to sound much more fragile in a higher octave--like a young Neil Young. Electric guitar solos as church organ and rock rhythm section play below. This is so good! A bit of an Anekdoten feel here--though it turns more Mike Oldfield/early Genesis in the seventh minute before a long semi-empty break makes room for the three minute finale of fine YES-like symphonic prog jamming. I love the brave and prominent use of church organ and the old unfiltered sound of the drums and front-and-center Rickenbacher-like bass. (19/20)
4. "Lighter Than Air" (19:34) Here Ole & Co. are treading lightly into Van Der Graaf Generator territory. Ole Michael's pitchy vocal performance in the first three minutes makes one appreciate just how talented Peter Hammill was. Nice blues-jazzy guitar solo in the fourth minute followed by some nice RICHARD WRIGHT-like synth work in this now-very PINK FLOYD-sounding section. At 4:50 there is a bridge into a shift into more WOBBLER-like territory. Again, Ole Michael's vocal attempt makes it apparent that he's stretching himself a bit beyond his skill level. A couple of RUSH-like chorus and its codas and bridges helps to remove the Hammill standards away while we soon slide into a very steady classic rock motif in which the electric guitar can show off his Joe Satriani and Ted Nugent practice moves. Synth gets a turn in the eleventh minute before yielding again to the lead guitar. The bottom empties out in the twelfth minute, opening up for an eerie space-psych passage over which Ole again tries his hand at P. Hammill imitation. It's a cool section--very NEKTAR- or, perhaps, Hawkwind-like. It builds and hypnotizes until the 15:00 mark when it erupts into a more early PINK FLOYD-like mini-crescendo before settling down into more space-blues guitar over which the Hammill performance continues. I have to admit: the guitar soloing has feeling--even a little of PAUL BUCHANAN's magical touch and emotion. Though the vocal performance falls a little short of the standards set by Mr. Hammill, it's not by much. And the musical themes and references are quite well spliced, but it is the guitar work--especially the final quarter of the song, that shine high and bright. (37/40)
Total Time 50:38
Line-up / Musicians:
- Dimi Spela / vocals
- Evangelia Kozoni / vocals
- Aggelos Malisovas / fretted & fretless basses
- Yiannis Iliakis / drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Yorgos Mouhos / 6- & 12-string acoustic guitars, electric guitar, vocals
- Marietta Tsakmakli / soprano, alto & baritone saxophones, backing vocals
- Nicolas Nikolopoulos / flute, clarinet, tenor & baritone saxophones, recorder, piano, electric piano, organ, Mellotron, synthesizers, harpsichord, clavinet, glockenspiel, backing vocals
1. "Eniania (Keepers of the Midnight Harvest)" (7:25) folk electric guitar with Mellotron flute--which is so interesting knowing what a FINE flute player they have in Nicolas Nikolopoulos). I love the whole-band choral entrance over the guitar--it sounds so pagan! Gorgeous! The band then flips on the instrumental switch in between the first two choral passages. At 3:15 the guitarist doubles the speed of his arpeggiated lines as a jazzy support ensemble kick into a sax and flute-led section. A minute later the lead instruments switch to jazz electric guitar, organ, and synth, then they trade back to the flute and saxes for the sixth minute before turning quite cinematic. The whole-band weave over the final two minutes is nothing less than astonishing--so much to listen to--all so idiosyncratic and worthy of individual attention. The final minute sees the main choral theme carried forward by recorders and organ over a militaristic style distant snare drumming. Wow! What an opener! We have really missed you, Ciccada! (13.75/15)
2. "Open Wings" (5:28) pure Ciccada Prog Folk in the JTull tradition. The lead vocals are much smoother, less operatic (Dimi's work?) and the production a little more modern (a little tighter, more intimate to the listener). Awesome guitar work--on many instruments--by Yorgos Mouhos. A wonderfully engineered, many-layered and intricately-woven construct. (9/10)
3. "The Old Man and the Butterfly" (7:52) a little heavier prog here, still folkie, but with Yorgos taking the lead vocal! Perhaps more reminiscent of early Prog Folk rockers like SPIROGYRA or even Samla Mammas Manna (in sound, not humor and quirk)--and even some of the more flower-power happy Canterbury artists (like KHAN or today's MAGIC BUS). A non-instrumental song by Ciccada that is not led by Evangelia's voice: something I never imagined! But it's great! A top three song, to be sure!(14/15)
4. "No Man's Land" (8:40) a return to the more-British school of Prog Folk--a little JTull, a little STRAWBS, even a little Pink Floyd and Renaissance--before Evangelia enters with her immaculate, uncorrupt voice. Again, I wish to point out the incredible detail and compositional skill that this band puts into each and every instrumental line of their very complex weaves; it's like watching the Bruges masters of tapestry at work! No line is rote or lame, all functioning to give more life to the whole.
And a totally fresh sound and style for Ciccada to explore--and they do it so well! A top three song for me. (18.75/20)
5. "Who's to Decide?" (4:40) more jazz-tinged (though definitely still very much shaped by their regional and, probably, local influences), this song has a lot of similarities to some of the more dark, psychedelic musics of the RPI masterpieces from the early 1970s. As well-performed and composed as the previous songs but just not my cup of tea (as BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO, OSANNA, MUSEO ROSENBACH, and even some LE ORME and BANCO are not to my tastes). (8.5/10)
Total Time 46:44
7. SUN COLORED CHAIR Seated
A jumping off point for the brothers Coniguliaro and their Saugerties friend, Alex Verbickas, I see Sun Colored Chair as another format in which the Coniguliaro brothers are honing their skills for the next level--like tennis' Penn Circuit or ITF: the predecessors to the big time. I hear a lot of influences from the angular, complex side of progressive rock and jazz rock--King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Gentle Giant, Rush, and even The Cardiacs, but very little that feels "finished" or fully developed; they're doing a lot of experimenting with form, structure, and collaborative timing here, culminating in three longer, more mature undertakings at the end of the album.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Alex Verbickas / electric guitar, acoustic guitar, analog synth, keyboards, piano
- Quinn Coniguliaro / bass, fretless bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Ben Coniguliaro / drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, glockenspiel, vibraphone
1. "Nocturnal Blue" (1:57) great little opener--putting on display the trio's commitment to complex, multi-part, multi-tempoed structures--this one quite well put together; a complete masterpiece. (5/5)
2. "Leave" (2:23) has a bit of a punk rock feel with some Cardiacs and XTC influence. Not drummer Ben Coniguliaro's best. (Not sure I like the plasticky sound of his drum heads.) (4.375/5)
3. "Buddy's Bone" (2:52) nice display of band unity with some rather complex syncopation and time signature changes. (8.75/10)
4. "Distilled Neutrality" (4:00) 80 seconds of rather aimless noodling steps into a metal world with authority and solemnity. Reminds me a bit of Allice in Chains "Black Hole Sun" but then at 2:45 it moves into a little more of a Crimsonian motif for a stay before returning to the BHS motif for the finishing minute. (8.75/10)
5. "Sun Bubble" (2:08) very nice, melodic instrumental. (4.6667/5)
6. "Seated" (2:59) like the previous song, tandem acoustic guitars intertwining their fast-picking with the bass and drums. Then the guitars turn electric with some twang and the bass lines heavier as we traipse into what sounds like WHO and CARDIACS territory. Nice return to acoustic dominance for the third minute and then blending in with the electrics. (8.875/10)
7. "Feet Honey" (4:23) another song that feels more like a whole band experimental étude--heading in the direction of jazz-rock fusion artists MONOBODY. (8.5/10)
8. "Mystic Woe" (3:35) a soft, dreamy start that conjures up reminders of NEEDLEPOINT, ANTHONY PHILLIPS, and even some jazz-pop artists from the 1980s. I like the guitar and bass's fretless note slides. Quite lovely. (9/10)
9. "Bovine" (1:11) heavier, more abrasive, and, thankfully, tighter étude. (4.5/5)
10. "Lordlegs" (2:59) one the album's best songs. (9.25/10)
11. "Eye" (3:39) another great song that has a feel like a 1960s or 70s French film theme song; very melodic and upbeat. (9.25/10)
12. "Harmless" (1:14) full on XTC! No holds barred! I love it! (4.5/5)
13. "Die Cycle" (2:25) solid song with some tough twists and turns, all done at breakneck speed, but with melody and interest. (4.375/5)
14. "Colorless Streak" (7:17) some very complex chord progressions performed with perfected timing by the trio (over multiple tracks, I'm assuming). They even get very YES/RUSH heavy starting in the fourth minute--which feels like a practice/warmup session for the more melodic motif that begins at the end of the sixth minute. Nice Steve Howe runs at the end there! (13.5/15)
15. "Sunsnap" (7:35) an excellent sound palette proceeding to cover some very lovely melodic chord and key progressions. There are some very KING CRIMSON-like elements to the constructs here but far more melodic the KC ever gets. The "pop and rock" BLACK-MIDI-like fifth minute is very inventive, but then it turns into far more standard prog-pop song (one that is begging for vocals!). A top three song. (14/15)
16. "Daunting Abyss" (3:56) more ANT PHILLIPS-like pretty music that is multiple guitar based. I like the one guitarist's attempt to do some Hawaiian note bending. So many elements here remind me of other band's music but all are so fresh in the way they're put together. (9.333/10)
Total Time 54:33
Line-up / Musicians:
- Rachel Flowers / all vocals & instruments
With:
- Jeanie Flowers / lyrics (5)
1. "A B" (4:13) opens sounding like one of Peter Gabriel's more aggressive rock songs--complete with a Tony Levin, Manu Katché and David Sancious sound and feel. A jazzy Fender Rhodes solo commencing in the second minute is followed by an excellent Lee Ritenour/Dave Fiuczynski-like jazz guitar solo in the third. A very solid prog instrumental. (8.75/10)
2. "Take Me Away" (11:47) a prog epic that sounds every bit like a cross between IONA, BIG BIG TRAIN, and ROB REED/MAGENTA. Again, the performance skills on each and every instrument amaze--not to mention the compositional vision necessary to imagine it all. Whereas some of the compositions of the aforementioned artists seem to fall flat when rendered onto tape in the studio, Rachel's composition comes to life in the very fullest sense! (22.75/25)
3. "Too Much" (7:47) opens as a dreamy, piano-based jazz-prog-pop song in the Peter Gabriel vein. At the three minute mark the music shifts into more aggressive MAGENTA-like territory. Nice! Incredible vocal arrangements for the chorus and codas: simple must be heard! Great song. Incredible melodic and chordal choices. (14/15)
4. "Love Today" (4:40) opens like a modern pop vocal over a simple organ and piano background. Multiple vocal tracks work like a smooth WILSON-PHILLIPS song, though the music and melodies remind me more of the Broadway musical Rent. The third minute brings a big shift into a heavy rock motif--like a BEATLES or ANDREW LLOYD-WEBER theme. Despite being a little too poppy for my tastes, I have to admit that this is a masterful rendering of this style. (8.5/10)
6. "The Darkness" (10:03) opens with a dramatic orchestral arrangement. Drums and rock instrumentation enter after three and a half minutes to establish a rollicking, hard-driving theme with a multi-voiced vocal performance reminiscent of a cross between Tori Amos and Heather Findlay. Great stuff! Awesome guitar solo beginning at 6:45 followed by wonderful section of blended keyboards and orchestra blend that remind me of 1990s Pat Metheny. Great melodies, mixes, and engineering--perfectly beautiful and never bombastic. Astonishing! One of the best prog epics I've heard all year! (20/20)
Line-up / Musicians:
- Bjørn Klakegg / lead vocals, guitars, violin, flute, cello
- David Wallumrød / Hammond organ, clavinet, Fender Rhodes, harpsichord, upright piano, Prophet-5, ARP Odyssey, ARP Solus, Minimoog
- Nikolai Hængsle / electric bass, backing vocals, guitars (1,4)
- Olaf Olsen / drums
With:
- Erik Nylander / percussion
- and the Carry Me Away Choir: Indra Lorentzen, Camilla Brun, Maria Vatne, David, Nikolai, and Bjørn
1. "Rules of a Mad Man" (5:11) reminds me of The BYRDS, The ASSOCIATION, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and Sweden's The AMAZING. (8.75/10)
2. "I Offered You the Moon" (7:51) an intricately woven Summer of Love-like pop psychedelic song that has an unexpected jazzy feel. Amazing Pat Metheny Group/RTF/Chick Corea-like instrumental passage in the fifth and sixth minutes. Love Erik Nylander's congas! And then the bass, Fender Rhodes, and drums really get to shine over the final 90 seconds. Wow! (14/15)
3. "Web of Worry" (3:34) As if Paul Simon wrote and sang a Stevie Wonder song. At the two minute mark, during the instrumental passage, it turns full Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. So cool! (9.25/10)
4. "So Far Away" (3:11) could be acoustic LED ZEPPELIN, BREAD, CELESTE, or PAUL SIMON. And then it goes Massive Attack unplugged at 2:20! Just brilliant. (9/10)
5. "Where the Ocean Meets the Sky" (4:25) more complex, sophisticated jazz-tinged pop psychedelia that sounds like it comes straight out of a California Pop Festival of 1968 or 69. Again, strongly reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young from this era--especially the front-and-center bass play and perfect vocal harmonies. Brilliant and beautiful. Again, great hand percussion play to go with the gorgeous drumming and richly nuanced instrumental tapestry. (9.25/10)
6. "Carry Me Away" (3:56) has a very Brian Auger's Oblivion Express and, less, Santana feel to it. The guitar solo over the is so straight out of Eumir Deodato's 1973 world-wide jazz funk version of Ricard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" as inspired from the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey. (9/10)
7. "Another Day" (4:45) despite its interesting instrumental palette (including harpsichord), this one drags a little too much. (8.25/10)
8. "Walking Up That Valley" (10:44) opens like it's going to break into "Hair" by The Cowsills. But with the appearance of the vocal we can see that it is a true folk song--a gorgeous one at that. Simple guitar with solo voce, gradually joined by other guitars and Hammond. At 4:30 we transition into a uptempo, more jazz-rock instrumental passage. The sound palette of guitars, bass, and snare drums and cymbals is very cool thought the flanged lead guitar is nothing too exciting. I'm quite reminded of Gadi Caplan's masterful jazzy Prog Folk album from 2016, Morning Sun. As a matter of fact, this entire album has a similarity to that wonderful album. The guitar solo over the zoom-along AMAZING-like passage in the ninth minute is astonishing! What an amazing passage! Some of Al Stewart and Donovan in the gorgeous next session. The way we're cut off from the continued jam at the end feels like robbery! One of the best prog epics of the year--maybe the best. (19.75/20)
Total Time 43:37
Though I've been sitting on this album for almost five months, I simply must give it a review; people need to hear and re-hear about this band--the important contribution they're making to music and, in particular, progressive rock music. The creative genius that I first heard with 2019's Schlagenheim has matured--grown in compositional sophistication while retaining the tongue-in-cheek humor and youthful energy of the pre-pandemic era.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Geordie Greep / vocals (1-3,6-8), guitar, writer
- Cameron Picton / vocals (4,5,8), bass, writer
- Morgan Simpson / drums, writer
- Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin / writer (1,3)
With:
- Kaidi Akinnibi / saxophone
- Seth Evans / keyboards
- Jerskin Fendrix / violin (1)
There are some who want to question the veracity of the application of the term "progressive rock" to this band and their music. I urge you to see them live--even watch the videos of their live performances--but, if you can, see them live. You will be convinced. Not since seeing King Crimson on the Discipline and Beat tours have I seen such a stage full of virtuosos, each giving their all to each and every second of each and every song. And they're a band member short right now (guitarist/singer/composer Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin is on mental health hiatus)! But, with the addition of a keyboard player (the hardest working, most dynamic performance I've EVER seen from a keyboard artist: Seth Evans worked harder than the drummer!) and the ubiquitous sound of the saxophone (thanks to the amazing Kaidi Akinnibi) as well as the stepping up of rising superstar Cameron Picton, this is a band on fire, on the rise, and punching holes in the Crimsonian/MarsVolta universe of aggressive prog rock.
11. MONOBODY Comma
Five virtuosi hailing from Chicago are back with their third album, this one a little shorter than the previous two, and having diverged even further from the Post Rock/Math Rock roots they began with. Where 2018's Raytracing showed a clear propensity for exploring a more jazz direction, this album, Comma, completes the commitment: Monobody are playing complex, melodic, virtuosic jazz-rock fusion compositions that are on a level with anything the Pat Metheny Group ever made.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Al Costis / bass, synths
- Collin Clauson / keyboards
- Conor Mackey / guitar, synths
- Nnamdi Ogbonnaya / drums
- Steve Marek / bass
1. "Eighty Eight" (4:38) with an opening using a complex time signature compatible with a Pat Metheny Group or Toe song, Monobody announce from the get-go their jazz-rock fusion preferences. Piano, basses, drums, and the dextrous WES MONTGOMERY-like guitar fingering style of Conor Mackey all weave their individual magic into a wonderfully impressive and, at the same time, engaging song. (9.5/10)
2. "Sylphina" (4:23) opening with a flurry--like a Jazz Crusaders' song--the piano, bass, and keyboard interplay is exquisite and intricate. In the second minute things smooth down into a dreamy, pastoral passage with a greater synth-keyboard presence than we're used to hearing from the band. Collin Clauson and Al Costis are trying their hands at being the band's Chick Corea and/or Lyle Mays! There's even quite a little STEELY DAN here, as well. (9/10)
3. "Cloudless Sulphur" (5:53) opening with a synth-wash bleed-in from the previous song, guitar and keys duet delicately to open. At 0:55 a TOE-like bass-and-guitar combine to great effect as the synth and drums support from the background. Then at 2:43, a flange-funked bass line takes over with the drummer and OZRIC TENTACLES-like space-synth sounds filling space as the guitar feels his way around in the in-between. At 4:05 we break again, into a cool four-part weave--drums, synth, guitar, and bass all feeling as if they are exploring their own pathways--until they all come back together at 4:42 (with increased distortion and amperage to the two-tracked riffing guitar). Cool journey--almost psychedelic. (8.75/10)
4. "Atala" (3:20) the most straightforward jazz song on the album thus far--possibly made so by the dominant piano jazz chord play throughout. It's fast, intricate, and complex. Pat and Lyle would be quite proud! (9/10)
5. "Mimic" (4:15) opens as if a Tony Levin class étude. More intricate jazziness, fast multiple instrumental runs and soli (bass, George Benson-like jazz guitar, Donald Fagen-like Fender Rhodes). Cool JAN AKKERMAN-like guitar chord sequence 2:30-2:45! More chordal and melodic reminders of Steely Dan in that fourth minute. (9/10)
7. "Phaon Crescent" (6:40) probably the most impressive-sounding song on the album--and most mature--despite the fact the band seem to be pandering for a melodic "hook" from the very opening notes--one that is established by the guitarist by the end of the first minute before going off into a very Pat Metheny Group-like passage for the bulk of the second minute. It's great music--and great musicianship--jazz-rock at its very highest--and it's followed up with some more subtle Donald Fagen-isms in the third minute (from the piano, of course)--which is great--and then developing into the Lyle and Pat show for the fourth--I just want my Monobody to be more distinctively themselves. Great, great passage from 3:45 to 4:30! So addictive, such an ear worm of joy and happiness: My favorite song of 2021! (11/10)
Total Time 33:02
2. "World Song" (3:49) great drumming beneath Carla Diratz' bluesy singing and the rest of the band's baseline weave. (8.5/10)
4. "Red Ball Express" (2:56) one of Dave's more free-form, boundary-pushing, almost laughable, hot air balloon ride compositions that remains somehow tethered to the ground by the mellifluous winds. (4.25/5)
5. "4 Steps Back" (10:45) a very well conceived and realized Canterbury style jazz song with nice contributions from strings and Mark Stanley's electric guitar--and a most excellent contribution from drummer Sean Rickman. I love the Muffins-like eight and ninth minutes and then the pugilistic final two minutes. Great editing and mixing to get this one to sound so perfect. (18.75/20)
6. "Fred's Dream" (3:58) opens with a sound, styling, and pacing that is quite reminiscent of STEELY DAN or some other Gary Katz production (Rosie Vela or Love and Money). GREAT melodic and harmonic structure. (9.5/10)
7. "Silver Age" (4:00) opens like something from HAROLD BUDD and THE COCTEAU TWINS' The Moon and the Melodies 1986 album. Fun! (8.5/10)
8. "These Days" (2:32) beautiful, peaceful keyboard (Fender Rhodes) work over which Rich O'Meara splays his marimba work. (4.75/5)
Thanks to the up-with-the-times members of ProgArchives, I am made aware of yet another new band from Norway! And I am SO GLAD for it!
2. "Broken Stone" (9:45) mellow, simple, pretty, with Popcorn computer percussives and female b vox. Really doesn't do much--even in the ARCADE FIRE-like final two and a half minutes. (16.75/20)
3. "Interlude (I Don't Know What You Think of Me but It's Wrong)" (1:31) nice classical-sounding flute and practice/dance hall piano duet. (4.25/5)
4. "No Cancelling This" (5:47) opens using a sequenced Berlin School foundation beneath Erlend Viken's emotion-packed vocal. In fact, I question whether or not he sings with more passion than expected … or warranted? The section in which the drums pound away is a bit clumsy--overly flanged and feeling somehow mistimed. The flute and plucked strings/piano section is pretty--and continues nicely to embellish the melody and mood of the previous sections. (8.5/10)
5. "Out of Swords" (8:42) delicate acoustic guitar folk start. This one reminds me of England's GRAVENHURST--the music of the late, great vocalist/songwriter Nick Talbot. Though this song is unarguably gorgeous, the Gravenhurst comparisons are too stark: they conjure up too much pain and sadness for the loss of the late genius' amazing talents. (His 2012 album The Ghost in Daylight is one of my 10 favorite Indie-Folk albums of the 2010s.) Still, the conveyance of empathetic heartbreak and sorrow is masterful and appreciated. I like the theatric production of the final two minutes with the DAMON WAITKUS-like effected vocals and glockenspiel play. (18.5/20)
6. "The Further We Go the Deeper It Gets (Part 7)" (2:54) apparently this is an addendum to the album's opening song. Very spacey with vocalist Marine Skanche's heavily treated vocalise. Could come from a Vangelis or Tangerine Dream soundtrack album. The Berlin School-like rhythms (for the next song) even start in the last minute, adding to this TD effect. (4.75/5)
7. "Breaking Patterns" (7:55) with vocals and guitars revealing themselves within the foundation of the bleed-over from the previous song, there's a lot of MOTORPSYCHO (and Arcade Fire) in this song (the more delicate, acoustic side to those two bands). At 1:45 we launch into the full spectrum of the music as drums and electronic power chords join in with the flute becoming the lead. The vocals that then take over are quite impassioned yet frail of voice--not unlike the lead singer for Arcade Fire, Win Butler. Over the next few minutes I hear strains of Arcade Fire, Tangerine Dream, Mike + The Mechanics ("In the Living Years"), Motorpsycho, Genesis (bass pedal sounds/hits), and even something in the sound engineering that feels like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Cool acoustic guitar outro! (An homage to David Bowie?) Nice tune. (13.75/15)
Total Time 48:38
My first exposure to the cinematic music of Nodo Gordiano! After this experience I am sure to backtrack into the band's discography to hear other releases.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Filippo Brilli / tenor, baritone, alto & soprano saxophones
- Andrea de Luca / analog & digital synthesizers, sampler, bass, acoustic & electric guitars, devices
- Davide Guidoni / keyboards, sampler, acoustic & electronic percussion
1. "Heng" (26:00) blending several styles together including VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, TANGERINE DREAM, GENESIS, ART ZOYD, RICHARD WRIGHT/DICK PARRY--sometimes multiple times, each--this epic is reliant on a blending of excellent bass, drum, and saxophone playing all seamlessly and impeccably mixed in with computer programmed keyboard washes, sequences, and percussives. The journey the listener is taken on is truly epic, with many cinematic twists and turns, however, the ending is quite odd: as if the story-teller leaves us at the edge of a cliff; we're left with a beautiful view but a dead end to our forward progress and no hint as to where we're to go from there. Excellent and very satisfying blending of all of the elements and motifs. (47/50)
2. "Kou" (26:00) the first eight minutes of this piece bring to mind so many famous pieces of progressive rock music--all from the 1970s and 1980s--yet the music is totally new and unique. The journey one is taken on over the course of these 26 minutes is far less segmented than the previous one, with each motif only gradually and subtly sneaking into one's consciousness as being "different" from the one that was playing just two minutes before. The long, plodding, heavy motif that "sneaks in" during the ninth and tenth minutes is so VDGG! Organ, sax, and lumbering drums plod along as if we're slaves pulling massive slabs of stone up long ramps to the next highest layer in the construction of a Wall or Pyramid. Unfortunately, the similarities here to much of the long, drawn out music of one of drummer DAvide Guidoni's other projects, DAAL (with ALfio Costa) are so strong as to rather annoy me (as some of DAAL's music has done). These are the times that I wish there were vocals in Davide's music.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Paolo "Ske" Botta (Yugen, Not A Good Sign, Homunculus Res) / organs, electric pianos, synthesizers
With:
- Fabio Pignatelli (Goblin) / bass (9)
- Luca Calabrese (Isuldur's Bane) / pocket trumpet (1,5,9-10)
- Lars Fredrik Frøislie (Asmegin, White Willow, Wobbler, Shining, Tusmørke) / harpsichord (6,8)
- Keith Macksoud (Present) / bass (11)
- Tommaso Leddi (Stormy Six) / mandolin (1,11)
- Nicolas Nikolopoulos (Ciccada) / flute (1,4,6,9)
- Evangelia Kozoni (Ciccada) / vocals (4)
- Vitaly Appow (Rational Diet, Five-Storey Ensemble) / bassoon (2,7,10)
- Simen Ådnøy Ellingsen (Shamblemaths) / saxophones (7)
- Thea Ellingsen Grant (Juno) / voice (5-6,11)
- Alessandro Cassani (Not A Good Sign) / bass (1,5,7)
- Martino Malacrida (Not A Good Sign) / drums (1-2,4,6-7,9,11)
- Francesco Zago (Yugen, Not A Good Sign, Empty Days, AtlrOck founder) / guitars (1-2,4,6-7,9,11)
- Maurizio Fasoli (Yugen, Kurai, Empty Days) / grand piano (2,4-5,11)
- Valerio Cipollone (Yugen) / clarinets (2,4,6,8-9,11)
- Elia Leon Mariani (Yugen) / violin (2,4,9-11)
- Jacopo Costa (Loomings, Yugen) / vibraphone/marimba/xylophone/glockenspiel/cymbalom (1-2,4-7,9-11)
- Maria Denami (Loomings) / vocals (1,6,11)
- Massimo Giuntoli (Hobo) / harmonium (1,9)
- Pierre Wawrzyniak (Camembert, Olapok) / bass (2,4,6)
- Mélanie Gerber (Camembert, Olapok) / vocals (10)
- Guillaume Gravelin (Camembert, Olapok) / harp (2,4,6,11)
- Pietro Bertoni (FEM) / trombone/euphonium (1,9,11)
- Tiziana Armonia Alessandra Azzone (Il Giardino delle Muse) / theorbo (4)
3. "Tor Cia" (1:38) an interesting experimental synth étude. Reminds me of Larry Fast's Synergy work. (4/5)
4. "Insolubilia II" (6:54) "old" sounding organ, flute mellotrons open this before guitar, harp, theorbo, marimba, and Ciccada's vocalist and flute player take over the leads in this folky song. The Not A Good Sign quartet provide the full rock baseline for most of the rest of the song while a wide variety of other instruments lend their intermittent and collaborative talents to the fore- and backgrounds. Cool song. (13/15)
5. "Lo Stagno del Proverbio" (3:07) part classic Italian folk song, part experimental jazz sound testing. Piano, glockenspiel, and trumpet seem to provide much of the foreground here. (8.75/10)
11. "Insolubilia III" (7:08) Using piano, I can hear the chordal and melodic similarities to several of the "previous" Insolubilias--especially #s IV and I. Once again, I feel a strong allusion to some of Mike Oldfield and Renaissance's music from the 1970s from, only a bit jazzier this time. The sparse soundscape is, again, something that I really like about this one. My final top three song. (13.75/15)
Line-up / Musicians:
- Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal / vocals
- Knut Kippersund Nesdal / vocals, keyboards
- Eivind Strømstad / guitars, mandolin, keyboards, programming, backing vocals
- Åsa Ree / violin, percussion, backing vocals
- Ingvild Nordstoga Eide / viola, backing vocals
- Ole Gjøstøl / piano, keyboards, programming, electric organ, glockenspiel, backing vocals
- Morten Strypet / bass, backing vocals
- Mats Lillehaug / drums, percussion, backing vocals
1. "Picking Up the Pieces" (6:15) Pensive piano. Accenting Bass. Strings and full band. One minute in and this is sounding good! At 1:15 I find myself elated to hear the dulcet tones of one of my favorite voices in progressive rock music: the voice of enigmatic and chameleonic powerhouse Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal. As the song unfolds it begins to sound very much like FREQUENCY DR?IFT's 2011 masterpiece, Ghosts.... where the magnificent voice of Antje Auer is teamed up with Andreas Hack and company. Unfortunately, that sentiment does not wane or change over the course of the song. Good song with solid performances throughout, just not as fresh and original as I was hoping. (8.75/10)
2. "Beehive" (4:37) despite the slightly-RADIOHEAD chordal sound of the piano opening here, the BENT KNEE similarities are inescapable--in the dynamic music as well as in Johanne's Courtney Swain vocal performance. It's a great song--would be one of my favorite Bent Knee songs were it one of theirs--but this is Meer, not Bent Knee; I need for Meer to sound more like their own entity, not just an imitator (albeit, amazing imitator) of other original prog bands. The orchestral and rhythmic forms and structures and rock and vocal performances are all exceptional--incredible--and the lyrics quite clever and engaging--but there's something lost in the sound engineering--as if the song has been too compressed and therefore lost some of its dynamic edges. But, it is without a doubt a great composition; it's just that the rendering could have been ... fuller. One thing is certainly sure: This team is one amazing set of song-constructors! (9/10)
3. "All at Sea" (5:04) a more countrified/folk sound palette precedes and supports Knut Kippersund Nesdal in his first lead vocal on this album. His voice (and it's engineered rendering) has improved quite a bit. It's quite smooth and mellifluous. Nice! The chorus employs a full-band multi-voice approach (with Knut and Johanne mixed furthest in front). It's an okay chorus melodically though the vocal performances are flawless. Beautiful strings arrangement--especially for the brief instrumental passage before the final chorus. (8.75/10)
4. "Songs of Us" (4:31) a song that feels very much like something from the current multi-voice bands coming from the Nashville Country-Western scene (sounding like something Blake Shelton's team members would come up with on The Voice--like the show's perennial ED SHEERAN cover songs. Granted Ed is an amazing songwriter, performer, and video/screen presence, and this song is exquisitely crafted: from the blending of the rock instrumentation with orchestral passages to the amazing vocal duet between Knut and Johanne, but I want to hear more of what's coming from deep in the souls of this band's songwriters, not imitations. (9/10)
11. "Lay It Down" (6:44) great power opening settles back to solo piano chords supporting Johanne Margrethe's sultry power vocal! Man! There are so few who can sing like this! Johanne has the talent and ability to channel the same kind of force and energy as COURTNEY SWAIN: emotion-conveying torch singing with effortless transitions into power belting! Great lyrics here, as well. Though once again the song feels familiar--and the sound a bit compressed at the upper end--this song simply must be rated up for Joanne's vocal. (9/10)
Total Time 54:39
(My "Favorites")
1. NEEDLEPOINT Walking Up That Valley
2. GIANT SKY Giant Sky
3. ACCORDO DEI CONTRARI UR-
4. HANDS OF THE HERON 13 Moons
5. CALIGONAUT Magnified As Giants
6. MONOBODY Comma
7. MEER Playing House
8. SHAMBLEMATHS 2
9. RACHEL FLOWERS Bigger on the Inside
10. BATTLESTATIONS Splinters, Vol. 2: Bruise
11. MANNA / MIRAGE Man Out of Time
12. YOO DOO RIGHT Don't Think You Can Escape Your Purpose
13. MONO Pilgrimage of the Soul
14. A FORMAL HORSE Meat Mallet
15. BLACK MIDI Cavalcade
16. SUN COLORED CHAIR Seated
17. KANT FREUD KAFKA Historias el acantilado
18. SMALLTAPE The Hungry Heart
19. SKE Insolibilia
20. CICCADA Harvest
21. KRISTOFFER GILDENLÖW Let Me Be a Ghost
22. ARGOS The Other Life
23. JORDSJØ Pastoralis
24. GLASS KITES II
25. AGUSA En annan värld
26. INNER PROSPEKT Canvas Two
27. BEAUTIFUL BEDLAM Beautiful Bedlam
28. PALE MANNEQUIN Colours of Continuity
29. DAVE BAINBRIDGE To the Far Away
30. KONOM Konom
Honorable Mentions:
BIG BIG TRAIN Common Ground
BATTLESTATIONS Splinters, Vol. 1: Tremor
EMERALD DAWN To Touch the Sky
FROST* Day and Age
CAST Visegimus
SYLVAN One to Zero
AGUSA En annan värld
MISTER ROBOT Robot Dreams
MISTER ROBOT Robot Dreams
The Reviews
Five Star Masterpieces
(Ratings of 100 to 93.34)
*****Album of the Year for 2021!*****
1. ACCORDO DEI CONTRARI UR-
Italian jazz-rockers set forth a goal of achieving Birds of Fire-like power and ecstatic energy. Result: Mission accomplished. Especially on the first two songs.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Marco Marzo Maracas / electric guitar & 12-string electric guitar
- Stefano Radaelli / alto saxophone
- Cristian Franchi / drums
- Giovanni Parmeggiani / Steinway piano, heavily overdriven & phased Fender Rhodes, organ, Minimoog
With:
- Alessandro Bonetti / violin (with Rambaldi Amplifier) (1-4)
- Patrizia Urbani / vocals (4)
- Sergio Papajanni / electric bass (4)
- Carlo Facondini / electric guitar (6)
- Francesco Guerri / cello (6)
- Marco Marzo Maracas / electric guitar & 12-string electric guitar
- Stefano Radaelli / alto saxophone
- Cristian Franchi / drums
- Giovanni Parmeggiani / Steinway piano, heavily overdriven & phased Fender Rhodes, organ, Minimoog
With:
- Alessandro Bonetti / violin (with Rambaldi Amplifier) (1-4)
- Patrizia Urbani / vocals (4)
- Sergio Papajanni / electric bass (4)
- Carlo Facondini / electric guitar (6)
- Francesco Guerri / cello (6)
1. "Tergeste" (9:00) opening three minutes reminds me of FIVE-STOREY ENSEMBLE if Olga & Co. continued their meteoric development that began with RATIONAL DIET. When drums and electric guitars and bass join in, it starts to sound heavier than I've heard before. By the middle of the fifth minute, I'm totally immersed in MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA territory. Love the slow sonic and compositional fade in the eighth minute that leads to an organ drone over which bass, sax, and slowly re-build the complex riffs that the keyboards started in the first three minutes. Perfect execution of a perfect composition--complete with a guitar arpeggio at the very end that comes straight out of MO's Birds of Fire. (20/20)
2. "Così Respirano gli Incendi del Tempo / Thus They Breathe, Time's Fires" (7:45) inspiration is one thing, imitation another, but here we get almost too-close-to-differentiate replication: the song's chords, melodies, dynamics, and even sound engineering of the instruments sound too close to MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA--could be, in fact, lifted from particular songs from 1970s records. Don't get me wrong: It's masterfully done, with impeccable skill and virtuosity, but I was hoping for/expecting a little more originality from this band. At least the directional change in the fifth minute takes them into different, more jazzy territory. And then the piano interlude in the sixth minute has a its own originality to it--like a Rachmaninoff étude, but then the Rick Laird-like violin sound joins in... It's gorgeous--incredible melodies on multiple levels making for a weave of compositional mastery, but… But I don't know what! These are just mind-blowing skills being dispayed in the form of beautiful music! Man! that went by fast! My favorite song on the album (despite my criticisms)! (15/15)
3. "Più Limpida e Chiara di Ogni Impressione Vissuta (Pt. III) / More Limpid and Clearer Than Any Lived Impression (Pt. III)" (4:23) More clean power jazz-rock, this time with a little more Italian/ADC feel to it (until the Rick Laird violin enters to shred). It's the piano and clean whole-band power chord structures that make it ADC--especially that gorgeous piano-guitar-cymbal interlude at the end of the second minute. Sax solo in the third minute reminds me of some early KING CRIMSON, but then dirty organ solo brings us into different territory. Maybe MUSEO ROSENBACH, BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO, or even OSANNA? (8.7510)
4. "UR-" (10:50) Are they really? Are they really taking us into the hallowed ground of their own countrymates, AREA? or is it BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO they're trying to honor here? Whatever it is, the opening 90 seconds of this are truly captivating--even when they start to feel like their tip-toeing through GOBLIN territory, it's great. Then the sax-and-electric guitar join in to introduce the main melody--sounding like Cervello's CORRADO RUSTICI (who was imitating and inspired by John MeLaughlin) and Corrado's brother, Danilo's band, Osanna's ELIO D'ANNA (who would later team up to form the great NOVA lineup). The odd, repetitive motif that is played out over the next few minutes sounds more like Van Der Graaf Generator or Norway's wonderful SEVEN IMPALE. What great sound! What a wonderful tribute to so much of the best of avant prog and 1970s jazz-oriented Rock Progressivo Italiano! (17.75/20)
5. "Secolo Breve / The Short Century" (4:35) Here we get a complex jazzy rock tune that feels more avant garde and yet follows some standard jazz and rock rules and forms. Again, the talents of these instrumentalists--especially the keyboard player, but even the bass and drums--are on full display here. Not as engaging or "beautiful" as the previous two. (8.75/10)
6. "Contrari ad Ogni Accordo / Opposed to Any Agreement" (5:53) piano and plaintive sax perform a duet that almost sounds like a VINCE GUARALDI jazzed up a little but still maintaining that deep, timeless beauty in its melodies. Violin and then drums and bass join in during the third minute bringing us back to Mahavishnu territory (reminding me that some Mahavihsnu songs often had a very simple foundational chord structure--this while the soloists went bat-ape shit crazy over the top). Great tune; great work by all, somehow managing to keep that understated Vince Guaraldi essence throughout. (It was the piano, of course!) (9.25/10)
Total Time 42:26
Well, if capturing the magic of Birds of Fire was their goal, then, mission accomplished--only, with modern day production values, they may have surpassed any of Johnny Mac's early 1970s expeditions--especially in terms of sound clarity/quality.
93.53 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; an indisputable masterpiece of progressive rock music. Composition and performance of the VERY highest levels. In my humble opinion, this is the BEST album of 2021.
2. BATTLESTATIONS Splinters, Vol. 2: Bruise
1. "Bruise" (23:45) Though this one started off a bit like some of Alio Die and Jon Hassell/Brian Eno's less engaging, more challenging music, it became one of the most gut- and heart-wrenching pieces of music I've heard all year! Those chords and incidental and glitch sounds in the fifth & sixth minutes are so beautiful, so ethereal, so engaging! Then we slowly transition into the incredible eighth minute and wow! a piano chord at 7:48 nearly makes my knees buckle! Ryuichi Sakamoto land, to be sure! The shifting synth-wash chord changes are killing me! At 11:30 there begins another slow, subtle shift, taking over four minutes of peaceful water's edge bar-do to fully reveal the next motif: stark piano arpeggi flying over the drone of the Earth's deep thrum with clouds and bird synths and, later, Middle Eastern human city flitting into the astral excursion. This is one out-of-body experience that I wanted to go on forever! (47.5/50)
2. "Receptor" (8:44) a very cool series of beautifully- and seemlessly-blended loops in which simple aural tropospheres are generated using heavily-treated, dream-like effects. Not sure if this one is more Blade Runner-like industrial Off-World or street-bound Earth during COVID dystopia. My favorite sounds are the human ones--especially the whistles. (18.5/20)
3. "Vacrys" (5:38) I hear HAROLD BUDD and ROBIN GUTHRIE in this one. (9/10)
4. "Nydised" (9:24) like an ambient percussive exploration that PAT METHENY & LYLE MAYS would use--especially if collaborating on a HANS ZIMMER soundtrack. Incredible! Like waiting at a Far-tube stop somewhere out in the cosmos! (18.5/20)
5. "Jikan" (6:07) more piano-based floating. More Budd (and Battlestations) than Guthrie or Eno. Incredible chord changes! More hypnotically incredible! (9.25/10)
6. "Unelind" (6:39) beautiful waves of synth washes among a mix of celestial "sounds" and temporal atmospherics (drums). Gorgeous and transportive: like an Ed Unitsky album cover or a steam ship into the Galactos! (9.5/10)
Total Time 61:01
This man is an absolute genius! How/Why he's not getting more attention and fame I do not understand for he's merely evolved from writing the soundtrack of our times (war, degradation, and collapse), and our kind (hope amid brutish cruelty), to the soundtracks of our future (cosmically)! This is the kind of music that makes me so proud to be Homo sapiens sapiens! I can't get enough of his chord choices and powerful, deeply moving chord changes!
93.54 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; an absolute masterpiece of Progressive Electronic music--music for our infinite future! HIGHLY recommended!
3. CALIGONAUT Magnified As Giants
Breathing new life into old time-honored sounds and styles.
Symphonic Prog: Who are these guys? What is their pedigree--how did they get here? Instead of questions like these I feel as if I should be lavishing thank yous and kudos on these inspired musicians. I LOVE YOUR NEW ALBUM!
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ole Michael Bjørndal / guitars, vocals
- Kristian Karl Hultgren / bass
- Lars Fredrik Frøislie / keyboards, Mellotron, synthesizers
- Andreas W. S. Prestmo / backing vocals
- Henrik Fossum / drums (1)
- Arild Brøter / drums (2,4)
- Iver Kleive / church organ (2)
- Åsa Ree / violin, backing vocals (1,2)
- Stephan Hvinden / rhythm guitar (2)
1. "Emperor" (14:35) opens with piano sprinkling notes over the keyboard like John Coltraine's Love Supreme before going prog metal on us. I call it brilliant! Refreshing! At the 2:15 mark the music settles into a kind of folk rock format as lead vocalist begins singing in a mellifluous voice that most reminds me WOBBLER's Andreas Prestmo, Magic Bus' Paul Evans, or even Hatfield's Richard Sinclair. The Wobbler similarities remain until the middle instrumental section which sound more like Red-era King Crimson--a trend that continues into a more stark, spacious section at 7:50 in which violin and multi-voiced harmonized vocals join in. At the 9:00 mark the drums go a little wonky, then there is an odd, out-of-place piano-accompanied vocal section. Fortunately, this is short-lived, as we fall back into the KC-supported motif from the ninth minute for the eleventh minute. At 11:25, then, there is a display of heavy -like over which some truly inspired emotional Frippery burns and wails. At 13:50, nylon-stringed acoustic guitar takes over as the primary accompaniment as female background vocalists lay a nest of folk harmonies over which Ole Michael finishes the song in a kind of MICE ON STILTS way. Wow. That was a ride--and quite fresh and different. I loved the dynamic diversity. Except for that odd piano motif in the tenth minute, they made it work amazingly well! The best prog epic I've heard of the year! (28/30)
2. "Hushed" (10:43) fast arpeggiated Flim and the BB's-like guitar opens this song before Ole Michael enters. The sound is very much like The Decemberists--both musically and in the vocal tones and stylings of Ole Michale Bjørndal. Thick vibrating electric bass takes over before drums and other folk instruments join in for the second verse. This is great. Now church organ adds its oddly timed arpeggi before a break allows violin to solo. The next section notes Ole Michael's vocal to sound much more fragile in a higher octave--like a young Neil Young. Electric guitar solos as church organ and rock rhythm section play below. This is so good! A bit of an Anekdoten feel here--though it turns more Mike Oldfield/early Genesis in the seventh minute before a long semi-empty break makes room for the three minute finale of fine YES-like symphonic prog jamming. I love the brave and prominent use of church organ and the old unfiltered sound of the drums and front-and-center Rickenbacher-like bass. (19/20)
3. "Magnified as Giants" (5:46) an excellent acoustic guitar-dominated throwback to THE MOODY BLUES and the folkier side of early GENESIS and early GENTLE GIANT. My favorite song on the album. (9.5/10)
4. "Lighter Than Air" (19:34) Here Ole & Co. are treading lightly into Van Der Graaf Generator territory. Ole Michael's pitchy vocal performance in the first three minutes makes one appreciate just how talented Peter Hammill was. Nice blues-jazzy guitar solo in the fourth minute followed by some nice RICHARD WRIGHT-like synth work in this now-very PINK FLOYD-sounding section. At 4:50 there is a bridge into a shift into more WOBBLER-like territory. Again, Ole Michael's vocal attempt makes it apparent that he's stretching himself a bit beyond his skill level. A couple of RUSH-like chorus and its codas and bridges helps to remove the Hammill standards away while we soon slide into a very steady classic rock motif in which the electric guitar can show off his Joe Satriani and Ted Nugent practice moves. Synth gets a turn in the eleventh minute before yielding again to the lead guitar. The bottom empties out in the twelfth minute, opening up for an eerie space-psych passage over which Ole again tries his hand at P. Hammill imitation. It's a cool section--very NEKTAR- or, perhaps, Hawkwind-like. It builds and hypnotizes until the 15:00 mark when it erupts into a more early PINK FLOYD-like mini-crescendo before settling down into more space-blues guitar over which the Hammill performance continues. I have to admit: the guitar soloing has feeling--even a little of PAUL BUCHANAN's magical touch and emotion. Though the vocal performance falls a little short of the standards set by Mr. Hammill, it's not by much. And the musical themes and references are quite well spliced, but it is the guitar work--especially the final quarter of the song, that shine high and bright. (37/40)
Total Time 50:38
93.50 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; one of my favorite albums of 2021, and definitely one of the ten best.
The "Minor" Masterpieces
(Ratings of 93.33 to 90.0)
4. HANDS OF THE HERON 13 Moons
I hear similarities to bands like Fleet Foxes, Mediæval Bæbes, and The Moulettes (among many others) in the weaves, harmonies, and even instrumental choices of this Bristol band's beautiful vocal-centred music.
Lineup / Musicians:
Bec Garthwaite: vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, drum
Beatrice Lee: vocals, accordion, acoustic guitar
Bethany M. Roberts: vocals, banjo, violin
Claire Vine: vocals, clarinet, saxophone
Tom Yates: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
with:
Cajon: George Whitcombe
Additional strings (tracks 8, 9 & 11) arranged by Bethany M. Roberts, recorded by Bethany M. Roberts & Rowan Elliott
1. "Summer Harvest" (1:46) and excellent four-voice a cappella song very much out of tradition of English folk music. Great introduction! I love how the four voices resonate so perfectly with one another: true harmonics. Bruised fruit! (10/10)
2. "Reckoning" (4:06) like something straight out of PINGVINORKESTERN's brilliant 2014 release, Push ("Me & The Wave"). Gorgeous and with several separate motifs presented. (9.5/10)
3. "Watercolour Fade" (3:26) both Fleet Foxes and Mediæval Bæbes (at their most liturgical) come to mind here in this fully a cappella four voice song. Recorded in a "chamber" setting thus giving it an almost church-religious sound and feeling. (9.5/10)
4. "Skipping Rope" (3:58) a beautiful song with quite powerful, poignant lyrics by Bec Garthwaite. I love the contributions of the clarinet, violin, and, of course, three harmonizing vocals. (10/10)
5. "Copper Green Flame" (2:25) opens with a high-register four-voice weave of harmonies before giving way to gently picked acoustic guitar, banjo, guitar, violin, harmonium, flute, and clarinet. (9.25/10)
6. "Contrary Motion" (2:55) an a cappella rondo weave of four voices each singing their own two line threads. (9/10)
7. "Softly Spoken Woman" (5:14) brilliantly lyricked with intricately woven delicate instrumental performances. I'm not certain who the principle vocalist is but I think it could be Beatrice. (9.5/10)
8. "Tongue in Twines" (3:52) volume-pedal controlled and chorused electric guitar chords with gently picked acoustic guitar supply foundation for spoken reading of a poem by two voices. Saxophone and second voice appear as if for emphasis and to incredible effect. Reminds me of the incredible music-accompanied spoken poetry of Anne Clark in the 1980s and 90s. (9.5/10)
9. "Moonbloom" (5:30) plucked violin and reverbed flute open before multiple voices of ethereal vocalise join in. There is a bit of Eric Satie here. The vocals become worded at the end of the first minute--the song sounding more like Mediæval Bæbes' "Tam Lin" the longer it goes. (9.25/10)
10. "Solar System" (3:49) guitars, saxophone, and violin support the solo voce of Beatrice Lee while the other women add their accents and harmonies here and there to great effect. (9/10)
11. "Take Me Outside" (3:13) harmonium drone is the lone support for the vocal weave which begins with one voice and gradually and almost echo-like becomes a constant though "considerate" companion of the lead. Violin and low male voice appear in support in the second half. Beautiful. (8.75/10)
12. "Sorrow Spun " (3:20) like a more traditional folk song. Could have come from O Brother Where Art Thou. (8.5/10)
93.125 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of all original compositions of vocal-centric Prog Folk music.
5. SHAMBLEMATHS 2
The mature veterans who appeared out of no where with their debut album five years ago have upped the ante--chosen to travel in a direction that may surprise some--yet do so with intelligence, resolve, and incredible talent.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Simen Å. Ellingsen / soprano, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, electric & acoustic guitars, soprano recorder, tin whistle, vocals, chant, whispers, saxophone samples, occasional keyboards
- Ingvald A. Vassbø / drums, xylophone
With:
- Eskild Myrvoll / bass
- Paolo Botta / keyboards (4-6)
- Eirik Ø. Dischler / keyboards (2,3,9)
- Marianne Lønstad / vocals (2,9)
- Anna Gaustad Nistad / vocals (4,6)
- Pia M. Samset / vocals (3,5)
- Leon Li / bassoon (4,6)
- Eivor Å. Ellingsen (Age 6) / vocals (7)
- Michael Francis Duch / double bass (7,8)
- Morten A. Nome / double bass (1)
- Ask Vatn Strøm / guitar cameo (6)
- 15 seconds of track 6 performed by Kanaan
1. "Måneskygge" (1:05) very cool horn over droning bowed double bass. Sounds like something exotic from the Middle East. (5/5)
2. "Knucklecog" (9:56) I had forgotten how mischevious Simen Å. Ellingsen's Ian Anderson/Peter Gabriel voice of impishness could sound: quite the theatric performance! Otherwise, the feel of this song and its sound palette feels quite like that of countrymen SEVEN IMPALE's 2014 debut, City of the Sun. Impressive drumming--very much like something out of the lexicon of the great jazz masters. And I love the insistent VDGG-like push of the main chordal theme's rhythm section. Great work on the keys and horns. (18.25/20)
3. "D.S.C.H." (Op. 110 String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Movements 1-2) "Imaginary Friend" (6:24) the sound here is so similar to the music Paolo "Ske" Botta was doing with Francesco Zago in the band NOT A GOOD SIGN that I'm rather shocked to see that Ske is not listed as a participant in its composition and studio rendering. Beautiful performance by the vocalists. I especially love the brief little duet between Ms. Pia Samset and the Mellotron!
I understand that this is a rock rendering of a classical composition (intelligently done--with admirable creativity in the choices of instrumentation!), so it's a bit of a challenge to comment on the composition, so it comes down more to the piece's selection and arrangement. Interesting and commanding. (9/10)
4. "Lat Kvar Jordisk Skapning Teia Pts. 1-4" (6:37) beautiful innocent vocal-led introduction--almost child-like--from Anna Gaustad Nistad, which is then overtaken by the thick, driving VDGG-like bluesy rock of the full band, saxophone leading the barrage. The contrast with Ske's frequent and brief solo electric piano interludes is brilliant! Even culminating in a little two-minute mediæval motif in the fourth, fifth, and sixth minutes. Are my ears deceiving me in that I hear some traditional Christmas-like melodies entwined with a variation on Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"? (9.5/10)
5. "Lat Kvar Jordisk Skapning Teia Pt. 5" (5:38) opens like the disorganized primordial soup that is the beginning of EUMIR DEODATO's opening to "Also Sprach Zarathustra"--even using the same Fender Rhodes and bass and drums sounds. As it begins to congeal it morphs into a kind of Miles Davis Jazz-Rock Fusion foray. The deep bass chords at 3:40, however, dispel any jazz pretensions--as does the UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA/Ana Torres Fraile-like layered vocalizations of Pia M. Samset. Very cool song! (9.25/10)
6. "Lat Kvar Jordisk Skapning Teia Pts. 6-8" (3:43) the oddest, most angular stop-and-start, zig-zagging song on the album--even with an all-acoustic movement in the middle. Again, the similarities to the music of YUGEN/NOT A GOOD SIGN/SKE are striking. Great drumming and electric guitar work in the 8th movement. (8.75/10)
7. "Lat Kvar Jordisk Skapning Teia Pt. 9: Mørker vik på all Hans veg" (2:18) basically horns and piano over which small human (Eivor Å. Ellingsen, aged 6) sings. (4.25/5)
8. "Been and Gone" (2:13) a sparsely-populated YUGEN-like composition that has double bass and droning chorus of vuvuzela-like horns as its central elements. Nice cinematic tension filler. (4.25/5)
9. "This River" (9:04) a delightful and deeply rewarding exercise in restraint and spaciousness that includes two wonderfully tender performances by the male and female singers. The rise in intensity during the fifth and sixth minutes is probably my favorite 90 seconds of music that I've heard from 2021! I love the vocals and the drummer's cymbal play! Perhaps my favorite song of the year! (20/20)
Total Time 46:58
Shedding the comfort of pleasing melodies (the former Strawbs-iness that I alluded to in my review of their previous album), and treading into the dangerous waters of more chromatically-based musical constructs is a risk Simen and Ingvald were quite willing to make--and I think that their efforts have paid off: They have, here, created a work of sophisticated, intellectual music that bears witness to their other contemporary grandchildren of King Crimson, the Yugen/Not a Good Sign and Seven Impale world is not so surprising were it not for the fact that nearly one half of my 2021 Top 15 Albums of the Year are coming from either Norway or have some connection to Paolo "Ske" Botta! While Shamblemaths 1 really knocked my socks off with their out-of-the-blue technical and compositional high end, this one astounds me in the risks taken by the band to move away from the crowd-pleasing Yes-standards and, instead, explore more obtuse and angular fare. Kudos! Bravo! An even bigger and, ultimately, more impressive surprise than 1.
92.89 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a modern masterpiece of progressive rock music that every prog lover should definitely check out! I have no doubt that this will soon be considered one of the 21st Century's essential prog releases!
6. CICCADA Harvest
Another long span of time passes since the band's sophomore album (which was released five years after their 2010 debut), yet here they are, with a sound and maturity (and comfort or ease) and intimate sound better than ever!
Line-up / Musicians:
- Dimi Spela / vocals
- Evangelia Kozoni / vocals
- Aggelos Malisovas / fretted & fretless basses
- Yiannis Iliakis / drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Yorgos Mouhos / 6- & 12-string acoustic guitars, electric guitar, vocals
- Marietta Tsakmakli / soprano, alto & baritone saxophones, backing vocals
- Nicolas Nikolopoulos / flute, clarinet, tenor & baritone saxophones, recorder, piano, electric piano, organ, Mellotron, synthesizers, harpsichord, clavinet, glockenspiel, backing vocals
1. "Eniania (Keepers of the Midnight Harvest)" (7:25) folk electric guitar with Mellotron flute--which is so interesting knowing what a FINE flute player they have in Nicolas Nikolopoulos). I love the whole-band choral entrance over the guitar--it sounds so pagan! Gorgeous! The band then flips on the instrumental switch in between the first two choral passages. At 3:15 the guitarist doubles the speed of his arpeggiated lines as a jazzy support ensemble kick into a sax and flute-led section. A minute later the lead instruments switch to jazz electric guitar, organ, and synth, then they trade back to the flute and saxes for the sixth minute before turning quite cinematic. The whole-band weave over the final two minutes is nothing less than astonishing--so much to listen to--all so idiosyncratic and worthy of individual attention. The final minute sees the main choral theme carried forward by recorders and organ over a militaristic style distant snare drumming. Wow! What an opener! We have really missed you, Ciccada! (13.75/15)
2. "Open Wings" (5:28) pure Ciccada Prog Folk in the JTull tradition. The lead vocals are much smoother, less operatic (Dimi's work?) and the production a little more modern (a little tighter, more intimate to the listener). Awesome guitar work--on many instruments--by Yorgos Mouhos. A wonderfully engineered, many-layered and intricately-woven construct. (9/10)
3. "The Old Man and the Butterfly" (7:52) a little heavier prog here, still folkie, but with Yorgos taking the lead vocal! Perhaps more reminiscent of early Prog Folk rockers like SPIROGYRA or even Samla Mammas Manna (in sound, not humor and quirk)--and even some of the more flower-power happy Canterbury artists (like KHAN or today's MAGIC BUS). A non-instrumental song by Ciccada that is not led by Evangelia's voice: something I never imagined! But it's great! A top three song, to be sure!(14/15)
4. "No Man's Land" (8:40) a return to the more-British school of Prog Folk--a little JTull, a little STRAWBS, even a little Pink Floyd and Renaissance--before Evangelia enters with her immaculate, uncorrupt voice. Again, I wish to point out the incredible detail and compositional skill that this band puts into each and every instrumental line of their very complex weaves; it's like watching the Bruges masters of tapestry at work! No line is rote or lame, all functioning to give more life to the whole.
And a totally fresh sound and style for Ciccada to explore--and they do it so well! A top three song for me. (18.75/20)
5. "Who's to Decide?" (4:40) more jazz-tinged (though definitely still very much shaped by their regional and, probably, local influences), this song has a lot of similarities to some of the more dark, psychedelic musics of the RPI masterpieces from the early 1970s. As well-performed and composed as the previous songs but just not my cup of tea (as BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO, OSANNA, MUSEO ROSENBACH, and even some LE ORME and BANCO are not to my tastes). (8.5/10)
6. "Queen of Wishes" (12:39) This one seems to have more foundations in classically-influence folk traditions, with lots of hard lines in transitions despite the exploration of some wonderfully diverse and dynamic range. This is a song that I grew to love more with my third and fourth listens. Such an unique and eclectic expression of old prog styles: I hear tinges of Anthony Phillips, Gryphon, England, Genesis, Renaissance, Mike Oldfield, early Gentle Giant, Goblin, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, and yet it's all fresh, all perfect. The only place it might have some minor deficiencies is in the melody department. My final top three song. (24/25)
Total Time 46:44
92.63 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a certifiable masterpiece of sophisticated Prog Folk and definitely an album that keeps giving every time you listen to it--and will, I'm sure, keep giving for years to come. Methinks we are very privileged to be able to hear their work--and to have it preserved for all-time in these recorded albums.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Alex Verbickas / electric guitar, acoustic guitar, analog synth, keyboards, piano
- Quinn Coniguliaro / bass, fretless bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Ben Coniguliaro / drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, glockenspiel, vibraphone
1. "Nocturnal Blue" (1:57) great little opener--putting on display the trio's commitment to complex, multi-part, multi-tempoed structures--this one quite well put together; a complete masterpiece. (5/5)
2. "Leave" (2:23) has a bit of a punk rock feel with some Cardiacs and XTC influence. Not drummer Ben Coniguliaro's best. (Not sure I like the plasticky sound of his drum heads.) (4.375/5)
3. "Buddy's Bone" (2:52) nice display of band unity with some rather complex syncopation and time signature changes. (8.75/10)
4. "Distilled Neutrality" (4:00) 80 seconds of rather aimless noodling steps into a metal world with authority and solemnity. Reminds me a bit of Allice in Chains "Black Hole Sun" but then at 2:45 it moves into a little more of a Crimsonian motif for a stay before returning to the BHS motif for the finishing minute. (8.75/10)
5. "Sun Bubble" (2:08) very nice, melodic instrumental. (4.6667/5)
6. "Seated" (2:59) like the previous song, tandem acoustic guitars intertwining their fast-picking with the bass and drums. Then the guitars turn electric with some twang and the bass lines heavier as we traipse into what sounds like WHO and CARDIACS territory. Nice return to acoustic dominance for the third minute and then blending in with the electrics. (8.875/10)
7. "Feet Honey" (4:23) another song that feels more like a whole band experimental étude--heading in the direction of jazz-rock fusion artists MONOBODY. (8.5/10)
8. "Mystic Woe" (3:35) a soft, dreamy start that conjures up reminders of NEEDLEPOINT, ANTHONY PHILLIPS, and even some jazz-pop artists from the 1980s. I like the guitar and bass's fretless note slides. Quite lovely. (9/10)
9. "Bovine" (1:11) heavier, more abrasive, and, thankfully, tighter étude. (4.5/5)
10. "Lordlegs" (2:59) one the album's best songs. (9.25/10)
11. "Eye" (3:39) another great song that has a feel like a 1960s or 70s French film theme song; very melodic and upbeat. (9.25/10)
12. "Harmless" (1:14) full on XTC! No holds barred! I love it! (4.5/5)
13. "Die Cycle" (2:25) solid song with some tough twists and turns, all done at breakneck speed, but with melody and interest. (4.375/5)
14. "Colorless Streak" (7:17) some very complex chord progressions performed with perfected timing by the trio (over multiple tracks, I'm assuming). They even get very YES/RUSH heavy starting in the fourth minute--which feels like a practice/warmup session for the more melodic motif that begins at the end of the sixth minute. Nice Steve Howe runs at the end there! (13.5/15)
15. "Sunsnap" (7:35) an excellent sound palette proceeding to cover some very lovely melodic chord and key progressions. There are some very KING CRIMSON-like elements to the constructs here but far more melodic the KC ever gets. The "pop and rock" BLACK-MIDI-like fifth minute is very inventive, but then it turns into far more standard prog-pop song (one that is begging for vocals!). A top three song. (14/15)
16. "Daunting Abyss" (3:56) more ANT PHILLIPS-like pretty music that is multiple guitar based. I like the one guitarist's attempt to do some Hawaiian note bending. So many elements here remind me of other band's music but all are so fresh in the way they're put together. (9.333/10)
Total Time 54:33
92.35 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of modern progressive rock music--al instrumental. A fascinating diary of the growth and development of a group of very motivated young musicians with some great vignettes and even a few great, fully-developed prog songs at the end there.
8. RACHEL FLOWERS Bigger on the Inside
- Rachel Flowers / all vocals & instruments
With:
- Jeanie Flowers / lyrics (5)
1. "A B" (4:13) opens sounding like one of Peter Gabriel's more aggressive rock songs--complete with a Tony Levin, Manu Katché and David Sancious sound and feel. A jazzy Fender Rhodes solo commencing in the second minute is followed by an excellent Lee Ritenour/Dave Fiuczynski-like jazz guitar solo in the third. A very solid prog instrumental. (8.75/10)
2. "Take Me Away" (11:47) a prog epic that sounds every bit like a cross between IONA, BIG BIG TRAIN, and ROB REED/MAGENTA. Again, the performance skills on each and every instrument amaze--not to mention the compositional vision necessary to imagine it all. Whereas some of the compositions of the aforementioned artists seem to fall flat when rendered onto tape in the studio, Rachel's composition comes to life in the very fullest sense! (22.75/25)
3. "Too Much" (7:47) opens as a dreamy, piano-based jazz-prog-pop song in the Peter Gabriel vein. At the three minute mark the music shifts into more aggressive MAGENTA-like territory. Nice! Incredible vocal arrangements for the chorus and codas: simple must be heard! Great song. Incredible melodic and chordal choices. (14/15)
4. "Love Today" (4:40) opens like a modern pop vocal over a simple organ and piano background. Multiple vocal tracks work like a smooth WILSON-PHILLIPS song, though the music and melodies remind me more of the Broadway musical Rent. The third minute brings a big shift into a heavy rock motif--like a BEATLES or ANDREW LLOYD-WEBER theme. Despite being a little too poppy for my tastes, I have to admit that this is a masterful rendering of this style. (8.5/10)
5. "This Is the Way I Am" (6:19) what opens like a "big" RPI (or Pat Metheny Group) production of a Rikkie Lee Jones song, turns into a biting, sarcastic indictment of the seeing world once the vocal enters. Rachel's message is conveyed with remarkable poise and maturity. Great West Coast jazz/Lyle Mays/Pat Metheny section begins at the three minute mark and continues through the solo church organ that takes over at the 4:30 mark into the final jazz vocal section and finish. Wonderful! (9.25/10)
6. "The Darkness" (10:03) opens with a dramatic orchestral arrangement. Drums and rock instrumentation enter after three and a half minutes to establish a rollicking, hard-driving theme with a multi-voiced vocal performance reminiscent of a cross between Tori Amos and Heather Findlay. Great stuff! Awesome guitar solo beginning at 6:45 followed by wonderful section of blended keyboards and orchestra blend that remind me of 1990s Pat Metheny. Great melodies, mixes, and engineering--perfectly beautiful and never bombastic. Astonishing! One of the best prog epics I've heard all year! (20/20)
7. "Feel" (11:56) feels and sounds like a lost epic from the late 1970s by the great Brazilian jazz-pop keyboard/singer Patrice Rushen--performed, no doubt, with Steely Dan's amazing session band of LA jazz musicians. The instrumental ninth minute sounds like a tribute to the late great Lyle Mays. Incredible! (23.5/25)
8. "Beautiful Dream" (4:42) opens like a pensive classical piano solo before Rachel's airy vocal joins in. Sounds and feels like a heart-felt love song; Rachel has conveyed the emotion behind her message quite powerfully. Again, not too proggy, but something that Kate Bush or Tori Amos would certainly be proud of. (8.5/10)
9. "With You" (6:21) another pop-rock-founded tune that could easily have come from an album by peak Ambrosia or Anita Baker. Again, the vocal arrangements impress and astonish (as well as the superb Jeff "Skunk" Baxter guitar soli in the fourth, fifth, and sixth minutes). (8.75/10)
Total Time 67:48
I have no qualms admitting that I feel very blessed and privileged to be listening to this solo artist--who is new to me: for here is an example of a human being that is truly realizing his/her potential to its fullest. Even more astonishing is here facility with bass, guitar, orchestration, and vocal arrangements. The maturity and mastery of her electric guitar soli alone are enough to raise eyebrows, but then one has to take into account that she is playing all of the instruments while somehow still managing to sound like a top notch Steely Dan LA sessions jazz band!
Total Time 67:48
I have no qualms admitting that I feel very blessed and privileged to be listening to this solo artist--who is new to me: for here is an example of a human being that is truly realizing his/her potential to its fullest. Even more astonishing is here facility with bass, guitar, orchestration, and vocal arrangements. The maturity and mastery of her electric guitar soli alone are enough to raise eyebrows, but then one has to take into account that she is playing all of the instruments while somehow still managing to sound like a top notch Steely Dan LA sessions jazz band!
91.85 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Crossover progressive rock. Easily one of greatest musical surprises to pass my way in 2021 and an album I'd strongly urge any and every prog music lover to check out for themselves.
9. NEEDLEPOINT Walking Up That Valley
Refreshing psychedelic folk from Norway that brings back nostalgic feelings from 1967's Summer of Love--when love and optimism were still at the center of the Hippie/Flower Power movement--before the tragic death of cult icon John Griggs in 1969.
- Bjørn Klakegg / lead vocals, guitars, violin, flute, cello
- David Wallumrød / Hammond organ, clavinet, Fender Rhodes, harpsichord, upright piano, Prophet-5, ARP Odyssey, ARP Solus, Minimoog
- Nikolai Hængsle / electric bass, backing vocals, guitars (1,4)
- Olaf Olsen / drums
With:
- Erik Nylander / percussion
- and the Carry Me Away Choir: Indra Lorentzen, Camilla Brun, Maria Vatne, David, Nikolai, and Bjørn
1. "Rules of a Mad Man" (5:11) reminds me of The BYRDS, The ASSOCIATION, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and Sweden's The AMAZING. (8.75/10)
2. "I Offered You the Moon" (7:51) an intricately woven Summer of Love-like pop psychedelic song that has an unexpected jazzy feel. Amazing Pat Metheny Group/RTF/Chick Corea-like instrumental passage in the fifth and sixth minutes. Love Erik Nylander's congas! And then the bass, Fender Rhodes, and drums really get to shine over the final 90 seconds. Wow! (14/15)
3. "Web of Worry" (3:34) As if Paul Simon wrote and sang a Stevie Wonder song. At the two minute mark, during the instrumental passage, it turns full Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. So cool! (9.25/10)
4. "So Far Away" (3:11) could be acoustic LED ZEPPELIN, BREAD, CELESTE, or PAUL SIMON. And then it goes Massive Attack unplugged at 2:20! Just brilliant. (9/10)
5. "Where the Ocean Meets the Sky" (4:25) more complex, sophisticated jazz-tinged pop psychedelia that sounds like it comes straight out of a California Pop Festival of 1968 or 69. Again, strongly reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young from this era--especially the front-and-center bass play and perfect vocal harmonies. Brilliant and beautiful. Again, great hand percussion play to go with the gorgeous drumming and richly nuanced instrumental tapestry. (9.25/10)
6. "Carry Me Away" (3:56) has a very Brian Auger's Oblivion Express and, less, Santana feel to it. The guitar solo over the is so straight out of Eumir Deodato's 1973 world-wide jazz funk version of Ricard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" as inspired from the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey. (9/10)
7. "Another Day" (4:45) despite its interesting instrumental palette (including harpsichord), this one drags a little too much. (8.25/10)
8. "Walking Up That Valley" (10:44) opens like it's going to break into "Hair" by The Cowsills. But with the appearance of the vocal we can see that it is a true folk song--a gorgeous one at that. Simple guitar with solo voce, gradually joined by other guitars and Hammond. At 4:30 we transition into a uptempo, more jazz-rock instrumental passage. The sound palette of guitars, bass, and snare drums and cymbals is very cool thought the flanged lead guitar is nothing too exciting. I'm quite reminded of Gadi Caplan's masterful jazzy Prog Folk album from 2016, Morning Sun. As a matter of fact, this entire album has a similarity to that wonderful album. The guitar solo over the zoom-along AMAZING-like passage in the ninth minute is astonishing! What an amazing passage! Some of Al Stewart and Donovan in the gorgeous next session. The way we're cut off from the continued jam at the end feels like robbery! One of the best prog epics of the year--maybe the best. (19.75/20)
Total Time 43:37
A collection of sophisticated, deeply layered folk psychedelia that issues new and pleasant discoveries with each and every listen. Wonderful. Each and every song seems so lovingly created--from composition, lyrics, and performance to recording and mix. An absolute treasure. One of my favorite albums of 2021.
91.84 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; clearly a masterpiece of retro-psych Prog Folk.
10. BLACK MIDI Cavalcade
Though I've been sitting on this album for almost five months, I simply must give it a review; people need to hear and re-hear about this band--the important contribution they're making to music and, in particular, progressive rock music. The creative genius that I first heard with 2019's Schlagenheim has matured--grown in compositional sophistication while retaining the tongue-in-cheek humor and youthful energy of the pre-pandemic era.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Geordie Greep / vocals (1-3,6-8), guitar, writer
- Cameron Picton / vocals (4,5,8), bass, writer
- Morgan Simpson / drums, writer
- Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin / writer (1,3)
With:
- Kaidi Akinnibi / saxophone
- Seth Evans / keyboards
- Jerskin Fendrix / violin (1)
There are some who want to question the veracity of the application of the term "progressive rock" to this band and their music. I urge you to see them live--even watch the videos of their live performances--but, if you can, see them live. You will be convinced. Not since seeing King Crimson on the Discipline and Beat tours have I seen such a stage full of virtuosos, each giving their all to each and every second of each and every song. And they're a band member short right now (guitarist/singer/composer Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin is on mental health hiatus)! But, with the addition of a keyboard player (the hardest working, most dynamic performance I've EVER seen from a keyboard artist: Seth Evans worked harder than the drummer!) and the ubiquitous sound of the saxophone (thanks to the amazing Kaidi Akinnibi) as well as the stepping up of rising superstar Cameron Picton, this is a band on fire, on the rise, and punching holes in the Crimsonian/MarsVolta universe of aggressive prog rock.
1. "John L" (5:14) opens like something straight off of THE MARS VOLTA's De-Loused in the Comatorium, but then turns PRIMUS in its vocal performance and dominant low-end sonic range. The odd-tempoed, stop and go music is flawlessly performed despite incredible intricacy and stark periods of absolute silence. Incredible! Then the song begins to slowly but steadily increase in its speed before the staccato structure and piano banging begins. Violin also plays an important role (substituted for by soprano saxophone in concert). Such a great double riff from Geordie to keep us anchored.
The blend of THE MARS VOLTA, PRIMUS, and KING CRIMSON is so amazing. The band is tightly synchronized yet loose enough to create sonic chaos within the structures. It seems as if every musician gets a turn to explore an outlet of madness, which is nice. The spoken vocal is fun and funny. It makes me feel as if I'm in a Son of Jim Jarmusch movie. (9.25/10)
2. "Marlene Dietrich" (2:54) What?! What did I just hear? Smoke-lounge crooning from Geordie Greep? Wow! What versatility and flexibility--not to mention the talent are we being exposed to on this album! Amazing! The strings and slide and acoustic guitars offer such a rich chamber feel. Music does not get much better than this--from any genre or era! We are not worthy! (10/10)
3. "Chondromalacia Patella" (4:49) opens with an abrasive and very odd-tempoed strum of an electric rhyhm guitar before drums and bass chords and saxophone screams join in to punctuate. In the second minute the music settles into a jazzy, Math Rock, KING CRIMSON/AZTEC CAMERA motif over which Geordie sings in his new female African American singing voice. (The first time I heard this, I though it was CASSANDRA WILSON!)
In the fourth minute, as the music turns full KING CRIMSON, Geordie snaps back into his more theatric tones and cadences--but then the music drives into a continuous upward-building chord progression. In concert, this song was played out into a much longer extended version in which the pulsating saxophone-led screams between vocal sections were responded to antiphonically by the audience. A real audience pleaser and concert highpoint. here in the studio album form, it is a perfect song to illustrate the band's grounding in what are truly progressive rock forms and sounds. I am certain that our hero, the Black Knight, Sir Robert of Fripp, and his arch-nemesis, William of Bruford would both be smiling in accord while listening (or viewing) this one (not to mention the Court Jester, Adrian of Belew, and the master stick-wielder, Tony the Bald). (9.5/10)
4. "Slow" (5:37) an awesome KCRIMSONian baseline structure over which Cameron performs the extraordinary vocal: at first whispering but later screaming at the top of his lungs. Horns/saxes play a key part in the power of this--but there are also some incredibly stark, beautiful jazz guitar passages over which Cameron whisper/sings. Again, the Math Rock mentality seems to inform this even more jazzy fusion song. I love Geordie's guitar play as it has a Eastern European/klezmerish feel not unlike that of Humble Grumble's Gabor Humble Vörös--playing wildly at break-neck speeds. (9/10)
5. "Diamond Stuff" (6:21) opening with some simple guitar and bass notes, repeating ad infinitum--like a SCOTT WALKER or JOHN ZORN song (though I believe Cameron is the sensitive whisper-singer)--this gradually expands into an ethereal dream-cinema jazz tune (in he fifth minute!) Beautiful (and quite unexpected)! (9/10)
6. "Dethroned" (5:03) once again Geordie is deceiving us with his crooner voice (somewhat enhanced by effects). This is a song that I've heard performed live and seen/heard on videos of live performances and it always sounds different. On KEXP it was so powerful. Here it is great though much more "controlled." Live last night it got overshadowed by some of the other songs. Those final two minutes of orchestrated cacophony are amazing! (9/10)
7. "Hogwash and Balderdash" (2:33) again, controlled chaos--in a punk way. The lyrics might give it more impact than I'm feeling. (8.75/10)
8. "Ascending Forth" (9:46) a smooth, jazzified love song to ascending fourths--something that, apparently, everybody loves. (I know I do!) Geordie's SCOTT WALKER-like vocal performance is amazing. (Perhaps a lot of black midi's inspiration comes from Scott Walker?) Beautiful Spanish acoustic guitar (Cameron?) provides the sole foundation beneath Geordie's beautiful croon for the first two minutes Then full jazz-fusion band joins in with a MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA-kind of effect (and structure). I'm reminded of some of CASSANDRA WILSON's songs--even down to the tone and timbre of her voice in comparison to that of Geordie Greep. Awesome and powerful. (18/20)
Total Time 42:17
Originally, I did not want to review this album before posting one for Cavalcade's 2019 predecessor, Schlagenheim, but October 12th's concert prompted me thus. While I think that the music catalogued on Cavalcade shows a band moving forward, pushing boundaries--often in unexpected directions--Schlagenheim may have been better for the way it provided the first impression of a new band to the (progressive rock) music scene. But this album is definitely a step forward, a step sealing this band's place in the pantheon of Prog Greats and Last Great Hopes. The next album should be ... amazing.
91.667 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and a shining star of what the 21st Century (as well as the first) has to offer Prog World.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Al Costis / bass, synths
- Collin Clauson / keyboards
- Conor Mackey / guitar, synths
- Nnamdi Ogbonnaya / drums
- Steve Marek / bass
1. "Eighty Eight" (4:38) with an opening using a complex time signature compatible with a Pat Metheny Group or Toe song, Monobody announce from the get-go their jazz-rock fusion preferences. Piano, basses, drums, and the dextrous WES MONTGOMERY-like guitar fingering style of Conor Mackey all weave their individual magic into a wonderfully impressive and, at the same time, engaging song. (9.5/10)
2. "Sylphina" (4:23) opening with a flurry--like a Jazz Crusaders' song--the piano, bass, and keyboard interplay is exquisite and intricate. In the second minute things smooth down into a dreamy, pastoral passage with a greater synth-keyboard presence than we're used to hearing from the band. Collin Clauson and Al Costis are trying their hands at being the band's Chick Corea and/or Lyle Mays! There's even quite a little STEELY DAN here, as well. (9/10)
3. "Cloudless Sulphur" (5:53) opening with a synth-wash bleed-in from the previous song, guitar and keys duet delicately to open. At 0:55 a TOE-like bass-and-guitar combine to great effect as the synth and drums support from the background. Then at 2:43, a flange-funked bass line takes over with the drummer and OZRIC TENTACLES-like space-synth sounds filling space as the guitar feels his way around in the in-between. At 4:05 we break again, into a cool four-part weave--drums, synth, guitar, and bass all feeling as if they are exploring their own pathways--until they all come back together at 4:42 (with increased distortion and amperage to the two-tracked riffing guitar). Cool journey--almost psychedelic. (8.75/10)
4. "Atala" (3:20) the most straightforward jazz song on the album thus far--possibly made so by the dominant piano jazz chord play throughout. It's fast, intricate, and complex. Pat and Lyle would be quite proud! (9/10)
5. "Mimic" (4:15) opens as if a Tony Levin class étude. More intricate jazziness, fast multiple instrumental runs and soli (bass, George Benson-like jazz guitar, Donald Fagen-like Fender Rhodes). Cool JAN AKKERMAN-like guitar chord sequence 2:30-2:45! More chordal and melodic reminders of Steely Dan in that fourth minute. (9/10)
6. "Harvester" (3:53) more sensitive, slow-tempoed arpeggiated jazz chord work in both the sparse passages and the full-band sections. Again, I am somehow reminded of the melodic and atmospheric genius of the Japanese band TOE here. As horn-like synths join and build their presence in the third minute I am reminded of NuJazz band JAGA JAZZIST. Nice! (9/10)
7. "Phaon Crescent" (6:40) probably the most impressive-sounding song on the album--and most mature--despite the fact the band seem to be pandering for a melodic "hook" from the very opening notes--one that is established by the guitarist by the end of the first minute before going off into a very Pat Metheny Group-like passage for the bulk of the second minute. It's great music--and great musicianship--jazz-rock at its very highest--and it's followed up with some more subtle Donald Fagen-isms in the third minute (from the piano, of course)--which is great--and then developing into the Lyle and Pat show for the fourth--I just want my Monobody to be more distinctively themselves. Great, great passage from 3:45 to 4:30! So addictive, such an ear worm of joy and happiness: My favorite song of 2021! (11/10)
Total Time 33:02
I've figured out that the feelings of "disappointment" I've been having as I listen to this album are caused by the fact that, for the first time, I am hearing lots of similarities to other bands and other influences, whereas on Monobody and Raytracing I was being completely blown away by the utterly unique sound and stylings I was hearing. Maybe these influences and styles were present and I was not hearing them, but now they are quite obvious to me. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE this album--and I love the direction/evolution the band are choosing; I do not like the fact that hearing some of these songs out of context--i.e. in a random playlist--I will at times be thinking I'm listening to a song by Pat Metheny & Lyle mays, Toe, or even Steely Dan or Unaka Prong--none of which are a bad thing (I love all of the music of the afore-mentioned bands) but not exclusively unique to MONOBODY.
91.43 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion--and in the hunt for Album the Year honors.
12. DAVE BAINBRIDGE To the Far Away
Virtuosic guitarist of IONA fame is back with another solo release--this time collaborating with a who's-who of prog nobility--many of whom worked with Dave or Iona in the past.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Dave Bainbridge / many instruments
With:
- Sally Minnear / vocals
- Iain Hornal / vocals
- Troy Donockley / high & low whistles, uilleann pipes, Cumbrian voices
- Frank van Essen / drums, solo violin, ensemble violins & violas
- Jon Poole / fretted & fretless basses
- Jonas Pap / cello
- Nigel Cameron / whistles
- Julie Cameron-Hall / violin
- Martin Nolan / whistles
1. "Sea Gazer" (6:12) simple prog folk with catchy, if too-repetitive melody and fine performances. (8.75/10)
2. "Girl and the Magical Sky" (8:00) opens with poem being read over strummed mandolin. In the second minute band with organ set musical foundation over which multi-tracked voices of Sally Minnear establish a choral base. At 2:35 we break down to simple piano, mandolin, Uilleann pipes and whistles for a bit before scaled down multi-Sally choir rejoins. At the end of the fourth minute it strips down further to just piano and Sally. Beautiful ballad builds from here. bass, keys, background vocals provide gentle support. Then, in the sixth minute organ ramps up and rock band rejoins while Dave expresses himself through a commanding electric guitar solo. Strings, piano, and organ are doing interesting things in the wings. In the eighth minute pipes and Sally-choir return with full church organ to bring the song to a close. (Nice drumming, Frank.) (13.5/15)
3. "Rain and Sun" (4:12) an instrumental in which picked acoustic guitars and mandolin and synth washes are joined by Dave's plaintive solo electric guitar. Haunting melodies and music! Almost Genesisian. Final minute softens to become more orchestral, more IONA-like. (9/10)
4. "Clear Skies" (6:21) ethereal beginning turns into full-on IONA-like prog-rock romp. Interesting piano-with-whistles interlude in the third minute is followed by powerful prog jam in which Dave's electric lead really flames and the drums and bass really excel. A true display of virtuosity from Jon Poole and Frank van Essen! A top three song for me. (9.5/10)
5. "Ghost Light" (14:13) opens with more of Dave's excellent electric guitar lead play--with very little support. In the third minute things quiet down as keys, percussives, and acoustic strings provide subtle, delicate background for Sally's vocal. In the fourth minute as Sally moves into a chorus, the full band joins in but then things quiet down again for her second verse--this time accompanied by mail voice (whom I am going to assume is that of a-credited Iain Hornal). Unfortunately, the chorus is shaped and melodically too similar to an old YES motif. The instrumental section that begins after the second time through the chorus is interesting, as is its followup. Then in the ninth minute Sally is given another, more original approach to the chorus melody and delivery. This is great! Then the band returns, a little slower and more melody-centric, and then Iain takes a turn in the lead. At the 11-minute mark Dave's wailing lead tears at our heart-strings--simply masterful, gorgeous guitar playing! You might say, if you threw away the first five minutes, this would be a full masterpiece. (26.25/30)
6. "Cathedral Thinkers" (3:09) piano arpeggi and Sally-vocalise open this before drums, bass, and soloing synth join in. Synth and lead electric guitar mirror each other in the second and third minutes. Nice! Very pretty. A very unusual finale with fading electric guitar being supplanted by speed-demon classical grand piano play. (9/10)
7. "To Gain the Ocean" (4:07) feels like the same song as before as the melody is here carried by male vocalist (Iain Hornal) and supported by same arpeggiating piano. In the second verse drums, fretless bass, synth strings, synth glockenspiel, acoustic guitars, and Sally Minnear join in. Absolutely gorgeous tapestry of music! Powerful song! (10/10)
8. "As Night Falls" (1:52) more dulcet wailing JEFF BECK-like guitar, this time with orchestral strings (both acoustic and synth-generated) support. Nice. (4.25/5)
9. "Infinitude (Region of the Stars)" (6:48) opens with slow-shifting strings arrangement which is joined by solo viola at 0:45. Reminds me of music to support some auspicious foggy film scene. The music and violin solo are not unlike those of Ralph Vaughn Williams' "Lark Ascending"--and may, in fact, be modeled after it. Really beautiful and complex. At 4:28 Sally Minnear's distant vocalise joins in, bring more of a human element into the landscape. It is brief, having the effect of turning the beautiful soaring music of joy and achievement into one of failure and sadness. Wow! What an amazing journey we were just taken on! (15/15)
10. "To the Far Away" (4:43) a very traditional Celtic melody turned almost mechanically into a rock song. I can see how this anthemic song could have been chosen as the title song and representative of this stage of Dave's evolutionary path. It is so solid. Almost perfect in a boring kind of way that makes me ashamed to be casting aspersion upon this kind of maturity and mastery. (9/10)
11. "Speed Your Journey" (4:29) Such a fine composition delivered to perfection! Though Sally's involvement is rather minimal it makes such a difference. (9/10)
12. "Fells Point" (2:58) another folk-rock delivery of what feels like old, traditional Celtic melodies. Very cool to have Troy Donockley and Dave (as well as the whistle players) mirroring each other on their respective specialty instruments. (4.5/5)
13. "Something Astonishing" (4:18) beautiful Ant Phillips/Genesis-like 12-string + synth washes opening before organ and lead electric guitar supplant at the end of the first minute. Another melody that could have come from liturgical or Celtic folk traditions here rendered by rock instruments. The final 70 seconds sounds like a fairy-like departure from Avalon over the sea. (9/10)
Total Time 71:22
While I've yet to really find any fault to anything Dave has contributed to, I have to admit to being lulled into a state of numb appreciation for his past albums. They are without question excellent albums with great compositions and stellar performances throughout, it's just that there comes a point where the Iona sound starts to sound homogenous. I really appreciate both the compositional mastery on display here as well as the level of performance commitments demanded of--and delivered by--his collaborators here.
91.1667 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music; highly recommended for all fans of intricately composed and masterfully performed prog.
13. MANNA / MIRAGE Man Out of Time
A collection of Dave Newhouse songs that contain some of his most complex, well-developed ideas since he went solo. I love that there is so much going on within each song that I pick out entirely new and different things with each listening.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Dave Newhouse / keyboards (1-6), woodwinds (1-3,5,6), voice (3), drums (4), yelling (4), electric piano (7,8), bass clarinet (7), saxophone (4)
- Sean Rickman / drums (1-3,5,6)
- Jerry King / bass (1,2,6), trumpet (5), trombone (1,5)
- Mark Stanley / guitar (1,5)
- Carla Diratz / vocals (2)
- Bret Hart / guitar (2)
- Dereck Higgins / bass (3)
- Rich O'Meara / vibes, marimba (3,8)
- Alanna Cohen Duvall / voice (3)
- Guy Segers / bass (5)
- Forrest Fang / violin (5)
- Gary Rouzer / cello (5)
- Fred Frith / guitar (6)
- Dave Newhouse / keyboards (1-6), woodwinds (1-3,5,6), voice (3), drums (4), yelling (4), electric piano (7,8), bass clarinet (7), saxophone (4)
- Sean Rickman / drums (1-3,5,6)
- Jerry King / bass (1,2,6), trumpet (5), trombone (1,5)
- Mark Stanley / guitar (1,5)
- Carla Diratz / vocals (2)
- Bret Hart / guitar (2)
- Dereck Higgins / bass (3)
- Rich O'Meara / vibes, marimba (3,8)
- Alanna Cohen Duvall / voice (3)
- Guy Segers / bass (5)
- Forrest Fang / violin (5)
- Gary Rouzer / cello (5)
- Fred Frith / guitar (6)
1. "What's the Big Idea?" (4:19) all musicians here seem to be traveling their own solo paths while somehow, amazingly, creating a wonderfully mature weave. (9.5/10)
2. "World Song" (3:49) great drumming beneath Carla Diratz' bluesy singing and the rest of the band's baseline weave. (8.5/10)
3. "In for a Penny" (4:34) great Canterbury slow groove (Fender Rhodes, horns, and bass) over which xylophone, flute, vocalise, and drums create some wonderfully melodic trails. (9/10)
4. "Red Ball Express" (2:56) one of Dave's more free-form, boundary-pushing, almost laughable, hot air balloon ride compositions that remains somehow tethered to the ground by the mellifluous winds. (4.25/5)
5. "4 Steps Back" (10:45) a very well conceived and realized Canterbury style jazz song with nice contributions from strings and Mark Stanley's electric guitar--and a most excellent contribution from drummer Sean Rickman. I love the Muffins-like eight and ninth minutes and then the pugilistic final two minutes. Great editing and mixing to get this one to sound so perfect. (18.75/20)
6. "Fred's Dream" (3:58) opens with a sound, styling, and pacing that is quite reminiscent of STEELY DAN or some other Gary Katz production (Rosie Vela or Love and Money). GREAT melodic and harmonic structure. (9.5/10)
7. "Silver Age" (4:00) opens like something from HAROLD BUDD and THE COCTEAU TWINS' The Moon and the Melodies 1986 album. Fun! (8.5/10)
8. "These Days" (2:32) beautiful, peaceful keyboard (Fender Rhodes) work over which Rich O'Meara splays his marimba work. (4.75/5)
Total Time 36:53
I am so grateful for Dave's detailed liner notes explaining the etiology of each song: they are so enjoyable to read. The Coronavirus pandemic definitely allowed Dave the time and room to fully and completely develop and rework his ideas into wonderfully complete feeling songs.
90.94 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of Canterbury style jazz and one of my 10 favorite albums of 2021.
14. BATTLESTATIONS Splinters, Vol. 1: Tremor
One of Belgian-based classical electronicist Battlestation's two album releases over the course of 2021.
1. "Tremor" (43:08) Wow! What a wonderfully integrative journey! I felt as if I was among people--like I was sleepwalking--and yet it was also so dreamlike, so interplanetary and inter-dimensional! I could hear/sense Battlestations, but it was also so new, so heavily-treated and shifting so subtly, so masterfully. I absolutely loved the stunning eighth minute: it felt as if I were in an outdoor winter shopping scene with outdoor speakers playing old instrumental strings versions of Christmas carols! The next ten minutes sound like something BRIAN ENO and ROBERT FRIPP could have pulled together during their early explorations of the Ambient Music scene, while the third ten minutes sound so much like the first ten minutes of PAT METHENY & LYLE MAYS' "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" that I kept waiting for the human voice to step in and surprise me with numeric countings (even though that only happens near the end of Pat and Lyle's song)! After that it sounds like the soundscapes that I've been familiar with from BATTLESTATIONS, though I could also, from time to time, hear Christian Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tangerine Dream, Alio Die, and yet it was all so fresh and exciting! A wonderful, beautiful 43-minute journey (even if the second ten minute passage drag on a bit too long)! (77/85)
90.59 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of dreamscape travel.
15. GIANT SKY Giant Sky
Line-up / Musicians:
- Erlend Viken ("Eav") / various instruments, vocals
- Erlend Astaad / drums
- Ivan Ushakov / flutes
- Liv Brox / viola
- Vegard Lien Bjerkan / church organ
- Sturla Fagerli Larsen / various percussion, vocals (2,4,5)
- Myrtoula Røe / vocals (1,5)
- Marina Skanche / vocals (4,6)
- Charlotte Stav / vocals (1,2,7)
- Espen Berge / drums (1,2)
- Sverre Leraand / drums (2)
1. "The Further We Go the Deeper It Gets (Parts 1-6)" (12:04) One damned fine prog epic--very Pink Floyd like with a more modern pop/psych-electronica sound palette. Great use of female vocals (Myrtoula Røe and Charlotte Stave) and extra percussion. As pleasant as the first third is, the instrumental middle section is pure prog heaven. The final third starts with quite a shift in musical style and sound palette: moving more into the realm of techno-pop or even 1970/80s New Age keyboard/computer sequencing, over which Myrtoula and Charlotte sing. When the vocals get flanged and the bass line drops down and thickens, the ride just gets better--like the best Tangerine Dream jam from their Thief-era music. Awesome! One of my favorite prog epics of 2021. (24/25)
- Erlend Viken ("Eav") / various instruments, vocals
- Erlend Astaad / drums
- Ivan Ushakov / flutes
- Liv Brox / viola
- Vegard Lien Bjerkan / church organ
- Sturla Fagerli Larsen / various percussion, vocals (2,4,5)
- Myrtoula Røe / vocals (1,5)
- Marina Skanche / vocals (4,6)
- Charlotte Stav / vocals (1,2,7)
- Espen Berge / drums (1,2)
- Sverre Leraand / drums (2)
1. "The Further We Go the Deeper It Gets (Parts 1-6)" (12:04) One damned fine prog epic--very Pink Floyd like with a more modern pop/psych-electronica sound palette. Great use of female vocals (Myrtoula Røe and Charlotte Stave) and extra percussion. As pleasant as the first third is, the instrumental middle section is pure prog heaven. The final third starts with quite a shift in musical style and sound palette: moving more into the realm of techno-pop or even 1970/80s New Age keyboard/computer sequencing, over which Myrtoula and Charlotte sing. When the vocals get flanged and the bass line drops down and thickens, the ride just gets better--like the best Tangerine Dream jam from their Thief-era music. Awesome! One of my favorite prog epics of 2021. (24/25)
2. "Broken Stone" (9:45) mellow, simple, pretty, with Popcorn computer percussives and female b vox. Really doesn't do much--even in the ARCADE FIRE-like final two and a half minutes. (16.75/20)
3. "Interlude (I Don't Know What You Think of Me but It's Wrong)" (1:31) nice classical-sounding flute and practice/dance hall piano duet. (4.25/5)
4. "No Cancelling This" (5:47) opens using a sequenced Berlin School foundation beneath Erlend Viken's emotion-packed vocal. In fact, I question whether or not he sings with more passion than expected … or warranted? The section in which the drums pound away is a bit clumsy--overly flanged and feeling somehow mistimed. The flute and plucked strings/piano section is pretty--and continues nicely to embellish the melody and mood of the previous sections. (8.5/10)
5. "Out of Swords" (8:42) delicate acoustic guitar folk start. This one reminds me of England's GRAVENHURST--the music of the late, great vocalist/songwriter Nick Talbot. Though this song is unarguably gorgeous, the Gravenhurst comparisons are too stark: they conjure up too much pain and sadness for the loss of the late genius' amazing talents. (His 2012 album The Ghost in Daylight is one of my 10 favorite Indie-Folk albums of the 2010s.) Still, the conveyance of empathetic heartbreak and sorrow is masterful and appreciated. I like the theatric production of the final two minutes with the DAMON WAITKUS-like effected vocals and glockenspiel play. (18.5/20)
6. "The Further We Go the Deeper It Gets (Part 7)" (2:54) apparently this is an addendum to the album's opening song. Very spacey with vocalist Marine Skanche's heavily treated vocalise. Could come from a Vangelis or Tangerine Dream soundtrack album. The Berlin School-like rhythms (for the next song) even start in the last minute, adding to this TD effect. (4.75/5)
7. "Breaking Patterns" (7:55) with vocals and guitars revealing themselves within the foundation of the bleed-over from the previous song, there's a lot of MOTORPSYCHO (and Arcade Fire) in this song (the more delicate, acoustic side to those two bands). At 1:45 we launch into the full spectrum of the music as drums and electronic power chords join in with the flute becoming the lead. The vocals that then take over are quite impassioned yet frail of voice--not unlike the lead singer for Arcade Fire, Win Butler. Over the next few minutes I hear strains of Arcade Fire, Tangerine Dream, Mike + The Mechanics ("In the Living Years"), Motorpsycho, Genesis (bass pedal sounds/hits), and even something in the sound engineering that feels like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Cool acoustic guitar outro! (An homage to David Bowie?) Nice tune. (13.75/15)
Total Time 48:38
I have to admit to liking this Indie-Prog Pop album quite a little--my reactions are more like how I like Arcade Fire than King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard--the two bands that come to mind the most when I listen to this. I also am surprised by how much I like the fairly-isolated and pure-sounding flute on this album--and by how electro-pop the instrument/sound choices are. Very refreshing! Also, I really like Erlend's humility and sensitivity: they feel totally genuine and beautifully human.
90.50 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece; a refreshing album of crossover prog that I highly recommend for any and all prog lovers.
16. NODO GORDIANO H.E.X.
My first exposure to the cinematic music of Nodo Gordiano! After this experience I am sure to backtrack into the band's discography to hear other releases.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Filippo Brilli / tenor, baritone, alto & soprano saxophones
- Andrea de Luca / analog & digital synthesizers, sampler, bass, acoustic & electric guitars, devices
- Davide Guidoni / keyboards, sampler, acoustic & electronic percussion
1. "Heng" (26:00) blending several styles together including VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, TANGERINE DREAM, GENESIS, ART ZOYD, RICHARD WRIGHT/DICK PARRY--sometimes multiple times, each--this epic is reliant on a blending of excellent bass, drum, and saxophone playing all seamlessly and impeccably mixed in with computer programmed keyboard washes, sequences, and percussives. The journey the listener is taken on is truly epic, with many cinematic twists and turns, however, the ending is quite odd: as if the story-teller leaves us at the edge of a cliff; we're left with a beautiful view but a dead end to our forward progress and no hint as to where we're to go from there. Excellent and very satisfying blending of all of the elements and motifs. (47/50)
2. "Kou" (26:00) the first eight minutes of this piece bring to mind so many famous pieces of progressive rock music--all from the 1970s and 1980s--yet the music is totally new and unique. The journey one is taken on over the course of these 26 minutes is far less segmented than the previous one, with each motif only gradually and subtly sneaking into one's consciousness as being "different" from the one that was playing just two minutes before. The long, plodding, heavy motif that "sneaks in" during the ninth and tenth minutes is so VDGG! Organ, sax, and lumbering drums plod along as if we're slaves pulling massive slabs of stone up long ramps to the next highest layer in the construction of a Wall or Pyramid. Unfortunately, the similarities here to much of the long, drawn out music of one of drummer DAvide Guidoni's other projects, DAAL (with ALfio Costa) are so strong as to rather annoy me (as some of DAAL's music has done). These are the times that I wish there were vocals in Davide's music.
The next motif, which has somewhat taken over by the 17th minute, has a more Eastern, almost Tibetan or Buddhist, vibe to it. I like some of the more melodic parts to the soloing guitar part: it gives the underlying droning singing bells and strings a nice human contrast (as opposed to serving as just a meditative trance dissociative experience). The next motif is less subtly faded in as the Tibetan drones fade out: some industrial or post-industrial Blade Runner-like soundscapes that fall directly into the realm of sounds used by the Belgian electronic master that goes by the working name of BATTLESTATIONS. As a matter of fact, the similarities are so profound that were I to hear this music out of context, I would automatically assume that I was listening to the latter band instead of Nodo Gordiano. However, as the EDGAR FROESE-like guitar ramps up his speed and intensity and the drum play becomes more human and less computerized, a distinction between the two bands becomes more evident. In the end, the journey of "Kou" is far less exciting, far less satisfying, and far more tame than the one "Heng" took me on. (43.5/50)
Total Time 52:00
Total Time 52:00
The end of the album always leaves me wondering whether or not the two epics on this album were meant to be sequential--that is, part of one journey--or even part of a continuous circuitous journey--like a Möbius strip. This wondering is fueled mostly by the somewhat-dissatisfying hanging ending to the opening tune. I think, however, that there is a much stronger case to be made that the two journeys are totally separate and unconnected (besides having been composed and rendered by the same artists).
90.50 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of instrumental prog--with two very different epic journeys to choose from.
17. SKE Insolubilia
Blessed with an all-star lineup of collaborators--a vertiable who's who from the now defunct AltrOck Productions record label--Paolo Botta has once again produced an astonishing collection of songs expressing his eclectic and extraordinarily diverse musical roots and interests. Creativity of the very highest degree! An album that definitely takes several spins through in order to begin to make sense of all of the gifts inherent within.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Paolo "Ske" Botta (Yugen, Not A Good Sign, Homunculus Res) / organs, electric pianos, synthesizers
With:
- Fabio Pignatelli (Goblin) / bass (9)
- Luca Calabrese (Isuldur's Bane) / pocket trumpet (1,5,9-10)
- Lars Fredrik Frøislie (Asmegin, White Willow, Wobbler, Shining, Tusmørke) / harpsichord (6,8)
- Keith Macksoud (Present) / bass (11)
- Tommaso Leddi (Stormy Six) / mandolin (1,11)
- Nicolas Nikolopoulos (Ciccada) / flute (1,4,6,9)
- Evangelia Kozoni (Ciccada) / vocals (4)
- Vitaly Appow (Rational Diet, Five-Storey Ensemble) / bassoon (2,7,10)
- Simen Ådnøy Ellingsen (Shamblemaths) / saxophones (7)
- Thea Ellingsen Grant (Juno) / voice (5-6,11)
- Alessandro Cassani (Not A Good Sign) / bass (1,5,7)
- Martino Malacrida (Not A Good Sign) / drums (1-2,4,6-7,9,11)
- Francesco Zago (Yugen, Not A Good Sign, Empty Days, AtlrOck founder) / guitars (1-2,4,6-7,9,11)
- Maurizio Fasoli (Yugen, Kurai, Empty Days) / grand piano (2,4-5,11)
- Valerio Cipollone (Yugen) / clarinets (2,4,6,8-9,11)
- Elia Leon Mariani (Yugen) / violin (2,4,9-11)
- Jacopo Costa (Loomings, Yugen) / vibraphone/marimba/xylophone/glockenspiel/cymbalom (1-2,4-7,9-11)
- Maria Denami (Loomings) / vocals (1,6,11)
- Massimo Giuntoli (Hobo) / harmonium (1,9)
- Pierre Wawrzyniak (Camembert, Olapok) / bass (2,4,6)
- Mélanie Gerber (Camembert, Olapok) / vocals (10)
- Guillaume Gravelin (Camembert, Olapok) / harp (2,4,6,11)
- Pietro Bertoni (FEM) / trombone/euphonium (1,9,11)
- Tiziana Armonia Alessandra Azzone (Il Giardino delle Muse) / theorbo (4)
1. "Sudo" (3:44) angular, heavy, symphonic, avant prog that sounds very much of an amalgam of all of the artists who contribute the realization of Paolo's composition(s). After the music of 2011's 1000 autunni, the opener comes a bit of a surprise--much more in the vein of Not A Good Sign and Camembert than I was expecting. (8.75/10)
2. "Insolubilia I" (6:24) brilliant, theatric, classically-infused prog. Again, the directions and styles incorporated 'under one roof' are quite surprising to me--quite a revelation. I love the use of female vocalise within the weave of the music--as if it's another instrument integral to the whole. Brilliant! On this exploration of the Insolubilia themes we are treated to strings, horns, and Jacopo Costa's brilliant mallet work (as well as the contributions of the Not A Good Sign rock ensemble). (9/10)
3. "Tor Cia" (1:38) an interesting experimental synth étude. Reminds me of Larry Fast's Synergy work. (4/5)
4. "Insolubilia II" (6:54) "old" sounding organ, flute mellotrons open this before guitar, harp, theorbo, marimba, and Ciccada's vocalist and flute player take over the leads in this folky song. The Not A Good Sign quartet provide the full rock baseline for most of the rest of the song while a wide variety of other instruments lend their intermittent and collaborative talents to the fore- and backgrounds. Cool song. (13/15)
5. "Lo Stagno del Proverbio" (3:07) part classic Italian folk song, part experimental jazz sound testing. Piano, glockenspiel, and trumpet seem to provide much of the foreground here. (8.75/10)
6. "Akumu" (6:06) pensive yet beautiful--kind of a cross between Mike Oldfield, Not A Good Sign, and Aranis. Love the effect of Thea Ellingsen Grant's Annie Haslem-like voice vocalise being used as a principle instrument throughout the song. Brilliant! A top three song for me. (9.25/10)
7. "La Nona Onda" (7:00) Quite symphonic with its wide diversity of instrumentation (especially the prominent vibes and bassoon) yet, at the same time, very heavy prog. (13.5/15)
8. "Scogli 4" (2:46) harpsichord, winds, and weirdly effected bass (clarinet?). Unusual, interesting, and humorous in a Markus Pajakkala kind of way. (4.5/5)
9. "Insolubilia V" (6:56) part Keith Emerson (organ, keys), part MAGMA (bass), part Yugen avant/RIO (many-layered orchestral jazz feel), part RPI (mellotron) with some powerful drumming and surprising dynamic shifts. Another top three for me. (13.75/15)
10. "Insolubilia IV" (3:50) opens with old Mike Oldfield like organ (almost Farfisa) with Mélanie Gerber's airy folk vocals embedded within. Quite nice--though feeling quite British! Love the almost mediæval, North Sea Radio Orchestra feel, as well. (9/10)
11. "Insolubilia III" (7:08) Using piano, I can hear the chordal and melodic similarities to several of the "previous" Insolubilias--especially #s IV and I. Once again, I feel a strong allusion to some of Mike Oldfield and Renaissance's music from the 1970s from, only a bit jazzier this time. The sparse soundscape is, again, something that I really like about this one. My final top three song. (13.75/15)
Total Time 55:33
Though I am tremendously impressed by the heavy, prog rock forms on this album, it is the more spacious, more Renaissance-like constructs that I found easiest to enjoy. However, ever single song here is so heavily nuanced with such a large number of diverse instrumental contributions that I can see discovering little gems within the music for years to come. Bravo, Paolo (and friends)! Your work and dedication continues to show how serious your are: you have delivered yet another masterpiece of fresh music to our artistically homogenized world. Thank you!
90.21 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music and definitely one of the most creative albums of fresh, new music from 2021.
18. MEER Playing House
Norwegian folk-symphonic chameleons from Hamar are back with their sophomore release and boy! am I excited!
- Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal / vocals
- Knut Kippersund Nesdal / vocals, keyboards
- Eivind Strømstad / guitars, mandolin, keyboards, programming, backing vocals
- Åsa Ree / violin, percussion, backing vocals
- Ingvild Nordstoga Eide / viola, backing vocals
- Ole Gjøstøl / piano, keyboards, programming, electric organ, glockenspiel, backing vocals
- Morten Strypet / bass, backing vocals
- Mats Lillehaug / drums, percussion, backing vocals
1. "Picking Up the Pieces" (6:15) Pensive piano. Accenting Bass. Strings and full band. One minute in and this is sounding good! At 1:15 I find myself elated to hear the dulcet tones of one of my favorite voices in progressive rock music: the voice of enigmatic and chameleonic powerhouse Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal. As the song unfolds it begins to sound very much like FREQUENCY DR?IFT's 2011 masterpiece, Ghosts.... where the magnificent voice of Antje Auer is teamed up with Andreas Hack and company. Unfortunately, that sentiment does not wane or change over the course of the song. Good song with solid performances throughout, just not as fresh and original as I was hoping. (8.75/10)
2. "Beehive" (4:37) despite the slightly-RADIOHEAD chordal sound of the piano opening here, the BENT KNEE similarities are inescapable--in the dynamic music as well as in Johanne's Courtney Swain vocal performance. It's a great song--would be one of my favorite Bent Knee songs were it one of theirs--but this is Meer, not Bent Knee; I need for Meer to sound more like their own entity, not just an imitator (albeit, amazing imitator) of other original prog bands. The orchestral and rhythmic forms and structures and rock and vocal performances are all exceptional--incredible--and the lyrics quite clever and engaging--but there's something lost in the sound engineering--as if the song has been too compressed and therefore lost some of its dynamic edges. But, it is without a doubt a great composition; it's just that the rendering could have been ... fuller. One thing is certainly sure: This team is one amazing set of song-constructors! (9/10)
3. "All at Sea" (5:04) a more countrified/folk sound palette precedes and supports Knut Kippersund Nesdal in his first lead vocal on this album. His voice (and it's engineered rendering) has improved quite a bit. It's quite smooth and mellifluous. Nice! The chorus employs a full-band multi-voice approach (with Knut and Johanne mixed furthest in front). It's an okay chorus melodically though the vocal performances are flawless. Beautiful strings arrangement--especially for the brief instrumental passage before the final chorus. (8.75/10)
4. "Songs of Us" (4:31) a song that feels very much like something from the current multi-voice bands coming from the Nashville Country-Western scene (sounding like something Blake Shelton's team members would come up with on The Voice--like the show's perennial ED SHEERAN cover songs. Granted Ed is an amazing songwriter, performer, and video/screen presence, and this song is exquisitely crafted: from the blending of the rock instrumentation with orchestral passages to the amazing vocal duet between Knut and Johanne, but I want to hear more of what's coming from deep in the souls of this band's songwriters, not imitations. (9/10)
5. "Child (4:22) lone pizzicato violin supports the eventual arrival of Knut and his tender voice. As drumming hits and fleeting bass riffs enter in the second minute, Knut continues his impressive performance--for all intents and purposes, carrying the entire song with his voice. Amazing! And then comes my favorite part: the dreamy passage around the three-minute mark--which then leads into the jazz-Reggae finish with layer upon layer of vocal thread woven atmospherically in the background. (8.875/10)
6. "You Were a Drum" (3:25) Johanne Margrethe delivers another incredibly nuanced vocal performace in what feels like yet another BENT KNEE-styled song. It's amazing … I just wish I could get past my constant tendency to compare--as well as my aversion to imitation (even when it's done this well!). (9.5/10)
7. "Honey" (5:49) A foundation of a techno-pop synth sequence! Despite the striking similarities between Johanne Margrethe's voice and that of Bent Knee's Courtney Swain, there is a certain breathy quality/ability that Johanne has that distinguishes herself from Courtney: something approaching Fiona Apple, Sade, or Eryka Badu while really being more akin to one of iNFiNiEN's Chrissie Loftus's abilities--or Marit Elisabeth Svendsbøe. Another song that could very well have come off of a Bent Knee or iNFiNiEN album despite its more pop-oriented FUNIN-like qualities--especially in that ramped up final minute. In any regard, this is a great vocal performance. (9/10)
8. "Across the Ocean" (4:43) Knut singing over some music that is quite reminiscent of the music of countrymates STILLEHAVET (as well as Stillehavet's previous form, FUNIN). I love these songwriters' abilities to creatively arrange their music into interesting, originally-nuanced forms. (9.25/10)
9. "She Goes" (4:16) BENT KNEE meets iNFiNiEN. Who wins? MEER! Taking the best of both! (9/10)
10. "Where Do We Go from Here" (4:53) Knut's far-forward breathy vocal sounds a bit like British phenom SAMPHA. Electrified and reverbed jazz guitar playing plaintively is Knut's only support for the first two minutes of this--kind of a reminder of old LANDBERK stuff. (8.875/10)
11. "Lay It Down" (6:44) great power opening settles back to solo piano chords supporting Johanne Margrethe's sultry power vocal! Man! There are so few who can sing like this! Johanne has the talent and ability to channel the same kind of force and energy as COURTNEY SWAIN: emotion-conveying torch singing with effortless transitions into power belting! Great lyrics here, as well. Though once again the song feels familiar--and the sound a bit compressed at the upper end--this song simply must be rated up for Joanne's vocal. (9/10)
Total Time 54:39
Despite Knut's wonderful singing, compositions and arrangements, I tuned into this in high hopes of hearing more of Johanne Margrethe's amazing voice--hoping for even more of her mesmerizing voice (as well as more creative and adventurous explorations of her instrument) than I heard on their excellent debut album from 2016. Unfortunately, I feel that her time up front here is actually less than the previous album--definitely less than 50%--or perhaps its more of my disappointment in her more "in the box" performances. Again, I mean no disrespect to Knut--his vocals have actually improved quite a bit--but when you have one of those rare, "generational" talents like Kate Bush, Elizabeth Fraser, Paula Cole, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Meg Baird, Elisabeth Pawelke, Chrissie Loftus, and Courtney Swain, as I believe MEER does in Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal, you want to hear more of her. From another perspective, I must say that the compositions on this album feel slightly less intricate, less-lovingly constructed and rendered: as if the symphonic approach often used on their debut album has been abandonned for the sake of more pop-oriented power-with-a-punch approaches to delivering their music. For me, this is a step downwards and, thus, a disappointment. Though the album continues to grow on me with repeated plays, I can't help but feel as if this album is a little less exciting, less original, more controlled, "produced," and processed.
A sophomore slump or simply the case of a continuing evolution of the creative preferences of a maturing band? I'm not sure. I guess it will take a third album to find out. Here's one listener/consumer who awaits with great excitement for that possibility. I still think this is one of the best bands on the planet.
90.0 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of leading-edge progressive rock music--despite its familiar/imitative sound and feel. There is so much to love and praise here but there is still so much untapped potential! This could be the best band on the planet--but they have to continue to figure out who they are and who they want to be!
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