2022, Part 4: Other albums worth checking out for yourselves

REGAL WORM Worm!

Jarrod has decided to go more techno-electronic with this release giving his music a feel and sound not unlike The Buggles or even Kraftwerk, combined with the frenetic, plastic drumming of countrymates Brother Ape. It would appear that he wants a more pop audience that prog.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Jarrod Gosling / vocals, guitars, basses, synthesizers, electric pianos, organs, Mellotron, Omnichord, vocoder, drums & percussion, effects
- Louis Atkinson / tenor saxophone
- Mike Somerset / tenor saxophone
- Graham Mann / trombone
- Lucy Board / trumpet

1. "Regal Wishbone" (3:57) (8.5/10)
2. "Don't Freak Out the Creatures" (4:36) (8.5/10)
3. "Dindy Super "(2:45) (8.5/10)
4. "The Steppe Nomad Space Program" (9:14) (17/20)
5. "Bong Song" (2:41) (8.5/10)
6. "Chlorophyllia" (4:39) (8.5/10)

7. "Green Beetle, Plate 31" (4:27) my favorite soundscape on the album. Kind of Blade Runner-ish. (8.75/10)

8. "Is There Anything Blacker Than a Black Cat?" (3:58) a more humanly constructed (as opposed to Plastic Age AstroBoy robot-constructed) song in which the drums and bass almost sound real (similar to The Flaming Lips' instrumental sounds on Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots). Still a futuristic Plastic Age song, however: just one that I like--that I feel I can get inside and enjoy. (8.75/10)

9. "Hop" (2:38) a little of David Byrne's zaniness in the vocals with more jazzy synth-pop for the musical fabric. (8.5/10)

Total Time 38:55

The frenetic drumming and ultra-busy 1970s BUGGLES-like electo-pop soundscapes established by Jarrod over the first four songs makes this album hard for my nervous system to engage and enjoy. As much as I LOVE The Buggles, Kraftwerk, and Brother Ape--and as much as I think Jarrod is a master of catchy melody-making--there is something less engaging to this album's music than the amazing stuff on 2018's Pig Views (which I rated as a five-star masterpiece). Despite the sophistication of all of the compositions, this album is just far more pop-oriented than prog. I like the upbeat, happy-go-lucky feel Jarrod is trying to convey here--I feel it very timely and necessary for our species--but the music here is just a little too flip and naïve sounding (two things that I divine that Jarrod is not).

85.50 on the Fishscales = B-/3.5 stars; not bad music--and definitely clever, cerebral compositions--just not proggy ilke Pig Views. Definitely a step backwards in Jarrod's progression into Prog World.

GALAHAD The Last Great Adventurer

The 2022 offering from these British NeoProg veterans. The album contains a lot of words of retrospection and elegy dedicated to recently deceased friends and family.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Stu Nicholson / vocals
- Lee Abraham / guitar
- Dean Baker / keyboards
- Mark Spencer / bass
- Spencer Luckman / drums

1. "Alive" (8:20) sounds like something straight out of the 1980s. I don't really like the poppy NEW ORDER vocals and computer-enhanced/added drums. Solid instrumental section in the third quarter turns mushy when the band has to switch back to 4/4 time in order to accommodate the guitar solo of Lee Abraham. The finish is just airbowling till the 80s finish. (16.75/20)

2. "Omega Lights" (10:05) (17.25/20):
- Part One: Λ - 90s keyboard sounds through the filter of 21st Century computers opens this and plays on for three and a half VANGELIS-like minutes.
- Part Two: Ω - a bluesy Steve Hackett/The Who-like pulsing sound comes out of the Part One intro. Never comes to anything special (especially with such an awful chorus); totally unfulfilled potential. Even the big shift at the 7:00 mark does nothing to excite.

3. "Blood Skin and Bone" (8:17) opens with the first minute sounding like something from 1980s pop-experimenting TANGERINE DREAM before shifting into a hypnotic Pete Shelley-sounding piece. Again, the chorus takes us away from the good stuff, dumbs it down into something mundane. I actually like the variable-speed tempo used in the beginning of instrumental passage starting at the end of the fourth minute--and it remains engaging even when they lock it in for another Lee Abraham guitar solo. At 5:25 when break down for a walk through the fair ("the human freak show"), Stu continues a narration-like commentary on our human species (which sounds like a priest's two-pitch singing of the text of the High Mass). Then we bounce back into a smoothed-out PET SHOP BOYS-like version of the chorus. Some good, some banal. (17.5/20)

4. "Enclosure 1764" (4:07) sounds so dramatic--as if it comes from some theatric stage production. What is Stu singing about--something from British history? (8.25/10)

5. "The Last Great Adventurer" (10:35) four chord rock supports a really simply written homage to Stu's father. (Stu is no poet; he's more of a observational narrator.) I agree with Thomas Szirmay: the instrumental passage in the eighth minute has a very STEELY DAN feel to it before the Traffic/Canterbury keyboard enters. And Lee Abraham's solo in the ninth minute really builds and soars. The contemplative jazzy section in the tenth minute is interesting--especially when Stu tries to croon the same lyrics as before over/within it. (17/20)

6. "Normality of Distance" (5:50) * piano and keyboard "orchestra"-supported ballad for Stu to sing in a pop-theatre way. It's like a heart-strings-pulling ballad from the 1970s. (Think "Shannon" ao something from AIR SUPPLY.) (8/10)

7. "Another Life Not Lived" (7:55) * 1980s electric guitar arpeggi in revers and slow forward joined by piano to slow build as Stu lays down his best vocal of the album--strained, acrobatic, and nuanced. But then the power chords enter and dominate--diminishing the power and centrality of Stu's vocal. Luckily this only occurs for the choruses. Several times the vocal melody comes devastatingly close to replicating Roger Hodgson's from the Supertramp song "A Soapbox Opera"--and then the guitar solo is too close to something by David Gilmour. The best song on the album (or is it ... on the album?). (13.5/15)

Total Time 55:09

* bonus tracks on CD

85.43 on the Fishscales = B-/3.5 stars; a nice addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if your of the NeoProg prog persuasion. 

THE GUILDMASTER Liber di dictis

What sounds like a most excellent symphonic Prog Folk album is obscured from my reviewing it due to lack of availability for full-album listening (without purchase).

Line-up / Musicians:
- Rafael Pacha / zyther, recorders, acoustic & electric guitars, frame drum, viola da gamba, Toumbeleki, Hackbrett psaltery, bouzouki, mandolin, Peñaparda frame drum, classical guitar, whistles, mrindgam, Coimbra Portuguese guitar, tabla, Venezuelan cuatro, bodhrán, claps, cajón, keyboards
- Alessandro di Benedetti / keyboards, vocals
- Marco Bernard / Shuker basses
- Kimmo Pörsti / drums & percussion
With:
- Marco Grieco / keyboards, accordion, claps
- Evangelia Kozoni / vocals
- Paula Pörsti / vocals
- Jose Manuel Medina / keyboards
- Tommaso Fichele / vocals
- Patrizia Grieco/ tamburello Napoletano
- Beatrice Birardi / tamburo a cornice, darbouka, castagnette
- Rubén Álvarez / electric guitar
- Manoel Macía / baroque guitar
- Carlos Espejo / voices, claps, "Jaleo"
- Daniel Fäldt / vocals
- Sara Traficante / flute

1. "A lo hecho, pecho (2:52)
2. "A Rey muerto, Rey puesto (4:55)
3. "Agora (6:24)
4. "Manos frías, corazón caliente (5:42)
5. "Suruista tehty Soitto (6:02)
6. "Agua pasada no mueve molino (7:01)
7. "La Música amansa a las fieras (5:15)
8. "Nea Polis (6:11)
9. "La primavera, la sangre altera (4:23)
10. "El perro del hortelano (4:46)
11. "Young Me, Old You (11:20)
12. "Suruista tehty Soitto (acoustic reprise) (3:06)

Total Time 67:57

Again, album for which I am only able to find song excerpts--all of which sound amazing--which prevents it from receiving a full review and, thus, any certain placement among my rankings and lists.

BUBBLEMATH Turf Ascension

The eclectic boys from Minneapolis release their third album. In my opinion, they're mellowing.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Jonathan G. Smith / vocals, guitar

- Blake Albinson / guitar

- Kai Esbensen / keyboards, vocals

- Jay Burritt / bass

- James Flagg / drums, vocals

1. "Surface Tension (17:57)

2. "Everything" (10:13) a very ECHOLYN-like song with some great drumming. Nice composition (though the lyrics are a bit obtuse, delivered in a 3RDEGREE kind of way). What the song lacks is a kicker/punch or climactic hook. (17.5/20)

3. "Decrypted (9:57)

4. "Refuse" (10:55) a quite adventurous song closer to the Crimsonian eclectic style that the band earned when they came onto the prog scene back in 2001. There are even many angular, stop-and-go twists and turns reminiscent of 1970s masters, GENTLE GIANT. As a matter of fact, the group vocals in the final three minutes are a stark blend of GG and modern vocal masters MOON SAFARI. A strong and interesting song, if not continuously engaging. (18/20) 

Total Time 49:02

While I like the music and methods that Bubblemath use to convey their music, I am less impressed with the consistency of the constructs of this album. Though as wonderfully melodic as always, I feel that this album falls to a level of too much simplicity, too many easy-to-follow melodies, lyrics that too often sound forced or banal. 

With this, the Minneapolis band has, in my opinion, taken a step backwards. The music is far less melodic, less quirky-fun, and less engaging than anything that I've heard from them before. The music is just more straightforward and vapid than before, as exemplified in the extremes of the two songs "Everything" and "Refuse". The former is trying to be melodic, simple and accessible but ultimately ends up just being monotonous and boring while the latter song, while better (and showing more of the style and potential of their previous work) is trying to be technically complex, clever, quirky and relevant but fails to ever engage the listener with its weak melodies and confusing shifts that feel as if they're more for the sake of shifting than for the effort of providing some constructive concrete structure for us to comprehend and maneuver within. 

Try as I might--over and over, in fact--there is nothing on this album that draws me back for repeated listening--whereas with 2017's Edit Peptide and their original debut release way back in 2001, Such Fine Particles in the Universe, there is so much joy, fun, and memorable music pulling me back time and again. (Both albums have earned--and sustained--firm places in my top 20 Album lists for their respective years.) Turf Ascension is a big disappointment for a much anticipated album and highly respected band. Perhaps they just didn't have the time and ability to truly focus and put their hearts into this one as they seemed to for their previous two.

TIGER MOTH TALES A Song of Spring

Line-up / Musicians:
- Peter Jones / vocals, keyboards, drum programming, guitars, clarinet, recorder, ukulele, percussion
With:
- Andy Latimer / guitars

1. "Spring Fever" (6:52) song that starts out rather unremarkably but eventually earns its welcome and praise. A combination of TONY BANKS, ASIA, and 80s YES. Peter's compositional skills have certainly progressed: excellent development, nuances, and divertamento interspersed as the song goes along. (13.25/15)
2. "Forester" (7:51) /15)
3. Dance 'til Death (10:20) (/20)
4. Holi (2:46) (/5)
5. The Goddess and the Green Man (2:39) (/5)
6. "Mad March Hare" (4:00) a campy STEELY DAN feel opens this one. (Makes me miss Colin Tench.) The theatric vocal performance is pure Peter Gabriel circa 1973-4. (8.75/10)

7. Rapa Nui (7:34) (/15)
8. "Light" (15:25) simple, folk-pastoral with acoustic guitars and woodwinds over which Peter gives a DAVE LONGDON-like impassioned vocal. Nice build and fill to the Andy Latimer solo (/30)

Total Time 57:27

THE TANGENT Songs from the Hard Shoulder

Another massive album of millions of musical ideas, many borrowed, many from the mundane life of Andy Tillison and his merry little band of merry virtuosos, all smashed together this way and that (and sometimes other ways) into five songs. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Andy Tillison / vocals, keyboards
- Luke Machin / guitar, vocals
- Theo Travis / saxophone, flute
- Jonas Reingold / bass
- Steve Roberts / drums

1. "The Changes (17:06) after a rather moving reflective opening couple of verses, we get to Andy's view of life on the road. It sounds very nostalgic, though not as much fun since COVID-19 for these career musicians. The hooks are good, especially in the first five minutes, but then they become too fleeting: as if the band finds them but then gives them up for the next greatest idea. The musicianship is above excellent, but oft-times (as usual in Tangent work), it seems so for questionable reasons (I mean: does every musician always have to be performing at their top speed and with their most flashy stylings?) (30.75/35)

2. "The GPS Vultures" (17:01) Latin grooves to support a prog-jazz blend (aka: Jonas is busy!). Again, do these musicians, excellent each and everyone, really have to be soloing, showing off their flashiest chops, at every moment of these epic songs? Can't repeating motifs be established to allow the listener something to anchor one's self in? As usual, Andy (& Co.) flirt with imitation/borrowing other well known classic riffs, sounds, and themes to build upon, only oft-times they're too close for comfort--too much like the original. Then, how do you explain passages like the sixth and seventh minutes when it "appears" as if the band has broken down--where nothing flows, gels, or works. I suppose that's part of the "genius" of virtuosi: they can make any structure work … even chaos. Then they can fall into holes of such sappy styles like the blues-rock-by numbers passage in the tenth and eleventh minute, or the acoustic John McLaughlin jazz passage in the fourteenth. Again, the execution and performances are top notch (amphetamines included) just, kind of, over the top. And it's all instrumental! (30.25/35)

3. "The Lady Tied to the Lamp Post" (20:52) a very nice, melodic and emotional opening leads to a lot of choatic noodling. As much as the heart-string-pulling music and lyrics seem to come from Mark Johnson's THE THE sound and chordal palettes, this start is, for me, the most engaging and enjoyable part of the album. Unfortunately, in the second quarter of the song the composition strays from melodic niceties until the soft instrumental passage in the tenth minute. This is then broken up by an abrasive screaming saw-synth solo in the eleventh (which does get better over time, with repetition). A stripped down jazz-rock section is then peppered with space synth and spacey electric guitar bent-note play. Good section as delicate piano and hard snare hits move the song forward into more delicate, airy music over which Andy sings quite sensitively. At 14:10 we're back to full force and more of Andy's narrative singing of current events in his surroundings. (35.5/40)

4. "Wasted Soul" (4:40) a kind of Neo-R&B pop songs à la The Style Council or The Blow Monkeys with plenty of hits from the banks of computer horns. The chord progressions and melody line kind of follows the Keith Jagger David Bowie collaboration for the remake of "Dancing in the Streets." It seems as if old age is hitting Andy hard. (8/10) 

5." In the Dead of Night / Tangential Aura / Reprise" (16:11) * (a cover of the classic UK song from 1978 plus the Andy Tillison touch.) (I can see that some of these musicians might have tried making a living covering songs like this in their younger days.) I like the "Tangential Aura" jam all right (except for the drum machine sound of Steve's programmed drums). Then, in the Reprise, Luke has his best (most Allan Holdsworth-like) runs. (26.25/30)

Total Time 75:50

* bonus track on limited edition (U.K. cover)

86.25 (*87.167) on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an album of excellent musicianship with a busyness that is sometimes off-putting. At the same time, there is no denying the infectious charm of Mr. Andy Tillison's world perspective as well as my respect for his very sincere passion for music (and high standard of musicianship).

CHEER-ACCIDENT Here Comes the Sunset

Line-up / Musicians:
- Dante Kester / snarlbass (1), bassbass (3,6), electricity (4)
- Amelie Morgan / keyboards (3,4), oboe (6)
- Jeff Libersher / guitar (1,3,4,6)
- Mike Hagedorn / trombone (3)
- Carmen Armillas / vocals (3), backing vocals (1)
- Cory Bengtsen / baritone saxophone (1)
- Julie Pomerleau / violin (2), viola (2)
- Sophia Uddin / violin (3)
- Erin Casey / flute (4)
- Thymme Jones / drums, vocals (1,3,4,6), keyboards (1,2,4-6), trumpet (1,4,5), mouth trumpet (4), chair (4)

1. "Star Vehicle (4 Flats)" (5:22) (8.25/10)
2. "Maison de Velours Écureuil" (3:21) one of my favorite "dance tunes" of 2022. (9.5/10)
3. "Dream Police" (5:58) (8/10)
4. "Here Comes the Sunset" (5:07) (8.75/10)
5. "Les Vandales de Paris" (3:18) (8.75/10)
6. "Then Again" (6:32) (8.5/10)

Total Time 29:38

86.25 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection; perhaps rated down for brevity (really more like an EP).

DAAL Daedelus

Italy's RUSH-like soundtrack masters, DAvide Guildoni and ALfio Costa are back with their first album since 2018 (Navels Falling into a Living Origami).

Line-up / Musicians:
- Alfio Costa / keyboards, noises
- Ettore Salati / electric guitars
- Bobo Aiolfi / fretless basses
- Davide Guidoni / acoustic & electronic drums & percussion, keyboards, noises

1. "Journey Through the Spiral Mind Part 1" (14:10) reminiscent of past DAAL works, this one seems unfinished and unenthusiastic. I don't feel any connection to any "spiral mind." I like, however, the band's choice to return to less-treated, more analog-sounding sound engineering choices. Bravo! 

     Halfway through, we get an almost full shift in sound, textures, style and mood with lots of cacophonous guitar, industrial synths, and untethered drumming before things settle down into a rather meditative synth & organ passage at the end of the tenth minute. This then yields into a piano-supported section in which guitar, bass, and Mellotron take over as the lead instruments (with drums right there with them). Very nice melody-supporting chord progression here. (26/30)

2. "Icarus Dreams" (7:30) Active human drumming beneath more conservative, slowed down "21st Century Schizoid Man" chords and soundscape. If the sophistication of the drumming were only matched by the other instruments. (12.75/15)

3. "Painting Wings" (9:22) slow, simple MIDI keyboard arpeggi and chords leave one thinking this is a contemplative play by an artist alone with his keyboard. Near the end of the second minute saw and two-note guitar arpeggi join in with bass to give this a little more chordal structure and progression. Bridge at 3:!3 into heavy organ-centric VDGG-like passage is not weak, clichéed--as is the organ play. Some Crimsonian chord progressions and sound palette follow. At the six-minute mark the full soundscape retracts to the second motif with saw and guitar, bass, and keyboard arpeggi woven together into a simple fabric. Song deconstructs nearly symmetrically to the opening. (16.25/20) 

4. "Labyrinth 66 Part 1 & 2" (13:07) sinister and old (1970s) sounding, like GOBLIN, the music slowly develops into a zombi-paced nighttime scavenger hunt with boots-marching, metallic clanging, harpsichord-imitation, and saw-synths, establishing quite a somber cinematic walk through the cemetery. Part 2 sees a shift into jazz-rock mode with heavy use of Mellotron and arpeggi coming from every which way. I very much like the old "analog" sound of this piece as a whole. Calming "flute" and searing electric guitar take off at the same moment, providing quite an interesting contrast--with a third droning electric guitar later added to complicate the mix. Interesting! Very cinematic. Well done! Definitely my favorite song on the album. (22.5/25) 

5. "In My Time of Shadow" (6:30) Too conservative and controlled; everybody feels confined and expressionless. Nice guitar work in both the "strings" passage and the wah-guitar section. I also like the fretless bass play. Melodies make such a difference for me--to a song's likability--and this one I like. (Cool video!) (8.75/10)

6. "Journey Through the Spiral Mind Part 2" (7:51) solo electric guitar strums through the chord progression established in the second half of the album's opening song, "Journey Through the Spiral Mind Part 1." When the full compliment of rock instruments join in it sounds quite a little like the final song of the film score to 1981 James Caan film, Thief, "Confrontation" (a song credited to Craig Safan due to Tangerine Dream's completion of their own commitments to the soundtrack.) At 2:40 we get a full transition into a Emerson, Lake and Palmer-like passage. Then we hear more GOBLIN-like references from a piano riff before the music settles into a more typical, plodding DAAL section until 6:30 when a pretty solo Mellotron passage takes over to the song (and album's) aqueous end. (12.5/15)

Total Time 58:30

Bonus tracks from limited edition:
7. Minotaur (4:36)
8. Sunrise (7:06)
9. Moonrise (6:34)

I like the "live" in the studio sound and feel of the drums. I don't like the conservative, Math Rock-like structures of the rest of the music: it's as if the musicians are trapped into the forms of the song's chord structures with little of no freedom to express individuality (except for the drummer).

85.869 on the Fishscales = B-/four stars; a very nice addition to any prog lover's music collection.

TONY PATTERSON & DOUG MELBOURNE Dark Before Dawn

The first release to come from Tony that I've heard since his 2016 solo masterpiece, Equations of Meaning.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Tony Patterson / lead & backing vocals, piano, synthesizers, church organ, flute, acoustic & electric guitars, programming, string arrangements
- Doug Melbourne / piano, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (3)
With:
- Nigel Appleton / drums, acoustic guitar, percussion (8)
- Carrie Melbourne / backing vocals (3), Chapman Stick (6)
- Steve Anderson / lead guitar (1)
- Tina Guo / cello (7)

1. "Maybe" (3:48) good opener. The music is a little more insistent and then pop-jazzy than I was expecting. Nice vocal sound. (I like it when Tony sings in his upper registers: it's just very soothing/comforting.) I don't really like the chorus, thought. (8.75/10)

2. "My Happy Place" (4:53) nice synth orchestral sound/arrangement. This is not the only song on the album that conjures up the feeling of the presence of jazz stylist MICHAEL FRANKS. (8.667/10)

3. "Flags" (3:40) sounds like the same chord progression as the previous song, only using Spanish guitar instead of keyboard synths. Nice background vocals and synth strings arrangements.(8.75/10)

4. "Leaving" (3:32) a very nice song that builds beautifully. (8.875/10)

5. "Old School Tie" (4:10) a fun little romp back into the pop sooth jazz of the late 1970s/early 1980s in the vein of NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN and others of his ilk. (8.75/10)

6. "Burn the Skies" (5:06) nothing very special here. Even the presence of the ChapmanStick offers nothing very exciting.(8.5/10)

7. "Stopping Time" (4:05) an electric piano-accompanied song that sounds very much like it came out of a PETER GABRIEL song. Nice but rather ordinary. (8.25/10)

8. "Reach Out" (6:55) despite the "Eminence Front" rhythmic keyboard pattern, this is another song that never really climbs out of its rut of second gearishness: three and a half minutes of intro before it clicks into third as a PETER GABRIEL clone! The chorus is pleasant, but the PG similarities are rather annoying--as much for their lack of originality as for their sappy-syrupy quality. (12.5/15)

9. "Dark Before Dawn" (5:00) another song that is way too close to PETER GABRIEL's musical past. (8.33/10)

10. "Come Home (for Angela)" (2:20) sounds like Peter Jones---in voice, music, and lyrics. (4.25/5)

Total Time 43:29

Definitely an album of synth pop / dream pop / jazz pop. Too bad Tony's voice is sounding so much older than he did on his 2016 masterpiece, Equations of Meaning. The vulnerability of his now-frail-sounding voice sometimes works as an advantage but the soundscapes miss the lushness his vocals and multi-track, reverbed voice had on Equations. 

85.625 on the Fishscales = B-/3.5 stars; an enjoyable album that I would only recommend to lovers of melodic Peter Gabriel-like prog pop. 

GANDALF'S FIST Widdershins

More 1970s worship from Cumbria's #1 Tolkien tribute band.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Dean Marsh / lead vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin

- Luke Severn / lead vocals, keyboards, narration, percussion

- Stefan Hepe / drums

- Keri Farish / vocals

- Ben Bell / synths, vocals

- Chris Ewen / bass

1. "Sacrament" (7:04) Heard it before. In 1972. By URIAH HEEP or BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, I'm not sure which. I think both. Or maybe Spinal Tap. Nice rendition. Nice gritty Hammond. A band who owes a lot to late 1970s THIN LIZZY and AC/DC. (12.25/15)

2. "Widdershins" (13:32) pretty solo piano opens this one. (Is it in D minor like "Lick My Love Pump"?) Singer Keri Farish gets the first shot at lead vocal. It's a sincere attempt at storytelling that she's emoting over. At the end of the third minute the full band kicks in, establishing a steady sonic landscape that sounds as if it came right out of a theatric stage production from the West End. Keri continues her sincere Yvonne Elliman performance. Little heavy musical interlude in the seventh minute before downstepping to a slow piano-led chord progression for the eighth in which guitarist Dean Marsh lays down a decent solo with some David Gilmour/John Sykes panache. Mid ninth minute we're up and running again. More fun Hammond soloing in the 13th minute before everything stops for 30 seconds of odd quiet time. I guess they were just giving time for the audience to offer some warm applause. (26/30) 

3. "The Haruspex" (8:26) a heavier, spooky Hammond-dominated opening is paused for odd sprite-like synth noises before female 'tron choir banks enter and the real song is established for Keri Farish's heavily effected voice to sing. Very nice drumming, bass, and Hammond on this one. Guitar solo in the fifth and sixth minutes sounds just like Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser. The vocals sound like Ozzie coming out of the body of Loverboy's Mike Reno. A top three song for me. (17.75/20)

4. "Dreamcatcher" (5:24) piano and jazzy fretless bass support Keri singing another sentimental vocal. Her emotions feel pretty heart-felt. (Good performance.) Nice ballad with fitting Whitesnake-like guitar wailing away. (8.75/10)

5. "Wisp" (6:56) opens with some rolling soundscape like a CURE song. Then Uillean pipes enter. Engaging melody established by the male lead singer for the first verse. This is followed by "Don't Fear the Reaper" guitar arpeggi with pipes for a brief bridge before returning to a fuller instrumental field for the second verse. The next bridge then goes for djenty power chords to establish a heavier sound before finally divulging the chorus within a medium-to-heavy weave. I feel as if I'm listening to a new take on BÖC's "I Love the Night." At 4:56 there is a stop before aggressively strummed acoustic guitar launches us into a Irish reel for the finale (with a different male vocalist--Luke?--in almost Ian Anderson-like). Interesting song. Another top three. (13.25/15)

6. "Man of Signs" (8:21) introspective piano and strummed electrified acoustic guitar open this once before male vocalist (and haunting Greek chorus choir) join in with their interesting vocal performance. A shift into fourth gear in the sixth minute provides a bouncy gallop for Marsh and Severn to duel their guitar and Hammond, respectively. The persistent dominant presence of the piano and acoustic guitar certainly give this one a different feel from the others. Weird end with bass and cymbal. Interesting. (17.5/20)

7. "Witchmonger" (4:18) another Celtic-infused song--the vocal is even organized like a folk song--with the whispery lead vocal of Dean Marsh. Not really a very good song--unless you like Fish-Marillion. (8.25/10)

8. "Cave" (19:45) all of the great sounds of the early pioneers of heavy rock/"Heavy Metal" in the proggy setting of 1980s compositional styles. I find the guitarist dueling with himself eighth minute laughable. And "Would you stir up Widdershins?" definitely deserves multiple repetitions and tubular bells. Isn't the arrangement in the 13th minute straight out of some classic song from the 1970s? Haven't puppet themes been worn out? Then a switch to "mediæval" mode for the 15th minute. Classic gothic storytelling! (Or else classic Spinal Tap.) And what's with the three-minute computer synth piano & strings piece tacked on to the end? Shouldn't this be listed as a separate song? (34/40)

Total Time 73:46

Well produced and, I'm sure, well-intended retro rock. Everything that was great about the 1970s pioneers of heavy rock is present here--including an outstanding, if familiar-sounding, lead vocalist. 

84.50 on the Fishscales = C+/3.5 stars; a nice addition to the retro-prog/rock loving music collector's music collection.

KARL JANNUSKA Duality

More KOOP-like music to fill Ian Farnholm's Top Ten of the 2022 releases. He sure likes those quirky, crafty jazz-infused crystalline-voiced female lead voacalists.

Line-up / Musicians:
Karl Jannuska – Drums, percussion, midi programming
Cynthia Abraham – Voice
Tony Paeleman – Piano, keyboards
Christophe Panzani – Tenor sax, flute, clarinet
Pierre Perchaud – Acoustic & electric guitars
with:
Guillaume Latil – Cello (2, 3, 8, 11)
Nicolas Martynciow – Vibraphone (2, 5, 8)
Meta – Voice (7)
Sofie Sörman – Voice (7)

Favorite songs: 5. "Some of Us" (3:11); 8. "Time Will Tell" (3:50); 

Pleasant music … once you get used to it. Sometimes Cynthia's breathy, angelic voice is not the perfect fit for either the music or the lyric.

BRAD MEHLDAU Jacob's Ladder

An unusual mix of song styles and dynamics, from computer-age jazz-rock fusion to classical piano, to experimental lounge jazz and avant-garde performance art.

Favorite songs: 1. "maybe his skies are wide" (3:43); "Jacob's Ladder" suite--especially the sax-invaded vocal étude of Part III (4:19).

 

THE RYSZARD KRAMARSKI PROJECT Books That End in Tears (Duets Version)

(A remake of last year's release of the same title.) 

Nice melodic music which often This reminds me a lot of some of the missteps Robert Reed's MAGENTA project have taken when they've tried to render historical or cultural / literary themes into musical expression. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Karolina Leszko / vocals
- David Lewandowski / vocals
- Marcin Kruczek / guitar
- Krzysztof Wyrwa / bass
- Grzegorz Fieber / drums
- Ryszard Kramarski / keyboards, acoustic guitar

With:
- Zdzislaw "Bat" Zabierzewski / spoken words

1. "Lord of Flies" (12:15) uses PINK FLOYD's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" with a Magenta- and Kate Bush-like perspective/attitude. The "We are lords of the flies" lyric, repeated over and over during the course of this 12-minute song, just sounds inappropriate. (I recall nowhere in the book that the boys felt themselves as such). Female vocalist Karolina Leszko possesses a gorgeous voice, but her approach to delivering the lyrics is so lackadaisical--even feeling at times as if she's bored or apathetic. The speed up in the seventh minute to provide a more exciting, dynamic bed for the instrumental solos (synth and electric guitar) does nothing to improve or impress--other than to confirm that Ryszard has, in fact, admirable David Gilmour imitative skills. (20/25)

2. "The Trial" (11:02) the most uptempo song on the album, presents some tension-filled blues-rock music (which reminds me for some reason of Chile's HOMÍNIDO) over which the two vocalists ramble on and on about Kafka's protagonist's predicament. The pace of the music is appreciated but gets pretty boring and monotonous over the course of ten minutes. While I do like the turn-taking approach to delivering the narrative (with Karolina's strong Eliana Valenzeula/Sara Aliani-like vocal)--but then my main complaint is that this sounds and feels just like that: a narrative rendering of the Cliff Notes synopsis of the story. Nice bluesy guitar solo in the fourth minute--but then it draws so much from both David Gilmour's "Time" solo as well as some other famous "rock standard" solo. The delicate seventh minute is a nice change. This song feels like it has so much promise and potential but just fails to develop and deliver on all counts--even those dynamic guitar soli and the transition to the delicate passages and the Pink FLOYD themes over the second half can save it: they keep returning to that format of the first half. (16.25/20)

3. "1984" (12:51) uses The Eagles' "Hotel California" for its musical base while David and Karolina trade narrative singing. Again I am so reminded of Robert Reed and Christina Booth the Magenta albums of the past decade. Definitely a big step forward in the lyrical department--this time using "Look out, Big Brother is watching" as the repeated mantra throughout and having David and Karolina represent Winston and Julia, respectively, but that all-too-familiar musical backdrop is rather distracting/detracting. Ryszard's dynamic guitar play are nice distractions--as is the "Run Like Hell" rhythm track used to back the motif in the song's middle section--but the constant sameness of David and Karolina's vocal deliveries often gets a little boring. The delicate "never see you now" passage is a nice break--followed by another nice Ryszard guitar solo--but then we're back to "Hotel California" and the same vocal melodies repeated ad nauseum. (21.75/25) 

 

4. "Animal Farm" (11:47) singing about an animal rebellion (against humans) and the details of the political contract you've negotiated among your fellow farm animals--not your most exciting subject for a musical expression. After yet another duet delivery of the story by David Lewandowski and Karolina Leszko I'm reminded of the Broadway play, "Hamilton." Is Ryszard feeling inspired to offer to his fellow humans an alternate, more-accessible entertainment form for the telling of these amazing stories--in hopes of, perhaps, helping the stories (and their ground-breaking ideas) reach a wider audience?

     The musical foundation this time feels like a cross between more Hotel California-like chord progressions and pacing (there's even a "Hotel California" melody blended with "Comfortably Numb" in the final guitar solo of the song!) with with a little more Richard Wright chord play in the keyboard department and Roxy Music's "True to Life" melodies. 

     This song just confirms for me how far superior are the elements of poetry for musical storytelling than straight narrative prose. (21.5/25)

5. "The Little Match Girl" (7:28) a very pleasant, engaging beginning is diminished a bit by a kind of hokey guitar play during the chorus section. Sensitive guitar solo in the long instrumental bridge before the second verse begins. A more fiery guitar solo in the second extended "bridge". Nice. I like the way the lyrics of this one are not as synoptic but, instead, expressive of the story's mood. (13.25/15)

Total Time 55:23

I have to commend Ryszard for some nice sound engineering throughout--one of the album's saving graces. I just wish the music--especially the foundational stuff--was more original, less monotonous in long stretches, and more complex.

The music is nice though never complex or exciting (all performances good, with nothing virtuosic or complex enough to displaying the musicians' skills [or not]). One of my ratings principles has always been to compare the music and product being reviewed to my own skills and talents: I ask myself "Could I do as well or better?" and this is one of those rare occasions in which I think that I might just have been able to "do it better"--at least on the conceptual/compositional level. Another criterion is whether or not the music contributes to making the world a better place than it was before (or without) it. The efforts Ryszard and company put into this album release may, in fact, contribute to making the the world a better place--except for the possibility that a better male English-speaking singer might have served the story retellings better than David Lewandoswki and Zdzislaw "Bat" Zabierzewski. These are stories that were originally published in English, German, and Russian and should, in my opinion, perhaps have been rendered/delivered as such by this project. Also, though imitation is a high form of complement, I really wish Ryszard had been more original instead of synthetic in his musical output here. 

84.32 on the Fishscales = C/three stars; a nice-sounding product with some great David Gilmour-like guitar soloing, but the verbal and kinetic realization of the band's ideas seem weak, not as satisfying as, say, the Colossus Magazine/Musea Records literary interpretation commissions.

KARCIUS Grey White Silver Yellow & Gold

An interesting foray into Heavy Prog from these former jazz-rockers from Québec.  

Line-up / Musicians:
- Sylvain Auclair / lead vocals, bass, percussion
- Simon L'Espérance / guitars, synths, percussion, keyboards, loops programming
- Sébastien Cloutier / piano, B3, Mellotron, backing vocals
- Thomas Brodeur / drums & percussion, programming & sound design

1. "Parasite" (6:06) could be any heavy metal band from the 1980s--especially with that overly familiar lead vocalist. (7.75/10)

2. "Supernova" (5:58) taking the band into a more delicate palette of instrumental sounds really works for these guys; it's awesome to hear the piano, acoustic guitars, and more delicate side of Sylvian's voice. A top three song for me. (8.75/10)

3. "The Ladder" (13:46) solid heavy rock with an interesting construction. (24.5/30)

4. "Cosmic Rage" (7:05) starting from the softer, more spacious side works better for this band. Still so familiar--so much like the many "hair metal" bands I'd heard in the 1980s and 90s. (12/15)

5. "Distance Kills" (8:03) interesting Peter Gabriel Passion-like opening leads into a more smooth, easier to engage with full bloom. A top three song for me. (13/15)

6. "A Needle Tree" (15:23) once it gets going (1/3 of the way into it) it sounds like classic heavier BIG BIG TRAIN, MAD CRAYON's Preda, MYRATH, and PINK FLOYD. If this song hadn't taken so long to get started, I would have called this the best song on the album. (26/30)

Total Time 56:21

83.64 on the Fishscales = C/three stars; a good if inconsistent and sometimes monotonous collection of heavy prog from some very competent musicians.

KAPRECKER'S CONSTANT The Murder Wall

Straight-tempo NeoProg Folk storytelling in the Spirogyra tradition, only simplified, prettier--not so raw.

Line-up / Musicians:
- David Jackson / saxophones, flutes, whistles
- Mark Walker / drums & percussion
- Bill Jefferson / vocals, backing vocals
- Dorie Jackson / vocals, backing vocals, vocal arrangements
- Mike Westergaard / piano, keyboards, backing vocals
- Al Nicholson / guitars, piano, keyboards
- Nick Jefferson / basses, keyboards
With:
- Judie Tzuke / vocals (6)

1. "Prologue" (4:57) melodic and dramatic, but so simplistic. NeoProg-by-the-numbers. (8.5/10)

2. "Theme - Hall of Mirrors" (2:23) the music here opens with a processional that sounds like it comes from a children's television show--until the soprano saxophone enters. Embarrassingly simplistic. (4/5)
3. "Tall Tales by Firelight" (5:00) like a story recitation with a live soundtrack from a band of minstrels from a Renaissance faire. Turns into an AL STEWART song as piano and, later, sax and electric guitar soli are added. (8.25/10)

4. "Failure Takes Care of Its Own" (4:21) piano continuing its play and theme from the previous song over which the soothing voice of Dorie Jackson tells another story. As the rest of the band joins, they form a decent tapestry of sound. (8.25/10)

5. "Another Man's Smile" (6:02) a simplistic early-Genesis/Strawbs/Gentle Giant NeoProg soundscape supports a story about a man with a broken tooth in his smile. While I enjoy the mix of instruments used to create the musical weave, the songs is just so simple and dull. Nice background vocal work/arrangements. (8.5/10)

6. "Years to Perfect" (2:30) nice long intro slowly builds. This is gorgeous. Guest vocalist Judie Tzuke has a great, wispy-raspy voice. A top three song. (4.5/5)

7. "Hope in Hell" (3:00) more NeoProg pseudo folk, this is a lot like or Heather Findlay and Dave Kerzner's MANTRA VEGA project in 2016. (4.25/5)

8. "Victorious" (6:13) more simplistic soft pop rock to support another story. Bill Jefferson sounds exactly like Spirogyra's Martin Cockerham. The song is so straightforward three- and four-chord pop prog. Nice chorus and pipes. Earworm memorable. (8.5/10)

9. "The Rain Shadow" (2:07) another SPIROGYRA-like song that does nothing if you don't hear the lyrics. (4/5)

10. "Third Man Down" (7:20) long, dull intro turns to electric piano to lead into the Strawbs-like melody and story. Bill's voice here sounds like a cross between Roger Waters and Dave Cousins (or Guy Manning and Andy Tillison). The all-in following of the melody line wouldn't be so if it weren't being so insistently drummed into our heads. I do admit that I prefer this style of song construction and presentation with the smooth vocals, but at times this causes the effect of losing it's progginess. Wonderful final 90 seconds. A top three song for me. (13.25/15)

11. "A Silent Drum" (5:00) built on the melody of the previous song, anachronistic Prog Folk instrumentation establishes the structure and soundscape before rhythm section and singer Dorie Jackson join in. The chorus vocals switch over to Bill's Martin Cockerham styling. A slightly more interesting/complex song than what one might have heard trying to enter the Top of the Pops back in the late 1960s. (Think music from the Broadway musical Godspell.) (8.25/10)

12. "The Stormkeeper's Daughter" (3:28) over strummed 12-string and piano accompaniment, Dorie's multi-tracked voice establishes a pleasant melody that, unfortunately, sounds quite familiar (from one of this album's previous songs). Wind instruments, simple drums & bass, and, later, orchestra strings embellish and fill as does Dorie's melodic and harmonic journey. One of the better constructed songs here. (8.5/10)

13. "A World Beyond Man" (3:44) folk guitars woven together to set up another saccharine Prog Folk story presentations. As the soundscape fills and expands, a bombast is on display unlike any of the album's previous songs. But then it returns to the simple folk weave for Dorie and Bill's beautifully performed twin-voiced performance. I don't like the bombast, but I love the sensitive, well-synchronized vocal performance. A top three song for me. (8.5/10)

14. "The Stormkeeper's Reprise" (3:48) just as it says, but this version has a bit of a MOSTLY AUTUMN country twang to it. It does nothing to expand the story--but fulfills a predictable format if one were building a full musical for stage performance. Gives the musicians a chance to unwind before the dénouement and big finish. (8/10)

15. "Endeavour" (3:43) opens sounding like a 1980s Bruce Springsteen or Bruce Hornsby song. After a minute of waiting for development and further exposition, one begins to get the feeling that this is going to be an instrumental. Bruce Hornsby songs are far more interesting and developed than this. (7.75/10)

16. "Mountaineers" (4:58) so simple and straighforward! One would think that the storytellers/ composers would be much more enthusiastic and persuasive about their subject matter as we get to the end. But this feels so lackluster! (8/10)

17. "Hall of Mirrors" (6:15) Starts out with the same tired, lackluster performances and construction of the previous song before gradually (finally) building to a crescendo of enthusiasm--but then it all gets so muddled! (You'd think the world would have learned one thing from Big Big Train!) (8/10)

Total Time 74:49

The length and density of this album has kept me busy trying to get to know it so that I can write a proper review. Obviously inspired by the success of fellow Brits, Big Big Train, this collection of tribute songs about some of the undersung heroes of human history--people that might be in danger of being lost--begs the question: Do we really need a bunch of songs about the failed attempts to climb the north face of the Eiger? Melodic but so simplistic. Despite the thematic intent, at times I found such cheesie music/songs making me feel embarrassed for the musicians. (Don't worry: I've had the same sensation for songs by BBT, Mostly Autumn, Mantra Vega, and Magenta, as well.) Were I more attuned to lyrical content, perhaps I would like and appreciate this more. Also, I don't quite understand how the band allowed the final four to flatten out the mood and enthusiasm for their subject matter.

83.22 on the Fishscales = C/three stars; as an offering of pleasant Prog Folk music, this is nice. As a tribute to some forgotten or overlooked era or event in history, it can probably be ignored. As a demonstration of the potential and actualization of the artist expression of progressive rock music, I consider this is rather prosaic.

REALISEA Fairly Carefree

Out of the ashes of SILHOUETTE rises the new Crossover/NeoProg band Realisea. Though this is the band's second outing, there has been a paring down of core membership and now new replacements--the most significant being the participation of one of the busiest veterans of the Dutch Prog scene, keyboard genius Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak, Rick Van Der Linden, Europe, Camel, Earth and Fire, Kajem, Flairck, Youp van 't Hek,  Kinderen voor Kinderen).

Line-up / Musicians:
- Brian de Graeve / vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar
- Marjolein de Graeve / vocals
- Christophe Rapenne / keyboards
- Mark op ten Berg / bass
- Jos Uffing / drums
- Rindert Bul / guitars
With:
- Ton Scherpenzeel / keyboards
- Erik Laan / minotaur
- Tamara van Koetsveld / clarinet
- Suzan van den Engel / harp
- Mila Kamstra / violin
- Geoffrey de Graeve / bass

1. "I Could Never Learn" (11:17) decent sound on a decent construct, the performances, however often sound a little lackluster and uninspired. Also, the engineering feels unfinished, unpolished. There are definitely Some good ideas and nice passages but, unfortunately, the song just seems to plod along too long, singing about faithfulness to one another while using a palette of rather weak and prosaic English vocabulary with which to do so (with a repetition that makes me question the couple's true faithfulness: I mean, if they have to keep repeating their promise to one another ad nauseam, you start to wonder, right?). (17.33333/20)

2. "Cracked Colorite" (6:28) (8.667/10)
3. "Your Lies" (4:15) (8.5/10))
4. "Just Pretending" (3:59) (8.75/10)
5. "Out in the Cold" (7:26) (12.75/15)
6. "Sheltered" (5:36) interesting construct and ideas, just, again, poorly realised. (8.666667/10)

7. "Trilemma" (15:16) the potential is here, the sounds are proggy enough, it's just that the ideas, both musically and lyrically--are too mundane and stale--as is the vocal performance of lead singer Marjolein de Graeve (she just sounds so disinterested and tired). As a matter of fact, the best thing to happen in the entire album is the brief flash of instrumental fire in the eighth minute when the guitars and instrumentalists burst into full-speed for a few seconds. The rest of this is just too saccharine, too simplistic, too tired and old. It's hard to believe that if these band members are prog veterans that they're truly excited about the musical ideas they're expressing in this album.

     (25/30)

8. "Malgré les vagues" (5:15) an oddly mixed blend of folk sounds/instruments with heavier prog instrumentation yields a palette of sound that feels almost at odds with each other; it just doesn't work!--which is too bad since this song is meant to celebrate family in the wake of the insufferable trials and errors of the Pandemic. (8.66667/10)

Total Time 59:32

The music, both compositionally and from a sound engineering perspective, just seems rather loose, by-the-numbers, and, if I must say, lazy (especially in the vocals of Marjolein de Graeve); the entire album is replete with sloppy performances, editing, and engineering--as if the band just wanted to get through their studio time as quickly as possible (not because they were feeling rushed--though this might have been the case with the studio engineers and/or producers). I find this unfortunate since the band has an overall-nice NeoProg sound (despite sounding as if they haven't really come out of the 1990s--either musically or technologically). Plus, the lyrics are quite banal and seem to be repeating the same themes over and over.

     This album constitutes what I feel is a substandard product. I hate it when I feel cheated of my time--time I'll never be able to get back--but, unfortunately, this is one of those album listening experiences that make me feel just this. In my opinion, prog veterans as anemic as this should just unplug their cables and mics rather than keep tormenting us with tired, old sounds and ideas that have been rehashed hundreds of times. 

84.13 on the Fishscales = C/three stars; a less-than exciting collection of tired old prog that any prog lover would be hard pressed to sit through in a single sitting.

FREN All The Pretty Days

The second full-length studio album from this collective from Poland.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Oskar Cenkier / piano, organ, synthesizer, Mellotron

- Michał Chalota / guitars

- Andrew Shamanov / bass, synthesizers

- Oleksii Fedoriv / drums & percussion

- Fren / vocals (6)

1. "Hammill" (6:06) the reference is obvious. Though instrumental, the phrasing is quite like Peter Hammill's vocal pace and style. Some don't seem to hear it, but I feel this is a rather direct emulation of Hammilltonia--a place I appreciate but do not often feel like hanging out. (8.75/10)

2. "Wiosna" (10:23) a nice heavier bass and piano chord progression opens this before softening and morphing at the end of the second minute for a bit before kicking back into a support groove for some adventurous lead guitar work. Technically, I'm not so very impressed with these musicians, but they do have a penchant for creating engaging if simple groove melodies. Soft again at the end of the fourth miunute for the usual 45 seconds--allowing the drummer some show time (he's much better keeping time than soloing)--before settling back into some PINK FLOYDian SOUP-like spacious groove. Nice STEVEN WILSON guitar tone in the second half of the ninth minute. (Is it Steven?) There just seems as if there could have been so much more development and flash in this song. (17.25/20)

3. "Romantik" (9:31) interesting use of fast echo effect on piano for establishing opening foundation--and for building the first 2:20. Then we rock before we jazz swing. (I hear the "Take Five" motif another reviewer mentioned!) Then we use the piano echo to create a kind of classical base over which the rest of the band creates a kind of reactive cinematic pastiche. Despite the electric guitar taking over the lead, it's the echoing piano that continues to draw one's attention. A curious albeit creative song.(17.5/20)

4. "Bajka" (3:04) melodrama. Like Richard Wright and Elton John. (8.5/10)

5. "All the Pretty Days" (11:40) for the first four minutes, piano and cymbal play support a prolonged bass solo. Then tempo sows down to a snails pace as main themes/motif continues but then gets built upon by guitars and synths--turning into a proper weave. Nice chord changes but, ultimately, kind of a boring, too-repetitive song--I mean, it's not until the tenth minute that we finally get a change in the four-chord progression used by the piano from the start--and it's not even that great of a crescendo/climax! (17/20)

6. "Turque (24:23) like a collection of themes offered in tribute to a variety of early rock icons and film soundtrack artists. Some really dated sounds, styles, and passages--all showing more a respect and reverence without any virtuosity, dexterity, or talent (meaning, virtually any music-loving, equipment-rich garage band could've practiced and spliced these themes together. Quite unimpressive and even dull. Still, the theme developed in the fifteenth and sixteenth minute does suck one in nicely until turing to blatantly into something TD/FLOYDian. (38.5/50)

Total Time 65:07

82.69 on the Fishscales = C/three stars; a fair album that many prog lovers will like for background music and for conjuring up some nostalgic memories.

ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM Two Piece Puzzle

Theatrical Prog Cabaret of the bluesy-sultry raven form. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Rosalie Cunningham / vocals, guitars, bass, Hammond organ, piano, Mellotron, percussion
- Antoine Piane / drums
With:
- Ric Sanders / violin

1. "Start with the Corners (2:45) (8.25/10)
2. "Donovan Ellington (5:39) (8.5/10)
3. "Donny, Pt. Two (3:39) (8.5/10)
4. "The War" (0:54) I gotta admit, she's entertaining! (4.5/5)
5. "Duet" (7:25) Rosalie's vamp version of "Monkberry Delight"? Definintely some "look at me" story-telling. (13.25/15)
6. "Tristitia Amnesia" (7:08) very unusual theatric song. (12/15)
7. "Scared of the Dark" (3:35) Rosalie's QUEEN "Killer Queen" tribute (8/10)
8. "God Is a Verb" (1:34) the music is just a vehicle for Rosalie's clever lyrics. (4.25/5)
9. "Suck Push Bang Blow (5:09) This is the Rosalie I remember: raunchie blues-rock á la Alannah Miles "Black Velvet." (8/10)
10. "The Liner Notes" (6:34) Rosalie's rip off of VAN MORRISON's "Moondance." (8.25/10)
11. Number 149 (4:09) *
12. Fossil Song (4:43) *

Total Time 53:14

* bonus tracks (not on LP)

I admit that the songs are cleverly constructed, the theatric vocal performances riveting and cleverly written, I just don't like blues-rock! And I don't like such blatant rip offs of other people's hits.

82.50 on the Fishscales = C-/low three stars; an album that I think most prog lover's would prefer to steer clear of--unless you're a fan of bluesy-cabaret rock that imitates other artist's hits and sounds. 

OMNEROD The Amensal Rise

Line-up / Musicians:
- Romain Jeuniaux / vocals, guitars, synths, samples, arrangements
- Pablo Schwilden Diaz / drums & percussion, keyboards, samples, arrangements
- André Six / bass
- Anthony Deneyer / vocals
With:
- Nicolas Draps & Astrid Buol / violins (1,5)
- Eerik Maurage / classical guitar (3)
- Frank Oliver James / piano (3)
- Tom Germain / harmonica (3)
- Shachar Bieber / additional vocals (5)

1. "Sunday Heat (5:43) (/10)
2. "Satellites (11:40) (/20)
3. "Spore (12:32) (/25)
4. "Magnets (9:48) (/20)
5. "The Amensal Rise (11:33) (/20)
6. "Towards the Core (7:50) (/15)
7. "The Commensal Fall (10:32) (/20)

Total Time 69:38

on the Fishscales = / stars;

RAFAEL PACHA & KIMMO PÖRSTI Sea of Mirrors

Based upon the song titles I surmise that this is an album based loosely on the travels and travails of Greek warrior Odysseus as originally told to us by Homer in The Odyssey.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Kimmo Pörsti / drums, percussion, keyboards, bass, acoustic guitar
- Rafael Pacha / electric & acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, lyre, mandolin, viola da gamba, electric violin, melodica
With:
- Marek Arnold / sax
- Alessandro Di Benedetti / piano
- Olli Jaakkola / flute, bass flute, oboe, sax
- Laura Pörsti / vocals
- Paula Pörsti / vocals
- Alejandro Suarez / vocals
- Jan-Olof Strandberg / bass

1. "Sailor's Tale" (7:08) (/15)
2. "Diving into Infinity" (6:27) (/10)
3. "Tara's Joy in the Beach" (4:19) (/10)
4. "The Island of Lotus-eaters" (5:24) (/10)
5. "Charybdis" (3:59) (/10)
6. "Sea of Mirrors" (5:07) (/10)
7. "Fascination" (9:09) (/20)
8. "Lead, Silver and Gold (Song for Cadiz)" (5:56) (/10)
9. "Shipwreck" (7:22) (/15)
10. "House of the Light" (5:31) (/10)
a) Sailing Scared
b) Afraid of Drowning
c) New Path

Total Time 60:22

An album that would be a great companion to the recent folk-infused fantasy/legend-inspired concept albums of Dave Bainbridge and Dave Brons. Great artwork! Makes one really miss 13" x 13" album covers!

on the Fishscales = / stars;