In this rendering of "The (so-called) 'Best' Albums of the 21st Century" I will continue using my personal metric system, which I call the "Fishscales," to generate my rankings. My job is simple: Gather all of the albums that earned a rating of 94.0 or better on this more-objective ratings system and organize them on a page according to highest to lowest. Sounds easy, right? Let's find out. Remember: "Best" is not the same as "favorite." It is possible to separate one's feelings of "like" and preference from one's more objective, critical discernment of quality and genius.
1. BENT KNEE Shiny Eyed Babies (2014)
BENT KNEE’s lead vocalist, Courtney SWAIN, might be the bravest woman I’ve ever heard of. To be able to replicate even one of the amazingly intense vocal performances on this album in a concert setting would wear me out; I’d need at least a day to recover from singing just one of these intensely personal, emotional songs in the incredibly dynamic way that she does.
Courtney SWAIN may be the most powerful, emotional vocalist I’ve ever heard. She sings with the emotional intensity of BJÖRK or a young ALANIS MORISSETTE, only amped up by ten. She has the vocal power of ETHEL MERMAN. She has, at times, the tone and timbre of NORA JONES, at others the quirk and tone of EDIE BRICKELL, the sass and vibrato of ERYKAH BADU, and still others the stylistic flair of ANNE PIGALLE. At all times she exhibits a fearless, devil-may-care attitude similar to NINA HAGEN and FIONA APPLE. Her lyrics possess a personal and intellectual style similar to RIKKIE LEE JONES. The band’s music expresses itself with an originality that I would compare to KATE BUSH or TOBY DRIVER, KING CRIMSON or JANE SIBERRY, with a sound and structural style at times similar to DEVOTCHKA and yet with the power packed intensity and dynamic range of EMILY AUTUMN. And the instrumental accompaniment seems to always, always match perfectly the mercurial approach of Ms. SWAIN’s vocal deliveries.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Courtney Swain / lead vocals, keyboards
- Ben Levin / guitar
- Chris Baum / violin
- Jessica Kion / bass, backing vocals
- Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth / drums
- Vince Welch / sound design, producer & engineer
With:
- Abigale Reisman / violin
- Rachel Panitch / violin
- Matthew Consul / violin
- Abby Swidler / viola
- Rachel Jayson / viola
- Ro Rowan / cello
- Valerie Thompson / cello
- Rob Krahn / trombone
- Sam Morrison / baritone saxophone
- Tyler Kion / alto saxophone
- Rach Azrak / flute, piccolo
- Matt Hull / trumpet
- Guy Mendilow / berimbau
I cannot remember being this excited about an album since I heard MAGMA’s MDK for the first time back in the summer of 2009. I feel like I could write paragraphs about each song they are each so diverse, so powerful, so fascinating, so unusual, so complex and driven by such an amazing collaborative effort! Instead let me wax rhapsodic about one song that epitomizes the unique and unusual product and effort that is BENT KNEE.
Song 7 is entitled, “Sunshine.” Barely recognizable before the final stanza (which is repeated three or four times at the end of the song), this is actually a remake of a popular song that was written by Georgians Paul Rice and Oliver Hood around 1933, performed for years in the American South—mostly in Louisiana—by the Rice Brothers Gang but only first recorded in August of 1939 by The Pine Ridge Boys (Marvin Taylor and Doug Spivey) though the February of 1940 version recorded for Decca Records by Jimmy Davis (later governor of Louisiana) and Charles Mitchell was what brought popular attention to it. When it was then covered four times in 1941 by no less than the likes of Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, Mississippi John Hurt, and Lawrence Welk, “You Are My Sunshine” became permanently embedded in American popular culture. The song has been covered numerous other times — so often, in fact, that according to Wikipedia it is "one of the most commercially programmed numbers in American popular music.” Originally performed in a country or folk music style, “Sunshine” has, over time, been adapted into many musical styles—and is most assuredly familiar to most every natural-born American. But, I will go out on a limb here to declare that most Americans have never heard this song in the form or with the power or intention that Bent Knee now gives it. With Courtney Swain at the helm, the band give “Sunshine” a feel of desperation and longing and regret and vengeful anger at an act of perceived betrayal the likes of which I have never heard before. Ms. Swain sings it with a kind of jilted young girl crazed mournfulness that is entirely unsettling and yet emotionally engaging to the listener. As in many of these songs, there are multiple moments in which I find chills of emotional resonance racing through my bodymind.
Song 7 is entitled, “Sunshine.” Barely recognizable before the final stanza (which is repeated three or four times at the end of the song), this is actually a remake of a popular song that was written by Georgians Paul Rice and Oliver Hood around 1933, performed for years in the American South—mostly in Louisiana—by the Rice Brothers Gang but only first recorded in August of 1939 by The Pine Ridge Boys (Marvin Taylor and Doug Spivey) though the February of 1940 version recorded for Decca Records by Jimmy Davis (later governor of Louisiana) and Charles Mitchell was what brought popular attention to it. When it was then covered four times in 1941 by no less than the likes of Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, Mississippi John Hurt, and Lawrence Welk, “You Are My Sunshine” became permanently embedded in American popular culture. The song has been covered numerous other times — so often, in fact, that according to Wikipedia it is "one of the most commercially programmed numbers in American popular music.” Originally performed in a country or folk music style, “Sunshine” has, over time, been adapted into many musical styles—and is most assuredly familiar to most every natural-born American. But, I will go out on a limb here to declare that most Americans have never heard this song in the form or with the power or intention that Bent Knee now gives it. With Courtney Swain at the helm, the band give “Sunshine” a feel of desperation and longing and regret and vengeful anger at an act of perceived betrayal the likes of which I have never heard before. Ms. Swain sings it with a kind of jilted young girl crazed mournfulness that is entirely unsettling and yet emotionally engaging to the listener. As in many of these songs, there are multiple moments in which I find chills of emotional resonance racing through my bodymind.
The song opens with 40 seconds of instrumental upbuild as first muted electric guitar calmly yet ominously strums a simple, muted chord. Then piano adds a repeated single note, then cymbal play mimics the edgy, tense syncopated rhythm before bass and violin join in with their tension-building contributions, coming to a near-frenzied mini-crescendo before utterly disappearing—leaving behind the one constant throughout the song: an unsettling two- and sometimes three-note chord being picked by Ben Levin’s plastic pick on his slightly-muted electric guitar. Soon Courtney enters with her voice singing the first verse in a plaintive NORA JONES-like voice while occasionally hitting a piano chord to provide a little harmonic fill to the otherwise eerily spacious background soundscape. After Courtney stops singing the first verse, the violin, drums and bass make a very brief dramatic appearance before just as quickly dropping out to allow the spacious emptiness to present Courtney’s singing of the second verse. (The renowned chorus is skipped—saved for the end).
At first she sounds quite positive and upbeat—even seductively innocent--but then her tone switches subtly but unmistakingly for the last sentence: “...but if you leave me, to love another, you’ll regret it all someday,” she sings in a slightly ambivalent, yet perceptively menacing, even threatening, tone.
At first she sounds quite positive and upbeat—even seductively innocent--but then her tone switches subtly but unmistakingly for the last sentence: “...but if you leave me, to love another, you’ll regret it all someday,” she sings in a slightly ambivalent, yet perceptively menacing, even threatening, tone.
Piano, pounding toms, creepy violin and thumping bass immediately take center stage before Courtney’s reverbed voice enters from the background with “ooo”s that create an unsettling, ghost-like effect—all in the space of 22 seconds!
Silence—save for the constant plucking of the same muted electric guitar notes—and then the girl comes at us again—each time feeling a little less in control, as if she is coming a little more unglued with each verse. The addition of some well-placed, well-timed high-pitched squeals from the violin coupled with Courtney’s purposeful use of off-key, sliding vocal notes only add to the effect of showing us that this girl is losing her grip, is going psycho, as she sings, “You once told me you really loved me and no one else could come between, but now you’ve left me to love another,” and when she sings the final line of this, the third verse, holding the last word for 20 seconds before turning it into a vehicle for her unbridled shrieking, “you have shattered all my dreams,” I believe her! I get chills! Every time! And I find myself wanting to get as far away from this psycho murdering bitch as possible!
The full band has been supporting her while she shrieks and shrills with some brilliant play that Robert FRIPP would be proud of and then just as suddenly, at 3:16, they disappear. We are once again, left alone, with that eerie single-note guitar picking and all of that empty space—and this time for an extended wait of 12 long seconds! When Courtney finally enters for the final chorus—sung in a high octave fragile, whispery, wavering, single, though, eventually, sliding note—she is accompanied by the sound of a snapping of a guitar string! “Twank!” Incredible!
As she reaches the final words of the chorus, “Please don’t take my sunshine away,” the full band joins in pumping out their jam at full decibels over which Courtney goes straight into a second singing of the chorus, this time in a full belt Emily AUTUMN-like voice. As the last strains of her descending hold of “awa-a-a-y” fade, the sound of the band morphs into a frenetic, “Day in the Life” type of psychedelic cacophony. But wait! They’re not done! They all come together in a PORCUPINE TREE-like metal chord-pulsing support of Courtney’s last SCREAMING run through the chorus, each instrument pounding out their loudest possible sound in perfect synchronization with each syllable of the lyric, finishing early with, “how much I love you—“!
Wow! What an incredible, exhausting journey. All in just five minutes and twenty seconds! And if you watch the YouTube videos of the band’s live performances you can see how totally engaged and into the song each band member is. This is why I can’t believe that Courtney or the band can do more than one song per concert performance: they give SO MUCH to each SONG performance that I can’t imagine digging deep to do it again for one much less ten to twenty more songs! It must be exhausting! And how I would LOVE to be in the same room for such a performance. There are not many bands I would pay or make the travel effort to go see, but this is one of them. Maybe the only one.
And the most amazing thing of all is that every single song on this album is equally powerful, equally well-designed, orchestrated, impassioned, and produced as “Sunshine”!! There may be songs that I don’t give 10/10 ratings to but there are none that don’t deserve it for effort alone!
The album opens with a brief Broadway/Billy Joel-like piano-based song, 1. “Shiny Eyed Babies” (1:47) which serves as a vehicle for Courtney’s singing which, for some reason, reminds me of the unapproachable ETHEL MERMAN. (4.5/5)
2. “Way Too Long” (4:59) is a powerful song which reminds me a lot of Alannah MYLES’ 1990 Grammy Award-winning heavy rock, Annie WILSON/HEART-like hit version of her country song “Black Velvet”—in voice, pacing, and musical style. (9/10)
3. “Dry” (6:07) is an awesome and beautiful song presented in a wild, frenetic torch song style that reminds me of Trevor HORN’s Zang Tum Tum molding of French chanteuse, ANNE PIGALLE (1985's Everything Could Be So Perfect). (10/10)
4. “In God We Trust” (5:21) sounds like a great JANE SIBERRY (or perhaps k.d. lang) song—this is so quirky progressive like a song from Jane’s brilliant masterpieces of progressive rock music, The Walking or Bound by the Beauty albums (1987 and 1989, respectively). A great lyric that makes an awesome commentary on modern society. (10/10)
5. “I’m Still Here” (5:08) opens with a very spacey, ambient feel as only treated keyboards provide the background for Courtney to sing over. Then at 1:50 things shift—music and vocal style. Then at 2:10 we get to the meat of the song, a tom-tom-based rhythm with all kinds of high-pitch keyboard and violin notes are screeching away above Courtney’s voice. At 3:15 a new, more prog-like pulsing rhythm-and-bass-led section ensues to play out to the end as Courtney sings in a high crystalline voice, over and over, “I’m still here!” Very KATE BUSH-like in this extraordinary song arrangement. (10/10)
6. “Dead Horse” (5:18) opens with an ALANIS MORISSETTE “Thank U”-like staccato piano chord sequence being bounced about. Courtney’s vocal even sounds like it could be Alanis. A very scratchy, distorted sound is given to all keyboard sounds until at 1:40 an orchestrated clear rock sound is presented. The Alanis MORISSETTE comparisons continue—though, once again, there is a strong presence of JANE SIBERRY within.
The keyboard and drum interlude mid-song is so cool and so beautiful. This is so Jane! The piano and steady background synth washing that fill the final 75 seconds are gorgeous! And haunting! (10/10)
The keyboard and drum interlude mid-song is so cool and so beautiful. This is so Jane! The piano and steady background synth washing that fill the final 75 seconds are gorgeous! And haunting! (10/10)
7. “Battle Creek” (5:43) opens with a bluesy treated PINK FLOYD “Wish You Were Here”/“Pigs—Three of a Kind”-like guitar before Courtney’s quiet, almost background voice begins to sing. The song is constructed so unusually, so ingeniously, again, very much like a KATE BUSH or BJÖRK song and yet with so much more emotional dynamism. Times ten! It’s brilliant! (10/10)
8. “Untitled” (2:01) starts “Side Two” much in the same way that the title song started “Side One”—with a brief piano-based “show tune” showcasing Courtney’s more classical side—this one sounding a little more like a stark 1920s/30s KURT WEILL/BERTOLDT BRECHT lieder. (4.5/5)
9. “Sunshine” (5:20). Shall I recap?! STAY AWAY FROM CHICKS LIKE THIS!! (12/10)
10. “Democratic Chorale” (1:42) is another late-night solo-piano bar-styled piano-based GERSHWIN-like jazz song complete with background television (or radio) noise. (5/5)
11. “Skin” (5:59) opens with a couple of soft piano chords before a frenzied violin plays a high-speed, high-pitched arpeggio, repeated over and over. The first half of the song is a powerful rock song in the tradition of hard female rocker JOAN JETT but at 3:12 Courtney sings, “Everything went wrong” and the rock music stops and a KING CRIMSON “One More Red Nightmare”-like sound and vibe ensues. Violin screeches a low-end note that throws all key-tuning out and off. Keys, industrial-sounding drums, build until they suddenly give way to a jazzy piano-bar like piano solo. Awesome song! Totally unpredictable and ingenious. (10/10)
12. “Being Human” (6:28) is the first song I ever heard by the band—a live YouTube video of a live performance at Hand Forged Works. Hearing that opening line, “I imagine your dead body lying in my bed,” and then “You never liked the thought of being human anyway,” and “Death is one more option to explore” had me hooked even before the incredibly powerful music of the full band kicks in. I love this arrangement, this music! And when Courtney fills a space in the music at the 1:45 mark with a shrieking, “But it feels like PAIN!” she kills me!
Amazing, amazing song that rivals even “Sunshine” for Song of the Year! Every instrument is worth studying, all of their contributions are so amazing! And listen to the way in which the guy running the sound board (Yo! Vince!) will play with the effects on Courtney’s voice. Mid-song! Amazing! And then the band plays in ambient mode for the song’s last minute. (11/10)
13. “Toothsmile” (7:23) opens with a cheesy organ over which Courtney sings a gorgeous, emotional BJÖRK-like vocal. For the first half of the song the other band members add a variety of odd orchestra-like sounds and incidentals to the song. But then a dramatic PETER GABRIEL (“3”)-like power section takes over—over which Courtney’s treated voice continues to belt away. Then, at the 4:30 mark Courtney’s heavily treated speaking voice starts to chant out what seems like a list or poem or spell or something deranged as the band winds down its tempo very slowly in a kind of slow portamento or as if the electric equipment is slowly using up the last of its battery power. (15/15)
Total Time 62:46
This album is no joke! This is the best album of 2014 and the best album of the 2010s (so far)! I have never heard such a powerful and refreshing album. And there is so much to hear! Each time I listen I hear tons of new things—incredibly clever nuances and incidentals. And GREAT production! This album will most certainly take its place in my Top Ten All-time Favorite albums. The only question is where?
100 on the Fish scales = five stars; a true masterpiece of progressive rock music and the first and, so far, only "perfect score" I've ever registered on the Fishscales. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2014!
2. PROGHMA-C Bar-do Travel (2009)
In this 2009 release from Polish band, PROGHMA-C, self-proclaimed “musical evolutionists, I have found my favorite metal album of all time. Most songs feel as though I’m hearing the rhythm section of TOOL with lead guitar work akin to U2’ s THE EDGE Evans, keyboard work reminiscent of VANGELIS in his 70s, 80s, and ambient/New Age soundtrack era, and some of the most diverse vocal stylings I’ve ever heard on an album—coming from lone vocalist extraordinaire, Piotr 'BOB' Gibner. Gibner’s screaming/growling is actually fitting, melodic, and easy to decipher; his narration on “FO” is awesome, and his versatile singing voice crosses between that of MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN, MR. BUNGLE/FAITH NO MORE’s MIKE PATTON, and DEPECHE MODE’s DAVID GAHAN.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Piotr 'Bob' Gibner / vocals
- Paweł 'Smaga' Smakulski / guitars, synth
- Tomasz Wolter / bass
- Łukasz 'Kuman' Kumański / drums
1. “Kana” (9:05) opens with some odd electro/world sounds before an awesome mix-meter rhythm section settles in. The treated vocal has a very cool TED NUGENT feel to it until the growling begins. Around 1:30 the music switches to muted guitar/bass rhythm with ‘BOB’ Gibner’s vocals taking on quite a Maynard James style and feel. But it’s such an awesome combination! The “chorus” is really a full-frontal return to the opening themes. Then in one of the band’s trademark surprise twists, the lead guitar stars doing some Edge/Adrian Belew like playing. With the return to the B section I notice for the first time the David Gahan timbre in BOB’s voice. Such an awesome voice! At 4:22 another unexpected turn occurs with an almost POLOICE “Synchronicity” section—definitely a jazzed up, ANDY SUMMERs-like lead section. 5:05 we return to the original rhythm but broken down to such sparse sound with snare, hi-hat and guitar doing their syncopated odd metered rhythm. Then at 6:03 enter the eerily echoing and slow decaying slow guitar arpeggios—like something from an Eno Ambient album—and yet the metal rhythm section continues! This is simply incredible music! These guys truly are innovators and “musical evolutionists.” I urge all of you to at least listen to this first song—it’s available on YouTube (as are all of the album’s songs as well as the album as a whole). (20/20)
2. “FO” (6:40) opens with some awesome Edge-like guitar play before Gibner’s slightly treated voice begins reading/reciting a narrative in English. At 1:28, the music breaks, some odd percussives fill the space, then we return to the odd-metered syncopation and vocal narration for a little while longer, until at 2:08 the growl-screams take over. Then, surprise!—at 2:42 a soft, beautifully sensitive voice similar to that of MARIUZ DUDA takes over the singing. But this guy is better! He has such amazing control and the ability to do some shockingly subtle things with his vocal instrument! At the four minute mark we are treated to a bare-bones breakdown of the rhythm while a BLADE RUNNER-like horn-synthesizer slowly shifts its pitches while at the same time At 5:14 all but the drums disappear while a series of slowly strummed chords fill the center while odd spacey synth noises float around behind and around. Incredible song! Incredible ending! Another song I URGE you to listen to! (10/10)
3. “Spiralling To Another” (9:31) opens with some very spacey, etheric guitar play before the familiar syncopated, mixed-metered rhythm section establishes itself. Gibner’s voice enters with his Mariuz Duda sound—yet so much more sensitive and emotional. At 2:52 it gets heavy and the growling crashes into the field—but it never detracts or overwhelms the incredible music going on and lyrically can still be understood. Guitar chords strummed singly Then the music seems to ‘get stuck’ as guitar notes, bass line, cymbol play and choppy vocal play. A return to rapid rhythm sets up for guitarist Parweł 'SMAGA' Smakulski to do his awesome EDGE EVANS stylings. At 7:22 the full-force barrage of rhythms and growl/screams returns while SMAGA continues his trance-like guitar strumming. At 8:20 the music turns full metal, feeling like a TOOL song playing into infinity—then it stops! Another awesome song. While not quite as good as the first two, it too deserves a (18.75/20) in my opinion. (The other two should be turned up to eleven.)
4. “Spitted Out” (1) (3:20) establishes itself with another heavy complicated rhythm—this one sounding/feeling quite like a FAITH NO MORE song. At 1:30 the vocalist enters with his growl/screams. 20 seconds later he switches to more normal screaming, again, not unlike the rap-styling of FAITH NO MORE’s MIKE PATTON, before returning to growls. (8.7/10)
5. “Spitted Out (Out)” (3:57) is the album’s second (part? or version?) with this title. It starts out with a completely different sound—establishing a kind of KING CRIMSON “Discipline” weave amongst its musicians. Slowing down, breaking it down, speeding it up--the band toys around with the riffs and beat before letting the SMAGA break out with a proper metal electric guitar lead (the album’s first!) Though nothing earth-shattering, the guitarist’s confidence with bending the song’s key to his chromatically shifting scales is noteworthy and admirable. (9/10)
6. “So Be-live” (5:48) opens with a fade in with electric (Fender Rhodes?) piano and jazzy bass and drums and finger icked electric guitar parts weaving into a slow and methodic tapestry. The whispery voice used by BOB is quite perfect for the litl and fluidity of the music. At 2:04 the music shifts toward the now more familiar TOOL-like rhythm structures. BOB’s “Duda voice” gives this section a very RIVERSIDE-like feel. But then--surprise!--the distinct shift to the DAVID GAHAN voice occurs as synth playing portamento in the background toys with the song’s mood in a VANGELIS-kind of way. Then—wow!--growl/screams take over and add an amazing intensity to this incredible song! (10/10)
7. “I Can't Illuminate with You” (2:29) (5/5) opens with what sounds like a sustained note being bowed on the lowest ranges of a stand-up double bass. As the intro plays out it becomes evident—with the help of all the other BLADE RUNNER-like “future”/space sounds—that the note is coming from a Vangelis-like synthesizer. The song, it turns out, is actually an intro to the next song, as it seamlessly bleeds into and becomes…
8. “Naan” (8:57) opens with another syncopated mixed-meter rhythm but this time the VANGELIS-like keyboards and playful JAN AKKERMAN-like rhythm work of the lead guitar pronounce something new and fresh. At the one minute mark all instrumentation merge into a 30-second single chord. Awesome. Then BOB’s sensitive Duda Voice enters to break the spell. The ensuing music scape is TOOL-like yet flittering about are the EDGE-like guitar effects. The vocals which follow are unmistakably DEPECH MODE-like. What an amazing vocal talent!! And an amazing lyric! So powerful! Not Duda, Gahan, Keenan, or Patton could hold a candle to the light of this singer! At 6:28 there is a shift into a discordant chord sequence with a whispered voice and syncopated snare and bass section. At 7:25 the music has evolved into full band paly again, with BOB’s “Maynard voice” taking over. Echoed growls blending into the cymbal play are the last vocals to be heard in this one. Awesome! Again! (19.25/20)
9. “Army Of Me” (Björk Cover) (6:33) opens with waxing and waning synth note—(sounds like a Prophet 5) before the standard Proghma-C/Tool rhythm track establishes itself. Then the vocal is introduces—understated and delicate—before an absolutely stunning multi-tracked vocal chorus is unleashed on us. Alternating back and forth from controlled single voice to , passing through empty spaces and synth-solo-dominated sections, we are treated to a song whose original version is both lost to me and immaterial. This is an awesome song no matter who wrote it! (10/10)
Total Time: 56:20
I don’t think I’ve ever given out so many 10/10s in a review before, but that's how highly I think of each song—and is a reflection of how much I enjoy listening to this entire album. Probably my favorite driving CD during the past four months. I do want to mention how incredible I think the mesmerizing and yet tight is the work of drummer Łukasz 'KUMAN' Kumański and his cohort on bass, Michał 'VASKI' Górecki; they carry out the complicated, sometimes breathtaking rhythms flawlessly. Mega kudos, boys.
97.57 on the Fish scales = a five star masterpiece. This is one of those times that I wish I could post a rating of 6 stars—to indicate something incredibly special. The band claim that their music is intended to contribute to “Enhancing the palette of our musical universe.” I for one think that they are succeeding in this capacity. This is fresh stuff! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to ALL progheads! ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2009!
Line-up / Musicians:
- Yannick Duchene / vocals, mixing & mastering
- Florent Gac / organ
- Benoît Bugeïa / Fender Rhodes, piano
- Christophe Blondel / bass
- Nicolas Candé / drums, 12-string guitar, keyboards
With:
- Samuel Philippot / guitar
- Nicolas Wurtz / guitar
- Tony Quedeville / lapsteel guitar
- Nicolas Goulay / keyboards
- Benoit Widemann / Minimoog
- Julien Molko / bass clarinet
- David Fourdrinoy / vibes
1. "Cycle II" (9:52) (19.75/20)
2. "Triptyque" (26:16) (49/50):
- a) Part I (8'27)
- b) Part II (9'45)
- c) Part III (8'04)
3. "Guérison" (14:58) just keeps getting better the further it goes (27.5/30) :
(a) (4:13) (8.875/10)
(b) (4:49) (9.33/10)
(c) (2:30) (4.75/5)
(d) (3:26) (9.125/10)
Total time 56:55
Total time 56:55
Imagine the most hypnotic Zeuhl grooves that MAGMA has ever given us, blend it with the accumulated best Canterbury instrumentation that any of Dave Stewart's bands ever gave us, arrange it all with the most positive, uplifting chord progressions and gorgeous male and female vocal melodies imaginable, then use the best technological advantages that 2013 gives us and you get a glimpse into what France's SETNA's second album, Guérison, has to offer. It is beautiful, sublime, hypnotic, and so spiritually uplifting! Each of the five songs is sub-divided, but, in effect, the album has a straight-through flow not unlike many Magma albums.
Every song and, in fact, each sub-song has idiosyncrasies worthy of high praise and long discussions (as well as repeated listens), but "Cycle II (c)," "Tryptique I (c)," "Tryptique II (a)," and "Tryptique III (b)" and "(c)" stand out particularly strong for me--should you want to listen to a few pieces in order to get a feel for the album, these might be just the ones cuz they display quite a broad spectrum of the sounds, feels and styles offered here.
The "Guérison" suite (link to YouTube extract) feels separate, a bit more atmospheric, more displaying of rhythms and percussion, and, until the interesting Part "(c)," a slight step down from the previous two suites (four songs, eleven sub-songs). Still, this is one of the best releases I've heard from 2013, one of the best Zeuhl or Canterbury albums I've ever heard, and an album that will likely grow in my esteem as it occupies my turntable for the upcoming months. Click here for access to YouTube video of a live performance of "Tryptique Part I."
97.25 on the Fish scales = 5 Stars; an unquestioned masterpiece of progressive rock music.
Every song and, in fact, each sub-song has idiosyncrasies worthy of high praise and long discussions (as well as repeated listens), but "Cycle II (c)," "Tryptique I (c)," "Tryptique II (a)," and "Tryptique III (b)" and "(c)" stand out particularly strong for me--should you want to listen to a few pieces in order to get a feel for the album, these might be just the ones cuz they display quite a broad spectrum of the sounds, feels and styles offered here.
The "Guérison" suite (link to YouTube extract) feels separate, a bit more atmospheric, more displaying of rhythms and percussion, and, until the interesting Part "(c)," a slight step down from the previous two suites (four songs, eleven sub-songs). Still, this is one of the best releases I've heard from 2013, one of the best Zeuhl or Canterbury albums I've ever heard, and an album that will likely grow in my esteem as it occupies my turntable for the upcoming months. Click here for access to YouTube video of a live performance of "Tryptique Part I."
97.25 on the Fish scales = 5 Stars; an unquestioned masterpiece of progressive rock music.
4. HOMUNCULUS RES Limiti all'eguaglianza della parte con il tutto (2013)
A band of Italian virtuosi from Messina, Sicily, who signed on with the AltrOck Productions stable. This is their debut album from 2013 and an album that ranks #3 on my list of All-Time Favorite Albums. In a style that is the most completely extrapolated from the fun and upbeat jazz-rock style of the 1960s and 70s that we've come to call the Canterbury Style of progressive rock, Dario D'Alessandro, David and Daniele Di Giovanni, Frederico Cardaci, Giovanni di Martino, Domenico Salamone and Dario Lo Cicero, otherwise known as Homunculus Res, perform wildly unpredictable and humorous music that definietely evokes that light, airy, happy-go-lucky feelingthat is so often associated with the Canterbury Scene of such bands as THE SOFT MACHINE, CARAVAN, SUPERSISTER and Italy's own PICCHIO DAL POZZO. All songs on Limiti all'eguaglianza della parte con il tutto (but one) are short (less than four minutes in length) and quirky in the Soft Machine/Matching Mole style. There is great keyboard and synthesizer work throughout and the drumming and rhythm section hold so tight as each and every song incorporates amazing and unexpected whole-band syncopation, tempo and key shifts throughout. The laid-back vocals of composer and Casiotone virtuoso Dario D'ALESSANDRO are awesomely soothing. The album spreads the keyboard credits among four people, though live they most often have just one or two musicians performing those duties. The album also credits AltrOck ubiquity, Paolo "SKE" BOTTA among the guests who made significant contributions.
Imperfect songs: 5. "Sintagma" (1:09) (8/10); 8. "Rifondazione unghie" (3:18) (9/10); 14. "Centoquarantaduemilaottocentocinquantasette" (2:06) (9/10), and; "Puk 10" (2:25) (9/10).
Perfect songs: All of the others! (14 of them!!)
This is the best Canterbury album of the 21st Century and perhaps the best of all-time!!
97.2 on the Fish scales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of progressive rock music. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2013!
5. BATTLESTATIONS Vixit (2017)
The Fantôme de Bruxelles has come so far! From the almost-cheezy computer sounds and mis-timed instrumental performances of their flawed (but brilliant) debut, In a Cold Embrance, in 2012, the band has developed a stronghold in cinematic music-making far beyond anyone that I know of who is not doing film or television scores. Seriously, this may be the best "score"-that's-not-a-score or liturgical-piece-that's-not-meant-for-church (or maybe it is: a requiem or elegy) that I've ever heard. Period. James Newton Howard, Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, James Horner, Rachel Portman, Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat have got nothing on these guys. Don't know if you still want to consider this prog since there are no drums or seering electric guitars, but it is definitely musical perfection, musical heaven.
1. "Vixit I" (24:02) As majestic and beautiful as the most beautiful Beethoven, Górecki, or Samuel Barber work. Broad washes of slowly moving strings with big choral sounds make this truly a spiritually moving experience. (49/50)
2. "Vixit II (3:21) piano, sparse, distant synth sounds, occasional noise from some kind of unidentified stringed instrument (the same one used in the first song of their debut album, "Prologue: Nature Morte / You're Not Welcome Here"), floating, panning synth washes. This must be Heaven. (9.5/10)
3. "Vixit III" (14:05) opens with the most electronica sounding passages on the album: panning synth, poppy voice choir, Mellotron and other synth washes, Very New Age-like--though the synths in the sixth and seventh minute sound like I'm YES heaven (the end section of "Awaken"). Love the return to old themes at 7:20! And then church choir rejoins with a FOCUS (Tommy Barlage) "Tommy" melody until the eleventh minute when it shifts dominant notes with the strings, bass, and tuned percussives giving it a little The Gathering If_then_else feel and sound to it. The final vocal section has an individual-sounding female alto voice carrying the lead--though this is still heavily mixed within the thick syrupy walls of synthesized sounds. This one is far more nostalgic and segmented yet it flows as well as any symphonic piece. (28.5/30)
96.67 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a shining masterpiece of progressive electronic music. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2017!
6. UNAKA PRONG Salinity Now! (2018)
Man! these guys are tight! Man! is the production on this album amazing! Man! have these guys gotten better! Man! is this a confident band of young musicians, or what? Man! is this one of the best collections of entertaining, interesting, deeply layered, masterfully crafted and performed, and perfectly mastered songs ever created?!!!
YES!
1. "You Want Me to Do What Now?" (5:38) high energy mania with amazing stop-and-start complexity and perfect cohesion and timing! And the sound is so good! Perfect mixes of the instrumental tracks! Jazz-rock at its funkiest best. One of those songs that simply must be heard to be believed! The drum-led section in the third and fourth minutes is awesome! The guitar solo (which is actually a synth trying to sound like a trumpet) in the fifth minute reminds me of old Jeff "Skunk" Baxter back in the early Steely Dan albums. (9.5/10)
2. "Misinterpretive Clues" (2:45) is a second spirited and amazingly intricate song construct built on some incredible drumming but this one has singing! Great phrasing and delivery of the witty lyrics by bassist Jonathon Sale! (9.5/10)
3. "Slow Dance" (6:02) starts out a little bland with it's thin, bluesy, organ-base, but Daniel Stephenson's singing and lyrics are fun, and the excellent chorus and following instrumental bridges make this one super special. Great slide work from guitarist Mike Welsh. Nobody in prog world is playing the Hammond like Chris Pope--and always with such amazing sense of melody! (9/10)
4. "Aibohphobia" (7:05) bouncy bass and organ open this instrumental on a nice little cantor before wah-ed electric guitar-sounding synth and other synth sounds start alternating melodic soli over the top. Great chord and key progressions! The tempo shift at the two minute mark is a great trick. More volume pedal-controlled guitar in the background while synth solos over the top, then back to the first section's themes and pacing. Such a fun song! Definitely evokes memories of some of STEELY DAN's early instrumental work. Man, are all those keyboard sounds being performed by one man? Such fluidity and confidence! (10/10)
5. "Come on Back" (5:47) a little gentle PAUL WELLER-like guitar play sets up this incredibly emotional, poetic, and engaging song. One of the best lyrics I've heard in years--beautifully performed by guitarist Daniel Stephenson as lead singer and composer; beautifully, sensitively supported by the band. (9.5/10)
6. "Fine Leather Shoes" (5:17) clever, witty, DONALD FAGEN-like lyrics with an awesome BLUE NILE-like singing style as performed by drummer John Hargett over some complex quirky jazz rock. (10/10)
7. "Blue Mountain" (6:30) full on STEELY DAN--only no L.A. studio musicians, these young men are all doing it themselves! Daniel Stephenson's vocal delivery (and lyrics) have this refreshing jazzy style to them that is very reminiscent of the great MICHAEL FRANKS. Amazing drumming from John Hargett. And the instruments are so well balanced in the mix! Again, I have to repeat, the engineering on this album is superlative! One of the best sounding albums since . . . Aja! Fun percussive guitar antics in the fourth and fifth while Chris and John play off each other. And HERBIE HANCOCK would be proud of Chris's work with the Fender Rhodes sound. (10/10)
8. "Fluvial Landscapes" (7:30) opening with some Latin-infused percussives from the drums, the bass and guitars soon join in giving it an early STEELY DAN sound--but the compositional complexity is far beyond anything the Dan were doing in their early days. Again, drummer John Hargett really shines on this one. Man! These guys have grown! They are SO tight! Amazing Hammond work beneath the rhythm section throughout the fourth and fifth minutes. And I'm so glad to be able to hear Jonathon Sale's deep bass thrombosis up front and center (he's often mixed a little too deeply into the sound for my tastes). Cool note play with the lead guitar solo in the final minute. Man this instrumental has it all! And these guys definitely have the chops! Early 70s SANTANA: Eat your heart out! (10/10)
9. "Lake Jam #3" (5:25) a vocalized Lake Jam? Well, will wonders never cease? Jonathon Sale's doubled up vocals works, even with these long, drawn out words and syncopated pronunciations. And this chorus! It's so infectious! I love the guitar and keyboard support for the vocal melody! (9.5/10)
10. "All Aglow in the Golden Hour" (4:24) a song with a little more country feel, but it really comes off more closely to one of THE AMAZING's (without the vocal reverb). An unusual singer has taken the lead vocal (and lyric writing duties?) on this one (Drummer John Hargett). It's fun, catchy, upbeat, danceable, happy, and consistent with the western North Carolina feelings and themes that the other band members gravitate to. Also weird to have a Unaka Prong song that is so guitar dominated, in which Chris's keyboard work is so far in the background. What versatility these guys have! (9/10)
11. "Colossus" (5:08) a slow, bluesy rock song with a simple instrumental support for lead singer Daniel Stephenson's verses, but then the Hammond rises and the chorus (with female vocal background support!) just sucks us in and transports us back to some very emotional family roots: "Take me back to a time when friends felt like family..." Chokes me up every time I hear it! Beautiful! (9.5/10)
12. "Irma" (7:57) the one true "prog" song on the album. (Was this song written for me? Is this the "Run Out" of 2018?) Every sound, every hook, turn and riff, seems straight out of some classic progressive rock band. And this is beautifully constructed, slow to build and shift, expertly fabricated and performed. Great chord progressions, surprising shifts, unexpected singing and melody choices. Again, I am dumbfounded: Is there anything these guys can't do? While John's drumming is awesome, there's something weird that I don't like about the way the toms are recorded/treated on this one (reminds me of Steve Gadd on "Aja"). Again, it's nice to hear the guitars venturing off into improvisational work--very much like REINE FISKE! (The highest praise I can offer!) And, truly, Chris delivers one of the finest synthesizer solos I've ever heard in the last section of the instrumental jam. As near to a perfect song as I've ever heard. (15/15)
I have loved every album these boys from Boone have ever done (three, so far) but never have they put out an album that has this consistency and such amazing, amazing sound production. There is not a song on this album that I will ever skip over--they're all going to give me years of joy and surprises--from the nuances in the music as well as from the intricate collaboration of the collective members. Though I really miss the magical dimension that Nic Pressley's trumpet adds to the UNAKA PRONG sound--and I hope he comes back when grad school is over--it becomes obvious with Salinity Now! that this band can make it as quintet. I hope the hard work pays off for these boys, that a return of prosperity unfolds for them, cuz they sure deserve it!
If you want to hear some of the finest music and musicianship happening on the planet right now, you needn't go further than Appalachia! They're UNAKA PRONG and they will not be denied!
96.25 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; an undeniable masterpiece of eclectic progressive rock music and, in my opinion, one of the shining lights of the present and future of rock music! ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2018!
7. BIG BIG TRAIN The Difference Machine (2007)
"Crossover"?!! I've just discovered BBT, now own The Difference Machine, English Boy Wonders and Gathering Speed and cannot figure out how any artist recording songs at an average of 9 minutes in length could be considered "crossover"! Plus, the GENESIS/ANT PHILLIPS/ FLOYDian musicscapes just don't fit, to my mind, the "crossover" sub-genre. Also I have to ask: WHERE IS THE LOVE? These guys are amazing! I haven't heard anyone so "new" old prog (Does this make them "neo"?) with such high quality, great melodies, great vocal harmonies, amazing song structures, album concepts (with musical themes being repeated throughout à la A Trick of the Tail). And these guys are humble! Unafraid to cite their musical influences and references. And please notice the list of Who's Who in Prog that they are attracting to work with them: Dave Meros, Pete Trewavas, Nick D'Virgilio, Jem Godfrey, Frances Dunnery, and Dave Gregory--THE Dave Gregory, for god's sakes!!!
Nevertheless, this is supposed to be a review of The Difference Machine, my favorite work of BBT, so far, though the new release of the revamped English Boy Wonders is a close second. Like other reviewers I find myself wanting to extol the praises of the longer playing songs. "Perfect Cosmic Storm," "Salt Water Falling on Uneven Ground," "Summer's Lease," and "Pick Up If You're There" are absolute masterpieces of progressive, mostly symphonic, music. The shorter, "fill" pieces are fine, beautiful, full of lots of haunting mellotron, interplaying woodwinds and strings, they're just not as interesting or as "full" as the long monsters. Perhaps they are intended to calm the spirit of the listener before having to re-enter the bigger sounds of the longer pieces.
Anyway, these guys have a talent for finding amazingly catchy melodies BOTH vocally and instrumentally, but more, they do it multiple times within each song!! And they might be knitting one melody with/within another (or more!!) THEN(!), as if this were not enough, they hook these amazing melodies into the harmonic setting of some stunningly beautiful and intricately woven music. I can definitely feel the complexity of early GENESIS/ANTHONY PHILLIPS in their work, and yet so many of their other influences come gloriously to the listener's ear, as well. But let me not forget to tell you: THESE GUYS ARE UNIQUE! Fresh! New! Original! Not copyists or imitators.
Check out "Perfect Cosmic Storm." I dare you! You will be hooked. You'll become an addict. PROG IS ALIVE AND WELL and it is nowhere so well embodied as in the work of BIG BIG TRAIN!! Five stars to a masterpiece of fresh new music.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Sean Filkins / vocals
- Gregory Spawton / guitars, keyboards, vocals
- Andy Poole / bass
- Steve Hughes / drums
With:
- Tony Wright / alto (1,8) & tenor (2,4,6,8) saxophone, flute (4)
- Becca King / viola (1,2,4,7,8)
- Pete Trewavas / bass (4)
- Dave Meros / bass (2)
- Nick D'Virgilio / drums (2,4,6), vocals (2)
1. "Hope This Finds You" (3:12) is an almost classical instrumental introduction to the album--with some of the themes to follow included. Beautiful though not as impactful as what is to follow. (9/10)
2. "Perfect Cosmic Storm" (14:40) is one of my favorite prog songs of all-time. From the amazing guitar intro, to the "signal's gone to ground" lyric hook, to the rollicking recurring lead bass line, to the incredible dynamic shifts and "familiar" sounds (CHRIS SQUIRE-like bass, KING CRIMSON-like mellotrons, STEVE HACKETT-like guitar, MEL COLLINS-like saxophone, RICHARD WRIGHT-like organ). And what an incredible, shifting, engaging rollercoaster ride of music. Original symphonic prog at its best! (30/30)
3. "Breathing Space" (1:47) is another ambient instrumental interlude. Not as interesting or engaging as the first one but definitely a mood-setter. (4/5)
4. "Pick Up If You're There" (13:39) is another masterful epic with great vocals great pauses and buildups and deeply hooking key and chord changes. Wonderful bass, drum and keyboard work, as well. I love the melodic flow of this song, which actually seems to better showcase the performances of the individuals in the band. Wonderful tapestry! (27/30)
5. "From The Wide Open Sea" (1:20) is the third mellow instrumental interlude, this one almost all subtle chord washes. Actually, quite wonderful; I wish this one were extended. (4.5/5)
6. "Salt Water Falling on Uneven Ground" (12:38) starts a bit jazzy--almost PAUL WELLER-like--and soon breaks into full gallop. At 2:38 the masterful chorus "The ground is frozen underneath my feet", is established among awesome space music effects and the gutsy use of space. "The ground is frozen underneath my feet". So fresh and inventive!
I like the use of effects on several of the instruments on this one (guitars, especially, but also vocals--amazing vocals!). More spacey/psychedelic instrumental work in the mid-section. A headphone-listeners delight! Then there are the absolutely gorgeous final two minutes, following the "Do you remember the days of summer" lyric. Strings, multiple guitars (introducing XTC's DAVE GREGORY!), deep bass notes, and beautiful vocals. (23.75/25)
7. "Summer's Lease" (7:34) ends the album in a mellow, atmospheric way but with again SEAN FILKINS' gorgeous voice singing some very touching lyrics--tying together previous themes, both lyrically and musically, in an absolutely powerful, melodic, heart-sucking way. (15/15)
Total Time: 54:50
95.83 on the Fish scales = 5 stars, a masterpiece of progressive rock music and ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2007!
8. LA COSCIENZA DI ZENO La notte anche de griorno (2015)
This is my favorite release coming out of the AltrOck/Fading Records stable from this year (so far)—which is saying a lot since a) AltrOck is my favorite record label and b) I’ve already awarded five stars to Ciccada’s new release. La note anche di giorno is an album with two multi-part “side-long” epics both constructed in symphonic style. Because the songs of each epic flow one into the other without break, the pieces really should be listened straight through, but I will review the album with the parts broken down as they are listed on the album credits.
Lead singer Alessio Calandriello’s wonderful vocals always impress. There is something reassuring I find in his voice. There is a confidence to his singing and he is so versatile and yet consistent! Between the three La Conscienzo di Zeno albums and two Not A Good Sign efforts he’s become quite a fixture in my life. There is plenty of his fantastic work throughout this album.
The entire band is in great form throughout this album, guitarist Davide Serpico always integral and never over the top, drummer Andrea Orlando and bass player Gabriele Guidi Colombi make a stellar rhythm section, with some added kudos to GG for his wonderful double bass and bowman-ship. The prominent role of violin and flute, thanks to Domenico Ingenito and guest Joanne Roan, are touches that really set this album, this group, apart—they really help make this album so enjoyable and compelling. And then, of course, there is the backbone to La Coscienzo di Zeno, the keyboards. Here we have not one but two masters of their craft working together to compose and perform these brilliant pieces, Stefano Agnini and Luca Scherani. My hat is off to you, gentlemen.
I. “Giovane Figlia” (23:59) (48/50)
1. “A Ritroso” (5:26) (9/10) opens with Alessio’s powerful voice straight out of the gate. Awesome! The song plays out dynamically like an overture bouncing several themes back and forth throughout with Alessio even doing some theatric voice-play á la Peter Gabriel in his Genesis days.
2. “Il Giro del Cappio” (5:22) (9/10) opens slowly, softly, with “harpsichord,” violin and Alessio’s low register voice. At the two minute mark drums, bass, and electric guitars join in to accompany Alessio’s step up into his voice’s upper registers. Key change at 4:20 gets us ready for the next song.
3. “Libero Pensatore” (5:12) synths with guitar arpeggios open this one until an electric guitar carries in the main melody from the previous song—just before Alessio comes in. There is another melodic lead guitar solo in the third minute. Alessio sings slowly before a GENESIS-like shift at 3:20. Violin and organ alternate with synths and a staccato section in a very pleasant kind of rondo between the three sections. (10/10)
4. “Quiete Apparente” (1:37) (5/5)opens with driving bass and drums with Mellotron voices, steady and hypnotic until Alessio’s entrance to prepare us for the shift to:
5. “Impromptu pour S.Z.” (1:10) (5/5) is a brief but beautiful folksy café piano and violin intro which shifts when joined by synth and electric guitar before:
6. “Lenta Discesa all'Averno” (5:12) opens with Alessio’s powerful voice driving the song (which reminds me a lot of Alessio’s amazing vocal from “La città di Dite“ from Sensitività). At 0:40 the music softens with organ and electric guitar before moving into a kind of GENESIS area again. Great vocal and narrative voice until the two minute mark when soft organ, flute and double bass are joined by gorgeous chanteuse Simona Angioloni singing in French. Simona’s vocals are gradually multi-tracked to form a choir, whose increasing numbers and power are matched by that of the accompanying instruments. Sublime! The suite finishes with violin and bowed double bass. Amazing climax and ending to an amazing musical adventure! (10/10)
II. “Madre Antica” (20:08) (43/45)
7. “Il Paese Ferito” (5:52) opens with heavier, more ominous tone and mix of instruments. At the one minute mark the tempo and rhythm changes—to which piano and flute add a jazziness. Violin, synths and electric guitar interplay until at 2:00 Alessio’s voice enters and the music shifts to sound like a the narration to a bar room movie scene. At 3:00 piano, bowed double bass, and violin carry forward the pastoral late night debauchery feel with Alessio singing within the instruments’ storytelling. At 3:50 drums and organ enter and change the tempo into a kind of stop-start. At 4:25 electronic keys and guitars enter play with a two-steps forward, one step back ascending chord progression. At 5:15 there is a shift to more PINK FLOYD-like guitar chord and fretless bass with violin accompaniment until the song bleeds into the next. I like the kind of classical music structure and feel of this one. (9/10)
8. “Cavanella” (3:09) seemlessly shifts the music to a more upbeat mood with Alessio’s easy-going vocal leading throughout, though his speed and style changes four different times before the instrumental section at 2:20 shifts into another different time, rhythm and style before settling into the next song. (9/10)
9. “La staffetta” (4:01) (10/10) opens with a nice weave of synths and violin before Alessio comes in to continue telling us the story of the Ancient Mother. He gets quite emotional, powerfully so, at the end of the first minute. A brief break allows everyone to recharge before coming back full force, letting Alessio and the violinist take their turns. The music turns quiet at the end of the third minute, allowing the entry of a jazzy piano —who takes us solo into the suite’s finale:
10. “Come Statua di Dolore” (7:06) opens so cool, so confidently. It’s like the band knows they’ve had you and they’re saving the best for the end—the enravelling, the dénouement, the dessert. And what a dessert it is! A chapter straight out of the best of the Masters. Perfect instrumental work, perfect melodies, perfect chord changes, perfect choices in instrumentation. GENESIS, PFM, CURVED AIR, at their absolute best! The violin is definitely on front display—along with Alessio’s voice, of course. What a way to end an absolutely brilliantly crafted album! (15/15)
My biggest disadvantage in reviewing this album is that I don’t know Italian and I have thus far been unable to find translations into English for the lyrics or even a synopsis for the stories being told. If I do eventually find what stories are being told, I will amend my review.
95.79 on the Fish scales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2015!
9. ARNAUD BUKWALD La marmite cosmique No. 6 (2020)
The most creative master of synthesizing old sounds and styles into knew and exciting (and often witty) compositions is back with yet another jaw-dropping adventure into sonic magic-making. I am continuously in awe of Arnaud's uncanny ability to replicate and/or adapt old sounds, styles, and riffs and then meld them into something totally new and fresh. It is truly an amazing gift.
Line-up / Musicians:
- A. Bukwald / vocals, arrangements
- Cherry Pob / vocals
1. "Contes lunaires" (22:14) orchestration and operatic vocals! Am I on the set of Camelot? And then the sly slide into Zeuhl with the pairing of Arnaud's bass voice with Cherry Pob's mezzo! Genius! But then, holy sh*t! At the end of the second minute, the music slips into jazz--a fusion of early Magma Zeuhl and Soft Machine Third Canterbury! Wow! this is an even better fusion than SETNA! At 4:22 comes another sudden shift--into a variation on "Slightly, All the Time"--using piano-based jazz combo with sax and vibes--and then that Canterburian funky saw-organ! At 6:45 Arnaud again turns, this time into pure chordal Zeuhl structure, using echoed flute as his lead to distract us. Acoustic guitar, piano and the wafting, lilting voice of Cherry Pob take over at 7:32. I am in awe! Arnaud, you have truly outdone yourself! This is Annie Haslem Renaissance/Mike & Sally Oldfield territory. At 9:22 those acoustic guitars start to strum as Mellotron, cymbals, and "horns" join Cherry and synth-flutes. "Can You Hear Me?"
At 10:52 we shift back into Zeuhlish jazz--a slow pace that shows off the two vocalists (who possess a magical DEAD CAN DANCE Brendan Perry/Lisa Gerrard chemistry). Wow! The tears are streaming down my cheeks! (and this is the third time through the song!)
At 13:33 we get a shift into some kind of mystical forest of glass and wind as vibes/marimba flutes and cymbals create this spacious soundscape before being joined by the odd, sometimes discordant strums of a zither. Definitely a dream interlude.
At 15:35 we transition rather suddenly back into a more angular, DAVE STEWART-oriented style of Canterbury. While multiple instrument sounds used are straight out of the Canterbury lexicon, Arnaud cleverly brings in a few sounds that are on the fringes--though definitely from within the jazz fusion world. When the church organ begins mounting its ascending attack and the bass, drums, and bank of multiple vocals join in, we are in the realm of the gods--Prog Valhalla! Reverse-engineered guitar solos and then fades while the organ continues its slow, repetitive climb toward heaven. I think we've made it! Pure brilliance--from start to finish! Arnaud's finest hour! (44/45)
2. "Dynamogeny" (11:50) take an early Pink Floyd journey into psychedelia and throw in a little Procul Harum like-organ in the beginning and some upbeat 1940s (or -60s!) Eurojazz-pop, but then give it a metronomic yet-soulful Can-like penetrating Krautrock beat and you've got "Dynamogeny." What a trip! What a creative genius! (23/25)
Total Time 34:04
Those of you who have not give this master chameleon a chance, you are really missing out. There is true, rare genius happening here!
95.71 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of eclectic or crossover progressive rock music from the 21st Century's master synthesizer of our favorite sounds from the past. Congratulations, Arnaud! You've truly outdone yourself! A truly astonishing display of composition and realization! ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2020!
10. THE AMAZING Gentle Stream (2011)
This happens to be my favorite album of the year 2011; I know that it may not the 'best.' The melodies, warmth of the music, incredible group jams--led, of course, by my guitar hero, Reine Fiske--make this album one that I want to come back to often--more than the others in this year's Top Album's list. But I recognize its flaws, especially in the fact that it is not so proggy as some of the other masterpieces and excellent collections of progressive rock music.
1. "Gentle Stream" (7:00) starts the album out with an incredible sound that is quite reminiscent of some of the masterpieces of psychedelic rock from the late 1960s and even the Southern rock groups of the early 1970s. A smooth, incredibly warm and melodic song--both in terms of the instrumentalisits and the vocals. Great vocal harmonies in the vein of CROSBY, STILL, NASH & YOUNG. The drum work is incredibly fluid and smooth, restrained yet full--kind of like STEVE GADD's understated mastery. But my favorite part is the vocal-accompanied all-out jam by the band for the final two and a half minutes. The adrenaline rush is incredible! THE SONG OF THE YEAR!! (11/10)
2."Flashlight" (4:56) continues the album's 60s/70s psychedelic/Southern rock feel--as do all of the songs on Gentle Stream--this time in the vein of DAVE MASON/JESSE COLIN YOUNG. A simpler, almost acoustic song with flutes, picking acoustic guitar, and some organ. Nice ERIC CLAPTON/BLIND FAITH instrumental section in the middle, followed by simple electric guitar and saxophone soli to end. (8/10)
3. "International Hair" (6:08) is another standout song, this time starting like a JONI MITCHELL, FLEETWOOD MAC or AMERICA song. Singer Christoff Gunrup has an amazingly smooth, sensitive, and familiar voice; he sings as if he is putting his entire being into his efforts. The smooth, subtle work of the drummer is again stellar. A lull of delicate play at the 4:20 mark turns into another group jam with Reine Fiske playing the slide or pedal steel guitar and some roiling percussion dueling going on all around. (10/10)
4. "The Fog" (4:29) begins with some acoustic guitar picking which again revives images of STEVE WINWOOD/BLIND FAITH. The vocals enter, ever-so delicately, at times feeling like they are being held up or shored up by the background singers' sustained "ahh's" and "ooohs." Fiske's guitar picking gets a little more forceful at the 2:20 mark, and from there out, until multiple electric guitars begin a southern rock harmonized duel right out of the archives of THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND or even THE ALLMAN BROTHERS. (9.75/10)
5. "Gone" (6:13) has much more of a CSN&Y feel to it--especially the electric guitars. This song has some awesome hooks, both instrumentally and vocally, but the highlight is one of the album's trademark all-out band jams--previewed with the rhythm shift at the 2:21 mark but really starting at about the 4:07 mark. Almost a SANTANA or AMERICA feel to it. Wonderful b vox! (9.5/10)
6. "Dogs" (6:38) starts out with an even stronger CSN&Y sound and feel--like it was a song that didn't make it onto 1970's Déjà Vu (but should have). Christoff's vocal is mixed a little back and the electric guitars are very much in the foreground. This is not quite as engaging a song, despite it's familiarity, until the 4:12 mark when the electric guitar swiches on his wah-pedal and starts to lead into an awesome HENDRIX/CLAPTON/ROBIN TROWER playing backed by some amazing organ play that is reminiscent of PROCUL HARUM's MATTHEW FISHER or perhaps even STEVE WINWOOD. (9.5/10)
7. "Assumptions" (2:08) is a kind of vocal interlude, almost like sacred church or meditative music.(4/5)
8. "When The Colours Change" (6:02) is the album's final masterpiece. It begins with a very slow moving rhythm though with full band members' participation. Sitar or (and/or pedal steel?) and harp bring a rich fullness to this song that is so gorgeous. This song reminds me of some of the LARRY LEE-penned OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS songs from the 1970s. Beautiful song with stellar performances across the board--all collaborating and synthesizing into a seamless aural quilt. (10/10)
Again, this is my favorite album from the year, yet, in terms of its contribution to "progressive rock" it suffers a little. It is more of a revival of some long lost and yet not forgotten sounds and traditions that give it such a warmth and home-like familiarity that set this album apoart from the other Neo, revivalist or imitative work being done today. Absolutely gorgeous vocals and melodies coupled with mesmerizing guitar and drum play.
95.67 on the Fishscales = five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2011!
11. VANETA Antimemory (2016)
A band of young men from the Santa Gabriel mountains of California--self-proclaimed "keepers of the forest." With Vaneta, the band has decided to go with a change in direction from their previous heavy metal roots into the sophisticated progressive rock alter-ego that the band had been working on on the side. I've not heard or seen any of their previous music or concerts but I hear they were stunning, breathtaking. I, for one, am grateful for their new direction--and their collaboration with Lone Pine Records' producer Bill Fiorella, as together they have come up with one of the more unique and memorable sound styles this reviewer has heard in quite a while. The production, in and of itself, is quite unusual in that all of the instruments and voices are allowed to remain so clearly distinctive no matter how dense the music gets. Every subtle noise in the soundscape is preserved--which is something I adore in music: the subtleties.
The vocal arrangements alone are worth noting as guitarist Chris Durban and vocalist/guitarist Jared Paris and keyboard player Allan Hennessy do some stunning performances in all of the lead, background, and harmony capacities. These are vocals that are incredibly complicated and yet so impressively executed! It's like listening to world class dance choreography!
Also, notably absent are the computer "corrected," effected, "compressed" soundscapes that have become so prevalent in music production over the past 25 years. The acoustic guitars sound like they are in the room with you; the drums sound real and full, not gated; the vocals are natural and raw, not auto-tuned. All in all, Antimemory does a wonderful job capturing an 'acoustic' sound of an electrified rock and roll band. And it works! It's awesome! It helps remind and reinforce my love of the recording styles of those 1970s masterpieces.
Lineup/Musicians:
- Chris M Durbin / Vocals, Guitar
- Jared Paris / Harmony Vocals, Guitar
- Andrew C Sanchez / Drums
- Allan Hennessy /Keys, Vocals on "Last Ray Of The Sun"
- Wyatt Martin / Bass
With:
- Walter Foley / Lead Guitar
- Andrew Sanchez, Sr. / Vocal on “Last Ray Of The Sun”
- Megan Anna Van Dusen / Vocal on “Iron Mountain Chorus”
- Bill Fiorella / Bells on "Son of Sorrow" and "Antimemory"
- Freemon Wicher – Guitar on “Ferroform”
- Horn section on “Child”:
Craig Kupka – Trombone
Collin Kupka – Tenor Sax Solo
Paul Litteral – Trumpet
Matthew Moon – Tenor Sax
1. "Son of Sorrow" (6:42) opens with a minute of heavily vibrating scared bells before guitars, piano, and bass join in to set the stage. This bass play is awesome! Vocalist Chris Durbin bids us "hello" and sings an impassioned vocal--which is soon joined by the amazing backing harmonies of Jared Paris. This sounds so much like the best of one of my favorite bands of all-time, DOVES from Manchester, England. The build up to the chorus at 2:40 is awesome--as is the cool down in the first half of the fifth minute--which is followed by an excellent chorus section and then by a searing 45-second long lead guitar solo in the sixth minute which is then followed up by an awesome three-layered chorale vocal section to the song's end. Incredible song! One of the best things I've heard from 2016! It's only flaw is a little over-extension of the main theme. (14.5/15)
2. "Looking On" (5:06) opens with vocal, rhythm guitar and bass creating a weave that sounds like some classic rock song. At the 0:25 the song kicks into second gear with a very engaging THE MARS VOLTA/STEVEN WILSON foundation. The two-voice delivery of the second verse is so innovative and fresh! Stunning! Another great guitar solo begins rather humanly at the end of the third minute but then shifts into super-man speed in the fourth. The distant acoustic guitar sound in the third verse is so cool! It makes it sounds like a Dobro (which I love). The sound mix gets a little muddy with almost too-much going on in the fourth minute leading up to the a cappella vocal finish. The vocal arrangement over the fullness of sound from all band members in the final minute is, again, brilliant! Stunning song! (9.75/10)
3. "Ferroform" (5:52) opens with a familiar CORVUS STONE-like sound and guitar riff before a second guitar joins in with some fiery riffing. The effected vocal is cool in a hollow Greg LAKE/JIMI WILLIAMS/KING CRIMSON/DOVES "Moon Child" kind of way. As the voice comes to the fore--and is joined by the awesome wailing screams of Jared Paris--the song kicks into full speed--and into a nice long instrumental section in which guitar, bass, keys, and drums resonate in perfect cohesion. Then there is a drop off into a floating, dreamy section that is held together by a Hammond organ and some word being panned around in the background. Guitar arpeggi join in and, eventually, the band emerges out of the fog into it's full speed again (awesome bass line/play!) and then finishes with some thought-provoking piano and guitar notes and chords. Awesome! (9/10)
4. "Child" (8:26) the song's mini-epic opens in a kind of GUNS'n'ROSES-LED ZEPPELIN guitar-oriented way. Even the layered lead vocals have that kind of perfected classic rock feel to it. Into the third minute the Led Zep/G'n'R influences are still strong until there is a sudden shift at the three minute mark into a kind of THE MARS VOLTA/OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ Spanish-imbued high energy rock. The guitar play is so cool! So different--like RANDY BACHMAN on "Blue Collar" (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)--before a searing double guitar solo in the sixth minute. Man! I don't know how the band keeps up this coherent, stable intensity! Amazing! There's even some growl vocals behind the lead in this section. And then horns! Awesome horns! A saxophone lead! What a brilliant touch! For the final minute the band recoups and returns to the mature sound and pace of the opening with the song title being sung a few times by the double vocalists. Great, great multi-part song! (19.25/20)
5. "Last Ray of the Sun" (1:26) opens with a solo piano tinkling slowly away before setting up in a kind of "Great Gig in the Sky" (Pink Floyd) chord foundation while pianist, Allan Hennessy, sings the first verse (which turns out to be the chorus). The final 45 seconds finds the rest of the band joining in on this chorus line before letting Allan's piano finish on its own. Beautiful, haunting song! Well deserving of its presence on this album. (5/5)
6. "Iron Mountain Chorus" (5:47) opens with acoustic guitar picking away at two chords--two heavily charged chords--while a second, electric guitar slides and squeaks around far in the background before Chris' treated voice joins in. At 1:45 the voice again 'comes out of the closet' to sing "But it won't save you." The second verse then begins with two harmonized voices singing gently. Drummer Andrew Sanchez' cymbal play throughout this second verse is mesmerizing. I find myself reminded during this beautiful section of some the recent Prog Folk greats, FLEET FOXES, LEAFBLADE, DOVES, AUTUMN CHORUS and THE AMAZING. At 3:45 the band suddenly kicks into full gear with some energized bass, drum, guitar, voice and choral work--which plays out till the song's end. Gorgeous song! (9.25/10)
7. "Antimemory" (3:18) opens with sustained computer synth noise which is then joined by guitar strum, bass, and multiple voices floating and flitting in and around the soundscape. This continues for the first two minutes before all fade out in lieu of sacred bells and shakers. A perfect ending to such a spiritually gut-wrenching album. (5/5)
Total Time 37:04
Despite my high marks for each and every song--(more for their exceptional creativity, originality, beauty and promise)--I still see 'room to grow' for this band and it's sound. It will be difficult to top such an 'out of the blue' debut album, but I feel that this band of so many talents and influences can definitely refine their raw and passionate sound.
The excitement I feel when hearing this album reminds me of how I felt upon hearing Manchester's DOVES debut album first time in the early 2000s (my favorite album of Y2K). This is astonishing music regardless of who is performing it--made even more remarkable for the fact that this is a debut album.
Let the world know it: VANETA is here! . . . and they are a FORCE to be reckoned with!
95.67 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music and official winner of the title, ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2016!
P.S. I want to have bass player Wyatt Martin's babies. Or, at least his autograph!
Very nice eclectic prog from Greece. Each time I find myself listening to this album I am blown away by A) how good it is, B) how familiar it is, C) how diverse the styles represented here are, and D) how much it sounds like some long-lost 'classic' from the 1970s--like a new release of a heretofore undiscovered BABYLON tape.
Line-up/Musicians:
- Kostas Konstantinidis: guitars, vocals, midi guitar, ukulele
- George Baltas: drums,vocals
- George Theodoropoulos: keys
- George Filopelou: electric and fretless bass
- Babis Prodromidis: saxophone, flute
- Alex Kiourntziadis: violin
With:
Alexandra Sieti and Maria Mariadou: vocals on (4)
1. "Overture" (1:46) acoustic ditty introducing the epic that follows performed in a kind of Renaissance vocal herald style à la GENTLE GIANT. (4.5/5)
2. "Harvest Moon" (13:08) a song that sounds like it was left off a VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR or KING CRIMSON album in the 1970s or perhaps a more recent DISCIPLINE/MATTHEW PARMENTER--only with a different vocalist. Great drumming, great keyboard work, great saxophone, great vocals, amazing ending! (25/25)
3. "Ennui" (3:31) a gentle yet insistent STYX/RUSH-like interlude between the album's twin towers. (8.5/10)
4. "Walpurgi Flame" (20:15) Like two songs in one: the first a eight-minute rendering of an amazing though long lost Zeuhl (GUAPO?) warm up, the second a contrasting gorgeous, hope-filled symphonic folk piece with female lead vocalists feeling similar to a CIRRUS BAY song (though it sounds more, in fact, like a song from Chile's AISLES' 2009 In Sudden Walks because of the incredible vocal melodies). Methinks the lyrics refer to the trouble a typical (or particular) Greek individual might have with his country (as well as his species') preoccupation with money and power when, at basic biological status, all are equal. My new favorite prog epic of the year 2016. (40/40)
5. "The Tower" (2:56) a beautiful and incredibly powerful tribute to the shock and confusion of the eye-witness observers of the destruction of New York City's Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. (5/5)
6. "The Art of Ending a Revolution" (14:44) is a decent if fairly bland and simple prog epic about the lesson humans are supposed to learn "the art of smiling while someone is stabbing your back," the art of practicing The Golden Rule, the art of patience with hope, the art of detachment. Nice electric guitar chord progressions, nice vocal, nice message, nice bass play, nice saxophone work--just a nice song. Nice. Like we're expected to be. Despite the chaos and corruption surrounding us.
The best part of the song begins with the eery Twilight Zone-like synth over which David Strathairn reads Edward R. Murrow's famous anti-Eugene McCarthy speech from the 2005 film, Good Night, and Good Luck... and then the powerful final two minutes. (27/30)
This is one of the most brilliantly conceived and realized concept albums I've ever heard. I hope it gets the attention it deserves--both musically and moral-politically.
95.65 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of progressive rock music and an album that should be heard around the world--especially in times like these.
13. WESERBERGLAND Sacrae Symphonae nr. 1 (2022)
What feels like a continuation of both the sound of 2020's incredible Am Ende der Welt as well as the evolution of the Weserbergland sound and vision, we have here a headlong hypersonic immersion into a mind-blowing blending of the worlds of the acoustic and electronic--one in which acoustic instruments are merged seemlessly into one soundscape. Though prog veteran Mattias Olsson seems to have left the project that he help start back in 2015, replacement drummer Vetle Larsen is everybit as impressive (though I'm never certain which drum/percussion parts are "live" with "real" instruments and which are electronically programmed and computer generated), and one of the other founding four from Sehr Kosmisch, Ganz Progisch, White Willow/The Opium Cartel's Jacob Holm-Lupo has moved back behind the scenes into the post-production role of mastering. Joining the project here is American producer/musician from the Post Rock scene, John McEntire (Tortoise, Stereolab, Gastr Del Sol, The Sea and Cake, Dave Grubbs, Red Krayola) on the mixing board. Though founding member, guitarist Gaute Storsve, is still very much a part of the scene, the project has really evolved into the hands of multi-talented visionary Ketil Vestrum Einarsen (White Willow, Motorpsycho, Tirill, Geir Lysne, Jaga Jazzist, Wobbler, Finn Coren, Frida Ånnevik, Kaukasus, Anima Morte, Galasphere 347), who is credited with composing, programming, fxing, synthesizing, and, I'm sure, more. What a vision!
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ketil Vestrum Einarsen / synths, programming
- Gaute Storsve / guitar
- Maria Grigoryeva / violins
- Jan-Terje Augestad / saxophone
- Jørgen Mathisen / saxophone
- Ingebrikt Håker Flaten / bass
- Vetle Adrian Larsen / drums
- Filippo Tramontana / French horn
- Manuel Domeneche / oboe
1. "Sacrae Symphonia No. 1" (39:49) starts off like a rocket out of a rocket launcher and though the Magma-like bass and wild drums only enter in the seventh minute, it finally peaks in its trajectory in the second stage, begins to lose steam and layers of support tracks from the 14th minute from which it's rather peaceful (outer-atmosphere) midflight feels almost peaceful, maybe even weightless. At the halfway mark searing, screaming cacophony (of frictional re-entry?) takes over before the full-on barrage of drums and bass et al. begin hurtling through the air again--all the while the discordant notes of orchestral instruments hold in sustained ribbons like trail kites until the 26th minute when forward motion is minuscule while a trail of echoes seems to be left to fall into the distance. At 27:37 the drums reenter, not quite as frenetically, more robotically. Perhaps this is the missile's guided cruise control as it scours the earth's surface in search of its target/final destination. By the 30-minute mark, the musical tapestry has thickened again, though both the electric and orchestral contributions all feel more copacetic and even cohesive: there is less discord and cacophony and more "sacred." (Man! is this drummer having to work hard!)
Were I to try to convert my metaphoric imagery to fit the song's title, I might use language and terms from a vocabulary based in celestial astronomy or quantum physics, or even Biblical references: The Fall of Lucifer; a struggle against the forces of a black hole/singularity; the journey of a subatomic particle as it passes through the subspace ether of Jesus on the Cross. I do appreciate and like the subtle, gradual transition from what seems and feels like entropic dissonance to coordinated, harmonic organization. (75/80)
Total Time 39:49
How to rate--how to assign numerical value to such a work?! I don't think I'm going to. I will, however, issue my declaration of praise for this work of art in the form of five stars: I consider Sacrae Symphonia No. 1 as a masterpiece of human creativity. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2022!
14. VESPERO De ludo globi (2023)
The Russian Kosmische Musik jammers are back with their 14th studio album release since their debut in 2006.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ivan Fedotov / drums, percussion
- Arkady Fedotov / bass, synth, noises, sampler
- Alexander Kuzovlev / guitars
- Alexey Klabukov / keys, synths, sampler, trumpet, winds arrangement
- Vitaly Borodin / violin, kalimba, sampler
With:
- Alexey Esin / tenor sax, soprano sax, flute
1. "De ludo globi - Pars una" (20:05) cool opening with. a weave of kalimba, glockenspiel, trumpet, breathing saxophone, and electric guitar single notes, all processed to give it a swirling, dreamy feeling. More percussion instruments, violin, flute, bass, and, ultimately, lead Ernie Isley/Ray Gomez-like electric guitar join in during the second minute before some of the other instruments step out. Alexander "Ernie" Kuzovlev leads the way for a bit before an array of spacey synths, rolling guitar chords, tom-toms, and bass form a nice rondo-like weave for a minute or so until the tuned percussives and violin take on the responsibility of holding the entire song fabric together, Then, at 4:30, starting with Ivan Fedotov's snare play and taking off with brother Arkady's Caribbean bass line, the band moves into a very OZRIC TENTACLES-like jungle-space jam. At 4:45 the band steps up and morphs the music into a very with Alexander Kuzovlev's electric guitar taking the first extended solo. I'm not sure how to explain this, but this section is so 1970s jazz-rock fusion and yet at the same time, somehow, symphonic, cinematic, beautiful, and more "classic" jazz. I am entranced.
A bridge at 6:25 moves us into a completely different rhythmic structure for the foundation while Alexander's electric guitar turns more aggressive John McLauglin- or LARRY CORYELL-like while violin, trumpet, and synths retain the OZRICS/GONG-like spacey sound palette. The next extended section reminds me of some of my favorite "smooth" melodic jazz-rock fusion from the 1970s--JEAN-LUC PONTY and LARRY CORYELL. (I love the fully-drenched Mellotron low end!).
From the mid-tenth minute, over the next seven or eight minutes, a beautiful violin- and guitar-led symphonic "Mellow Mahavishnu" motif is extended and explored: the melodies here are so beautiful--so very very similar to CARAVAN's timeless mid-section ("Pengola/Backwards") from their 1973 song, "L'auberge du Sanglier/A hunting we shall go/Pengola/Backwards/A hunting we shall go (reprise)" from Girls Who Go Plump in the Night--the inspiration from which I welcome into any modern prog artist's repertoire of "things to explore." I just love how the drummer, horns, and bass hold sacred the space for Alexander and especially, violinist Vitaly Borodin, while Alex and Vita tug at the listeners' heart-strings with their wonderfully melodic soaring and soloing.
At 15:35 the band stops and allows the single-note sounds of multiple instrumental dronings to fill the gap before the next motif starts up--but, no! There is no "next motif"! This is it: a long, prolonged weave of sustained-but-shifting single note drones, forming different chords with each instrument's note change, all the way to the song's end! Well, that was unexpected! (I love it when a band can do that to me! Even with my fifth and sixth listens I find myself unable to "see the plan" or "expect the unexpected" as I approach that sixteenth minute!) I can not see (or hear) a flaw within this song. It's just so magical and unexpected! I think I'm listening to my favorite prog epic from 2023! (39/40)
2. "De ludo globi - Pars duo" (20:23) opens as if its own entity, building slowly like an old jazz (or new FROGG CAFÉ) fusion suite. The horns are very prominent from the opening--trumpet, sax, and electric guitar all eventually teaming up to carry the melody line forward as the rhythm section beneath morphs and shapeshifts. In the third minute the rhythm section's groove is set and its time for some solo play above: flute, saxes, electric guitar, synths, violin--everybody seems to get a turn. The background horn play in the fifth minute is great as the percussive synths carry forward the tune's center. At 5:19 Alexander's guitar steps into the front to issue some impressive pyrotechnics. As the support crew maintains its flow of slow chord progression I find myself reminded of both Antoinio Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Ketil Vestrum's last two WESERBERGLAND "symphonies": 2020'S Am Ende Der Weltand 2022's Sacrae Symphoniae no. 1, but then the tempo changes in the eighth minute, Alexander's guitar play stops--as does the accompanying flute and horn play--as a slow "unwinding" of space synths occurs over the next minute. Midway through the ninth minute a new, slower pace from the rhythm section is rejoined so that saxes and synths can solo a bit, until 9:40 when the drums and bass doubletime (with some very interesting snare and cymbal play from drummer Ivan Fedotov) while the rest of the band continue to develop a kind of big band sound. At 11:30 there is yet another spacey crash and decay/delay. When the instruments pick themselves up again it is with a very cool violin-led Jean-Luc Ponty-like jazz-folk motif. More solo ED WYNNE-like electric guitar wailing in the fifteenth minute while Ivan continues to get the most out of his batterie--all while the bass player maintains a calm, steady, slowly rhythmic melody beneath all of the cacophony going on over him. In the seventeenth minute it is Arkady Fedotov's slow and steady bass line that powers the music forward as individual horns and synths continue to throw in their melodic riffs like marshmallows and moths to a campfire. (Great sax and synth work here, btw)
At 18:00 suddenly everybody (very sneakily) congeals to issue forward one single whole-band SEVEN IMPALE-like melody while the Fedotov brothers hold everybody together from beneath. (You go, Ivan! I haven't heard this interesting drumming from you in quite a while!) The full band continues to build upon and carry forward the short jazzy melody line with many individual instruments going off script to add their own independent harmonies and melody embellishments as the army progresses insidiously to a very mysterious and sudden 10-second pause--from everybody!--at 19:36. Then, at 19:47, as suddenly and unexpectedly as the pause, arises a quick re-entry to the cacophonous crescendo--as if nothing whatsoever had occurred to interrupt the flow of time (and history). the full band comes back playing another couple of rounds of the same exact theme as before, and then, it's done! Weird! But wonderful! (37.5/40)
Total Time 40:28
It has taken me a while to get to know this wonderful album (longer epics and mesmerics are like that), but I'm so glad to have this one in my music collection. I'd fallen off the Vespero bandwagon after their wonderful 2020 release, The Four Zaos, and, though I really came into this with little or no expectations, it's really nice to hear a band still performing at such a mature and highly creative level. There aren't many modern prog bands whose core membership remains stable and committed, but this is not the case with these now-veteran collaborators of Vespero--and I think it has really showed in the steady development of this band into creators of continuously more creative, sophisticated, and engaging musics. And to see how far the individual instrumentalists have come in both skillfulness but also the ability to work collaboratively within the collective weave and cohesive goal of a "finished" end product. Marvellous!
Though I love the first 15 minutes of the opening epic, I am equally enamored with the final nine minutes of the "Pars duo." Definitely an amazing album--and definitely my favorite performances by each and every one of the amazing band members. Mega kudos to The Brothers Fedotov, Alex "Guitar" Kuzovlev, keysmaster Alexey Klabukov, reed marvel Alexey Esin, and violinist extraordinaire Vitaly "Battle of" Borodin! You have definitely given us a masterpiece for the ages!
95.625 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of sophisticated and original (though nostalgic) instrumental jazz-rock fusion; an essential addition to any self-proclaimed "prog lover"'s music collection. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2023!
15. WESERBERGLAND Am Ende der Welt (2020)
The vastly creative mind of Ketil Vestrum Einarsen and collaborators Matthias Olsson and Jacob Holm-Lupo are at it again. While their previous effort, 2017's masterful "update" of the Krautrock musical scene, Sehr Kosmiche, Ganz Progisch, this one is far more futuristic--employing extreme computer processing techniques in both the treatment and recording of the instrumental sounds captured here but also in the final rendering of said sound. While the album does have some similarities to Sehr Kosmiche, Ganz Progisch, but is definitely its own beast. The composition is intended to be singular but due to the limitations imposed by Bandcamp has been renderd into two "separate" entities. The music is, to my ears, some kind of modern classical music à la Karlheinz Stockhausen. If one has the opportunity to hear Jacob Holm-Lupo's "binaural" rendering of the music, you will definitely feel the distinctive "classical" component parts and musical styles being here "modernized"; the other version gives more of the impression of a linear assault on the brain.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ketil Vestrum Einarsen / computer
- Ketil Vestrum Einarsen / computer
- Jørgen Mathisen / saxophone harmonics
- Gaute Storsve / guitar
- Jan Terje Augestad / treated piano
- Maria Grigoryeva / strings
- Molesome (Mattias Olsson) / turntables
- Gaute Storsve / guitar
- Jan Terje Augestad / treated piano
- Maria Grigoryeva / strings
- Molesome (Mattias Olsson) / turntables
1. "Am Ende Der Welt" (Side A) (24:18) The way this starts--with a kind of experiment in modern recording techniques and wave-treatment effects of strings, horns, electric guitar, and piano, I thought I was in for something like a GODSPEED /YOU! BLACK EMPEROR song, but then the computer drum beats and other glitch noises begin. This is not the same music as that produced for the band's heavy-into-Krautrock 2017 debut album. It turns very experimental--a kind of cross between the primal "tribal" music of Yoshimi P-We and some the most "out there" music of Markus Pajakkala--all accompanied by the steady strings of the Kronos Quartet! The odd thing is, I really like this! Especially the Steve Reichian third, chamber first and fourth motifs and the drawn-out drone and experimental glitch dulcimer middle. Int he fifteenth minute, the cacophony of earlier sounds and layers climbs back into the soundscape, taking over with the insistence of a race car cruising through open country vistas. After the stark sparseness of that middle section, the return of craziness almost feels comforting, "normal" which I find very interesting; being a nature lover and city-hater, this is not what I would have expected my reaction to be. The scale back to the third Steve Reichian motif in the twentieth minute is equally fascinating for my bodymind's reaction to it: as if there are essential melodies being woven together here. I am blown away! What a ride! And now, after my third "trip" through "Side A" I think I'm in love! I am Pan, primal goat-man, looking for a place to sow my seed. Any place! Please! It's all so beautiful! (48/50)
2. "Am Ende Der Welt" (Side B) (18:20) And the party continues! (Apparently this was recorded as a single song that had to be split into two due to Bandcamp's restrictions.) This half opens with sustained horns and piano hits behind "alien radio static." Very cool. For some reason I'm reminded of the evocative warmth of MARK ISHAM soundtrack music being used for some moving like Contact. At 2:18 heavily-treated computer drums enter--adding more to the "alien" feeling than to the human emotional side. The droning horns and strings try to drown out the drums as a syncopated bass note (coming from the treated piano) becomes equally insistent. In the eighth minute the horns drop back revealing layers of electric guitar and synth that were playing there all along, hidden beneath the scream-squeal-and-bark cacophony going on up front. It's unnerving, it's beautiful; unsettling and calming all at once, depending on your "distance"--and it goes on for 12 minutes before showing any signs of letting up! At times I'm thinking I'm in the Scottish highlands, at others hearing a mother's lullaby, and others the vicious sounds of a pack of wolves in pursuit of and ripping apart their prey. Amazing!
As it does let up in the 14th minute--various instrument tracks being removed or whatever--it becomes monomaniacal in an Ornette Coleman kind of way. Hard to believe that crazed sax was there the whole time!
I think it genius--though I'm not sure I'd ever play this for easy listening background music. (38
/40)
Total Time 42:38
Total Time 42:38
Now this is progressive rock! Ketil & Co. have definitely used all the tools to take there sound experiments into seldom-traveled territories. Bravo! Kudos! This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but you have to respect the vision and cajones it took to see this through from conception to release! I'm not sure which I prefer, the "standard" rendering that I first heard (three times) or the more humanely dissected soundstage of the "binaural" version. Both are worth the time for the different experiences. Compare and tell me which you prefer and why!
95.55 on the Fishscales = A/five stars. While I think this album release a masterpiece of truly progressive rock music, I extend this precautionary warning: THIS MUSIC IS NOT FOR THE WIMPY, LIGHT--OF-HEART, OR GUTLESS; it will take curiosity, patience, courage, and ann open-mind in order to appreciate this is not you, then I recommend staying far away. If you are at all curious about Ketil's intentions when creating this album, check out the excellent interview with him by Sander Roscoe Wolff at positive-feedback.com, Issue 104, August 14, 2019.
16. NIL Quarante jours sur le Sinaï (2003)
Line-up / Musicians:
- David Maurin / prepared guitars, flute, bass clarinet, gong
- Benjamin Croizy / synthesizer, Mellotron, church organ (St Pierre Cathedral, Annecy), Hammond, piano, MS-20, timpani
- Samuel Maurin / bass, Chapman Stick, vocals
- Frank Niebel / drums, percussion
With:
- Anne Cayrol / cello
- Hervé Franconi / soprano saxophone
- François Pernel / harp
- Roselyne Berthet / vocals, ethereal voices
- Eric Vedovati / vocals
- Samy Cyr / ethereal voices
- Audrey Casella / narrator
1. "Act I" (36:16) So many great motifs and melodic explorations and shifts--and they all work! I am so glad that Roselyne Berthet's beautiful vocal talents are enlisted so often over the course of this piece. The weird male vocals in the 20th and 21st minutes remind me of either a creepy Zeuhlish vignette or a scen e from Musea Records' Odyssey: The Greatest Tale. There are even EBERHARD WEBER-like motifs (24th minute) as well as several fully-symphonic instrumental palettes. So much beautiful music! So hard to rate! (66.25/70)
2. "Act II" (26:42) (/50)
Total Time 62:58
Mostly because of the density of this album's two songs, each covering over 26 minutes, It has been a real struggle for me to get to know this amazing album. (I've owned it for over 15 years! I just never sat with it with my undivided attention like I did, finally, today.) My overwhelming response is that progressive rock music does not get better than this--in fact, has never been better than this; this is precisely the raison d'etre for a category of music we call "progressive rock" to exist: for the cinematic/theatric musical expression of BIG human themes.
The musical composition(s), instrumental performances, and sound production of this album, start to finish, are of the absolute highest quality. The confident use of melody and dissonance, virtuosic displays of instrumental prowess contrasted with passages of spacious simplicity shows, to me, that these band members are true masters of their craft.
Without hesitation this is a five star masterpiece of progressive rock music and the finest studio album release of 2003. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2003!
17. GHOST MEDICINE Discontinuance (2016)
Produced in England, with the full participation of seasoned bass legend, Colin Edwin, comes this project from Atlanta's JARED LEACH and company--including lead and background vocalist and lyricist Sarah Hoefer, amazing drummer and programmer, Scott Prian (who also recorded and mixed the album), and, of course, Colin on bass. Three principle musicians created these incredible weaves of heavy prog rock sound! Only three!!! Amazing!
1. "Crooked House" (9:44) opens with an awesome synth-supported acoustic guitar picking/strumming solo. By the time the first minute comes to an end, the intro gives way to a very fast-paced, intricately performed heavy rock with a slightly Southern Rock flavor. The male and then female vocals that enter around the two minute mark take over the foreground but the amazing YES-like instrumental guitar feast that forms the background goes on--and would command all of the listener's attention were it not for the beautiful melodic voice of Sarah Hoefer and the great harmonies presented by composer/bandleader/guitarist extraordinaire, Jared LEACH. (Remember this name: It is one I guarantee you will hear again!) An interlude of beautiful ANTHONY PHILLIPS-like solo acoustic guitar in the eighth minute feels like it could be the "bookend" of the song's opening intro--but no! The song returns to its top speed heaviness for the final minute and ends on a high note of LED ZEPPELIN quality and ferocity! Amazing song! Incredible opener and introduction to this extraordinary new talent! (20/20)
2. "Shiver" (5:55) opens with a very strong C-W feel and sound--which is only solidified with the entrance of Nashville-like vocal of Sarah Hoefer for the first verse. The instrumental bridge between first and second verses is awesome--and some amazing slide guitar work continues beneath Sarah's singing of the second verse. By the time the chorus and instrumental sections arrive the song has almost lost any Country/Southern feel to it. Astonishing flow and development! The guitar, bass, and drum work on this song are spell-binding, to say the least--so much so that I found myself pushing the repeat button three times when I first heard it! The song's only flow is that Sarah's voice starts to become drowned out by the instruments by the end of the second verse. In my listening history, only BRUCE COCKBURN at his very best rivals this complex, virtuosic sound! (10/10)
3. "Departure" (6:24) opens with a very heavy, fast-driving OCEANSIZE-sounding guitar, bass and drum weave, which backs off a little into more of a heavy PORCUPINE TREE sound as the vocals enter. The instrumental passage at the end of the second minute contains some awesome guitar--which falls into some ALCEST-like guitarscapes beneath the next round of vocals. The next instrumental bridge contains some guitar shredding (two tracks, R & L) that rivals anything anybody has ever done with pick and four fingers. This then segues into a minor-key section that sounds like something between Italia's AKT or East Anglia's FEN or 4AD's DIF JUZ. The instrumental sections are amazing. The vocal sections are weak. (9/10)
4. "Desert Spring" (8:54) has some very interesting sound and structure. I especially like the atmospheric treatment of the guitars and the presence of acoustic guitar. The song's instrumental sections contain some of the heaviest soundscapes of the album--more than Porcupine Tree at their heaviest--and then some of the album's most sensitive, atmospheric sections, too. Yet they work. Together! In the seventh minute there is a very GENESIS-like feel to the soft, atmospheric section as it slowly climbs back into full soundscape. And then Sarah's wonderfully impassioned vocal falls over some of the album's most straightforward neo-prog section (not unlike MAGENTA, MOSTLY AUTUMN or MANTRA VEGA). (18/20)
5. "Beautiful World" (4:00) opens with some soft, delicately played acoustic guitar--sounding a lot like many of the 1980s guitarists from Windham Hill--or Steve TIBBETTS and/or the late, great Michael HEDGES. The ensuing voices (Jared with Sarah in harmony b vox) present a spacious story with Jared's voice sounding quite beautiful--not unlike Britain's Tony PATTERSON. Though an all-acoustic guitar based song, this one plays out quite well. John Martyn or Tim Blake might have liked this one enough to cover it. (9/10)
6. "Broken Corridor" (5:01) despite solid sound and song structure, there is nothing new or innovative about this one; it feels like something that's already been done. It opens with some Southern Rock Dobro-like guitar fast-picking--which then becomes the pace and melodic structure of the whole band sound. Things quiet down enough for the vocal to enter--first the male, in a REM-like sound, and then Sarah for the second verse. The breakneck speed is, I have to admit, impressive. By the third verse Sarah and Jared are sharing the lead. The drumming and guitar play during the instrumental passages rival anything Gavin Harrison and former DIXIE DREGS' axeman Steve Morse have done. Amazing duo! (9/10)
7. "Discontinuance" (11:14) opens with spacy synths, computer-like percussive sounds before being joined by gentle acoustic guitar arpeggi and bass guitar. Sarah Hoefer's HEATHER FINDLAY-like voice enters at the end of the first minute to deliver the first verse of the song. Lively drums and more playful bass accompany the second. Then, at 2:30, everything stops to start a very PORCUPINE TREE/KING CRIMSON-like heavy instrumental section. All instruments are cruising at very skilled levels for two minutes before a slight switch allows the presentation of a more traditional electric guitar solo--albeit, a brief one, as things soon back down to allow drums and bass, synths and Sarah's vocalizations to haunt us beautifully. At the beginning of the seventh minute everything shuts down to make way for acoustic guitar arpeggio fast-picking and slide guitar in background with synths and bass in support. (Colin Edwin is masterful!) Echoes of screechy, scratchy electric guitar sounds open the ninth minute before the acoustic guitar picking takes on another few phrases. Then a great wall of sound, like a tidal wave rushing onto the shore, fills the soundscape during the tenth minute before fading into a slow fade into guitar amp feedback, static, and distant guitar tunings till the end. Amazing song! One of the album's other top three. (20/20)
95.0 on the Fishscales = A; a five star masterpiece of progressive rock music and one of the most astonishing albums of the year if not the decade! Again, people, remember this name: JARED LEACH is the New Kid on the Block and a force to be reckoned with for a long while, I surmise!
18. EDISON'S CHILDREN The Final Breath Before November (2012)
A late release in 2013, it’s taken me this long to get to listen to this album and now that I know it intimately I write my review and prepare to adjust all of my year-end rankings to make room for this masterpiece of prog ear candy.
1. “Final Breath” (4:04) opens with some ominous incidental noises and sustained notes before an old player piano and synth exchange supporting melody lines. Pulsing synth bass and other instruments slowly gather around until drums declare the song to be in the style of Pink Floyd, not a cinematic soundtrack. (8/10)
2. “Light Years” (7:33) opens with a strumming 12-string not unlike George Harrison’s infamous “My Sweet Lord” before a somewhat cheesy upper register electric guitar melody line joins in—introducing and, later, mirroring the vocal melody line. Drawn out over minutes it becomes a little tedious. The second solo guitar line added at 3:25 is no better. The vocal could very well come from Fish—especially his more rock oriented solo stuff-even his album of the very same year, A Feast of Consequences. Nothing very special here, though the unusual ‘second song’ that begins at the 6:20 mark is a bit more original and a notch more interesting. (10.5/15)
3. “Silhouette” is an epic masterpiece. Thirteen to nineteen song threads woven together into one long story have an atmospheric quality that captivates the listener even through the heavier sections. The opening two sections (“i. Silence Can Be Deafening, Part 1” [6:47] and it’s companion, “ii. Welcome to Your Nightmare” [3:16]) are so hypnotic, so comfortingly, beautifully engaging, as to lay the groundwork for the totality of the 67 minutes.
“iii. Where Were You?” (12:01) has such awesome, pleading and floating vocals over Floydian rhythm tracks with Dave Gilmour/Mirek Gil-like lead guitar play. Could anyone sing “It’s in my head” with any more feeling and vulnerable power than Pete Trewavas? Awesome lead guitar play in “iv. The Loging [7:48].
“v. The Morphlux” [3:12] is interesting for it’s departure from the flow and synth domination of the previous 30-minutes. Oud, acoustic guitar and hand drums lay down the base for the theatrical whispering Genesis-like Gabriel vocal. Once the rock instruments bash their way in the song rollicks along with a relentlessness that is just awesome! All-out vocals and Hackett-like guitar leads carry this song to prog heaven!
The sudden and complete switching of gears at the transition into “vi. I Am Haunted” [2:51] is interesting if a bit off-setting. Then, just as suddenly, we enter into a reprise of the opening themes with “vii. What Do You Want?” [2:04] only this one amped up with two channels of prog-heavenly lead guitars, which, then transitions rather (too) quickly into the atmospheric four-part “viii. The Seventh Sign [7:01], a very Pink Floyd Wall-era sounding song, complete with a Gilmour-rivaling solo.
Suddenly we find ourselves back in the Morphlux theme with the disturbing effect of multiple vocals vying for our attention (“ix. The Second Coming of The Morphlux” [3:08]) before fading/floating us back into the awesomeness of the soundscape of Silence Can Be Deafening (Part 2) [5:13]—though a decidedly more echo-y and atmospheric version. This, however, allows the drum play to stand out much more—and awesome is that drum play as it builds and plays with Pete Trewavas’ excellently layered synthesizer extravaganza and Eric’s beautiful Mirek Gil-like guitar leads.
By the time we flow into the exquisite nine-minute instrumental “Music for The End Credits of an Existence” we are wondering how much longer these guys can maintain this high level of inspiration, creativity, and emotional output. Incredible! The final 100 seconds of “The Clock Strikes November” teases us with a little ditty from The Morphlux themes in order to try to bring some closure to this amazing sonic journey. Perfect!
I cannot imagine someone not enjoying this song! Even my wife keeps chiming in to ask who’s singing, who is this playing, what are they singing so beautifully about? I have even found myself pushing replay while working with this song in the background—and been curious enough to follow the lyrics through an entire listening. Is it a ghost story or a story about a lost part of life, an older identity, a past life, a look back into the past at an older version of one’s self or another? It’s no matter. It’s gorgeous, composed, performed and sung with heartfelt emotion and excellent, excellent engineering and mixing. Kudos, Pete, Eric and helpers. Thank you for keeping beautiful progressive rock alive—ney, giving it a great booster shot of fresh life! I am ever so grateful!!
95.0 on the Fish scales = Five stars. A masterpiece of atmospheric, melodic spacey progressive rock.
19. OIAPOK OisoLün (2023)
Pierre Wawrzyniak, bass player of CAMEMBERT and SKE repute, is back with a new band--one in which he is in full leadership as both principle composer and bass player.
1. "OisoLün" (2:21) ethereal female vocal breath-singing in French over a gentle weave of acoustic instruments. This results in an unusual, oh-so-French (I can picture the Gainsbourgs walking on the beach--in black-and-white, of course) and oh-so-beautiful song. (10/10)
2. "Summer 19" (6:46) the few straight-forward measures of 4/4 beats in the opening minute take me by such surprise that I notice them! But then, after two minutes of introductory slow-build, the funked-up bass comes in. It feels quite a bit like it has the melodic sense of James Jamerson despite the un-Jamerson characteristic of being so effected and forward, (it's mixed far in the lower front--as if Pierre is standing at your table with the rest of the band back on the stage). In fact, the bass takes over as the most dominant instrument despite so many other things going on beneath, behind, and around it: the other instruments become more staccato and syncopated--even the delivery of Mélanie Gerber's airy vocals. Some of the other background instruments in the weave (harp, muted trombone, flutes, xylophone) seem to be providing an almost Japanese melodic element with their arpeggiated note deliveries. The rest of the song is highlighted by the brief appearances of banked CHICAGO-like horns (trombones) and lots of dynamic shifts, loud and soft, smooth and truncated. Unfortunately, the ending comes rather suddenly and unexpectedly (every time I listen to it!) The highlight of the song, for me, comes in the infrequent and fleeting instances in which the entire ensemble come together to generate these "big chords" and full band sounds. (13.25/15)
3. "Les grands équipages de lumière" (6:04) hypnotic tuned percussives and sensitive cymbal play support what sound like a male choir singing a church-like Beach Boys-like harmony (singing in French). In the second minute, more confirmational evidence that the electric bass (Pierre Wawrzyniak--the Ghost of Pierre W-Cheese) is fully in the lead with this group comes as the instrumental field widens and fills. The jazzy bass takes the lead in the second minute and never lets go--despite the integration of the choir (singing in the background) and the arrival and continual presence of the wonderful harp and horn section (all trombones?). Wonderful segue into Motown-ness 2:50-3:00 before returning to the choir's theatric homophonic ejaculations--all the while, the bass continues to present his infectious funk lead melody lines. This is the first song that reminds me of the crazy unpredictability that Pierre's CAMEMBERT project presented with their two masterful albums (2011's Schnörgl Attahk and 2017's Negative Toe). I actually really like this ever-morphing choral vocal style--it has something in it that reminds me so much of our Western heritage: from monasteries to church cathedrals to school choirs to Burt Bacharach. (9.5/10)
4. "Le concierge" (7:29) Mélanie at her breathiest singing up front and center in her heavily-accented English while being accompanied only by harp and some tuned percussion. Then, at the end of the first minute, bass notes, rhythmic hits from background trombones and some keys and more tuned percussion fill more of the sonic field. The musical tapestry somehow produces a "What's Going On?" field effect while Mélanie singspers and the harp, vibes, and trombones interject their intermittent epithets and outbursts. In the second half the trombones, vibes, bass, and harp come forward to present a Zappa-ish chord and melody structure using lots of layers of staccato notes played within a regulated syncopy. In the fifth minute the trombone takes the lead, mirroring the bass, while Motown rhythm guitar and vibes offer their support. Mélanie takes up with the horns and bass for the sixth minute, using their melody line to deliver her own vocalized words, but then she is left rather starkly among minimal instruments to carry the song forward in the seventh minute (now singing in French). Militaristic snare drumming and return of horn section arrive at the end to relieve Mélanie and take us out. The melodies of this song alone are enough to keep me under its spell but the vocal treatment and arrangement for Mélanie and company elevate it to even greater heights. Simply wonderful! (15/15)
5. "Frogs Might Disappear" (8:42) a journey of collectively gorgeous melodies and chord structures--a journey of such utter and sheer delight that I find my mood elevated every time I listen to this. There are just so many amazing, individualistic lines and sounds being woven into the fabric of this loose crochet--but it still works to embrace, envelope, and comfort us like an afghan shawl on a cool summer night. And, there are so many amazing motifs presented, interspersed, recapitulated, and rewoven into and out of the rainbow weave. I am simply astounded, mesmerized, befuddled, and over-joyed at the number of twists and turns this nine minute journey takes me on. It's like driving in the narrow, twisting and turning streets and alleys of an ancient mediæval city: every few measures (seconds or meters) a totally new and surprising view, smell, soundscape, and or temperature might be encountered, enriching yet confusing and often overwhelming until one has to simply let go and enjoy the ride in a fit of unbridled laughter and screaming! Definitely one of the most amazing, joyful emotional experiences I've had in a long time! Amazing what music can do! Amazing what the future of music and art can hold! (19.75/20)
6. "So Empty It Looks Real" (7:16) acoustic guitars and soloing bass are soon joined by trombone and whistle to present a Celtic-like melody and soundscape. Again, such an unusual spectrum of instruments for "this" "type" of music. I know Pierre has a method behind his vision and boy! do I want to hear it. Harp, acoustic guitars, Irish flutes, breathy female vocalist, trombones, funky electric bass, and lots of tuned percussion all make for something quite new and unique and yet so perfect, so fulfilling, so "full-spectrum" and holistic! The most disparate song on the album but it's still gorgeous.
Unfortunately this song seems to be about the ruination of our planet and our own living spaces--an uncharacteristically cynical and condemning lyric to close out this album of otherwise overwhelmingly positive and uplifting music. (13.25/15)
I can see why Pierre and the band decided to describe this music as "futuristic" as it definitely has very little in common with the musics that have come before--except that I have to admit that it feels linked to French Beat poetry scene of the 1960s and the soulful jazz of 1960s and 1970s American R&B.
One Bandcamp commenter posted their personal comparisons of OisoLün's music to: "Yes, Jaga Jazzist, Sigur Ros, Stereolab, King Gizzard." To this list of esteemed referents, I would add Ryuichi Sakamoto, Inner Ear Brigade and Frogg Café, and Motown's James Jamerson. Would that I knew more about French musical traditions because I feel that there is much to be owed to the French pop and lounge scenes of the 1960s.
Once again the sound engineering and reproduction is totally deserving of all superlatives (thanks to the supreme talents of both Paolo Botta and Udi Koomran). Such a joy to listen to!
95.0 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; 2023's first masterpiece--and a wonderful look into a future that I very much want to be a part of.
I can see why Pierre and the band decided to describe this music as "futuristic" as it definitely has very little in common with the musics that have come before--except that I have to admit that it feels linked to French Beat poetry scene of the 1960s and the soulful jazz of 1960s and 1970s American R&B.
One Bandcamp commenter posted their personal comparisons of OisoLün's music to: "Yes, Jaga Jazzist, Sigur Ros, Stereolab, King Gizzard." To this list of esteemed referents, I would add Ryuichi Sakamoto, Inner Ear Brigade and Frogg Café, and Motown's James Jamerson. Would that I knew more about French musical traditions because I feel that there is much to be owed to the French pop and lounge scenes of the 1960s.
Once again the sound engineering and reproduction is totally deserving of all superlatives (thanks to the supreme talents of both Paolo Botta and Udi Koomran). Such a joy to listen to!
95.0 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; 2023's first masterpiece--and a wonderful look into a future that I very much want to be a part of.
20. AIRBAG The Greatest Show on Earth (2013)
O, frabjous day! Calloo, callay! They've finally done it, folks! The heirs-apparent to PINK FLOYD have finally fulfilled the enormous promise of their 2009 debut album, Identity; they have pushed past the imitative phase of their 2011 PF-clone/imitation album, All Rights Removed. Now that they have mastered the sounds and stylings of their ancestors, they have moved into new territory, creating fresh, new music. Yes, this is still close to the songs familiar to us all from the original Floyd, but AIRBAG have gotten their courage and confidence built up enough to, in effect, create new Pink Floyd music. That is, if the individuals and collective members of Pink Floyd had been able to retain the creative and explorative fires of their prime years (68-80), this is the five star music they would have been producing. All songs are incredible! All performances, all constructions, all sound and engineering choices are impeccably crafted. Check out these songs on YouTube: "Redemption"; "Call Me Back", and "The Greatest Show on Earth".
1. "Surveillance (Pt. 1)" (2:27) (5/5)
2. "Redemption" (7:00) (14.25/15)
3. "Silence Grows" (5:44) gorgeous little ballad in the vein of their first album and some of Steven Wilson's work. Stunning set up and support for the great lead guitar work in the second half. (10/10)
4. "Call Me Back" (11:14) great pacing, great slow-build to guitar solo as well as within the solo--and it's a long and great solo! (19.5/20)
5. "The Greatest Show on Earth" (6:59) powerful music for the most upbeat, hard-driving, and self-defining song on the album. Again, I hear more similarities to the Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree sound than to Pink Floyd. (13.5/15)
6. "Surveillance, Pts. 2-3" (16:42) starts somewhat slow and understatedly for the place that it ends. Things really begin to get interesting in the fifth minute with the second chorus and the powerful instrumental section that follows. A prolonged interlude of spacey soundscape then follows before the unleashing of full on PT prog heaviness at the 7:40 mark. (28/30)
95.0 on the fish scales = five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music. Again, take the beautiful melodies and masterful instrumental weaves of Identity and the Pink Floyd sounds and forms of All Rights Removed and you get this 2013 release, The Greatest Show on Earth.
Mega kudos, Asle, Bjørn, Henrik, Jørgen, and Anders: You have achieved what I thought possible for you: A masterpiece of progressive rock music! This one is for the ages, boys!
21. KOTEBEL Concerto for Piano and Electric Ensemble (2012)
I fell in love with Kotebel with 2006's Omphalos (one of my Top Ten favorite albums of the Naughties). At that time the band had, IMHO, the finest female vocalist in modern prog music (Carolina Prieto) and arguably the greatest flutest ever in prog history (Omar Acosta). By 2009, with the recording and release of Ouroboros they both had left the band (or, perhaps, they were not asked back). Thus my expectations for Ouroboros were quite low. (As it turns out the album is very good--showcasing some jaw-dropping work from bass player Jaime Pascual. The music just took a lot longer to draw me in.)
Now for 2012's Concerto for Piano and Electric Ensemble I was willing to give them another chance; I figured that six years is long enough for such creative and virtuosic artists to compose something fresh and mature. And how right I was! This is an amazing album of melodic jazz-rock constructed within classical symphonic structures. The pianist, Adriana, daughter of band founder Carlos Plaza Vega, while no Hiromi, stands quite strongly with the rest of the band and within the setting of the four-movement 43-minute "Concerto" (86.5/90) does quite well both leading the ensemble as well as supporting it in an orchestral way. In song after song drums, bass, electronic keyboards, saxes, and a great variety of guitars (pleasantly, a lot of wonderful acoustic guitar playing) together weave the fabric of wonderful music. At times I find myself reminded of ELP, King Crimson, Return to Forever, Weather Report, SBB, Nil, and After Crying.
5. "The Flight of the Hippogriff, Part 1" (4:53) takes off at suburban speed while establishing its melodic "hooks" but eventually ramps up to overdrive. Some great solo work from bass, sax, and electric guitar. (8/10)
6. "The Dance of Shiva" (6:58) carry one into more tranquil, visual sonic soundscapes using lots of synths and space to tell their story. Very pretty melodies (I hear echoes of Carolina Prieto!) and fun Latin percussives. I like hearing this patient, subdued side of Kotebel. (13.5/15)
7. "The Flight of the Hippogriff, Part 2" (4:35) is the slowed down, more melodic groove version of song 5. Quite beautiful--and beautifully conceived. (10/10)
8. The finale, "The Infant" (7:12) establishes itself kind of slowly with a piano sound/melody/feel similar to early TOTO. The rhythm section eventually informs the listener that this is no TOTO (fine group that they were) but a much more classically-oriented band. But, wait! The jazzy sax seems to draw us back into a more cinematic place. A personal favorite. (15/15)
Crossing genres so seemlessly, so effortlessly is what makes this album, IMO, a sure fire masterpiece of progressive rock music. Well done Kotebel! This will be a tough album to beat for 2012 Album of the Year! I hope enough people really give this album a chance because it really is some wonderful music--and progressive in the truest sense of the word.
95.0 on the Fish scales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
22. THE GHOSTS OF JUPITER The Great Bright Horses (2016)
Nate Wilson, why haven't I heard of you before? Your genius and mature songwriting skills have surely been developed over time. Your gift for endless strings of melodic hooks--both vocally and lyrically, as well as instrumentally--are so far beyond most young artists. Are you older--or perhaps just an old soul come to comfort us in these horrific times? I love this album. You've masterfully blended and combined so many sounds from days gone by, modern times, creating a halcyon world for our blissful escape. Bands like TAME IMPALA, DUNGEN, THE AMAZING, PINK FLOYD, MIDLAKE, DOVES, THE FLAMING LIPS, JOHN LENNON, THE CLIENTELE, ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, and many, many others come to mind while listening to this gorgeous music.
1. "The Great Bright Horses" (6:45) blending so many great sounds and styles with seamless transitions from one melodic hook to another. (14.25/20)
2. "Boundless Time I" (4:12) channeling the DUNGEN and JOHN LENNON (9.5/10)
3. "Lyra" (5:18) an instrumental channeling DUNGEN mixed with PINK FLOYD --or vice versa. (9/10)
4. "Toward the Silent Sun" (5:18) sounds very much like MIDLAKE's glorious music from their 2014 album Antiphon sprinkled with quite a little TAME IMPALA. (9.5/10)
5. "The Golden Age" (5:07) has the musical edge of something from the late 1960s by PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS with the heavily reverbed vocals of APP or THE CLIENTELE. (8.5/10)
6. "Equuleus" (2:32) heavily echoed piano, soft drums, flute, and, later, organ, evoke a kind of ERIK SATIE-meets-STEVE AND DAVID GORDON feel on this gorgeous albeit brief instrumental. (5/5)
7. "Towers" (3:40) acoustic guitar with slide electric and very catchy piano riff beneath the mellifluous vocals that takes on a feel like an AMAZING song. (9.5/10)
8. "Boundless Time II" (6:32) fades in with two channels of slide guitars and beautifully flanged drums and bass beneath. Piano joins in the second minute to become the lead instrument while guitars settle back in support. Organ, too, joins in to support piano. A stop and lull at the two and a half minute mark allows the unleashing of a REINE FISKE/JIMI HENDRIX-like passage of flaming guitar before organ and synth take over in the fourth minute setting up a little drum soloing. Lots of panning of the drums between brief organ sections. Reminds me of Nikitas Kissonas's METHEXIS songs. Return to AMAZING sound with awesome bass and drum playing over the final section. (9.5/10)
9. "The Eastern Glow" (8:40) opens with bass riffing and jazzy drumming in a Canterbury way before multiple guitars and multiple keyboard tracks (synths, organs, piano) and, eventually, dreamy voice join in. Great melodic hooks from each and every instrument, in each and every section. Major shift in the music and pacing after the three minute mark before there is a complete gap--which is then filled by plaintive piano play, setting up a "Great Gig in the Sky" like melody line which is then picked up and taken to great heights by pedal steel guitar. Gorgeous! A song I like to play twice before starting the album over (which I often do immediately). (20/20)
I don't know if a more engaging, melodic prog rock album can be created to top this, but here we are!
95.0 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a veritable masterpiece of gorgeous psych-folk prog rock.
IAMTHEMORNING Lighthouse (2016)
The young duo of classically trained musicians from St. Petersburg, Russia, Gleb Kolyadin and Marjana Semkina, are back again with their third album (not including an EP and live recording) since 2012--this one enlisting the capable help of seasoned veterans Gavin HARRISON on drums, Colin EDWIN (PORCUPINE TREE) on bass, and Canadian Vlad AVY on guitar. They even got RIVERSIDE's Mariuz DUDA to contribute a vocal to half of one song!
The most striking difference in the feel and sound of this album comes in a shift back toward the classical and folk music sounds and structures that made their debut album so striking and refreshing. I am not sure if this shift back is due to the mixed fan response they received from their more rock-oriented second album, Belighted, or their own gut feelings, but surely the choice of hiring the engineering talents of Tori AMOS-experienced Marcel Van LIMBEEK, and Neil PICKLES for the mixing and mastering helped.
The KSCOPE connection is great, and the studio recording and production is amazing, but I like this 'new' return to their original sound much better, and I'm sure it's production has something to do with that. Gleb's classically-influenced piano playing is prominent throughout the album--which is a strength--especially if you've seen some of the videos of their live performances: iamthemorning music is very powerful when it is broken down into the acoustic versions in which they were composed. Marjana's vocals have also improved--her amazing range has increased in strength in all directions, but her confidence and mastery in making exciting and daring vocal arrangements has also grown tremendously. It is truly a wonder, a privilege, to behold.
1. "I Came Before the Water, Part I" (1:41) opens with rippling stream water sounds before Marjana's angelic voice enters in her upper registers, announcing her folk-mythic presence while being accompanied only by orchestral strings and quiet electronic keyboard. Awesome start! I am excited! This sounds like a very mature, very composed, very centered iamthemorning. (5/5)
2. "Too Many Years" (5:10) is a piano and orchestra supported song which is notable for Marjana's layering of multiple vocal tracks of her own voice in several parts for some harmony support to her lead--to amazing effect. I can't remember hearing her do this with such great outcome before! How she has grown and matured!
The contributions of bass, drums and strings are wonderfully enriching to the mood and the late arrival of the double-reed French bombard is awesome. Great song. (9/10)
3. "Clear Clearer" (4:35) opens with eery background noises, electric bass, woodwinds and electric keyboard establishing a mysterious musical foundation. At 0:45 Marjana joins in with a more powerful (but not dominating) version of her voice. After another 45 seconds hand drums, piano, and other metallic percussives bring up the decibels level a bit. This is the first occasion on the album in which I am reminded of the waltzy song construction style that was so joyfully present on the iamthemorning debut album, ~.
Soloing electric guitar takes front and center in the final stretch over Marjan's whispering vocalizions panning right and left in the background, though all instruments eventual fade and drop out to allow for a charming little woodwind finale. Brilliant song! Great, memorable melodies! (10/10)
4. "Sleeping Pills" (3:44) opens with Marjana's angelic voice holding these amazing notes, singing like an angel straight into one's soul, with some simple piano chords arpeggiating beneath. Background vocals--(Marjana's or the "Perezvony" Choir's?)--join in as singular classical instruments also make their presences known as the chorus begins. Then, with the second verse we are treated to a JOHN TOUT-like piano solo and haunting background violin solo just before the Perezvony Choir enters to perform its chant-like magic. Stunning! Hand drums, piano, fretless bass, and drum kit join and gradually build in intensity to the song's (IMO, premature) end. Gorgeous! And so refreshingly ingenious. (10/10)
5. "Liberetto Horror" (2:14) has a kind of cabaret-burlesque feel to it--frolicking piano, sexy vocals--only the b vox and flutes and, later, strings, shift us away from this stage-like tease extravaganza. But it's too late: Marjana and Gleb have long ago seduced me. Fun song! (4.5/5)
6. "Lighthouse" (6:19) opens with a kind of SATIE/CLAUDE BOLLING-like jazzified classical piano speeding up and down the keyboard before Marjana's whispery voice enters front and center (singing right into my ear! So intimate it makes me blush! Only KATE BUSH has been able to effectively do this before. As a matter of fact, the KATE BUSH comparisons should consider as the piano and voice combination is strikingly similar to a few of Kate's bare bones piano and voice song styles).
At 3:55 the duet format ends as strummed guitars, strings, harp, drums, bass and background vocals join in--eventually giving center stage to a beautiful if less-forward-than-we're-all-used-to vocal by RIVERSIDE's Mariuz DUDA. When you know his voice is coming, you expect some heavy, dramatic shift, but instead the vocal and song play out very smoothly, almost soporifically.
The amazing first half makes this song a timeless classic, a master class in classical folk duet; aside from the wonderful wisps of background vocal work (by multiple tracks of Marjana and some Mariuz), the second half is a little too mellow and monotonous. I feel the anticipation (and expectation) for something more emotional, even bombastic. It could've been better but it's still amazing. (Is that possible?) (9/10)
7. "Harmony" (5:19) is an instrumental that has a wonderfully symphonic feel that is quite strongly reminiscent of John TOUT-era RENAISSANCE. John HACKETT-like flute solos, tuned percussion, and, eventually, full rock band and solo electric guitar grace this gorgeous song. (No offense, Marjana, but Gleb has the potential for a solo album/career.) (As do you!) (10/10)
8. "Matches" (4:18) is the first song on the album which opens with a very familiar feel and style--fast-moving piano fingering with Marjana's delightfully acrobatic voice dancing a bit too far back in the mix (I've always wished her voice to be a little more front and center, a little more over the piano in the mix). Switch to electric piano is interesting, but then back to grand piano as the drums and fretless bass of Gavin HARRISON and Colin EDWIN, respectively, take prominence (though only for less than a minute before the song fades out). (8/10)
9. "Belighted" (3:20) opens with Marjana's delicate voice singing with the accompaniment of only a harp for the first verse. Glockenspiel (electronic keyboard?) and background voices join in for the second verse. Then full strings orchestra makes their entry for the chorus and successive verses. Enter bass, hand drums, and woodwinds and what a magical weave of dreaminess we have just before Gleb's piano and electric guitar take the fore ground in some nice counter-melody play. Wow! I don't want it to end. This band, these songwriters are at the very top of their game!!! (10/10)
10. "Chalk and Coal" (4:57) is a dramatic, almost Broadway show tune-like composition that contains a strain of spoken vocals that are treated to sound like whispered or muted radio samples throughout the background of the song. It's brilliant!--as are the trumpet soli in the second and fourth minutes.
Electric guitar I also love the decision to have a long fadeout with Gleb's jazzy piano riffs repeated over and over while only being accompanied by a flanged percussion hit as time keeper: Simple, bold and powerful. Incredible! (9/10)
11. "I Came Before the Water, II" (2:56) is an incredibly emotional near-a cappella performance by Marjana--the only instrumental support coming from a very slow build of orchestral strings that begins in the second minute--just as Marjana shifts her singing into a very high octave (she opened the first verse of this reiteration of the album's opening song & lyric in a mid-range voice).
The song closes with the same water sounds from the opening song. Stunning! Utterly gut-wrenching! And haunting! (in a good way) (10/10)
12. "Post Scriptum" (2:44) is the album's finale in which Marjana's voice is used to wordlessly sing the song's Russian folk melody in tandem with strings and woodwind while Gleb tickles the ivories and Colin and hold their steady beat behind. Haunting. (5/5)
In my humble opinion, Gleb and Marjana have come out of their shell, into their own state as mature butterflies, to fulfill the amazing and unique potential they exploded onto the scene with back in 2012. The return to piano- and "classical folk"-based sound styles is much welcomed but more, the display of ingenious musical ideas is made felt throughout each and every song--so many choices in structure, sound and restraint that only masters of their craft can ever achieve. And yet, they are still so young! With their confidence and creative beasts released; I can see a long string of masterpieces in iamthemorning (or Gelb Kolyadin and Marjana Semkina)'s long and illustrious career(s).
94.76 on the Fish scales = without hesitation or argument, this is a five star masterpiece of progressive rock music, essential for any prog lover's music collection; A. An album that I will be listening to regularly for years to come.
Marjana and Gleb are focusing their energies on giving attention to the under-attended ills of those suffering from psychological illness, so, for those of you with a friend or loved one with some mental illness, this album might just be a perfect balm ... or tonic. Compassionately conceived and intended, Beautifully rendered, this is music for healing and wholeness.
CICADA White Forest (2017)
Jesy Chiang and friends are back with yet another collection of emotionally provocative neoclassical soundscapes inspired by nature--and, once again, inspired especially by the beauty and tragedy of our planet's oceans. As has become their habit, the band has joined forces with exceptionally talented videographers to create highly cinematic and evocative video presentations for each of the songs included here. I have become so used to "listening" to Cicada's music through their YouTube videos that I cannot help but admit that my impressions and reviews may be affected--and are most certainly often elevated--by the impact of the visual aspects. The music of this album seems to give far more prominence and presence to the guitar than any of their previous albums with far less lead time to Jesy's piano. The result of this shift is a much more even-tempered full quintet style of chamber music--though the compositions still feel very impressionistic. It is obvious that guitarist Hsieh
Wei Lun is participating much more in the composition department of the songs--of all of the songs--where his guitar had begun to show more prominence in individual songs on the past few albums
1. "Dolphins Leap" (5:27) powerful, joyful, transportive, and, of course, playful music which has the added benefit, in video form, of presenting not only dolphin play, but film footage of both studio and recreation time among the Cicada band. Quite fun! Quite a beautiful collection of species members. (9.5/10)
2. "Fly" (2:55) leaping out of void with an opening of flutters and flaps, the music quickly settles into a gorgeous, thick chamber weave from all group members before breaking down to start over again with guitar strumming, piano pounding, and violin taking the lead. The final minute, then, slows down to a very slow, sparse construct--as if the birds are flying away into the distance. (10/10)
3. "White Forest" (5:10) plucked guitar chords, continuous repetition of a high octave piano arpeggio, and pizzicato cello and viola notes open a prolonged intro (90 seconds) before the stringed instruments begin a modern chamber weave. Teh guitar here is giving the music a Windham Hill/WILL ACKERMAN-like feel and sound. Beautiful!
At 3:05 all things come to a crashing halt as piano takes over a slow chord progression as strings screech quietly in the background. By the fifth minute a slowed down version of the opening ensues as eerie effected sounds in the background emulate wind and wave sounds. (9/10)
4. "Used to Be Home" (8:55) opens with a very classical, very fiery-feeling, (almost fatally so!), cello solo for the duration of the first 1:17. Then viola, violin, and piano join take over while cello reverts to pizzicato and bass-like play. Guitar and other strings begin to throw percussive noises into the fray before all breaks down to a cavernous display of bowed cello notes. The other two chamber string instruments provide chord support for the violin to take up the lead in a heart-wrenching melody until the 4:20 mark when things stop and piano chords bridge us into a piano-based section. Cello, violin, and viola each add some stunning yet minimal note play in support before piano yields the fore, strings come together, and guitar joins in. By 6:30 the weave has tightened and sped up--just before a mandolin-like synth (heavily treated electric guitar?) is added over the piano and strings. Gorgeous! A sparsely cohesive final 30 seconds finishes it off nicely. (19/20)
5. "Swimming in the Plastic Ocean" (3:07) a chamber trio that opens with deep viola motif sounding almost Russian as pizzicato notes shoot from the cello. Violin enters as the lead instrument in a sad dirge before viola steps in beneath. Cello eventually begins bowing before there is a pregnant pause out of which come several long three-note chords coming from the three instruments before evolving into another untidy weave that eventually leads to a rather discordant end. Nice piece! (9/10)
6. "Whale Family" (6:18) opening with some absolutely beautiful WILLIAM ACKERMAN-like pastoral acoustic guitar work, the piano and strings eventually join in, first giving cello and viola the leads, then allowing piano and treated note primacy as mother and infant whales swim lovingly together on the video screen. Gorgeous piano chords at the song's foundation! The music feels quite driven by the video imagery--becoming quite subservient in a soundtrack capacity as the video ensues--even pausing in the fourth minute as the whales disappear in a frenzy of underwater bubbles and then resuming in at a much more lively pace as the whales' film footage moves to the ocean's surface. The music does remain faster as the video returns to the depths and even finishes with another barrage of bubbles. Such pristine recording and sound rendering. (9.25/10)
7. "The Stray Cat in Zhuwei" (6:00) the most tightly constructed song on the album opens with piano base and gorgeous dispersal of intermittent guitar strums before the song develops into a full-band effort. Cello and piano get the spotlight in the second minute (toward the end) in what turns out to be repeated as the song's 'chorus.' At the three minute mark guitar and low-end strings play takeover. At 5:00 piano and pizzicato strings yield a more spacious arrangement--which plays out to the end. Flawless and gorgeous! And so emotional! Perhaps the best song the I've ever heard from the band! (10/10)
The music throughout this album is the most mature, most confident the band has ever produced--showing less constraints by the expectations of forms and labels and even more abandon to impressionistic passages though always displaying virtuosic control and cohesion. The sound engineering and production here is beyond amazing--even when the band's new addition--synthesized and effected sound--are employed.
94.69 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; another breath-taking masterpiece of modern neoclassical (less Post Rock) music. I didn't think Jesy and crew would be able to top the amazing 2015 masterpiece Light Shining Through the Sea, my favorite album of theirs, but I guess they have!
MONOBODY Raytracing (2018)
The boys from Chicago are back! As you may recall, their 2015 self-titled debut crashed onto the Post Rock scene with quite a splash! In fact, I rated it as a five-star masterpiece and included it among my list of favorite Post Rock albums of all-time. As good as that album was, this one may be better. The tempo variations and melodic maturity displayed here shows that these guys have been working hard over the past three years.
Line-up / Musicians:
Al Costis: electric bass, vibraphone, lap steel guitar
Collin Clauson: keyboards
Conor Mackey: electric guitar, keyboards, vibraphone, programming
Nnamdi Ogbonnaya: drums, percussion
Steve Marek: electric bass
With
Matt Attfield: trombone (4)
1. "Ilha Verde" (10:44) opens with slow, delicate playing from heavily distorted and lightly-flanged electric instruments while drums play clear and pure somewhat sub rosa. Things ramp up into a tight jazz weave in the third minute and then get crazy-cruisin' by the fourth--a little avant with tight stop-and-starts and a very tightly woven weave. By the middle of the fourth minute things are bass-slappin' primal, if you know what I mean! Then, just as suddenly, at the four minute mark things break down and we glide into a section of gorgeous Lyle-Mays-like melodic jazz. Guitar and piano here are so tight! This is such a diverse odyssey--like a jazz master class! Intricate staccato work returns, followed by the heavier King Crimson-like stuff to the mid-eight minute. Another break as we enter a new dreamy patch. Wow! What a ride! It is truly like experiencing all of the emotional and spatial shifts of Homer's Odyssey--in just under eleven minutes! Great multiple-layered pacing in the final section as drums go frenetic beneath gentler keys and floating guitars on top. (18.25/20)
2. "Raytracing" (4:47) complex, fast-paced weave with, at times, a bassa nova kind of beat structure and some really funky guitar and vibe sounds woven into some gorgeous passages. Incredibly impressive cohesion and synchrony from all band members. Incredibly impressive song! (10/10)
3. "Former Islands" (5:26) the song most like their debut album. It opens fast-paced, intricately woven as Post Rock with a TOE. (Japanese Post Rock band) feel to it. Solid, impressive song with solid, impressive instrumental performances over the course of two movements in an A-B-A-B structure. The melodies in the B section are gorgeous. (10/10)
4. "Echophrasia" (9:59) a gentle, spacey opening section with floating synths and keys over which percussives and guitar noodle their rapidly traveling passages. When things pick up and become jazzier in the third minute, the feel becomes all intricately constructed, well-rehearsed timed rapidly arpeggiated chord progressions--jazz! A spacey interlude in the fifth minute lets everyone catch their breath before guitar arpeggi, cymbol play support trombone and slide guitar work. The intricate weave of guitar, keys, and bass and drums rises and intensifies before a guitar scream introduces a "heavy" technical-metal section. This is so impressive the way the whole-band's timing has to be so perfect in order to pull off the realization of these crazy-complex compositions! (18/20)
5. "The Shortest Way" (1:03) a cross between John Martyn's echoplex guitar and Mark Isham's synth work to give the listener a little respite from this stunning album. Thank you! (4.5/5)
6. "Opalescent Edges" (8:08) speaking of Mark Isham, this one opens like a Minimalist Isham-Bill Bruford EARTHWORKS piece. Chunky bass and psuedo-power chords give the third section a little STEELY DAN feel to it. (What?!) But then Conor Mackay just has to show off his amazing speed for a few before we fall into another classic jazz gentle bridge leading to a Stick and vibes weave with keys and bass and drums rockin' out to drown out the band! This sixth minute would have been the perfect finale, but no, the band has to keep going in order to let some individual steam off--here the guitar and synth get some solo time before they weave back into whole before decaying into the sedating final minute of space sounds. Wow! What did I just experience? How does one define this music? "Prog Perfection!" (15/15)
Total Time 40:07
Throw away the Post Rock/Math Rock label, boys, this is Jazz-Rock Fusion at it's most intricately KonstruKted King Crimsonianness.
94.6875 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a certifiable masterpiece of modern progressive rock music--and album that would make Señors Fripp, Bruford, Levin, Belew, Gunn, Mastelotto, Harrison, Jakszyk, and Rieflin proud.
MONOBODY Monobody (2015)
Precisely performed jazzy Math Rock from some youth from Chicago. Gutsy, intelligent, complex and intricate yet delivered tight and with great melodic sense.
1. "Lifeguard of a Helpless Body" (4:15) with the same fast pace and upbeat nature of a TOE (Japan) jam, this sets the tone for the album with some fast-picking (and tapping) guitar work. Such a refreshing sound! (10/10)
2. "I Heard them on the Harbor" (5:56) takes its time in establishing patterns as it opens with several instruments taking turns appearing and disappearing. It is only into the third minute that a rhythm and structure is established and played over--but then is challenged and discarded in lieu of some spacey and then jazzy keyboard. The spacey, spacious soundscape reappears for a while until at 4:18 an entirely new and soft-beat rhythmicity is established and built around. And exquisitely so, I might add! Cool and unusual song. (9/10)
3. "Curry Courier Career" (8:11) opens sounding like an intricate, upbeat WES MONTGOMERY song. It then diverts into I kind of étude in sharp time changes and collective band discipline. Things shift and progress in this song so quickly and suddenly--totally unpredictably. There is, however, a pattern to the song structure here (as opposed to song #2). A song that displays some seriously talented and skilled musicians and some seriously well-rehearsed execution of some seriously well-thought out song composition. Definitely the most jazzy song on the album. (13.5/15)
4. "Exformation" (5:21) opens with some intricate and frenetic guitar tapping leading the band into a stop-and-go kind of rush hour traffic pace. The guitarists melody lines here are seriously (and continuously) fast! Even in the mid-song lull the keyboard and guitar lines are intricate and speedy. STANLEY JORDAN would be impressed! (9/10)
5. "Gilgamesh (R-Texas)" (6:18) lots of interplay between instruments off doing their own thing: staccato rhtymic hits from drums and rhythm instruments, polyrhythmic arpeggi from piano, guitars and synths. It is an amazing display of artistry, vision, discipline and restraint. There's even quite a liteel MUFFINS-like Canterbury play in the chord and melody structures of the third and fourth minutes (and the horns in the fifth minute). Everything drops off at the end of the fifth minute save for an electric piano chord sequence--over which the delicate play of other instruments is added to the end. Another outstanding gem of a song! (10/10)
6. "Country Doctor" (5:25) opens with a simple little piano arpeggio repeated over before countrified big band joins in. The pace is atypically slow for this band until the one minute mark when a wall of KAYO DOT-like electrified sound enters and swallows us. The music vacillates back and forth for a while between the MAUDLIN OF THE WELL like beauty of intricately woven soft-picked instruments and the occasional wake-up call of a blast of heavy metal dynamo then settles into a long section of soft but intricately woven multiple instruments. The final 35 seconds allows instruments final flourishes over a fast piano arpeggio. Beautiful song! My favorite on the album. (10/10)
Every once in a while an album comes out of nowhere to shock and surprise me--and this is one of those. I only wish I had heard it in the year it was released so that I could have had more say in helping to bring attention to it. This is an AMAZING album that is truly worth the while of any prog lover's time and attention. Check it out!
94.61 on the Fish scales = a veritable five star album; a true masterpiece of progressive rock music! But what is it? Post Rock/Math Rock like TOE or ALGERNON? Eclectic Jazz Rock à la FROGG CAFE or UNAKA PRONG? Canterbury jazz like MANNA/MIRAGE/THE MUFFINS? It's a mystery! They're chameleon's! I can't wait to watch their future unfold for the skies are not too high for these talented musicians!
BROTHER APE A Rare Moment of Insight (2010)
This is the best Brother Ape album yet--and, because of its consistently high content and performances, one of my Top Ten of 2010. One thing this album has that previous Brother Ape albums perhaps lacked is GREAT production--sound is mixed VERY clearly (though the drums are often given a bit too much volume.)
1. "Juggernaut Now" (7:27) [13.5/15] and 3. "Ultramarathon" (7:49) [13.75/15] have a distinctive JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE sound and feel to them--(except for the wonderful TREVOR HORN-like voice)--which makes sense since this is a three-piece rock band with a very active drummer. The whelm of MAX BERGMAN's frenetic pace and style (sounding a lot like KEITH MOON sans cymbol mania) takes some getting used to, but once past that you have some pretty amazing songs here. Some BLUE OYSTER CULT-like guitar riffs in "Ultramarathon" give it a varied feel, while the calming vocal and wild drumming continues to provide the tension to make the glue holding the song together.
2. "Chrysalis" (5:34) slows things down a bit and presents an almost DEPECHE MODE-OCEANSIZE marriage of sound. Cool song. I love that all of this album's songs have so many subtleties to be extracted from the music with each successive listen. [8.5/10]
4. "Seabound" (6:03) has a bit of a feel as if FLEET FOXES or MOON SAFARI's vocal harmonies were singing over YES's "Turn of the Century." Very nice, quite nostalgic, song that keeps growing on me as time passes. Very nice acoustic guitar work. [10/10]
5. "Instinct" (6:52) is my favorite. It has a lot of atmospheric sounds floating behind the drums: keys, vocals, even bass are very etheric. Great vocal melody lines (and, later, harmonies) and awesome lead guitar solo around the 4:00 mark. Love the spacious outro. [15/15]
6. "Echoes of Madness" (9:06) is a great upbeat song with some very catching vocal hooks and chord progressions while constructed like a classic RUSH song. I really love the Alex Lifeson-sounding guitar sounds (the strums!) here--including the LIFESON-like solo beginning at the 4:30 mark. Great vocal performance (including the BUGGLES-like distant echo). Again, it's the little, subtle extras (the acoustic guitar work is awesome!) that make this song--and album--so amazing! [18.25/20]
7. "The Art of Letting Go" (7:23) has a very emotional presentation and vocal performance. The way it builds--from plaintive STYX-like piano & voice to full blown ROBIN TROWER-like rocker--is, to me, reminiscent of many moments of the best of LED ZEPPELIN's sounds and style(s). Amazing instrumental section beginning at 4:45, repeated again as the slowly fading outro in the last minute! [15/15]
8. The album wraps up with the gorgeous acoustic guitar piece, "In a Rare Moment" (3:33). It's a beautiful song quite reminiscent of something ANT PHILLIPS and MICHAEL HEDGES or ERIK SATIE might have collaborated on. [10/10]
Excellent musicianship, beautiful song constructions, tons of layers of subtle sonic atmospherics, along with the very catchy, gorgeous TREVOR HORN-like vocals make this album one of my favorite discoveries of the past year.
94.54 on the Fish scales = five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music receiving my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION. Bravo, Brother Ape! EVERYBODY: CHECK THIS ONE OUT! You won't be disappointed! ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2010!
METHEXIS Suiciety (2015)
A concept album following the life cycle of a human being, childhood to citizen adult, the lyrics (and music) are replete with references to all of the odd destructive and self-destructive patterns our ‘civilized’ race has attached itself to. Brainchild of Athenian Nikitas Kissonas, Methexis’ music is never predictable and always unexpected. Begin with The Enid's Joe Payne's enigmatic voice. It seems that he can sound like anyone he chooses. Amazing! Then focus on Nikitas' eclectic and stunningly diverse guitar soundings and stylings. Then try to pinpoint his influences, the styles he is drawing from in order to make his eminently creative and original songs. It is nearly impossible. This is music that draws from so many diverse and unusual styles and ideas. This is music that tests the capabilities, the combinations and permutations, that are possible within the realms of human expression using sound and music.
- Nikitas Kissonas / electric, acoustic & Classical guitars, composer, arranger & producer
With:
- Joe Payne / vocals
- Linus Kåse / keyboards, synthesizers, grand piano
- Nikos Zades / sound design
- Brett d'Anon / bass
- Mickael Walle Wahlgren / drums
- Lu Jeffery / violin
- Bernard Kane Jr / viola
- Juliet McCarthy / cello
- Ron Phelan / double bass
Brass Quintet:
- Tom Heath / trumpet
- Catriona Christie / trumpet
- Nerys Russell / horn
- James Patrick / trombone
- Alistair Clements / tuba
1. “Chapter IV - Ruins” (4:49) starts the album with ‘the end’! The fourth and final suite in the album’s song-cycle, entitled “ruins,” is what Nikitas chooses to begin his album with. I love it!
It is an atmospheric ‘post-apocalyptic’ song much in the vein of Mariuz Duda’s LUNATIC SOUL or even Norway’s ULVER. (9/10)
2. “Chapter 1 - Exterior - Remember, Fear’s a Relic” (6:11) opens with the energetic force of a great blues-based jazz-rock song—complete with Hammond organ, sassy horn section, and bluesy GINO VANELLI-like vocal (grâce à That Joe Payne). A surprise as this was quite unexpected but I have to admit: it is quite refreshing and enjoyable. The falsetto chorus is also quite unusual, but then, everything Nikitas (and Joe) does is quite unusual and unexpected. Quite fun. (9/10)
3. “Chapter 1 - Exterior - The Windows’ Cracking Sound” (1:46) (4.5/5) is another unusual song for its surprising mix/engineering: the entire time a heavily-treated electric guitar is slowly strumming the accompaniment to Joe Payne’s delicate, untreated voice, a drummer is jamming away at a very fast pace in the background. Amazing creativity! Once, at the end, the drums are brought up to front and center before being faded back to deep background for the horn opening of the next song,
4. “Chapter I - Exterior - Who Can It Be” (6:34) is a song performed by a horn ensemble with occasional whispered vocal and mid-song classical guitar interlude (including a brief slightly angular/diminished replication of Beethoven’s “Ode to joy”). The post-guitar interlude shifts into PETER HAMMILL territory with some odd jazz instrumentation for accompaniment and the PH vocal. When things amp back up—first via return of the horns and then full TOBY DRIVER-like band to spacey end. So odd! So outstanding! (10/10)
5. “Chapter I - Exterior - The Origin of Blame” (3:27) starts out as a piano-accompanied cabaret-like vocal much in the MATTHEW PARMENTER style. The cacophonous ‘chorus’ is equally ‘out there’—but so creative and idiosyncratic! This is such an amazing mind that can successfully weave such odd and unusual sounds and styles into the flow of this, a concept album. I call it genius! (10/10)
6. “Chapter I - Exterior - Prey’s Prayer” (6:07) is an instrumental support/setup for an amazing guitar solo. The guitar play reminds me of JEFF BECK, ROY BUCHANAN, HIRAM BULLOCK, or RAY GOMEZ! Great horn support. This is not a song to be missed! Guitar this sublime is too seldom recorded! (10/10)
7. “Chapter II - Interior - Sunlight” (8:20) opens with some more adventurous guitar sounds before shifting into a sensitive acoustic guitar supported ballad—not unlike the recent work of JOHANNES LULEY—including the voice (though on this song Joe Payne’s voice is more similar to that of RITUAL lead vocalist, Patrik Lundström). Quite unusual song structure and sound combinations. So like our enigmatic chameleon Nikiitas! Excellent song. The final section sounds like recent ECHOLYN before the solo voice closes in Peter Hammill fashion! (20/20)
8. “Chapter II - Interior - The Relic” (8:28) opens with a minute of purposefully picked chords on acoustic guitar which are eventually joined by Joe Payne’s equally composed yet emotional vocal. By the end of the second minute piano and then full band have joined in to support a multi-voiced chorus. In the instrumental fifth minute the music builds in layers and intensity before crescendoing and crashing into silence with a brilliantly placed audible sigh to restore the gentle yet plaintive sounds and structures of the opening. Piano and violin—and later cello—perform some nice soli to accompany the synth orchestral sounds. Nice Post Rock song. (18/20)
9. “Chapter - Suiciety” (6:40) opens with a fast-paced, hard-driving PORCUPINE TREE-like sound of drums, odd spacey synth sounds and ominous keyboard bass chords until 1:37 when the drumming cuts the pace in half while the pile of ominous incidentals and washes mounts higher and higher. Then at 2:20 everything drops away to leave the slowly picked notes of a solo classical guitar. Cymbol play accompanies the addition of orchestral participation (I especially like the horns sections’ contributions). This is then followed by a creative section in which the drummer creatively fills orchestra-supported ‘space’ with his cymbol and kit play. A return to full force in the ominous chord progressions crescendoes and decays while Joe Payne’s treated voice alone fills the album’s sad finale. (13.5/15)
This is an awesome album of eclectic music! Being a concept album with songs integrated to express this elevates it a notch above Methexis’ previous 2011 effort, The Fall of Bliss (which I also love). A brilliant masterpiece of modern progressive rock music—one that gets me so excited to come back to it and hear it again. Special shout out to Linus Kåse and Nikos Zades, the keyboard player and sound design/D&B programmer, respectively. Amazing contributions! And Walle! Awesome play on the batterie! Check this one out, people!
94.54 on the Fish scales = A/five stars; definitely essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
FIVE-STOREY ENSEMBLE Not That City (2014)
Out of the ashes of RATIONAL DIET rises this phoenix of incredible power and beauty--in my humble opinion, an album ten times better than the very well crafted albums of its predecessor. Yes, Five-Storey Ensemble is the spawn of RATIONAL DIET. RATIONAL DIET founding member and reed player, Vitaly Appow, and keyboard/vocalist Olga Podgaiskaja, of the final two RATIONAL DIET albums, At Work and On Phenomenon and Existences, are principle composers here, while violinist, Cyrill Christya, and bass guitarist, Dmitry Maslovsky participate on several songs.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the Avant/RIO/Modern Chamber musings of RD, I was quick to zoom in on Not That City once it was posted on progstreaming.com. Bam! Was I broadsided! This album blew me away from the opener through to the last song. It’s music is reminiscent of RATIONAL DIET but, like ARANIS, it is much more melodic. Plus, vocals play a much more important role in defining their sound. The vocals here are used more operatically—and really only used in the forefront of four different songs. Whenever the male tenor and female soprano voices perform I find myself reminded of Goreki’s Third Symphony. Even though vocalists Sergey Dolgushev and composer and keyboard player, Olga Podgaiskaja, respectively, employ operatic approaches stylistically, their vocals are often used almost more as additional instruments—which has the tremendous effect of deepening the conveyance of emotions within each song. And each singer makes such a distinct and different contribution to the songs with their voices—often at the same time--that it has the effect of bringing two very different, almost divergent threads into the emotional weave.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the Avant/RIO/Modern Chamber musings of RD, I was quick to zoom in on Not That City once it was posted on progstreaming.com. Bam! Was I broadsided! This album blew me away from the opener through to the last song. It’s music is reminiscent of RATIONAL DIET but, like ARANIS, it is much more melodic. Plus, vocals play a much more important role in defining their sound. The vocals here are used more operatically—and really only used in the forefront of four different songs. Whenever the male tenor and female soprano voices perform I find myself reminded of Goreki’s Third Symphony. Even though vocalists Sergey Dolgushev and composer and keyboard player, Olga Podgaiskaja, respectively, employ operatic approaches stylistically, their vocals are often used almost more as additional instruments—which has the tremendous effect of deepening the conveyance of emotions within each song. And each singer makes such a distinct and different contribution to the songs with their voices—often at the same time--that it has the effect of bringing two very different, almost divergent threads into the emotional weave.
1. “The Harbinger” (5:51) opens the album with some long, sustained note playing from accordion player, Alexander But’ko. He is then gradually joined by violinist, Anastasia Popova, and oboist, Natalja Malashova, all weaving their magical notes together, slowly, deliciously. At the 2:20 mark pianist Olga Podgaiskaja, bassoonist Vitaly Appow, and double bass player Vyacheslav Plesko join in, taking the music into more staccato, rapido mode for several measures before fading back to let the original weave evolve. This cycle of piano- and bass-infused tempo upgrade recurs twice more, before the third occasion, in the third minute, ion which a prolonged, sustained dark theme more suited to PRESENT or UNIVERS ZERO is presented and built upon. This continues until 4:15 when an additional thread of color is provided by male vocalist, Sergey Dolgushev. We then see the song devolve into a final weave coming from Sergey’s plaintive voice and Alexander’s emotional accordion.
Awesome song—though it does get drawn out a bit in places. I’ve heard this song in three different formats now, album version and two different live performances with two very different instrumental lineups (one more expanded, like the album version). (The YouTube link I provided is to a video recording of the song being performed by the band in front of a live audience.) Each has its strengths and charms. (10/10)
Awesome song—though it does get drawn out a bit in places. I’ve heard this song in three different formats now, album version and two different live performances with two very different instrumental lineups (one more expanded, like the album version). (The YouTube link I provided is to a video recording of the song being performed by the band in front of a live audience.) Each has its strengths and charms. (10/10)
2. “Bondman’s Wings” (2:24) is a short, beautiful and powerful 'folk' instrumental using accordion, bassoon, oboe, and stringed instruments (with some military-like percussion) to tell its tale. Charming! (10/10)
3. “The Incommunication” (5:22) uses alternating female and male vocals as if in conversation. It sounds so romantic yet spiritual, almost religious. Sparse instrumentation of long sustained chords accompany the vocal until the two minute mark when a kind of Renaissance courtly music dances us into another dimension. Incredible constructions of seemingly independent instrumental voices all woven into a spacious yet multi-layered tapestry of exquisite beauty! The voices return for the final two minutes, this time woven within the multi-layered tapestry (a bit too much going on here for these ears). (10/10)
4. “To Ringfly” (3:11) begins as a rondo between accordion, bassoon and percussion and plays out very much in that format with the occasional instrument added here or there. One of my favorite instrumentals, very much in the vein of the best of AFTER CRYING. (10/10)
5. “A Disappearing Road" (4:42) To pulsing bassoon, and drum are soon woven in with accordion and other woodwinds. The first third is very Baroque/Renaissance processional feeling, but then structure shifts at about the two minute mark, taking on a more squared, constant feel, and then again at the 3:20 mark in which cacophonous strings play wildly over a woodwind section that holds long, long notes in strange discordant harmonies. Interesting and unusual. (9/10)
6. “The Unpainted” (7:57) is a haunting, even disturbing song beginning with simple piano arpeggio, double bass, and intermittent injections of string or woodwind instruments. Just after the one minute mark, the discordant tones of a female vocalist enters in low registers, then slowly climbs, octave by octave, until a minute later she is singing her dirge in her highest soprano register. Piano, strings, and woodwinds work themselves into until at 3:35 drums join in to accentuate the drama. A few seconds later and all has calmed down to 'solo' piano attended very sparsely by injections of winds, strings, percussives and, in the sixth minute, an electric guitar(!)--all painting a picture of the most ominous and despondent tones. The most UNIVERS ZERO-sounding song yet! (12/15)
7. Yesterday Dormant” (5:40) is a classical sounding discourse between male and female vocalists. Very powerful. I love music like this (no matter that it's being sung in a language I neither know nor understand.) It kind of reminds me of a more classical sophisticated version of Jon Anderson's "Chagall Duet," a conversational duet he did with Sandrine Piau from 1994's Change We Must. Beautiful music! Very powerful in the way that Sergey’s tenor is so strong, staccato, and positive while Olga’s soprano is so delicate, melodic and pleading. (10/10)
8. “The Protector” (3:22) uses oboe and piano over rapid hand drumming--all of which makes me feel very at home, as if I were at a Renaissance Faire. The slowed down piano chord hits with cello and percussion section that begins around the 2:20 mark is quite devastatingly sad, a mood that is then quickly dispelled with a return to the opening section. But the song then concludes with a half-a-minute of some very ambiguous chords and feel. (9/10)
9. “Fear-Dream” (3:47) piano, strings and bassoon dominate this one, though accordion, oboe and a little percussion are also involved. It's very powerful and emotional. Electric guitar even joins in for some soloing a couple of times--especially during the last minute. This one reminds me of the music of one of my favorite modern groups, KOTEBEL. (9/10)
10. “Amid the Smoke and Different Question” (6:31) starts out sounding like a Broadway/operetta, even Moulin Rouge-ish. A male vocalist sings over the simple support of long, sustained accordian chords, and later is accompanied by an almost-separate woodwind dance, then another separate, discordant thread comes from strings, and then yet another seemingly unrelated theme arises from the deeper woodwinds. It's as if several small troubadour groups are parading through a town center, criss-crossing at the center, each playing its own little diddy as it passes by where the tenor continues, unphased, singing his plaintive dirge. Brilliant and gutsy! (9/10)
11. “Not That City” (6:57) (YouTube link is to a video recording of the song being performed by the band live [before a "dead audience"!]) The recording of the band performing begins as a rondo between oboe, chor anglais, and bowed double bass and then accordion. Then harpsichord takes over! The other instruments join in in a frolicking folksie tune with the accordion and chor anglais kind of dominating the twin melody lines. The at 2:15 all stops and piano enters to take over lead melody and rhythm making while all other instruments slow down in long languorous sustained notes in gorgeous harmonies. At 3:32 it happens again, everything stops and adjusts to a section in which strings lead the basic rhythm while all else pulse and dance around them (even the double bass and viola). Another shift allows the song to play out its final minute in a very dreamy, mysterious but beautiful way. Incredible song! My favorite on the album. Were I a music theorist I might appreciate and enjoy this even more—it seems so bold and daring. (15/15)
Without a doubt Not That City is one of my favorite album of the albums I've heard from 2013. It's music excites and mesmerizes me, its constructs surprise and delight--they raise my hopes for the possibilities of music and for the possibilities of humanity.
CORDE OBLIQUE A Hail of Bitter Almonds (2011)
A Hail of Bitter Almonds brings RICCARDO PRENCIPE's neo-medieval music project more fully into the prog world. The Post Rock sound and format similar to ANATHEMA is present here. Also, this album has by far the greatest diversity in terms of tempos and musical stylings yet used on a Corde Oblique album. It seems that Riccardo has taken Corde Oblique from the realm of neo-classical, into neo medieval classical, then neo medieval folk, and now prog folk rock with a very consistent medieval folk tinge throughout. Once again drawing from the vocal talents of a stable of superb singers--this time four female and two male--helps A Hail of Bitter Almonds yield some truly memorable songs--even more consistent than its gorgeous predecessor, The Stones of Naples. The highs and diversity of styles and dynamics of this album makes A Hail of Bitter Almonds another gem--and more proggy.
1. "A Hail of Bitter Almonds" (2:08) opens the album powerfully--on the powerful vocal pipes of Floriana Cangiano and great violin accompaniment from Alfredo Notarloberti. (9.5/10)
2. "Together Alone" (4:15) presents us with a nice male vocal singing in English with standard accompaniment from Riccardo, strings, piano and drums. The shift at 2:50 is nice--and effective. (8.75/10)
3. "Arpe di vento" (4:58) opens with a very familiar melody--as if from the previous album ("Bario gotico"?) but then deviates into something different. Fast-pace guitar strumming and hand drumming with soloing violin accompany singer Floriana Cangiano (a CRANBERRY lead singer, Dolores O'Riordan, sound-alike) as she tells us her story. Could use a little more variation once the foundation is laid. (9/10)
4. "Paestum" (5:06) piano and strummed guitar establish a fast-paced rhythm before settling back in sparse support of singer Annalisa Madonna double tracking her vocal in two channels(?). The song goes back and forth between delicate and rolicking. A remarkable song--especially for the vocals! (10/10)
5. "La Madre Che Non C'è" (2:47) opens with Riccardo soloing, sounding as if he might be taking us on an instrumental journey, but then multiple female voices join in. In the second minute the song totally shifts into ballad-type form with, again, multiple tracks of female vocals harmonizing with each other. (Are both voices those of Caterina Pontrandolfo--who is the only vocalist credited to this song?) The song then suddenly shifts into the realm of classical instrumental, but then finishes with Caterina in the driver's seat again. (10/10)
6. "Slide" (2:53) is an instrumental with wooden pan flutes taking the lead--though in a very ethereal, almost sound-effect kind of way. Great melodies and effect. (10/10)
7. "Le pietre di Napoli" (5:00) again that familiar melody of Riccardo's, but then the heart-wrenching voice of Floriana Cangiano makes one quickly forget any disconcerting thoughts. What a gorgeous voice! Excellent choice for the dominant lead singer on the album.
The song takes a left turn at the two minute mark, into guitar dominance, with piano, violin and wordless voice becoming more supportive. How interesting! And it works! It builds back onto a kind of dance frenzy before dying at the end. (10/10)
8. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" (4:20) the cover of a RADIOHEAD song with mandolins and plucked violins opening with the rock band instruments before Claudia Sorvillo takes on the vocal lead. Industrial-sounding programming takes this one into territory Riccardo has not explored before (at least on tape). Definitely a sign of adventurousness. Claudia's vocal in the second half is not quite as powerful as one might want or expect. Perhaps it should've been brought more front and center. You can tell she is enjoying the singing--and the band is really rocking! Well done. (9/10)
9. "Crypta Neapolitana" (2:15) brings us back to the folk-based middle ages--until the 0:35 mark when other instruments join Riccardo and Caterina to give it a kind of Man of La Mancha feel. The male thespian voice only enhances this Spanish Broadway musical feeling. But nice! (10/10)
10. "Gioia di vivere" (3:47) guitar and Floriana Congiano return to sing an impassioned love song--with fine support from strings, distant violin, and ethereal background vocals. Gorgeous singing, gorgeous melody lines, and an awesome ending twist. This one's a keeper. (10/10)
11. "Red Little Wine" (4:14) is a full-band instrumental with lute and piano exchanging the lead. A little repetitive but nice. (8/10)
12. "The Man of Wood" (4:08). It doesn't get more folkie than this. Guitars, dreamy, layers of Sergio Panarella's MORRISSEY-like male vocal, violin, and, later, full acoustic rock band with male and female background choir (all performed by multiple tracks of Sergio and Claudia Sorvillo?). Great song. (10/10)
13. "Le Piccole Cose" (2:37). There's that melody again! Riccardo opens this gentle and gorgeous song with his guitar and violin. Caterina Pontrandolfo performs the lead vocals here with her usual calm and reassuring vocal tones. It is certainly a beautiful song! (I cannot help but ask at this point whether or not Riccardo is intentionally recapitulating this theme--as if in a concept album?) (9.5/10)
14. "Pietra Bianca" (3:48) opens as a Riccardo instrumental--sounding like a lullaby--before clarinet and Floriana Cangiano's wordless vocalizations join in, weaving in with the guitar, clarinet and organ. Gorgeous and powerful song! (10/10)
15. "Su un dipinto di Giovanni Bellini" (3:22). Riccardo and Floriana Cangiano close out the album with an almost-Celtic sounding song. It's nice enough but something is missing. (8/10)
94.50 on the Fishscales = a five star masterpiece on the scale of the greatest masterpieces of all-time. This album started out high on my playlist, disappeared for a while, but I found myself returning to this one--and this one more than any of Riccardo's other beautiful albums. A real grower! Check it out and then let it percolate. You'll become an addict like me, no doubt.
FAUN Renaissance (2005)
On this their third major album release, FAUN puts on display their continued experimentation with electronic support to the moods of their medieval and Gothic-tinged story telling. This seems to be the directional flow that Germany's prog folk masters have chosen since their more acoustic start on 2002's Zaubersprüche.
1. "Satyros" (3:34) The album opens with a very festive yet sacred sounds of multiple female voices harmonizing in Renaissance/mediæval fashion over some hard driving hand percussion and fast moving "ancient" instrumentation. (10/10)
2. "Da Que Deus" (3:54) opens with similarly layered harmonies of multiple female voices but moving at a bit slower a pace than the album opener. Nice recorder and harp solos are given space between the vocal sections. (10/10)
3. "Tagelied" (5:01) opens with strummed lute and deep heart-beat thrum drum establishing a deep penetrating effect before the male lead vocal enters with female background vocal support coming from far back in the mix. There is an ominous, almost scary feeling conveyed through the music and singing of this song. Beautiful wooden flute solos are interspersed between the vocal sections. A brilliantly constructed song. (10/10)
4. "Rhiannon" (3:31) is an instrumental reel that opens with some treated/synthesized and acoustic hand percussives weaving together with bagpipe, bazooka, and other instruments all moving together at breakneck speed. (9/10)
5. "Sirena" (5:11) opens with some sequenced rhythms playing quietly, well behind the harmonized vocal "ooooo-aahhs." The Arabian-tinged droning medieval troubadour music that develops would probably be better were I to have an understanding of the lyrics. (8/10)
6. "Königen" (6:25) opens with some Arabian-sounding female voice panning around in the far background as arpeggiated harp plays in the foreground. Set to a slow tempo of computer-sequenced electronic drums and hi-hat, a single female voice enters to carry the lyric over a beautiful, rather simple melody line. Very little embellishments to the vocals or recorder solis. Pure and simple, the story must be quite powerful in order to have been given this very simple arrangement. Again, I wish I knew the language so I could better appreciate the story of the Kings. Lovely song! (9/10)
7. "Iyansa" (4:51) is another droning simple piece with mostly solo female voice singing the lyric. Hypnotic. (9/10)
8. "Rosmarin" (6:45) returns to the more woven textures of the earlier songs, including the vocals, which start out with just Oliver singing but soon add the female harmonies (interestingly, in a lower register!) Hurdy gurdy, bouzouki, bagpipes, and hand bells and shells weave nicely to form a solid support for the vocals and in-between soli, until at the four minute mark everybody stops and a series of synthetic sounds take over in a quiet interlude before percussive and single-note instruments are slowly added back into the mix. At 5:40 an electric guitar power chord surprises and is repeated every few seconds to the end of the song as a single voice whispers repeatedly "es come der tar" or something like that. Wow! What a surprise! Awesome song! (10/10)
9. "Das Tor" (8:13) opens with another deeply ominous electronic background industrial drone as a crazed female voice hums a simple nursery rhyme melody in the middle ground. Lisa takes up a simple melody alone for the first verse and then is joined by another female voice and some other instrumentation (violin, flutes, hand drums, electronic drums, harp). The song builds and builds, slowly but ever so powerfully, resolutely. Even the vocals begin to climb the ladder of octaves as the foundational rhythms and weaves plod along insistently, unrelentingly, beautifully. By the sixth minute the song is devolving into the opening mix, with those eery hums and now laughing children's voices carrying forward the disturbing feeling of this song. Incredible song. Incredible. (10/10)
FAUN here show their continued and increasing experiments with inputs from computer and electronic-generated support as contributed by electronic expert, Neil Mitra. For the most part it works--especially as a complement or takeover for the rhythm section. Oliver, Fiona and Rüdiger's contributions on ancient traditional instruments are virtuosic yet restrained and never overbearing--which puts a nice focus on the vocals of which the gorgeous voice of Lisa Pawelke seems to have taken greater prominence. I have to say that, so far, every FAUN album seems to be better than the previous one. (Too bad Totem did not continue this trend.) This album may be better than 2011's Eden but it has not yet won my heart to the extent that Eden has.
94.44 on the Fish scales = five stars; a certifiable masterpiece of progressive rock music.
SEVEN IMPALE City of The Sun (2014)
An impressive album of refreshingly unique music that crosses many sub genres, including space-psychedelia, symphonic, heavy prog, avant-jazz and experimental/post metal. Wonderful vocals, very tight interplay among all band members with no one member or instrument really standing above any other--though the presence and performance of the saxophone is highly notable. This is complex music played so tightly. And the astonishing 14-minute epic, "God Left Us for A Black Dressed Woman," must be heard to be believed.
1. "Oh My Gravity" (9:49) starts as a jazzy stop-and-start piece that picks up in intensity in the second minute before shifting to a melodic ballad in the vein of the heavier side of FROGG CAFÉ. The male vocalist sounds to me like something between RADIOHEAD's THOM YORKE and TODD RUNDGREN. Around the six minute mark the spiraling, swooning music sounds a lot like some of the louder stuff from MOTORPSYCHO's The Death Defying Unicorn. This feel continues into the seventh minute when organ and horns take turns embellishing the staccato music. The bare-bones, bluesy final 45 seconds is bizarre but so cool! A powerful and surprising opener to this unusual album. Very high marks for compositional prowess and instrumental performance. (19/20)
2. "Wind Shears" (6:32) opens in a very psychedelia/spacey 1960s way. Then at the one minute mark it settles into a jazz groove with first sax and then jazzy guitar and Hammond organ filling the lanes over the rhythm section. Clavinet is added for a GentleGiant-like bridge before a polyrhythmic KING CRIMSON "Discipline"-like weave appears to support a brief ghost-like vocal. At 3:20 the sound gets much heavier over the same arpeggiated weave, nearly drowning out the still-soloing sax and organ. This is just like TOBY DRIVER (Kayo Dot/Maudlin of the Well)! At 4:05 things get quiet and sparse again, with the music vacillating from soft and delicate to heavy and abrasive. A very melodic kind of psychedelic big band section plays out for the final minute. Again, bizarre but so cool! (9/10)
3. "Eschaton Hero" (8:29) opens with some guitar, keys & sax riffs repeated over latin percussion. At 1:00 everything settles down into another quiet section with a delicate vocal in Stian Økland's upper register. Beautiful chorus/bridge at 1:47 gives way to an unpretentious bass solo before settling back into the delicate vocal music. Same awesome bridge at 2:49 leads into a heavy section into jazzy chaos--all performed over the most simple, calm drum play. At 4:52 it gets even heavier as it plods along for a minute in support of a fuzz guitar solo. Finally the drums start to play--to match the frenzy of the rest of the band--then everything stops so the band can yell "Yay!" Then a variation on the previous frenzy picks back up until 7:05 when everything settles back down into the soft groove of the initial vocal section for a dirty sax solo before letting Stian finish the song out in his high voice. Well conceived and performed, just not my favorite. (18/20)
4. "Extraction" (6:34) begins with another odd intro of two or three parts before settling into the vocal support section--which begins heavily before falling into another RADIOHEAD-like bluesy section. At 2:20 a neat Hammond section leads back into the heavy full band section that opened the vocals, then, again, drops off for the beautiful support of a multi-voice-supported section. At 3:45 a very smooth, stripped down electric guitar solos, until there is a full return to explosiveness at 4:20. A bouncy "O Yo Como Va"-like Hammond section at 4:40 gives way to a kind of Latin weave before falling back into the heavier rock weave from the first vocal section to end. (9/10)
5. "God Left Us for A Black Dressed Woman" (14:12) opens with another KC "Discipline"-like weave that morphs and flows, polymorphs and grooves for two and a half minutes before decaying into a simplified form for a bluesy ROBERT PLANT-like vocal section. This song's amazing vocal performance could also be compared to some of the finest MATTHEW PARMENTER/DISCIPLINE works. Some incredibly powerful sections in this song--especially the multi-voice vocals in the eleventh minute and the following heavy full-band part. A very DISCIPLINE-like soft section then ensues with a slow build to an awesome crescendo and frenzied finish.
The song evolves, shifts, twists and turns and surprises throughout. Again there are several parts that remind me of MOTORPSYCHO's Unicorn. Without question this is one of the best prog "epics" of the year! (30/30)
Aside from the above references to Motorpsycho, King Crimson, Radiohead, Toby Driver, Matthew Parmenter/Discipline, the overall impression this album leaves me with is similar to that of DIAGONAL's eponymously titled debut album from 2008. SEVEN IMPALE's City of the Sun is a wonderful collection of masterfully composed, executed and recorded songs.
94.44 on the Fish scales = A/five stars; a veritable masterpiece of progressive rock music. A near-perfect album that I can't see giving anything less than five in that it is a treasure for the ages! Perhaps the best album of 2014!
ULVER Shadows of the Sun (2007)
My first Ulver album and what an album! Definitely one of the best collections of songs, start to finish, from this, the 21st Century. And though this is a dark and pessimistic concept album, it does an amazing job of conveying the despair and hopelessness of our role as perpetrators and victims of planet Earth's demise. The use of piano, tympanic drums, Oslo Session String Quartet, deep breathy vocals, synthesizers and even trumpet and theremin all help to impart the heavy, tragic mood exquisitely, even beautifully, if that is possible. I am ever awed by the wonderfully unexpected and subtle turns and twists within each and every song--including the "extra" 2 minutes of recorded silence at the end of the album's last song (after the world and/or life on the planet has been extinguished). Though an inattentive listen may leave the listener thinking the album is just one song and one mood, the attentive head-phoned listener is privy to a very artful and intimate experience. The first song, "EOS," sucks you into the album experience like light into a blackhole, the other songs entertain as you fall in, as light begins to fade, and the last song, "Whatever Happened?" spits you out on the other side, into a fresh, new universe. A lot to ponder; a lot of responsibility in their message. Fantastic album. Definitely a classic of our time, for the ages; a masterpiece. My favorite album of 2007. Sorry to fans who look forward to my play-by-play song list but this is a true flow-through experience; the album is a whole that, IMHO, should not be dissected--though I will say that the album ends as strongly if not more strongly as it begins.
1. "Eos (5:05) The mood setter! (10/10)
2. "All the Love" (3:42) Trumpets! (10/10)
3. "Like Music" (3:30) How true! (9/10)
4. "Vigil" (4:27) So emotional, so gorgeous! (10/10)
5. "Shadows of the Sun" (4:36) Awesome piano. (9/10)
6. "Let the Children Go" (3:50) Percussion! (10/10)
7. "Solitude" (3:53) Yes! The remake of the Black Sabbath song! (8/10)
8. "Funebrae" (4:26) How deep will this tragedy go? (9/10)
9. "What Happened?" (6:25) One incredible end song--perhaps the greatest of all-time! (10/10)
94.44 on the Fish scales = 5 stars, a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
TIRILL Said the Sun to the Moon (2019)
A concept album of gorgeous folk music inspired by the four seasons and Tirill Mohn's long-standing connection to Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf educational model, we have here a journey through the Nordic year beginning with Autumn and ending with a late summer sunset (or sunrise) in which Tirill employs, adapts, or re-forms known poetry and song lyrics to fit her vision and mood. The four seasonally titled "interlude" songs, "Autumn," "Winter," "Spring," and "Summer," manipulate the words of Steiner himself, while other more full-bodied songs are adaptations of works by the likes of Nick Drake, Mark Strand, Patric Crotty, and Kathleen Jessie Raine.
Lineup / Musicians:
Gjermund Kolltveit: kanklés, Hardanger fiddle, lyre
Nils Einar Vinjor: electric guitars, guitalele
Alsaug Marie Holgersen: double bass
Sigrun Eng: cello
Bjarne Magnus Jensen: violin
Uno Alexander Vesje: harp
Julie Kleive: additional vocals on tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10
Marte Bjørkmann: harmony vocals on tracks 8 and 12
Dagfinn Hobæk: lead vocals on track 11
Tirill Mohn: vocals, acoustic guitars
01 "Autumn" (1:13) strongly plucked concert harp with the whispery voices of Tirill Mohn and other female soprano, Julie Kleive, open the album with their poetic introduction. (5/5)
02 "Clothes of Sand" (3:08) acoustic guitar and, later, cello, support Tirill in this Nick Drake song. Female vocals harmonize below Tirill during the chorus. Viola and/or violin join the cello beneath the second verse. Like singing with a string quartet. Wow! (9/10)
03 "Under the Harvest Moon" (2:14) harp and Tirill and other voices. A traditional folk song that sounds as if it could be an Andreas Vollenweider Christmas song. (4.5/5)
04 "Winter" (1:58) two harps dancing slowly around each other before Tirill and the beautiful soprano voice of Julie Kleive join in, also singing in tandem as if circling around one another. Stunning! (5/5)
05 "Under the Small Fire of Winter Stars" (2:26) bowed stringed instrument and folk percussives provide the mood accompaniment for Tirill's campfire story-version of this Mark Strand poem. Evocative! (4.5/5)
06 "To the Realms of the Spirit" (3:17) acoustic guitar and other harp and/or lyre (?) duet with bass and Lithuanian zither ("kanklés"). No voices or lyrics despite its inspiration coming from the words of Rudolf Steiner. Very pretty. (8.5/10)
07 "Spring" (1:16) harp and folk madrigal Tirill (and Julie). (4.25/5)
08 "Shapes of a Dream" (4:05) in her breathiest, most knee-buckling voice Tirill sings (with accompaniment from vocalist Marte Bjørkmann) over a guitalele. A bit of a Judy Collins melody haunts the listener as does the gentle pastoral mood set by the beautiful work of the musicians. (10/10)
09 "Said the Sun to the Moon" (3:09) Tirill and soprano vocalist, Julie Kleive, sing together while harp and lyre (two harp tracks?), guitar, bass play in support on this Kathleen Jessie Raine lyric. Very nice chordal structure from the instrumentalists between the vocal verses. Prog folk does not get better than this! (10/10)
10 "Summer" (1:34) harp supports the now-familiar duo of two female singers (Tirill and Julie, I presume). But wait, do I hear three vocal tracks working in harmony? (4.75/5)
11 "Beneath the Midnight Sun" (4:15) opens with the gorgeous male voice of Dagfinn Hobæk singing with the harp/lute accompaniment. Tirill makes her delicate presence known with occasional harmonized vocals (more as the song goes on). There is an eerie edge to this song--not unlike some of the pagan folk songs of the German band FAUN. Violin joins in during the third minute as does traditional folk Hardanger fiddle. Based on a lyric by Patric Crotty, this is an amazing song--my favorite on the album and one of my favorite songs of 2019! It has all of the qualities of a timeless classic. (10/10)
12 "Iridescent Horizon" (4:34) opens with long-sustaining synthesizer-like treated electric guitar notes floating into the sky like cinders rising from a campfire. Joined by delicately played folk guitar and then Tirill's spoken voice reciting some poetry--poetry evoking beauty and wisdom. The "infinite" guitar is awesome! What an amazing end to an amazing musical journey! I feel bathed, washed, cleansed, refreshed, renewed, revitalized, and reborn! (9.5/10)
One of the most beautiful, enrapturing albums I've ever heard, flowing seemlessly, sucking the listener in from its first notes and then spitting one out at the end limp yet refreshed. Like Sirens enticing and entrapping sailors on the Mediterranean, the vocal duet arrangements and performances of Tirill and Julie Kleive are stunning and totally beguiling. The use of traditional folk instrumentation throughout is also planned meticulously and pulled off flawlessly.
94.44 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of prog folk and one of the best albums of 2019 and one of the finest prog folk albums of all-time. ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2019!
ANATHEMA Falling Deeper (2011)
Though I only own Anathema's music catalogue from 1998's Alternative 4 to the present, my feelings with regards to their music has remained fairly constant: I love their sound; I love their spiritually-minded lyrical messages; I love the flow and feel of their records; I just find their song-writing style too boring and repetitive: a song's opening riff or chord sequence is played start to finish with nary a flutter or flourish, ad nauseum; they're Post Rock/Math Rock's staunch poster child! But here, on Falling Deeper, the band may have stumbled upon their music's true purpose, its best delivery style, its most powerful presentation: the orchestrated soundtrack.
Every song on this album is incredibly rich, hypnotically engaging, and lyrically sparse--all of which allow for a much more varied and deepened listening experience. Plus, the flow of this album's songs has an even tighter weave, each song seeming to be but a single 'movement' within the context of the whole. Try out "Sleep in Sanity" (3:51) (10/10), "J'ai fait une promesse" (4:23) (10/10), "Alone" (7:16) (14.5/15), "We, the Gods" (3:03) (9.25/10), and "Sunset of Age" (7:20) (15/15)
Bravo, Anathema! In my opinion, this is how all of your music should be presented.
94.44 on the Fish scales = five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music, one of the most deeply engaging albums I've heard in a long time--an album I want to listen to over and over--especially for the opening and closing songs: masterpieces for the ages.
MICE ON STILTS Hope for a Mourning (2016)
With their second album release, Mice on Stilts has improved and polished their recorded sound dramatically. The music here sounds like a cross between BON IVER and THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND merged with the more atmospheric sides of ULVER and TOBY DRIVER. The songwriting is more diverse on this album and each song has far more depth in terms of sound development and exploration. This is the kind of growth and improvement one likes to see from a young band!
Line-up / Musicians
- Benjamin Morley / vocals, guitar
- Rob Sanders / drums
- Sam Hennessy / viola, cello
- Aaron Longville / saxophone, clarinet, trumpet
- Joseph Jujnovich / effects, backing vocals, guitar
- Brendan Zwaan / piano, keyboards, organ, music, lyrics
- Tim Burrows / bass guitar, acoustic guitar
- Calvin Davidson / synthesizer, saxophone, guitar
- Guy Harrison / trumpet
With:
- Catherine Walker / backing vocals
- Esther Tetlow / backing vocals
1. "Khandallah" (6:50) one of the most powerful album opening songs ever! (15/15)
3. "The Hours" (3:45) a gently picked steel string guitar opens this song before some tinkling piano notes join in as Ben sings with his lower register voice mixed quite forward of the guitar and piano. Definitely more of a folk song. (8/10)
4. "And We Saw His Needs Through The Casket" (6:43) opens with solo piano establishing a gorgeous albeit haunting and depressing song foundation. It sounds almost classical. Ben starts to sing toward the end of the first minute in a very deep, almost Tom Waits-like voice. Multiple voices and horns join in for the second verse. The lead vocal is amazing with its emotion and intent but then add in the choral voices as And then at the four minute mark the song shifts completely with upper octave shifting piano dyads, bass and guitar chords providing the new base for an all-chorale lead. Powerful and amazing! Simply has to be heard in order to understand! (14.25/15)
5. "YHWH" (7:20) opens as a quite, delicate guitar-based song before going full "metal" around the one minute mark with loud, sustained distorted electric guitar strums. This reminds me of KAYO DOT or OCEANSIZE! Especially with its sparse vocals and predominantly instrumental nature. (13.5/15)
6. "Hope For A Mourning" (6:40) The finish is very GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR-like in its orchestrated feel but then finishes with--surprise!--almost a full minute of silence allowed at the end of the song. (13.5/15)
7. "Funeral" (11:40) A wonderfully paced song in which the music and vocal and story are perfectly matched in telling this very emotional story. Reminds me a lot of sound and feel from the debut STARSABOUT album also reviewed on this page as well as some of THE CURE's more emotional music on "Disintegration" and after. A perfect song and probably my favorite on this amazing and excellent album. (20/20)
8. "Monarch" (6:20) simple, soft, spacious, atmospheric, yet amazingly melodic and emotional, this is an awesome ULVER or TALK TALK like song and a perfect ending to this beautiful and amazingly emotional journey! Thank you, Benjamin! This is exactly what music--or any art--in it's most perfect form should do! (10/10)
Total Time 56:21
What makes this album so exciting, so masterful, is the numerous "unexpecteds": unexpected key or chord changes, unexpected dynamic shifts, unexpected instrumental uses or shifts, unexpected vocal stylings, unexpected recording techniques, and, of course, unexpected lyrical directions. So refreshing and often flamboyantly breathtaking! How weird is it that the shortest and simplest song is the "worst"?!!
94.35 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; an undeniable masterpiece of progressive rock music.
MAUDLIN OF THE WELL Part the Second (2009)
Up to hearing this album I had never heard of maudlin of the Well. Nor had I ever heard any Kayo Dot. But the hype for Part the Second (a free-off-of-the-Internet album) lured me in--for an amazing journey. That music--NEW music, like this--can be conceptualized, played, and performed at such a high level of mastery, (especially Mia Matsumiya's virtuosic violin playing), is, for me, so uplifting and hopeful. I was beginning to think that music would never get out of the ABACAB paradigm and never allow the mix of classic "orchestral" and "rock" instruments. But here we are. Thank you Toby Driver (and the donor/fans who pushed for this music).
Let me start by saying that "Excerpt from 6,000,000,000,000 Miles Before the First, or, theRevisitation of the Blue Ghost" (10:56) (20/20) and "Laboratories of the Invisible World (Rollerskating the Cosmic Palmistric Postborder)" (11:50) (25/25) (the album's first and last songs) are two of the most amazing songs I've ever heard in my life. Even after fifty listenings I find myself awed by these two creations, picking up new and defferent nuances and phrases. The three songs in-between ("Another Excerpt: Keep Light Near You, Even When Dying" [5:59] [9/10], "Rose Quartz Turning to Glass" [7:30] [13.5/15], and " Clover Garland Island" [8:18] [16/20]) seem to belong together, kind of like a suite, tied together by the strong presence of violin and cello--which are breathtaking in both beauty and virtuosity.
I cannot but help agree with those who have christened this LP as new classic, a true masterpiece. It is difficult for me to imagine even the possibility of a "better" album coming out this year.
94.21 on the Fish scales = five stars; a masterpiece, a classic, one of the greatest "progressive" rock albums ever made.
MAGMA K.A. (2004)
A very polished, mature MAGMA, with some new sounds (vocally), some great sound recording, some missing sounds (horns), and one of the best Zeuhl 'songs' I've yet heard (I'm still very new to this sub-genre, but I LOVE ZEUHL!! I think this is the music I've been missing--that I've been waiting for--since 1989 [when I gave up on rock/pop/prog music].): part three, "K.A. III" (21:45) (45/45)--and part two, "K.A. II" is right up there, too.
- Christian Vander / vocals, drums, percussion
- Stella Vander / vocals, percussion
- Isabelle Feuillebois / vocals
- Himiko Paganotti / vocals
- Antoine Paganotti / vocals
- James Mac Gaw / guitar
- Emmanuel Borghi / piano, Fender Rhodes
- Frédéric d'Oelsnitz / Fender Rhodes
- Philippe Bussonnet / bass
1. "K.A. I" (11:12) (17.5/20)
2. "K.A. II" (15:53) (27/30)
3. "K.A. III" (21:43) (45/45)
Total Time 48:49
While I am rating this 5 stars--for it is a masterpiece of progressive rock music--I do not hold it as dear as MDK or even Wurdah Ïtah; there is something magical about the energy and spirit of those 1970s records--perhaps it is youthful idealism (Did Christian Vander believe he could create a personally- and even socially-transformative mythology back then? Does he still?) Still, I admire he and his crew of Kobaians who have stood steadfastly within this music and its message over the past 40 years.
Zeuhl presented in its most polished, perfected, mature form. Highly recommended.
94.21 on the Fish scales = five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
PÄATOS Timeloss (2002)
Päatos is a Swedish band formed in the early 21st Century by two former members of Landberk and Morte Macabre, bassist Stefan Dimle and guitarist Reine Fiske, and two relative newcomers in husband and wife Ricard "Huxflux" Nettermalm, the drummer, and cellist/vocalist Petronella Nettermalm, respectively. Timeloss is their debut album and, unfortunately, the only album in their catalogue to include axeman extraordinaire Fiske.
Päatos is another band I've been fortunate to stumble in the past year. After listening to streams, samples and making a few experimental MP3 purchases, I decided to buy the band's first album, Timeloss. Not a bad song on the disc, though the two ultra mellow ones, "Hypnotique" and "Happiness," do not get the same frequent play as the others. What really sold me on this band, aside from the dreamy voice of Petronella Nettelmans, were the drums. "Teá," "Sensor" and "Quits" have some absolutely stunning speed and subtlety--reminding me of STEVE GADD with a little more power (when he wants to). Drummer Richard "Nuxflux" Nettelmans (Petronella's husband) shows amazing restraint and never seems to be trying to steal the limelight from the others--though his every flourish and syncopation surprises and almost defies belief. Such confidence, free-form creativity, and facility!
1. "Sensor" (5:15) begins like a soft 70's jazz piece, but at 48 seconds in it kicks into high gear rock and roll. (Listen to those drums!!) Though perhaps Petronella's weakest vocal performance (she's strangely mixed into the background with the overall effect as if she's singing from inside an isolation tank!) At the 2:57 mark the tempo slows into a Yes/Genesis moment as the mellotron surges forward (Did I mention Päatos uses mellotron?) followed by a guitar solo which then carries the music back into it's fast tempo as the band jams to the song's sudden conclusion. (10/10)
2. "Hypnotique" (8:36) accomplishes just what the title declares. It is a long, very soft piece in which Petronella's voice, combined with her husband's soft jazz drumming, lulls one into submission. But, not unlike Pure Reason Revolution's Dark Third, this CD really shines with its layers of very interesting and rewarding subtleties. For example, at the 2:40 mark the music just cuts out, leaving the listener with a rather nice piano and flute interlude. When 55 seconds have passed, Nuxflux sneaks his way back in with a little flourish on his Zildjian before reestablishing the song's original jazzy rhythm, thereby cueing the start of the guitarist's very pleasant and somewhat "raw" guitar solo. Eventually, after the mellotron has snuck into the background, at about the 5:40 mark, the flute reappears to take over the guitar solo's melody line. Then, just as suddenly, the music stops for a brief cello solo before giving way to a brief return of Petronella--this time with a bit more of a forceful presence--until the song finally devolves into another all-out band jam to it's conclusion. A song that has grown in my esteem tremendously over time. (18/20)
3. I absolutely love "Teá" (5:50) because of its native language vocals. Swedish has never sounded so beautiful! But, again, pay attention to the subtleties in this song: piano and DRUMS! The guy is amazing! (10/10)
4. "They Are Beautiful" (7:48) begins very Genesis "Entangled"-like before a double bass and tympanic percussion rhythm set the tone for another of Petronella's mind-massages. Hypnotic guitar and mellotron and with the surprise appearances of several sneaky, snaky reed instruments alternating with an electric guitar's note- and volume-play make for a very interesting and unusual song. Again: Headphones are highly recommended. This is another song that has grown tremendously on me over the years. (14/15)
5. "Quits" (14:49) gets a lot of grief from reviewers--especially prog reviewers--but I think this song is brilliant--very reminiscent of Ben Watt of EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL's "Walking Wounded" phase. Drum machines and programs? What about all of the obviously live play Huxflux is doing? Man, the percussion work on this song alone make it a near masterpiece! And, no, I don't care if he's using synthesized or acoustic percussives. I love his guts and creativity! The synth work is also so interesting. Richard Barbieri meets Ben Watt meets Mr. Bill Bruford! And let me not forget to give this bass player his due: he does an awesome job tying husband and wife into the same cohesive piece. Awesome music. (And don't forget the horns! Amazing fun on the trumpets! Great devolution into Joni itchell/Weather Report/King Crimson-esque chaos! I love it!) (28/30)
Awesome band. Awesome album. Awesome jams at the end of each song. I forgot to mention that for PÄATOS' first album, they sported former LANDBERK and MORTE MACABRE genius guitarist REINE FISKE, one of my favorite two guitarists of the 21st Century. Sadly, Reine did not continue playing with Päatos. (But check him out on DUNGEN and THE AMAZING albums!)
94.11 on the Fish scales = five stars; a true prog masterpiece. Timeloss' only flaw is its length: a very old-fashioned 39 minutes!
DEMEN Nektyr (2017)
Demen is the pseudonym or alter ego of young Swedish singer-songwriter Irma Orm and Nektyr is her debut release on Kranky Records. The music here reminds me of some of the COCTEAU TWINS' more mellow, atmospheric music from the 1980s and 90s--perhaps even a song left off of the 1986 4A.D. Harold Budd-Cocteau Twins collaboration, The Moon and The Melodies album. It also feels as if Irma could be one of ANNA von HAUSSWOLFF's kindred spirits.
1. "Niorum" (3:59) a more perfect ambient/atmospheric song with vocals I have not heard in a long time. (10/10)
2. "Morgon" (9:01) really two songs in one, part one pure atmospheric shoegaze bliss, the second half with a driving drum tempo. The first half is sublime. (19/20)
3. "Korridorer" (5:03) a very heavily distorted piano (mostly) solo piece very close to the famed Harold Budd sound. (9/10)
4. "Ilidrop" (3:40) By the sounds of songs like this one, Lisa Gerard has an heir! Deep bass and distant drums, ear-filling synth washes, and that glorious, dreamy voice. (9/10)
5. "Mea" (2:21) Budd-treated piano play eventually supported by a spacious, airy voice. (9/10)
6. "Ambur" (6:51) heavily treated vibes and Cocteau Twins-like bass and spacious drums over which Irma sings in a kind of treated Patricia Kaas voice and style. Gorgeous! Emotional! Trippy! One of my favorite songs of the year! (14.5/15)
7. "Flor" (3:34) Multiple layers of vocalise playing off of almost random piano riffing (heavily treated, of course). (9.5/10)
An album of deeply engaging atmospheric songs. Wherever she decides to turn, this artist has quite a future!
94.11 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of atmospheric prog.
SYLVAN Posthumous Silence (2006)
SYLVAN's Posthumous Silence has garnered a lot of praise from some very worthy reviewers--and rightfully so. The album is a masterful, insightful, emotional, empathic and introspective theatric/ musical rendering of the toll that the psychological pressures of modern human society can exert on its individuals. Theatrically and emotionally it is devastatingly powerful--especially the second half. There is the question of category: neo, metal, heavy, or even prog (i.e. is it really more straight rock, e.g. like TRIUMPH, RAINBOW or JOURNEY?) As a vehicle for an amazing story, and as a vehicle for showcasing the extraordinary voice talents of Marco Glühmann, Sylvan have succeeded extraordinarily well.
Highlights for me include: the gorgeous "Pane of Truth", despite being a little too long and drawn out), the psychologically powerful and disturbing, "Forgotten Virtue"; the beautiful and more progressive, "The Colours Changed"; the song that really sucks you into the disturbing world of mental illness, "Questions"; the classic rock anthem with a social-political message, "Answer to Life"; the theatric highpoint of the album, "The Last Embrace" (Wow!), and the final two songs which drive the two-sided message home, "A Kind of Eden" and "Posthumous Silence" (Wow! And, Whew! I'm worn out! Aren't you?).
Line-up / Musicians:
- Marco Glühmann / vocals
- Kay Söhl / guitar
- Volker Söhl / keyboards
- Sebastian Harnack / bass
- Matthias Harder / drums, loop programming, sound effects, conductor (1)
With:
- Guido Bungenstock / additional guitar
- Stefanie Richter / cello
- Ensemble Vokalkolorit / chorus vocals
- Angela Reinhardt / choir conductor
1. "Eternity Ends" (2:03) (5/5)
-
2. (I) "Bequest Of Tears" (3:19) (9/10)
3. "In Chains" (8:38) (17.25/20)
4. (II) "Bitter Symphony" (1:20) (4.25/5)
5. "Pane Of Truth" (9:06) (20/20)
6. (III) "No Earthly Reason" (1:57) (4.5/5)
7. "Forgotten Virtue" (6:43) (9/10)
8. "The Colors Changed" (5:58) (9.5/10)
9. (IV) "A Sad Sympathy" (1:42) (5/5)
10. "Questions" (6:59) (12.75/15)
11. "Answer To Life" (5:56) (9/10)
12. (V) "Message From The Past" (3:00) (10/10)
13. "The Last Embrace" (3:27) (10/10)
14. "A Kind Of Eden" (4:55) (8.75/10)
-
15. "Posthumous Silence" (4:59) (10/10)
Total Time: 70:02
94.0 on the Fish scales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of progressive rock music and an essential addition to any music lover's collection. Marco Glühmann may be the most gifted male vocalist of the 21st Century. (I bet this story is amazing to experience live!) An album that simply deserves to be heard in full, start to finish, for its brilliant storyline.
ANTOINE FAFARD Ad Perpetuum (2014)
This is an amazing album of jazz fusion very much in the vein of the BRUFORD albums of the late 1970s or the JEAN-LUC PONTY albums of the early 1980s, but more polished and way more more accessible. Composer and band leader Antoine Fafard is an accomplished jazz bass player, but here he has garnered the loyalty of some extraordinary musicians to help realize his music: preeminent drummer Vinny Colaiuta and guitarist extraordinaire Jerry De Villiers, Jr. In fact, the drumming throughout this album is so amazing, so breathtaking, so far beyond all other drummers and yet (not so much as to distract or detract from the other fine musicians, that) I have to proclaim that this is one of the finest recorded exhibitions of studio drumming that I have ever heard. Perhaps the best!
Three amazing musicians all at the top of their game (four including sax player Jean-Pierre Zanella) ... playing a set of beautifully composed and flawlessly executed songs. No disrespect to the Townsends, father and son, or Mr. Holdsworth but, when the virtuosity is there, there is nothing like a band of live musicians. A lot of the songs remind me of Jaco Pastorius Weather Report, Percy Jones Brand X, and Jeff Berlin Bruford--with a little bit of Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, Bill Bruford's Earthworks, and Hiromi's Sonicbloom thrown in there.
This may be a bit premature, but I'm going to go out there and say that this is one of Jazz Fusion's all-time top 10 albums! It is that good! What a jaw-dropping concert experience this would be!
Favorite songs: ALL!! (Even the "nutty" one! ["D-Day" (5:20) (9/10)]) Unfortunately, the only sample available on YouTube thus far is this documentary of the making of Ad Perpetuum. I'll link you to more as it gets uploaded.
Here they are! They're starting to come out: the very Jean-Luc Ponty/Randy Jackson era-like "Eternal Loop" (5:22) (9/10)
94.0 on the Fish scales = Without hesitation: this is a five star album! A masterpiece of progressive rock music and one of the best jazz fusion albums of the 21st Century. Check it out! NOW!
FAUN Eden (2011)
Eden is perhaps the best pure folk Prog Folk album I've ever heard. Every song is engaging and so well balanced between gorgeous melodies, amazingly coordinated and complementary instruments and voices interwoven in magical balance, plus there is a great warmth and mesmerizing quality to the recording and due to the fullness of the sound. There are many songs on Eden that are longer than the band has traditionally recorded, which, due to the mesmerizing weaves and melody lines, is something I enjoy tremendously. The drones, samples, and electronic contributions of computer whiz Neil Mitra are back with a vengeance (after a break from 2009's "acoustic" album, Buch der Balladen) and I have to admit that he's really found his perfect place in the mix: never overpowering but always present, helping to fill the field with warmth and emotion. Band-leader and lead male vocalist Oliver Sa Tyr has truly mastered his gentle but emotional instrument. Sometimes, haunting, others romantic and enticing, he sings as if the heir apparent to the God Orpheus. And the band has finally found in Margareta Eibel the right female vocalist to replace the superb soprano, Lisa Pawelke. Teamed with founding member Fiona Rüggeberg's professional alto voice, the two soar. Plus, Margareta comes with more instrumental diversity than Lisa had (hurdy-gurdy was Lisa's lone instrumental contribution) and Fiona has added a few new instruments to her spectacular repertoire.
1. "Prelude" (2:04) sets the appropriate "ominous industrial" tone for the subject of this album, man's fall from Eden. A Neil Mitra masterpiece. (9/10)
2. "Lupercalia" (3:15) opens with ominous base note, synth wash and treated drums setting the stage for Fiona and MAgareta's perfectly timed, sacred/religious-sounding harmonies. Harp, haunting ghost-like background voices and intermittent bursts from a sonorous horn complete the spell cast by this masterpiece. (10/10)
3. "Zeitgeist" (4:03) opens with clock-like harp-bass lines and straight-timed drumming before Oliver's rather thin voice enters. Strings harmonics accompany a sample narration of environmentalist content. Bagpipe and hurry-gurdy play into the mix as well. Another display of Mitra's masterful electronic "glue." The lone acoustic harp accompanying Oliver's voice to song's end is brilliant. I just wish I understood German. (9/10)
4. "Iduna" (3:22) opens with a Celtic bagpipe and hurry-gurdy melody weave accompanied by a throbbing electronic bass line, clapping, and Oliver's bouzouki. Fiona and Magareta weave their voices into the lead vocal followed by "la-la-la-las." Trilling flutes also mix into the mid-song instrumental weave. Quite a rousing jam! (10/10)
5. "The Butterfly" (1:34) opens with Oliver and Fiona (and later Margareta's harp) weaving a very traditional (and familiar) sounding Celtic reel sans percussion. Gorgeous recording. (10/10) The melody line carries forward to become the basis for the vocal weave of:
6. "Adam Lay Ybounden" (4:37) is the album's first song sung in English. Here Margareta displays a high trilling in her vocal approach that is similar to that of early Elisabeth Fraser. Also, the vocal duet is unusual (for Faun) for its alternating timing and different style of harmonizing. The song's highlight is the whistle and bouzouki carried Celtic melody. (8/10)
7. "Hymn to Pan" (6:57) opens with gently picked bouzouki and sequenced percussion setting up for Oliver's low and confiding vocal (again entirely in English). Fiona's harmonizing background voice soon joins in as do full hand percussion and Fiona's wood flute. The song's instruments soften to the extreme as Oliver and Fiona continue singing the chorus. An African/Balinese-sounding marimba weave takes the fore as support to Fiona's flute and Oliver's delicate, almost-nervous solo voice. Amazing vocal performance! At the end of the sixth minute the support of the full band instrumentation rebuilds until again falling away as Oliver and Fiona finish the song's vocal. (10/10)
8. "Pearl" (5:05) opens with a Peter Gabriel computer sequence before Margareta explodes onto the scene with a LOREENA MCKENNITT-like vocal (in English). Full percussion, bagpipes, and strummed bouzouki fill out the rest of the band's contribution but this is Margareta's song to shine on. (10/10)
9. "Oyneng Yar" (5:34) tambourine-support is all Fiona needs to open this song with her awesome vocal. Oliver on nyckelharpa, Rüdiger and Neil laying down an awesome percussion weave, Margareta's hurry-gurdy (and background harmonies) and Fiona's flawless recorder play complete this full-bodied, full-spirited song. (10/10)
10. "Polska fran anderson" (4:37) is an instrumental that begins with a gorgeous three-part weave of Oliver's nyckelharpa, Margareta's hurry-gurdy and Fiona's high whistle. Somebody switches into harp (Margareta) while Oliver adds bouzouki (multi-tracking?) in continued support of Fiona and Oliver's solos and weaves. (9/10)
11. "Alba" (7:17) bouzouki and percussives provide background support for another one of Oliver's hypnotic vocals (in German). A quiet song that I wish I knew German for I know that the story being told is the key to really valuing this song. (9/10)
12. "Ynis avalach" (5:09) is another instrumental traditional Celtic weave with full percussion on display, full band playing at first at a rather hypnotic pace before picking up the pace significantly at the three-minute mark. Nice trick to shift into third gear for the last two minutes. (9/10)
13. "Arcadia" (7:16) opens with nyckelharpa, whistles/chalumeaux, hurdy-gurdy, big percussives and electronic drones, all blasting away in a powerful weave before yielding to the lovely and, again, different duet vocals of Fiona and Margareta. Margareta's echoed solo vocal in the second half of the song is almost religious ecstatic. Fiona later takes up the lead with Margareta's angelic soprano supporting her in such a protective way. Brilliant song--so well conceived and constructed. (9/10)
14. "The Market Song" (5:51) is a rather traditional folk song sung in English by Oliver and Fiona, at first alternately, and then in harmony. Some wonderful soloing from Fiona on her special transverse wooden bass flute (chalumeaux). Also kudos for the standing vertical violin (saz) solo and later bagpipe solos. The band really takes out all the stops on this one! (9/10)
15. "Golden Apples" (7:35) may be the most beautiful and most powerful song on this an album of many powerful and hypnotic songs. The finale is so deliciously and dangerously tranquilizing that I feel I must warn the reader/listener to be on his awares!
Set up by a slow, methodically repeated harp arpeggio, soon Fiona is singing like the most seductive siren to grace these ears. I would definitely be tempted by her offer of this apple! Absolutely stunning, gut-wrenchingly emotional song! Neil and Rüdiger's contributions are also very important to this one--they just kind of sneak up on you. What an end to an incredible album! (10/10)
Without doubt one of the finest albums of this genre I've heard, it is also one a handful of albums that I've heard from my lifetime that leave me weak, drained, so well-satisfied and aurally coddled that I call it among my favorites.
94.0 on the Fish scales = five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music. Eden sounds more full blood Celtic than previous albums but it is a sound that suits FAUN. If there is any "flaw" and I'm not sure if this can be considered a flaw considering the power and beauty of this album's songs, but this album represents quite a departure in linguistic choice as many songs and narrations are done in English, and far less of the songs are gathered from ancient and mediæval tongues as was done on Licht and Renaissance.
MIDLAKE Antiphon (2013)
Midlake's first album after the departure of front man and chief songwriter Tim Smith. Tim Smith's talents are considerable but Antiphon shows us just how talented Smith's band mates are--and how their founder's talents may, in fact, have overshadowed and suppressed the full display of Midlake's true potential. This is an amazing album. And truly a Prog Folk album. One of my favorite Prog Folk albums of all-time--and preferable to Van Occupanther.
I am in total bliss as I listen to songs 5 through 10, "Vale" (4:31), "Aurora Gone" (4:38), "Ages" (4:39), "This Weight" (3:34), "Corruption" (5:18), "Provider Reprise" (5:01) are all, each and everyone, masterpieces of Prog Folk.
94.0 on the Fish scales = five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
Special Mention:
OTHER GROUND-BREAKING ALBUMS
ODYSSEY "The Greatest Tale" (2005)
A 3CD prog epic from Finland's Colossus group and MUSEA Records. Despite the overall lower rating of this album, the effort and landmark significance of this album makes it deserving of being included on this list.
DISC ONE
1. NATHAN MAHL "Chapter I: Of Longings, Suitors, Deities and Quests...: (24:07). Instrumental with excellent melodies (though kind of Celtic) really enjoy the piano and electric guitar ‘dance' during the softer parts. Great seering guitar soli towards the end. Just a little too modern in effects and stylings for me-and not enough changes and variations in tempo and instrumentation. (Sample is a brief excerpt.) (42.5/50)
2. NEXUS "Chapter II: El Regreso--The Return" (27:50). Mostly instrumental begins with leadership of some great organ and drum work, a very EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER sound, filled with many engaging tempo and sound/mood changes, each as engaging and melodic as the one before. The few vocal parts are sung over a very quiet, peaceful section by the very pleasant voice of Lito Marcello, eventually turns to a jazzier section with Roye Albrighton-esque guitar intro turning Camel/Latimer-esque before reverting to more ELP-like sounds. The final ten minutes see the use of effects on vocals in imitation of Greg Lake's on "21st Century Schizoid Man" and some very entertaining theatrical stylizations a la Peter Gabriel at the end. So many shifts and changes all so surprising and delightful. LP Prog at its absolute finest. (57/60)
3. GLASS HAMMER "Chapter III: At the Court of Alkinoos" (21:32). A very polished, Broadway-like production. I love the use and interplay of the five vocalists. Outstanding harmonies. The opening section with piano and two female vocals is breathtaking before breaking into a "Watcher of the Skies" organ, pulsing bass and rhythm section a la "Apocalypse in 9/8." The use of electronic effects on Steve Babb's voice as Ulysses/Odysseus certainly distinguishes him and presents the anger and frustrations of his struggles. Absolutely beautiful ending dialogue & choruses before a magical instrumental fadeout with guitar solo searing away. Were it not for Matt Mendians' tendency to pulse the kick drum in a ProgMetal fashion, this would be one of the better jobs of trying to recreate a 70s drum sound. Overall excellent Kansas/ELP keyboards. And, still, an awesome job of putting a true theatric epic feel to the epic that begat all epics. (40/40)
DISC TWO
4. XII ALFONSO "Chapter IV: From Ismarus to the Land of Death" (26:01). A very interesting instrumental which IMO pays homage more to the space-psychedelic beginning with an unusual yet enticing choral intro over Latin percussion. This stops at 2:22 to allow a very nice spacey Camel/Nektar-ish section to develop before a bluesy organ and funk bass are introduced at 3:27 to play over the psychedelia and waves. Actually a very pretty theme here--and some very nice organ play.
The funk is then followed starting at 6:50 by a gorgeous Oldfield-like acoustic guitar serenade. At 10:12 this then moves into an Oldfield/Vangelis-like section, complete with Tibetan gutteral chanting and industrial keyboard effects and some great Oldfield-ish electric guitar work. At 14:05, everything stops to introduce what sounds like some kind of choral-infused theme music from a Tim Burton movie. The Oldfield guitar work continues--as does some Adiemus-like vocals.
Once Simba and the Oompa-Loompas depart, around the 19-minute mark, we are treated to a pretty piano section reminiscent of Erik Satie. At 20:20 an operatic female vocal announces the transition to a fast moving rock opera section as the band kicks it up into outerspace hyperdrive with some pure Camel key and axe interchanges.
Great, haunting finale and exit sections. Overall: Theatric with perhaps a bit too much Adiemus meets Mike Oldfield for my taste; still, I love the space music and this is still very good prog: (Sample is an excerpt from the intro.) (43.5/50).
5. SIMON SAYS "Chapter V: Minds of Mortal Men--Meander Tales" (25:40). These guys seem a bit too derivative to me; originality is lacking and the vocals (Daniel Fäldt) are just not 'tuned' (on pitch), engaging or emotionally believable. (Nor are the female harmonies, for that matter.) I always love their instrumentation choices and their skill is unquestioned, they just don't have enough 'new' to say, IMHO. The Andrew Tillison- and Tony Banks-like "Maelstrom" and "Mother of All Monsters" instrumental parts are pretty awesome, with interesting drum play and Hackett- then Latimer-like guitar, and the band/composition and even vocals capture the chaos and energy of the Scylla-Charybdis encounter very well. (41.75/50)
6. C.A.P. "Chapter VI: Sulle ali del sogno--Odissea: Libri XIV, XV, XVI" (28:15). Excellent representatives of PRI. Another truly winning theatric composition and performance "Primo Movimento" has one big message: These guys can sing! I'm listening to The Phantom or Les Mis!! "Secondo Movimento" is more instrument based though no less emotion-packed. "Terzo Movimento" begins with a Tangerine Dream feel (except for live drums) turning into a Nektar-like driving rhythm for fuzz guitar and key solos. Solo piano bridges into the organ backed interplay of the voices of Athena, minimoog, and Odysseus. "Quatro Movimento" portrays the emotional reunion of Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, with wonderful drama and force (thanks to some powerful Led Zeppelin rhythms). Wonderful piece. (59/60)
DISC THREE
7. TEMPANO "Chapter VII" (24:14). Begins with quirky, often Crimson-esque rhythms and instrumental coloration with tragic-comic voices (Odysseus as the Beggar) before moving into an excellent slowed-down Floydian section with strong English male vocals (Pedro Castillo). Then back to Bruford-era Crimson music complete with treated vocals. A bluesy-vaudvillian Zappa-like section hangs on for a long time before breaking for a more Kansas-like final section in which acoustic guitar strumming backs some more strong English vocals. Very interesting piece worthy of repeated listening. (42.25/50)
8. MINIMUM VITAL "Chapter VIII: Étranger en sa demeure" (22:22). Heavily founded on the organ. Everything I read about this group refers to the Mike Oldfield electric guitar sound. That's for sure! While many musical styles and interesting things are going on in the rhythm and keyboard sections, every guitar solo renders one into Oldfield's Incantations album, which is too bad because these musicians are excellent and have a very interesting, rather-jazzy composition style. Scaled down "Third Movement [Penelope's Lament]" with its Pat Metheny-like acoustic and electric guitar interplay is the song's highlight. "Fourth Movement [to string the bow]" just doesn't capture the drama of this scene, fades without conveying the tension of the moment before battle. (39/45)
9. AETHER "Chapter IX" (21:31). Wow! Now that's a beginning to companion a fight! Great composition with wonderfully engaging sounds and melodies. Amazingly rich and balanced mix of all of the instruments; no one is too dominant or too drowned out. If only the Aether sound was more in keeping with the theme of 70s instrumentation and effects. Still, they have a great sound, a powerful presence. Definitely a band I'll be seeking out now that I've heard them here. A wonderful finale to an amazing music collection (even though the vocals could be stronger). (Sample is and excerpt from the intro.) (40/40)
405/445 = 91.01 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a 3CD nine epic-length song collection of progressive rock with four (4) masterful songs belonging in the Valhalla of Prog Epics.
As above: AN ESSENTIAL ADDITION TO ANY PROG LOVER'S COLLECTION!
KAYO DOT Choirs of the Eye (2003)
Kayo Dot is another monster project coming from the genius well-spring of creativity that is American Toby Driver. Kayo Dot is what has risen out of the 'ashes' of maudlin of The Well as it includes most of the former moTW members. It may, in fact, be more accurate to call Kayo Dot a natural progression of what started as maudlin of The Well.
Kayo Dot is another monster project coming from the genius well-spring of creativity that is American Toby Driver. Kayo Dot is what has risen out of the 'ashes' of maudlin of The Well as it includes most of the former moTW members. It may, in fact, be more accurate to call Kayo Dot a natural progression of what started as maudlin of The Well.
I've just come to Choirs of the Eye after maudlin of the Well's Part the Second, after Kayo Dot's Blue Lambency, after Coyote, after Bath and Leaving Your Bodymap and I am STILL BLOWN AWAY!! Amazing music! Amazing vision and creativity! Amazing virtuosity! "Like nothing else you've ever heard"!
Like other reviewers, "Manifold Curiosity" (10/10) is one of the most amazing songs I've ever heard by any band! Ever! This seals it for me: Toby Driver IS the future of 'progressive' music. He is pushing the envelope, finding beauty in places, sounds, and structures that no one--no one--has done before. Even from depression and suicide (Coyote).
1. "Marathon" (10:14) begins with such elusive, disparate soundings as to disarm the listener from being able to categorize it. Is this rock, is this metal, is this radio, is this jazz, is this classical? For the first two and a half minutes, all of it seems possible. Then, all of a sudden, the cemetery awakens: the coffins burst open and the voices of the dead begin shouting, playing their message, informing us of their pain, the enslavement of their addictions. Then at 4:40 the cacophony dissipates, the abrasive voices fade away and we are allowed to pass on, beyond, into a place of beautiful calm. we are, perhaps, transported into perhaps the Light, the Source, the safe and all-loving Space Between lives. Familiar, secure, yet unremembered and new. Toward the end, our guide, a former human himself, spews forth his perspective, his understanding of it all. We turn and find out that he is us; that I am he! (20/20)
2. "A Pitcher of Summer" (5:51) begins very much as Bath and Leaving Your Bodymap left off. Acoustic guitar and soft, floating voice, great use of space. At 2:40 the first notes of harsh distorted electric guitar strums seem to drive home the singer's point, after which the listener is left floating, in limbo, as if to try to process the message/information. 30 seconds to ruminate. Then guitars, dissonance, melody and harmony return all at once, all together, making the infinite emotional possibilities of major seventh chords seem small and limited! Amazing song! Awesome, powerful beauty! (10/10)
3. "The Manifold Curiosity" (14:30) opens uses pacing, electric guitar strumming and woodwinds to great, unusual effect. Gradually all fall away until we are left with the simple strumming of a single chord on an acoustic guitar. A rustle of paper introduces the reader to the writer's manifesto, "The Manifold Curiosity" which is then whisper sung in a very high register from a seemingly shy distance, until just after the five minute mark the reader takes a break and the orchestra enters to usher in its musical interpretation--avant rock-jazz-classical, yet quite poised and structured. At the seven minute mark an electric guitar is left to guide us, accompany the re-emergent reader(s), with its PAT METHENY-like arpeggios. Join in a (some?) upper register strings players, and the song becomes a serenade, a bed-time story, and, eventually (around 10:30), a cacophonous wake up call--no: a persistent nagging itch; the neighbor whose stereo is playing too loud, the rush hour traffic noise that you can't quite block out, the sudden but no longer avoidable realization that something has gone terribly wrong with the world, with our out-of-control society; the cancer that is eating away at your insides. It's out there. (31/30)
4. "Wayfarer" (10:43) opens with soft, dissonance coming from guitar, violin, and, eventually, voice. As if the violin is the butterfly flitting around the garden, the guitar the waiting spider in his web, and the voice is the wind and sun working their insidious, impersonal magic. Nearly halfway through the song the music comes together, amps up (gets backed by an organ!) as the singer moves forward, perhaps ending the deadly day. 6:00 (sunset?) and the stars begin to come out. A whole different set of instruments and sounds emerge from the twilight silence. A night time walk through the garden ensues--at first beautiful, then awesomely terrifying, jarring and awakening as the quietest, coldest, creepiest moments of night occur just before: Morning, with its majesty, simplicity, sultriness, constancy and mundane. (18/20)
5. "The Antique" (14:41) begins with strum and picking of the bass strings of a distorted (oddly- or un[?]- tuned) electric guitar. Towards the end of the third minute, other de-tuned stringed instruments begin to join the guitar. Then pitch-variant wind-whistled apparatus and drum kit join. Avant garde, Rock in Opposition at its most challenging. Is this what Robert Fripp referred to as "Cognitive Dissonance"? Not a melody or chord here makes sense; only rhythm and --until 6:15 when everybody comes together to drown out the death-growl vocals and screams of the angry/desperate vocalist. Scathing multiple guitar and piano soli duel (in different dimensions? alternate realities?) At the end of the tenth minute everything falls away to allow a HAROLD BUDD-like piano accompanying brush-kit drum and trumpet set the stage for healing and rebirth. The indecipherable, muted (like a trumpet gets muted) vocal that joins in is upsetting for the message that is blurred and goes unconveyed, uncomprehended. (Though, even the Internet provided lyrics bring little comprehension to this listener.) Not my favorite song but I can appreciate and perhaps understand the purpose. (21/30)
Despite the last song, this remains a highly, highly recommended, multi-layered treasure of musical experience. Every listen is different, revealing, awesome, amazing.
90.91 on the Fish scales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of innovative progressive rock music and, were it not for a flawed final epic, a veritable masterpiece of PROGRESSIVE music!
RIVERSIDE Second Life Syndrome (2005)
An album of nearly perfect production: There are not many albums out there whose sound clarity, engineering, and mixing can compete with the quality of this one. Simply breathtaking! While neither heavy prog nor prog metal are my favorite sub-genres, this was one of my first acquisitions during the 'prog listening renaissance' I've undergone since 2006. I immediately appreciated the sound, musician-ship, and production; it has taken me quite a while longer to decide whether I appreciate and/or like the music. The answer is: Mostly. I immediately loved "Conceiving You" (3:41) (10/10) and "Second Life Syndrome" (15:40) (30/30) and now love the PEARL JAM/PINK FLOYD-like "I Turned You Down" (9.5/10), the instrumental, "Reality Dream III" (5:01) (9/10), and "Before" (5:24) (9.5/10). "After" (3:32) (8.5/10) and "Artificial Smile" (5:28) (8.5/10) are both excellent songs, while "Volte-Face" (8:41) (16/20) and "Dance with the Shadow" (11:39) (20/25) are just not up to the level of the others. I have no doubt that this album should rank among the best of this 21st Century as it is so powerful, so well constructed, performed, recorded, and produced.
90.0 on the Fish scales = A-/five star album; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music. While the album as a whole does not yearn for regular listening by me, the song "Second Life Syndrome" is among my favorite epics of all-time, and the incredible sound production brings me back fairly frequently. In my mind, this album represents one of the landmark achievements in 21st Century progressive rock music.
THE MARS VOLTA De-loused in the Comatorium (2003)
Rarely have I heard a post-1970s album that has taken me by such surprise and overwhelmed me as this one. The shear energy of the song-playing and reckless abandon of some of the performances is like listening to ADRIAN BELEW KING CRIMSON on amphetamines! Wow! "Cicatriz ESP" alone is a jaw-dropper every time I hear it. I've purposely avoided listening to other TMV or Omar songs for fear of blowing aside the mystical awe I hold for this raw and powerful album. Should I? Should I? I think not! I am not worthy! The Mars Volta have created one for the ages! A gargantuan and, IMHO, inimitable masterpiece. Favorite songs: "Inertiatic ESP" (8/10), "Televators" (9/10), "Eriatarka" (10/10), and, of course, "Cicatriz ESP" (25/25).
Some "throw-away" songs devalue this album a bit, (enough that I rarely listen to it start to finish), but, still, it is full of such fresh, ground-breaking, energetic music that I cannot contain my recommendation for every music lover to give this one a listen. Decide for your self. A display of restrained free-for all, contained reckless-abandon!
4.5 stars, a near masterpiece!
4.5 stars, a near masterpiece!
PORCUPINE TREE Fear of a Blank Planet (2007)
My introduction to Steve Wilson and Porcupine Tree. After a fifteen year hiatus from "progressive rock" and most new music, ProgArchives reviewers led me to this gem. Revived with a new intrigue and interest in the most artistic of music forms, progressive rock, I began my adventures into post-1970s prog with this CD. From the first listening I was impressed. A little heavier than I expected at times, I quickly keyed into the drummer: very impressive. Then found myself bewitched by the beautiful and diverse sound textures (helped out by old "friend" from my David Sylvian years, Richard Barbieri). Even nostalgically amused by the "guest appearances" by prog legends Robert Fripp, Alex Lifeson and John Wesley.
1. "Fear of a Blank Planet" (7:31) Drums catch you from the start: Tight! Confident! Who is this guy! Google search! Pretty cool "metal-ish" feel in the guitars, the kick drum style, though mellotron/synths soften it some. Great mellotron background wash! Lyrics kind of cynical and depressing. Keyboard work is subtle but really absorbing. Good hard driving tune with excellent electric guitar and synth soli at the end. The end is the best part (and more typical of older PT, I will find out). The lyrics are amazing--so astute at capturing the zeitgeist of the times. (13.125/15)
2. "My Ashes"(5:10) Very cool intro. Haven't heard that effect/sound since Zep's "Ocean". Chorus enters over a beautifully fluid wash of Floydian mellotron, followed by entrance of drums and electric guitars. The burdens of cultural transmission. I've read Steve can be a bit down, even depressing (lyrically). Love the flowing, floating strings behind the vocals and acoustic guitars (masterful work by Richard Barbieri). A well-constructed song that is, aside from the lyrics, a bit boring. (8.66667/10)
3. "Anaesthetize" (17:42) The first truly proggish feeling song. (Especially due to its 17 minute length.) The drum "arpeggios" underlying the first three minutes are mixed perfectly into the song so as to not overwhelm the listener. (This is a real workout for drummer Gavin Harrison!) The entry of the fuzz guitar chords and snare hit and then excellent electric guitar solo precede an awesome electric piano sequence (Ambrosia?) and some synthscapes just before the more metal-ish drum and bass sounds take over the rhythm. Steve's treated vocals at eight minutes in truly usher in a more fully metal feel (so cleanly recorded!) (really a Nirvana grunge "Feels Like Teen Spirit" section). Awesome Gary Newman "Cars" sound just before this drummer dude really gets to impress us. There's that metronomic click track again. Barbieri/Wilson's synth work is so smooth, subtle, understated but interesting and key! The Floydian end section brought in at 13:20 is very cool, very Wish You Were Here/Animals, complete with brief Gilmour-esque axe solo. The song never really seems to develop into what it promises at the beginning, though it does end well and the lyrics, of course, are powerfully cogent. (30/35)
4. "Sentimental" (5:33) A teen anthem sung by a thirty-forty-something. This is, however, a song that has grown on me. (That piano chord progression is haunting.) Hmm. Simple SimpleMinds/ U2-ish song structure has a feel similar to several other "classic" PT songs. A decent song. (8.75/10)
5. "Way Out of Here" (7:38) is the first of the albums two really great songs. True classics, these are, with really powerful lyrics and vocal deliveries (though sometimes too deep in the mix, due to the treatments). Very catchy chorus lyric and melody. Absolutely stunning guitar solo (Fripp?) is followed by an eerie, here-comes-the-slasher lull before all metal hell breaks loose. And did I mention the drums? This drummer knows his craft--enhancing yet never dominating, with sometimes breathtaking speeds and techniques. (Again: the drums are so well mixed into the music). The long fadeout of ascending string sounds over Harrison's ever-so subtle, yet playful, batterie is brilliant! (15/15)
6. "Sleep Together" (7:30). A quiet little intro is suddenly amped up and made rather eerie by a strong, slow drum beat before Steve's treated voice screeches his forceful though despondent command, "Let's sleep together." The world's about to end, so why not? Second time through the chorus leaves us in outer/inner space with some very interesting multiple synth play. Gavin and Colin rejoin the music to help usher us through a truly unusual "string quartet" (a la Kronos Quartet) exit. Very fresh and creative. Classic prog! Awesome! (15/15)
Undoubtedly outstanding musicianship and sound recording with very impressive composition and of-time-capsule-interest lyrics (computers and iPods). I think Steven Wilson is a genius for captivating the existential essence of our times with his words. Though I may not like the music here as much as others, I do concede to the fact that I think we have in Fear of a Blank Planet a modern prog classic! Also, mega kudos to Gavin Harrison and Richard Barbieri: extraordinary work!
90.54 on the Fishscales = A-/low five stars; an excellent addition of heavy prog to any music collection.
STEVEN WILSON Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015)
Leave it to the genius of Steven Wilson to pick up on the disturbing story of London socialite Joyce Vincent and make the marvel and mystery of her death into the inspiration for an album—a brilliant album full of the musings and vignettes of subtle criticism of our 21st Century society. The possibility that a young, popular, almost-engaged woman of caring parents could go three years without being discovered or missed seems ludicrous, even impossible. Especially when considering that the television was on, the window wide open, and the mail and bills kept piling up inside on the floor of her front door—for three years! Amazing.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Steven Wilson / vocals, electric (3-7,10) & acoustic (2,4-6,8,10) guitars, banjo (7), keyboards, Mellotron M4000, bass (1,2,5-7), hammered dulcimer (9), shaker, Fx, programming, choir (5,10,11) & strings (9,10) arrangements, producing & mixing
With:
- Leo Blair / vocal solo (5)
- Guthrie Govan / lead guitar (1,2,5-7,9,10)
- Dave Gregory / guitar (2,10) & 12-string guitar (3)
- Adam Holzman / piano, Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes, celesta (3,5,9), Wurlitzer (7), Moog solo (7)
- Theo Travis / baritone saxophone & flute (9)
- Nick Beggs / bass (3,9), Chapman Stick (4,6,10), backing vocals (2,4-6,9,10)
- Marco Minnemann / drums
- Chad Wackerman / drums (10)
- Ninet Tayeb / backing vocals (3,5,9)
- Katherine Jenkins / voice (4)
- Dave Stewart / choir (5) & strings (9) arrangements
- Schola Cantorum of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School / chorus vocals (5,10,11)
- London Session Orchestra / strings (9,10)
1. First Regret (2:01)
2. 3 Years Older (10:18)
3. Hand Cannot Erase (4:13)
4. Perfect Life (4:43)
5. Routine (8:58)
6. Home Invasion (6:24)
7. Regret #9 (5:00)
8. Transience (2:43)
9. Ancestral (13:30)
10. Happy Returns (6:00)
11. Ascendant Here on... (1:54)
Total Time 65:44
What makes Steven Wilson such a genius, to me, is not his reverence for the “masters” and “masterpieces” of the past, not his incredible attention to detail in the engineering and production rooms, not his proclivity for attracting the most amazing instrumentalists to contribute to his songs and tours, but it is in his insightful articulation of the signs and symptoms of the disease and decay of contemporary society. And he’s done it almost from the beginning—at least from Lightbulb Sun on.
I actually don’t like much of Steven's music. As sophisticated and catchy as it is, as well-constructed and well-performed as it is, as well-produced as it is, it is usually lacking something, je ne said quoi, (I can never pinpoint it)—which is what makes me rarely feel the desire to return to many of his albums. In Steven Wilson I recognize the true genius in his lyrics, his subtle yet oh-so timely and poignant social commentary. When we look back in 50 years for music that gave us a look at the real issues troubling our society in the opening of the 21st Century, we will be able to find it in the songs of Steven Wilson.
Hand. Cannot. Erase. is definitely a work of genius, definitely a testament to our troubled times. Whereas some groups choose to focus on the big picture issues like Anekdtoen, Ulver, and Paatos, Steven Wilson chooses to focus on the microcosm—on individuals or scenes that provide us with pictures into the imbalances in our society, the odd patterns in our collective and individual consciousnesses, the disease eating away at our souls. Kudos to you, Steven, for continuing to find the cojones, the drive, as well as the right stories to satisfy your obvious need to place that ever-disturbing mirror in front of our eyes. We are such an odd—disturbingly odd—species!
The album starts off rather weakly, trying ever-so hard to breach the chasm of pop and prog for the first four songs (the fourth of which, “Perfect Life,” just happens to be awesome and, yes, haunting). Yet, it’s really not until the fifth song, “Routine” that Mr. Wilson and company reach the prog stride that will be necessary to please us progheads. From there on, however, the album is pure magic, power and bliss. Brilliant prog songs. Brilliant vignettes into individual lives which Mr. Wilson masterfully uses to illuminate the dysfunctional patterns and priorities that are eating way at our society.
Though not all of Hand. Cannot. Erase. is my cup of tea, I cannot argue with its masterful construction, its mature song writing and the sophisticated play of some of modern prog's instrumental masters. With Hand. Cannot. Erase., Steven Wilson has, once again, contributed something quite significant to posterity. Five star songs: songs 4 through 9.
85.45 on the Fish scales = 4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music.
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