WARNING! ACHTUNG! AVERTISSEMENT! There has been a secession!

 Some of you readers may notice the sudden absence of posts singling out "Jazz-Rock Fusion" (especially "Classic Era" J-R F). This is the result of a new and sudden event: I've created not one but two entirely new and separate blogsites dedicated exclusively to Jazz-Rock Fusion.

A Compendium of "Classic Era" Jazz-Rock Fusion (https://j-rfusioncompendium.blogspot.com/) and The Supernova that was Jazz-Rock Fusion (https://explorationsinjazzrockfusion.blogspot.com/) have been created in order to offer lists and reviews of the albums from the "Classic Era" of Jazz-Rock Fusion (the Compendium) and research articles and opinion pieces regarding the artists and albums, trends and forces, and historical perspectives of that amazing ten-year period (Supernova), respectively. 

While I personally still feel that the Jazz-Rock Fusion subgenre was very much a part or product of the progressive rock movement, I see enough readers who do not/will not include the artists and/or their albums when discussing or searching for their progressive rock. Thus I have separated J-R F from my prog publications with the intention of both extricating that information from the prog lover's musical searches but also celebrating J-R Fusion as its own entity. Making its information and discussion more its own will hopefully attract people who are more enthusiastic to J-RF specific topics.

Prog Is Alive and Well in the 21st Century will chug along acting as if business is usual, but we all know that a passion for Jazz-Rock Fusion has diminished considerably my interest and attention to Prog World. Only time will tell how well I split my time between the two. 

2024, Part 4: Other Albums worth checking out for yourselves

The albums presented below represent a group of albums that each came highly recommended to me but failed to capture my sustained attention. Knowing that I no longer have the patience, time, or interest in forcing myself to review every album that comes my way, I offer these up as a reminder to you of music you may wish to check out for yourselves. This has been a difficult decision for me in that my initial intentions on becoming a music reviewer were to try to offer fair and impartial, somewhat "objective" reviews of as many of the hundreds of new album releases I hear about from each and every year of this 21st Century. I apologize to all of the wonderful music professionals who had hoped that I might review their musics.

NEEDLEPOINT Remnants of Light

Line-up / Musicians:

- Bjørn Klakegg / Lead Vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars (on #7 and #9), flute, fiddle, hurdy gurdy

- Erlend Slettevoll / Electric Piano, hammond organ, clavinet, acoustic piano, prophet-5, arp odyssey, minimoog, backing vocals on #5

- Nikolai Hængsle / electric bass, backing vocals, lead vocals (on #6), acoustic guitars (on #3, #5, #6 and #8), electric guitars (on #2, #5 and #6), glockenspiel, moog taurus, percussion

- Ola Øverby / Drums, congas, percussion, backing vocals on #5

With:

- Solveig Wang : clarinet on #7, backing vocals on #5

- Ingrid Støylen Runde : backing vocals on #5

- Camilla Brun : backing vocals on #5 and #6

1. "On Remnants of Light" (4:26) (/10)

2. "Head in the Sand" (4:15) (/10)

3. "While Our World Is Still Revolving" (4:38) (/10)

4. "Muse on the Hook" (4:08) (/10)

5. "Another Inch Towards You" (4:04) (/10)

6. "Where You Two Once Held Hands" (6:40) easily the best song on the album--maybe the only one. (9.5/10)

7. "Large as Lakes" (4:10) (/10)

8. "Back to Nowhere" (4:51) (/10)

9. "Blank Sheet" (4:28) (/10)

Total time: 41:40

THE PINEAPPLE THIEF It Leads to This

Bruce Soord is back with another TPT release, the Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson-inspired band's 15th 21st Century offering--and they've even picked up a former PT band member in drummer Gavin Harrison.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Bruce Soord / guitars, vocals
- Jon Sykes / bass, backing vocals
- Steve Kitch / keyboards
- Gavin Harrison / drums & percussion
With:
- Beren Matthews / guitar, backing vocals

1. "Put It Right" (5:30) (/10)
2. "Rubicon" (4:37) (/10)
3. "It Leads to This" (4:43) (/10)
4. "The Frost" (5:40) (/10)
5. "All That's Left" (4:26) (/10)
6. "Now It's Yours" (5:59) (/10)
7. "Every Trace of Us" (4:30) (/10)
8. "To Forget" (5:20) (/10)

Total Time 40:45

RICK MILLER One of the Many

Line-up / Musicians:
- Rick Miller / performer, composer & producer
With:
- Sarah Young / flute
- Giulia Cacciavillian / flute
- Mateusz Swoboda / cello
- Artem Litovchenko / cello
- Barry Haggarty / guitars
- Kane Miller / acoustic guitar, violin
- Will / drums & percussion

1. "Atrophy" (8:21) (/20)
2. "Time Goes On" (3:52) (/10)
3. "The Lost Years" (8:29) (/20)
4. "She of the Darkness" (3:57) (/10)
5. "One of the Many" (4:54) (/10)
6. "Perchance to Dream" (13:10) atmospheric, melody-drenched NeoProg with keyboard-sounding guitars and sappy lyrics sounding largely borrowed from ALAN PARSONS PROJECT and PINK FLOYD. (21.75/25)
7. "Wonderlust" (6:15) (/10)
8. "Another Time" (4:36) (/10)

Total Time 53:34

PRESENT This is NOT the End

Band founder Roger Trigaux's last album--one that he was working on when he died in 2021--is finally realized and released by his band mates. Too bad the music is so difficult to acquire.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Roger Trigaux / keyboard, vocal, composition
- François Mignot / guitar
- Pierre Chevalier / piano, keyboards, vocal
- Dave Kerman / percussion
- Keith Macksoud / bass
- Kurt Budé / sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Liesbeth Lambrecht / violin
- Udi Koomran / sound

1. Contre (7:58) (/15)
2. This Is Not the End, Part 2 (12:15) (/25)
3. This Is Not the End, Part 1 (26:30) (/50)

Total Time 46:43

 

PARAPHON Infinity (2024)

A second release of Progressive Electronic music from the Belgian creative force behind BATTLESTATIONS.

1. "Orbit / Departure / Out there" (7:26) I like the beautiful final movement far more than the first two. (13/15)

2. "270.45 Negative" (12:16) sounds like some of the great soundtrack music to Carl Sagan's famous Cosmos television series. The second/middle movement treads more into the territory of the Berlin School artists with its rhythmic sequenced track propelling from behind the Vangelis synths. The third movement moves back to more pure Vangelis but is surprisingly positive and uplifting in its melodic choices. One of my three favorite songs from the album. (22.3333/25)

3. "KBC Void" (10:07) this one starts out having the distinct feel and palette of the music of Joseph Bernardot's  IASOS project from the late 1970s, but then moves at the halfway point into what sounds and feels more like VANGELIS again (though I also hear a little Jean-Michel JARRE in there as well). (17.5/20)

4. "Caldwell 101" (9:26) this song opens up fully VANGELIS but then adds some KITARO in the second minute, eventually morphing more completely into Kitaro-sama's world. In the second half of the fifth minute there is a full transition into sequencer music but there are lots of thick synth wash chords and clouds embracing and enveloping the core, creating a music that is (to my ears) fresh and organic (though "etheric" or "plasmotic" might have been better choices of words). I love the way the banks of synth washes climb and build one upon the next over the final three minutes. I also like PRFN's more frequent use of major and major seventh chords in this section (at least until the end). A top three song for me. (18/20)

5. "Serpens" (7:16) after a foghorn-like opening, the music moves into a kind of delicate, subtle world similar to a lot of Stefan MUSSO's less-zither-driven songs. A chord change introduced at 3:40 eventually takes over and lightens the mood a bit though PRFN continues to inject low bass-pedal like bursts and quick four-note arpeggio electric keyboard trills over the top. It's good but feels incomplete, underdeveloped--like a sampler or an étude. (13.25/15)

6. "Known Edge" (5:28) this one is all VANGELIS, the darkest most-obstacle-opposed version of the Greek master's moody music. My final top three song. (8.875/10)

86.62 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very nice album contribution to the lexicon of Progressive Electronic music but not on the level of other Paraphon or Battlestations albums. 

MANDOKI SOULMATES A Memory of Our Future

Before the appearance of and active attention garnered by this album on ProgArchives, I'd never heard of Hungary's László "Leslie" Mandoki, Dschinghis Khan, or the Mandoki Soulmates--this despite over 19 studio albums since the late 1970s! I do like his vision of collaborating with and eclectic array of world musicians.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Leslie Mandoki / vocals, drums & percussion, udu
- Ian Anderson / vocals, flute
- Al Di Meola / guitars
- Mike Stern / guitars
- Randy Brecker / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Bill Evans / tenor & soprano saxophones
- Till Brönner / trumpet
- Tony Carey / vocals, Hammond, piano
- Cory Henry / Hammond, piano, Rhodes
- Nick Van Eede / vocals
- Simon Phillips / drums
- Jesse Siebenberg / vocals
- John Helliwell / saxophones, clarinet
- Mark Hart / guitars, keyboards, vocals
- Julia Mandoki / vocals
- Steve Bailey / bass
- Richard Bona / bass, vocals

1. Blood in the Water (6:54) Ian Anderson flute with a Jethro Tull-like motif with a UNITOPIA-like vocal and plenty of guest appearances on Hammond organ, piano, Motown rhythm guitar, supporting vocals, and uncredited violin all expertly pieced together like a BIG BIG TRAIN song. Great earworm of a lyric. I love the flute play throughout as well as the piano and Motown wah-wah guitar but the udu play is really the highlight. (13.5/15) 

2. "Enigma of Reason" (10:06) opens like a Gospel spiritual set to some Caribbean-influenced World music. The multi-voice vocals that soon ensue sound like Peter Gabriel is in there. Matter of fact, this sounds very much like a Peter Gabriel world-consciousness song (or perhaps Robbie Robertson or Sting). The performances are all clean and gentle, I like them, but nothing here is earth-shatteringly impressive or worth writing home about despite the presence of Al Di Meola and Randy Brecker. My guess is that band leader Leslie Mandoki highly reveres the man his music emulates (Gabriel). (17.66667/20)

3. "The Wanderer" (5:04) the UNITOPIA/UNITED PROGRESSIVE FRATERNITY, BIG BIG TRAIN, PETER GABRIEL, ROBBIE ROBERTSON mélange of world music instruments continues--this one sounding the most like it comes straight off of Robbie's classic self-tiitled album from 1987. Gutsy mix for a proggy Americana song. (8.75/10) 

4. "The Big Quit" (8:35) a scathing social commentary of the evils of modern times delivered over a UNITED PROGRESSIVE FRATERNITY array of instruments and sounds. Al Di Meola's flamboyant acoustic guitar shows the master still has it, but the vocal delivery and straightforward beat-it-in-your-face melody and structure just gets old fast. Every time I listen to this I find my attention wandering, brought back by Al's guitar or the occasional familiar/meaningful phrase. (17.3333/20)

5. "Devil's Encyclopedia" (5:48) more in-your-face group chant-singing and eclectic world instrumentation used to pound some music for the expression of some indictment of modern society. (17.3333/10)

6. "A Memory of My Future" (6:26) at this point in the album, the odu-driven world music rock palette is growing a little stale. Here we have Berklee College of Music bass department chair Steve Bailey's fretless bass, Bill Evans' and/or Suptertramp's John Helliwell's saxhophone, Randy Brecker's trumpets, Al Di Meola's mellifluous acoustic guitar runs, and Ian Anderson's matter-of-fact vocal adding spice to Leslie's hand percussives. It's all very impressive and impeccably well pieced together, just a little too monochromatic and mundane (which both feel like oxymorons for this kind of music). (8.75/10)

7. "I Am Because You Are" (4:32) Leslie singing in his Robbie Robertson-like voice over another world-infused Smooth Jazz instrumental palette. (8.75/10)

8. "My Share of Your Life" (7:48)
9. "Age of Thought" (4:38)

10. "Matchbox Racing" (6:56)

11. "We Stay Loud" (5:25)

12. "Melting Pot" (5:52)

Total Time 78:04

As much as I admire this kind of music (the stuff artists like Peter Gabriel, Mark Trueack, Marco Bernard, Galahad, Big Big Train, and many others seem compelled to make), I find it all quite homogenous and interchangeable, and, thus, rather boring. It is virtually impossible for me to listen to an album of this type of music straight through cuz I get so antsy and ready to move on to something different (something I like)--the music just drives me away! Plus, these artists are the type that like to put out these monstrously long albums. I've found that I can get into a 40 to 45 minute long album much more easily than I can anything longer than that. (Is my nervous system conditioned from the thousands of vinyl albums I owned in the 1970s--albums whose hand-held liner notes were as valuable to the listening experience as the expensive needle and speakers I had to deliver it?) It seems that my deep dive into the music of the 1960s and 1970s (Prog Folk, Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion) has left me even more allergic to these bombastic, manifesto-delivering world NeoProg artists and their preachy albums. I am VERY much of their globally-empathetic mindset and greatly admire their fortitude to carry on their missions, but I just don't find the music or messages necessary for me. This makes me sad for I know that these artists are working very hard, that they are very serious in their compositional discipline and artful expression of the conscience-raising messages that compel them to create, I'm just not there anymore. (I see Collapse as inevitable, the consume-and-throw-away mentality too inextricably ingrained within our species' deepest consciousness.) So I apologize. Perhaps these are the artists and albums that I should simply stay away from; I should just let others be, give them the freedom to travel their own path without having to face the negativity of a nay-sayer like me. Hmm. Something to seriously ponder. 

As for the album rating for this review (which is going to remain, I fear, incomplete): I feel that this is good--very well- crafted, engineered, and performed--but it is not anything essential to anyone's progressive rock music collection, yet I feel it deserves high recommendations so that others can feel duly encouraged to try it out and decide for themselves. Kudos to Leslie and his gang of All-Stars; sorry it just doesn't click for me.

OVRFRWRD There Are No Ordinary Moments

More solid instrumental prog from these Minneapolites--the band's fifth release since their debut in 2014. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Mark Ilaug / electric & acoustic guitars
- Chris Malmgren / keyboards
- Kyle Lund / bass
- Richard Davenport / drums & percussion

1. "Red Blanket" (8:13) heavy drum and bass play, two chords, alternating back and forth, while "flute," "trumpet," and electric guitars take turns front-lining as soloists. It's okay if you're into long jams, but the lack of change (their is one key change around the three-minute mark and a dynamic dim around 4:00 as well as a turn into heavy metal rock territory at 5:26) and development is a bit disappointing. The trumpet sounds almost real, but, since it is uncredited, it must be assumed that it's keyboard generated. The multiple tracks dedicated to multiple guitars works well. (13.125/15)

2. "Eagle Plains" (7:58) opens like a still summer's day standing on a bluff looking out over the sea. Piano and heavily-chorused slide guitar join in, slowly establishing a sound palette, before heavy guitar power chords and deep pulsing bass and drum enter to provide the full sonic field. Something in the drum sound sounds off (muted recording of the snare and toms?) while Chris Malmgren's piano sounds too "in house" alongside his Mellotron chords, Arp-strings solo lines and Mark Ilaug's raunchy guitar shredding. Melodically, I'd say this song is a step above the previous one for intrigue and allure, it's just so jumbled and messy/murky. (13.25/15)

3. "The Virtue of..." (5:52) (/10)
4. "Flatlander" (3:14) (/10)

5. "Tramp Hollow" (5:28) (/10)

6. "Notes of the Concubine" (8:20) Chris Malmgren's piano and Hammond give this heavy, rather plodding song a little much-needed spice and variety. Mark Ilaug's lead guitar work is impressive and refined but has too much polish and not enough soul. (17.5/20)

7. "Eyota" (12:39) this song is opened by some solo classical lounge piano before the rest of the band join in around the 30-second mark. Their reunion is notable for the John Coltrane/Mahavishnu Orcehstra way they seem to feel around each other without quite going anywhere for over three minutes before settling into a forward-moving motif--which is also piano-led. I've always liked the experimental nature of these musicians' career, and this just perpetuates this feeling. Experimenting and growing. My only wish for them (one that I've expressed before) is that they somehow figure out how to let a vocalist into their fold--maybe not even until the music is finished--just to add that further dimension and variable to their wonderful weaves. At 6:10 a heartrending blues-jazzy melody is presented by the piano and lead guitar and further developed, also in tandem, as the bass and drums support the drama. At the end of the ninth minute the motif is taken into the domain of more sophisticated prog bombast for about a minute before every one backs off to let the "classical" piano again have sole possession of the spotlight. In the eleventh minute the other band members rally around Chris's piano playing with the warm layering of an Eskimo out in the cold. Lead guitar gets another go at a bit of a solo just before it's time to draw to a close. Not what you'd expect from a prog band--or jazz-rock fusion. Not even the Italians are usually as maudlin and extravagant as this one. (21.75/25)

8. "Chateau La Barre" (2:12) (/5)
9. "Serpentine" (6:54) (/15)

10. "The Way" (7:30) (/15)

Total Time 68:20

An album of pleasant, rather innocuous and perhaps standard fare that I just don't care to finish reviewing.

3.5 stars; a good but non-essential album.

LEVIATHAN Heartquake / Redux 

Two of the founding members of this Italian band, vocalist Alex Brunori and drummer Andrea Monetta, found the inspiration, time, and money to do a total remake of the band's 1988 debut album.

 Line-up / Musicians:

- Alex Brunori / vocals, backing vocals
- Andrea Monetta / drums & percussion
- Andrea Amici / keyboards
- Andrea Castelli / bass
- Fabio Serra / guitars

1. The Waterproof Grave (4:03)
2. Hellishade of Heavenue (8:40)
3. Only Visiting This Planet (6:58)
4. Up We Go! (7:02)
5. The Dream of the Cocoon (5:30)
6. Heartquake (8:47)

Total Time 41:00

While the new album's sound and production benefit from 21st Century technological advances and the songs benefit from the wisdom and maturity of 35 years of retrospection, and I certainly can support and condone the re-releasing of old albums--maybe even re-mixing or re-mastering--I cannot say that I can condone the treatment an album of all remakes as a new studio release; perhaps it should be entered under the "Boxset/Compilation" pages or even the "Fan Club and Promo" page. (It's the same issue I have with Mike Oldfield's constant remakes of old albums. I mean, do we really have the time and desire to hear what the older Hermann Hesse would do with Siddhartha in his 70s? or 80-year old Picasso's version of "Harlequin's Family with a Monkey"? or how Wright would have designed Taliesin East when he was living in Arizona in his 80s?) At the same time, some of you will argue that the before-and-later items will be two completely different things. This is not the case with Heartquake / Redux.

3.5 stars; good but only essential if you want to play it next to the original.

THE SAMURAI OF PROG (featuring Marco Grieco) A Quiet Town

Sorry, Marco. I just can't convince myself to give it a try. Too long and too much of the sterile modern NeoProg that I no longer tolerate well. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Marco Bernard / Shuker basses
- Marco Grieco / keyboards, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, backing vocals
- Kimmo Pörsti / drums & percussion
With:
- Ron Alonso / vocals
- Peakfiddler / fiddle
- Luke Shingler / flute
- Juhani Nisula / electric guitars
- Steve Unruh / vocals, violin, flute
- Olli Jaakkola / flute
- Ben Craven / vocals, lead electric guitar
- Tony Riveryman (aka Toni Jokinen) / electric guitars
- Ivan Santovito / lead & backing vocals
- Marco Vincini / vocals
- Michael Trew / lead & backing vocals
- Andy Nixon / lead & backing vocals
- Linus Kåse / alto saxophone

1. "Smile Forever" (7:45) (/15)
2. "The Crime" (5:41)
3. "The Priest" (6:56)
4. "The Businessman" (7:47)
5. "The Mayor" (6:08)
6. "The Doctor" (7:17)
7. "Dance of Clues" (3:04)
8. "The Solution (Part I)" (11:56)
9. "The Solution (Part II)" (7:12)
10. "The Report" (4:48)

Total Time 68:34

PHAEDRA Norn

After an eleven-year absence Claudio Bonvecchio and Stefano Gasperetti revive their RPI NeoProg project, Phaedra.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Claudio Bonvecchio / bass, 12-string guitar
- Stefano Gasperetti / keyboards, acoustic & classical guitars, cello
- Matteo Lorenzi / lead vocals
- Gabriele Girardi / electric guitar
- Cristiano Conte / drums & percussion
- Catia Borgogno / lead vocals, opera singing

1. "La Selva degli Ombrosi Faggi" (10:00) (/20)
2. "Canto per Lucy" (9:07) (/20)
3. "L'Empio Simulacro" (11:24) (/20)
4. "Prigioniero di Prisca Doglianza" (23:08) (/45)
5. "La Radiante Foresta" (7:03) (/15)

Total Time 60:42

LUZ DE RIADA Rizoma

Despite high praise from my peers, I cannot seem to get into this music. It's just too dense and abrasive.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Ramses Luna / saxophone, flute, vocals
- Edgar Arrellin / sound
- Sergio Aldama / drums & percussion
- Luis Nasser / bass

1. "Auromboros" (5:54)
2. "Entropía" (5:19)
3. "Raices" (4:31)
4. "Atipica" (7:03)
5. "Matanza de Chivos" (4:35)
6. "Todos por la Banqueta" (4:54)
7. "La Bestia" (5:45)
8. "La Danza del Tlacololero" (5:35)
9. "Ñuñoa" (6:09)
10. "1915" (5:47)

Total Time 55:32

BAROCK PROJECT Time Voyager

Another modern computer-RPI album of sprawling and bombastic NeoProg for which I cannot muster up the motivation to review.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Alex Mari / lead vocals, acoustic guitars
- Luca Zabinni / keyboards, backing vocals, acoustic guitars
- Eric Ombelli / drums
- Marco Mazzuoccolo / electric guitars
- Francesco Caliendo / bass

1. Carry On (6:35)
2. Summer Set You Free (4:44)
3. An Ordinary Day's Odyssey (6:03)
4. The Lost Ship Tavern (4:40)
5. Voyager (8:08)
6. Morning Train (6:08)
7. Propaganda (6:33)
8. Shibuya 3 A.M. (4:30)
9. Lonely Girl (5:09)
10. Mediterranean (5:17)
11. Kyanite Jewel (5:35)
12. Voyager's Homecoming (7:36)

Total Time 70:58

HAVEN OF ECHOES Memeto Vivere

Line-up / Musicians:
- Paul Sadler / vocals, guitars
- Nerissa Schwarz / electric harp, keyboards
- Wolfgang Ostermann / drums
- Andreas Hack / all other instruments

1. Non Sum - Non Curo (17:02)
2. Ad Infinitum (8:44)
3. It Walks Among Us (14:02)
4. Assimilation (8:14)

Total Time 48:02

2024 Releases, Part 3: Other Highly Recommended Albums

 More progressive rock album releases from 2024. These are albums that are well worth your investment of time while not, in my opinion, belonging in the masterpiece discussion. Some of these releases were interesting enough to inspire me to write reviews, some only earned song ratings, many are included because they've been listened to, judged "worthy" of serving notice, but just couldn't get me excited or engaged enough to warrant the effort of a full review. I apologize. But, as I said, I chose to include them because I deem them interesting enough for you, my readers, to know about them and know that I recommend that you might listen to them yourselves in order to form your own opinions. Lord knows I am well aware that there are as many different musical preferences as there are humans; I do think that I know music that might interest others.

ELLESMERE Stranger Skies

A band I've liked and followed since their 2018 sophomore album, II - From Sea and Beyond--they do melodic symphonic NeoProg right! 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Roberto Vitelli / bass, keyboards

- Giacomo Anselmi / guitars

- Mattias Olsson / drums, percussion

- John Wilkinson / vocals

With:

- Tomas Bodin / keyboards (6 outro)

- Clive Nolan / keyboards (1 intro)

- John Hackett / flute (5)

- David Jackson / saxophone & wind instruments (3,6)

- Graeme Taylor / acoustic guitar (3 prologue)

- Bob Hodges / keyboards (5)

- Stefano Vicarelli / mellotron, minimoog, additional keyboards

- Riccardo Romano / backing vocals, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars (2,5)

1. "Northwards" (6:50) very nice prolonged instrumental opening diminished by poor vocals at the end. (13.3333333/15)

2. "Tundra" (6:44) decent prog music is diminished by poor vocals. (8.75/10)

3. "Crystallized" (5:13) extended chorused 12-string guitar opening takes its time but eventually develops into a nice . VDGG-saxophonist David Jackson can still blow! It's sad for me to say this, but this is an example of a song that is "saved" by not having any vocals! (8.875/10)  

4. "Arctica" (4:17) having multiple vocal tracks helps! (9/10) 

5. "Stranger Skies" (12:18) sounds so much like a song as if GENESIS were trying to go back to Gabriel-era song constructs only using Peter as the flutist only and Phil Collins as the lead singer! The problem. comes, of course, when 1980s Genesis tries to go back to early 1970s sounds and engineering techniques: they can't! It is, however, a pretty decent NeoProg epic! I've never heard flutist John Hackett go this crazy! The final "movement" of 80 seconds is, however, a little too over-the-top in its Ant/Genesis 12-string guitar worship. (22/25)

6. "Another World" (11:43) a NeoProg song that feels as if it has its feet straddling between the music of Sean-Filkins-era BIG BIG TRAIN and Jem Godfrey's FROST*. GREAT contributions from David Jackson and Matthias Olsson on drums. (17.875/20)

Total Time 47:05

88.70 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent collection of finely crafted and performed NeoProg songs.

ALCEST Les chants de l"aurore

Hard to believe that it's been over five years since Neige's last Alcest album! Was it worth the wait? We'll soon see: this one's a grower--getting better with each listen! 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Stéphane Paut / vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, composer & arranger

- Jean Deflandre / drums, percussion

1. "Komorebi" (6:40) opens with every bit of the anthemic power that we've come to expect from Neige's music over the last 15 years, but, unfortunately, this one ends up lacking the bite and beauty of Stéphane's early stuff. The guitar-chord-mirroring vocals render it a bit too much into the realm of Devy Townsend music and the drumming gets a bit too active, domineering, and demanding (mixed too far forward) during the mid-section. (8.6667/10)

2. "L'Envol" (8:02) check out the beautiful animated art that accompany this song on YouTube. Musically it's rather bland and same-same Alcest. I really like the occasional screams and squeals coming from the guitar, but Stéphane's performance with his human voice is just too mundane and unengaging. I do, however, like the use of acoustic guitars without all of the screaming electric guitar chord strumming. I also like Jean Deflandre's more-subdued, "accompanying" drums as opposed to his torrential barrages of artillery fire. (13/15)

3. "Améthyste" (8:31) great drumming. Pitchy vocals (the humane ones). The mix in the sixth minute is perfect--just like the early Alcest albums. (17.5/20)

4. "Flamme Jumelle" (5:23) perhaps the best realized song on the album due to a great sonic palette and some fine engineering. Sounds a bit like OCEANSIZE's "New Pin" (which is good!). The music is interpreted by a pair of twin sprites in a beautifully-choreographed dance video on YouTube. (8.875/10)

5. "Réminiscence" (2:51) piano! (heavily-treated, of course). With Stéphane's tender, beautiful vocal this makes for a moving listening experience despite its brevity. (9/10)

6. "L'Enfant de la Lune" (7:28) with this pretty female-narrated intro I was really hopeful but then the guitars and drums burst into a fairly straightforward pattern with Neige singing "normally" in his mid-range within. The drumming is actually a bit annoying--until the instrumental passage and chorus, but then Jean falls back into his Animal-like barrage. They're definitely much more interesting and less pugilistic in the instrumental passages--especially from 3:55 on. Otherwise, this is a pretty solid and engaging song. (13.5/15)

7. "L'Adieu" (4:52) plays out like a beautiful good-bye song. The heavily-treated slow-picked guitar arpeggi are awesome--very reminiscent of something from the past. (9/10)

I have to admit that either this album just kept getting better the deeper I got into it or else I was (once again) falling under the numbing warmth of falling snow the more I remained immersed in Neige's world.

88.66 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent addition of artistic prog metal music for the prog lover's music collection. 

THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN The Songs & Tales of Airoea, Book 3: Magical Chronicle (Ascension)

The third and, supposedly, final installment of the Books of Airoea--a project that was conceived 25 years ago by a group of high school friends--some of whom found success in the music world in bands that include Wobbler, Tusmørke, Jordsjø, and the Samuel Jackson Five.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Andreas Wettergreen Strømman Prestmo / vocals, guitars, bass, synth, organ, glockenspiel, percussion

- Henrik Harmer / drums & percussion, synth, backing vocals

- Regin Meyer / flute, organ, piano, backing vocals

- Jon Andre Nilsen / bass, backing vocals

- Thomas Hagen Kaldhol / guitars, mandolin, electronics & sound effects, backing vocals

- Aleksandra Morozova / vocals

With:

- Lars Fredrik Frøislie / keyboards, organ, Mellotron, piano, synth

- Kristoffer Momrak / synth

- Håkon Oftung / organ, clavinet, Mellotron, strings, electric piano, synth

1. "Magical Chronicle" (6:09) pure WOBBLER pastoral folk sound palette over which Andreas sings in a folk-focused KERRY MINNEAR-like voice with beautiful harmonized support from the group choir. Jazz-tinged guitars and syncopation join in and establish a quirky WOBBLER/GENTLE GIANT motif until 2:30 when bass and flute are left alone (with some cymbal support) to establish their own version of the previous motif over which the vocal ensemble (with Andreas in the lead) return to give a YES/WOBBLER-like performance. Well met! (9.125/10)

2. "Skyslumber" (7:26) opens with an atmospheric soundscape of space sounds. Around the two-minute mark guitar and vocal enters, creating a folk rock sound similar to, but more melodic than, the album's opener. The harmonized vocals are much more delicate. At 3:35 the lead guitars become a little more aggressive though still jazz-tinged folk rock sounding. The vocal harmonies turn YES/WOBBLER-like for the fifth and sixth minutes as the music continues to drift into the feeling of some 1960s guitar-led jazz-rock. In the seventh minute, however, the music quite suddenly reverts back to the atmospheric soundscape of the song's opening section. It's nice, interesting. but it feels jerky, or maybe incomplete. (13.25/15)

3. "Cloudship" (6:57) volume controlled electric guitar notes (reversed?) are supported by strummed acoustic guitars and YES "And You And I"/Close to the Edge-like synth wash chords. When the voices enter it sounds a lot like the acoustic portion of YES' "I've Seen All Good People." In the second half we're exposed to syncopated guitar strums while choir vocals and spoken verse fill the forefront and bass pedal thrums shake the foundation. The song then returns to the acoustic instrument strums and folk percussion for the reversed guitar notes to usher us out. A very cool and effective folk song that definitely conveys a convincing woodland faerie effect. (13.5/15)

4. "Empress of the Sun" (4:47) a real folk rocker--using a little of the power, pace, and melody and chord progressions of Jeff Beck's "Bolero." In the fourth minute the music turn a little klezmer as a guitar solos. Then the band relinquishes pace and forward movement so that harmonized vocals can fill and morph for a few seconds. Then the "Bolero" strumming resumes for the quick finale. (8.75/10)

5. "Lost in the Palace Gardens" (7:58) gentle "Norwegian Wood"-like acoustic instrumental motif with lots of strumming and plucking folk instruments. At the end of the first minute vocals enter with electric bass and drums tagging along. Not your most engaging melodies. This is one of those songs that helps me wish that I heard lyrics--then it might become more precious; it's sad that I can't connect more with this song since it has such a beautiful folk rock spirit. Plus, it kind of starts to drag after six or seven minutes of the same three bass notes and the same mandolin melody playing over and over without break. (13/15)

6. "Epilogue" (1:04) ocean shore wave and bird sounds.

Total Time 34:21

Of the three album releases that make up the Songs and Tales of Airoea trilogy, this one hits far more appealing chords with me. 

88.65 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent adventure into sophisticated faerie folk music. Highly recommended for all Folk Rock lovers. 

DRIFTING SUN Veil

A nearly-30-year old Britain-based band that broke up in the late 1990s and then reformed a dozen years ago has now produced six high-quality NeoProg albums. This is their second album with Greek vocal sensation John "Jargon" Kosmidis singing their Matthew Parmenter (DISCIPLINE)-like lead vocals.

Line-up / Musicians:
- John 'Jargon' Kosmidis / vocals
- Ralph Cardall / guitars, mandolin
- Pat Sanders / keyboards
- Jon Jowitt / bass
- Fudge Smith / drums & percussion
With:
- Suzi James / violin (2,4,8)
- Costas Molvalis / choir (2)
- Katerina Tepelena / choir (2)
- MIchalis Latousakis / choir (2)
- Spyros Petratos / choir (2)
- Ben Bell / choir (4)
- Charlie Bramald / choir (4)
- Chris York / choir (4)

1. "Veiled" (2:00) produced as if a vinyl or wax recording with clicks and pops, this "orchestrated" piece almost sounds like a Christmas carol or soundtrack piece for a Hallmark Christmas movie. (4.375/5)

2. "Frailty" (12:05) opens with some bombast and a full-on NeoProg sound palette. Once into the fullness of the song it sounds like hairband classic rock blended with Matin Orford-era IQ and Arjun Lucassen's AYREON while trying to be Rick Wakeman/Fragile-era YES. Not bad, not annoying or cloying, just not anything new or refreshing here. (22/25)

3. "Eros and Psyche" (5:12) there is definitely nothing special here. In fact, the musical instruments feel so separate and fragmented that I wonder if they knew what they were going to sound like before the final mix was presented. Jargon's lyrics may be something worth attending to but I'll never know. (8.66667/10)

4. "The Thing" (7:49) a sea shanty! The story fits. The full-male naval choir chorus would seem to indicate as much. Might this song be inspired by the AMC television series, The Terror? Nicely executed. (13.375/15)

5. "2-Minute Waltz" (2:00) a classical piano show piece. Probably from Pat Sanders' middle school piano recital that he couldn't perform because he was ill or due to a death in the family. (4.375/5)

6. "Through the Veil" (5:45) another bombastic, theatric song that feels as much relevant to a West End theatric production or a Pete Jones album. The soundscape is just a little too sterile, even bordering on stark (in terms of each instrument's isolation from one another). Nice 1980s drumming (sound). (8.75/10)

7. "The Old Man" (5:44) Another well-composed and crystalline-engineered song that feels totally headed for a theatric debut. Who was that singer for the 1980s band ABC? Martin Fry? That's who Jargon sounds like. Even when Jargon stops singing and the instrumentalists ramp things up for some soloing it still sounds as if there are probably stage characters in motion. (8.75/10)

8. "Cirkus" (6:34) bouncy Hammond chord hits and military drumming open this one, giving Jargon a circus macabre stage upon which to relay his story. I do like this PETER HAMMILL voice styling much better than his previous ones: it really adds to the creepy feeling that he's trying to reel us into his spell and pull one over on us. Though I'm still not super enamored of the music, I like this song best of all the other son the album. (8.875/10)

Total Time 47:09

A little too theatre-dramatic for my tastes, this is still very finely crafted and performed music impeccably rendered by the engineers (despite the frequent feelings of sterility).

87.96 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very nice collection of very-well-polished theatre songs that most prog lovers will love--especially those with an affinity for stage musicals.

NINE STONES CLOSE Diurnal

Adrian Jones finally comes out of COVID hibernation to revive his band of old--recruiting previous members Adrian O'Shaughnessy, Christian Bruin, and Brendan Eyre as well as importing some new members for the rhythm section.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Adrian 'Aio' O'Shaughnessy / vocals
- Adrian Jones / guitar, bass
- Christiaan Bruin / keyboards
- Brendan Eyre / keyboards
- Joachim van Praagh / bass
- Lars Spijkervet / drums

1. "Birds, Insects & Kites" (3:39) a long, spaced-out intro in which drummer Lars Spijkervet gets plenty of time to show off his unique rhythmic style before and as Adrian's blistering slide guitar solos toward the end. It's great but I was kind of hoping for more. (8.875/10)

2. "The Veil" (1:48) guitar and key atmospherics. (4.375/5)

3. "Ghosted" (4:22) a slow and spacious old blues-based tune with teased out vocals and teased out guitar notes à la David Gilmour, Paul Speer, and Nick Barrett. At 3:40 the song seems to end but, no! Piano and weird "bird" noises drag it into a long descent into a vacuous black hole (at least, on the video). (8.875/10)  

4. "Angel of Flies" (7:40) starts out for its first couple minutes sounding more like an homage to the Berlin School of Progressive Electronic music. At 2:10 the "glass shatters" as drums and guitar chords unleash a surprisingly spacious WHO-like rock motif over which Adrian "Aio" O'Shaughnessy sings in a voice that seems to come straight out of the great hairbands of the 1980s. His long hold of vowels is reminiscent of singers like Sammy Hagar, Bruce Dickinson, and David Coverdale. The searing guitar play over the wonderfully-inventive drum pattern helps elevate the song even further. Nice power piece. (13.5/15) 

5. "In Remembrance" (2:00) well-spaced piano notes fill a large chamber before bowed bass and/or ebowed guitar notes are added to create a tension-filled discordant cinematic feel. (4.5/5)

6. "Frustration/Sedation" (11:55) a song of almost standard Bob Dylan/Rolling Stones sound that drags on and on without ever really doing much but drawing out a long "Free Falling"-like motif. The performances are all polished and sound great but they lack power, vigour, and effect. Then there is the recitation of a list of "-tion"s from Aio carried out over the last three minutes as the musicians try to amp things up (a little too late, IMO). Nice guitar soloing in the finally 90 seconds (again, a little too late). (21.25/25)

7. "Golden Hour" (1:30) piano and "distant" reverb guitar interlude. (4.375/5)

8. "Dusk" (10:48) spacious slow-build atmospheric music that makes me envision RY KOODER teaming up with NO-MAN to lay their modern interpretation of Glen Campbell's version of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman." Aio sings in drawn out notes with a sound and passion that makes him sound like AXL ROSE at his most blues-rockishness. The song builds, peaks, and reverts to spaciousness in which Aio Rose injects his long-note two syllable words to the end. Fair but not anything here that is very new or innovative. (17.5/20)

Total Time 43:42

An album of nice sounding music that with very mature and professional performances that just happens to be too spacious and monotonous, start to finish.

87.63 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very nice addition to any old time prog rocker's music collection.

Top Albums of the Year 2024, Part 1: The Masterpieces

 My Favorite Albums of 2024

(In some semblance of order)

***Author's note:  Below you will find two different rankings for this year's albums. 
  The first list consists of a Top Fifty albums with a following list of "Honorable Mentions." These are my favorite albums of the year, that is, the albums to which I have formed the greatest emotional attachments. 
The second list consists of The Reviews. These are ordered according to my more 'objective', yet still personal, judgment as to their quality, that is, the "best" albums of the year. Here I have ordered the albums reviewed according to a metric determination--my own numerical rating system--which I call the "Fishscales". These help me determine what the "best" albums of the year are from a more critical, qualitative, and quantitative viewpoint, that is, without as much emotional attachment as "My Favorite" albums. 

I have experienced a bit of a transition this year: a crisis or bubble burst of my inner evolution; I have found that I have lost interest, enthusiasm, and even tolerance for much of the music being released by so-called "prog" artists. I seem to have realized that many artists are no longer interested in progressing music but, instead, replicating and their revered forms of the past. I can only hear so many "Suppers Ready"- or "Close to the Edge"-inspired epics or so much music employing all of the instrumental sounds and texturings first explored by Genesis on A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering. My deep dive into the history of Jazz-Rock Fusion has left me jaded against over-processed, over-produced music, longing for more music that is representational of adventure, spontaneity, and improvisational courage. Hence, it has been extremely difficult for me to motivate myself to listen to new albums that only seem to want to replicate old music. In fact, the number of albums I've managed to listen to much less review has dwindled significantly from my coverage of previous years. I apologize for those of you who have come to expect my brimming enthusiasm for the championing of new artists and new music; it's just not there in the same way that it was back in 2014and 2016 when I started this blog and began broadcasting my radio show. My mission of "prog-educating "my" public (what a joke!) has definitely shifted. I'm not quite certain where my energies are going to be directed in the near (or long) term but I do know that my love for music has not died, it is only shifting. Thanks for bearing with me; I hope it all works out for your benefit soon.  

I have been able to force myself to listen to over 60 new releases from 2024 from which I have posted reviews of 25 (so far).
According to my calculations, we are fortunate to have 2024 presenting Prog World with __ "masterpieces," 10 "minor" masterpieces, and 10 other excellent "near-masterpieces"! 

The Rankings
 (My "Favorites")

1. BENT KNEE Twenty Pills Without Water

1. (tie) PLANTOID Terrapath

3. MIDAS FALL Cold Waves Divide Us

3. (tie) MAGICK BROTHER & MYSTIC SISTER Tarot, Part I

5. INNER EAR BRIGADE Perkunas

6. BIG BIG TRAIN The Likes of Us

7. ARNAUD BUKWALD Orange Fuze

8. THE ARISTOCRATS Duck

9. PURE REASON REVOLUTION Coming Up to Consciousness

10. SLIFT Ilion

11. VIIMA Väistyy Mielen Yö

12. CIELO DRIVE Pieces from a Broken Star

Honorable Mentions:

TOM PENAGUIN  Tom Penaguin

MONKEY3 Welcome to the Machine

ALCEST Les chants de l"aurore

COMPASSIONIZER The Fellowship of the Mystery

THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN The Songs & Tales of Airoea, Book 3: Magical Chronicle (Ascension)

ELLESMERE Stranger Skies

KARFAGEN Land of Chameleons

MEER Wheels Within Wheels

GRECO BASTIÁN With a Little Hell from MORE Friends

RETURNED TO THE EARTH Stalagmite Steeple

Special Mentions:

DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS Private Space 

BRAINSTORY Sounds Good

The Masterpieces

(Ratings of 100 to 93.34) 

The "Minor" Masterpieces

(93.33 to 90.0)

VIIMA Väistyy Mielen Yö

Finland's virtuosic prog folk rockers release their first album in 15 years--their third overall since their world debut on Colossus Magazine and Musea Record's debut release collaboration, 200s's Kalevala - A Finnish Progressive Rock Epic.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Hannu Hiltula / flute, keyboards (4,5), backing vocals (1,4,5), voice (5)
- Mikko Uusi-Oukari / guitars, Mellotron (3,5)
- Mikko Väärälä / drums, vocals (2), keyboards (2), chimes (5)
- Aapo Honkanen / bass
- Risto Pahlama / vocals, keyboards (2,3), Mellotron (2)
With:
- Kimmo Lähteenmäki / keyboards (1), wind (5)

1. "Tyttö Trapetsilla" (4:42) light, upbeat flute-lead acoustic prog folk opens sounding like a JETHRO TULL song before Risto Pahlama's doubled-up vocal enters issuing forth a fairly standard melody. As the song plays out it turns out that the song as a whole is a rather standard ABABCAB construct as if aimed toward radio play. (8.5/10)

2. "Äiti Maan Lapset" (18:50) a beautiful piece of prog that feels Italian! It's on a par with some of the  masterpieces Musea Records and Colossus Magazine were able to publish with their earliest themed albums like The Colossus of Rhodes, Kalevala, and Odyssey: The Greatest Tale (to which the band began contributing in 2008 with each of the three Divine Comedy trilogy renderings). Plus it seems to have that same rigorous adherence to 1970s period analog instruments and recording techniques that the Colossus/Musea projects asked (required) of their contributors. There is a melodic, laid-back, pastoral feel to this song that reminds me of some favorite albums of mine like MAD CRAYON's 2009 masterpiece, 

 Preda, and Chilean band AISLES' 2009 and 2023 masterpieces, In Sudden Walks and Beyond Drama, respectively. Of the many themes and movements of this long, labyrinthine song, there are not that I dislike--even the weird guitar-heavy one in the seventh minute--none that don't reach directly into my core as if to satisfy some long-forgotten itch. While several motifs feel somewhat familiar (in a warm, friendly way), it mostly feels quite fresh and original--and while the singing is not knock-your-socks-off amazing, it is all quite perfectly interwoven within the flow and context of the current weaves--as if better appreciated as just more instrumental threads in the overall tapestry. Also, while no one instrumentalist or solo stands out as warranting special recognition, it is instead the selfless giving to the whole that, for me, deserves the accolades. I know it's early in the year (I'm writing this in late March) but this song one will be a tough one to top in my year-end list of 2024's Best Prog Epics and Mesmerics. (39.75/40)

3. "Pitkät Jäähyväiset" (6:38) a beautiful CAMEL-like palette and flute melody open this song for the first 30 seconds before a swelling organ chord signals the band's laying down a very standard and sedate straight-time motif for another ABABCAB pop song with the C section being drawn out for a couple minutes instead of relegated to an equal 30-second proportion that the other sections get. Long fadeout.(8.75/10)

4. "Perhonen" (6:45) beautiful pensive Fender Rhodes play opens this ruminative piece. The keyboard is slowly, very gradually expanded to other synths and some percussion until the three-minute mark when the song finally breaks into something meatier. Very CAMEL-like. This new vocalized motif has a nice pace and circular rising five-chord progression while retaining the Camel-like Mellotron strings chord support. Of all the vocals on the album, this is probably my favorite (though it's still not great). Guitar and piano play are nice--also Camel-like, but the song kind of ends as if it was just a set up for the next song--which makes it feel a bit cut off or incomplete. (13.25/15)

5. "Vuoren Rauha" (7:37) spilling over from the previous song, synthesizer wind sounds move it forward until processional piano and Risto Pahlama's priestly male singing voice take us into a kind of Russian-feeling dirge. This sounds very much like something off of AFTER CRYING's great De Profundis album from 1996. Nice work with orchestral percussion, flute, and Mellotron before the drums kick in. In the fifth minute (!) we finally kick into the realm of a rock instrumental palette. This turns out to be a very pretty almost-1960s song (due to the presence and extended solo of Hammond organ. I like it. (13.375/15)

Total Time 44:32

92.92 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; despite less-than-stellar marks for the album's other four songs, the presence of the 19-minute epic--the best epic I've heard (so far) in 2024--elevates this album to a higher level than it might deserve but such is the possibility of an album as opposed to a single song

PLANTOID Terrapath

British newcomers Plantoid debut with this very interesting collection of eclectic crossover songs, each employing multiple styles and dynamics from such diverse realms as Prog Folk and Jazz-Rock Fusion, 1960s Brazilian bassa nova pop, Indie quirk, and even Metal. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Chloe Coyne / vocals
- Tom Coyne / guitar
- Louis Bradshaw / drums
- Bernardo Larisch / bass

1. "Is That You" (6:01) opening with gently yet-quickly picked arpeggio chords, synth bass chord, and lead guitar melodies being gently plucked from within the arpeggi. Bass, and then, basic drum and percussion (tome time and occasional tambourine) join before synth string chords and wordless female vocal strains enter. This is heavenly!

     Around 2:45 the song "launches" as full drums, full percussion work, very cool active bass, and multiple tracks of female voices jump into the fore. Amazing power in this beauty! Then, at 4:10, after a black midi-like crescendo, the music all stops and the guitar switches to intricate rock chord-and-pick play that sounds like something between A FORMAL HORSE and a heavily-distorted George Harrison. Weirdly incongruous combination of motifs! (Great first four minutes.) (9.333/10)

2. "Pressure" (3:07) aggressive Indie-Metal of the A FORMAL HORSE type with heavily-treated Siouxsie -like Hayley McDonnell vocal of Chloe Coyne. I feel as if we're being taken back to the Punk Rock sound and styles of the 1970s with this song. Kind of the odd duck on the album--but good to know … for persepctive. (8.75/10)

3. "Modulator" (5:43) wonderful fluid, slightly funky and seductive jazz-rock pop song that reminds me of both LOUIS COLE and GENEVIEVE ARTADI (otherwise known as KNOWER). Even with all of the song's instrumental side alleys, this is a totally bewitching song in much the same way that "Overtime" is. There are so many subtle notes of genius here that I think I could get something fresh and amazing out of even my 100th listen! (9.5/10)

4. "It's Not Real" (2:00) an odd little jazz-rock theme with the song title whispered repeatedly within the jazzy-trip-hoppy instrumental weave. (4.5/5)

5. "Dog's Life" (3:58) opening with wonderfully-creative studio-manipulated morphing guitar before rhythm section and gentle guitar guitar chords provide the full base for Chloe's ethereal voice to sing over. There is almost a modern jazz-funk feel to these verses while the choruses are more aggressive, more heavy rock 'n' roll. The instrumental passage in the third minute is more about alien space effects than impressive technical skills on display. The final 30 seconds, then, sees Chole's most angelic voice (sometimes harmonized with multiple tracks of her own voice) accompanying very sparsely with synth-sounding chords and a tiny bit of bass. Man! What a song! There are so many clever and ingenious note subtleties--even in the vocal arrangement--I could listen to this hundreds of times and never tire of the surprises and nuances. (9.25/10)

6. "Only When I'm Thinking" (2:30) Again there is this wonderfully enticing, alluring, even sexy GENEVIEVE ARTADI-like quality to Chloe's voice. Jazz guitar, slowly-panning delicate drum play that sounds computerized, bass and synth bank chords (also computerized or computer-enhanced?) and Chloe's voice: that's pretty much it. (9/10)

7. "Wander Wonder" (6:04) for the first two minutes, a cool little diaphanous funk-jazz sound palette backs Chloe's dreamy vocals, but then a more rock guitar motif starts up an entirely new section--one that is fully guitar-centric--in which Tom's multiple guitar tracks flail and riff with deft subtlety. By the end of the fourth minute this guitar display morphs into a kind of jazzy motif over which Tom solos in a more formal, typical Jazz-Rock Fusion way over the strum-and-plucked jazz chord progressions and dynamic, Latinized drums and percussion instruments. (9.125/10)

8. "Insomniac (Don't Worry)" (4:02) bleeding directly over from the previous song, Chloe returns to sing in a shyly-seductive "hiding" voice over the same BLACK MIDI-like jazz-guitar chord play that Tom and Chloe used in "Wander Wonder." Nice MELODY FERRIS-like melody-making by Chloe in both the verses and chorus--and great drum and guitar play in those choruses, bridges and transitions! (9.125/10)

9. "G.Y. Drift" (2:09) again, the song starts as if launched like a rocket from the previous song: bursting into fast-paced, full-powered THE MARS VOLTA/YES/KING CRIMSON/BLACK MIDI-like rock aggression while using jazzy chords and sound palette. This is the band's take on black midi! (4.4375/5)

10. "Softly Speaking" (3:41) piano and horn-like infinity-guitar notes support Chloe singing in more of a jazz-lounge torch singer's voice--until, that is, the multi-voiced chorus starts at 1:19. This is the most plaintive, most tortured and emotional vocal I've heard from Chloe. She's really good--really powerful--in a k.d. lang/Jane Siberry-kind of way. What a beautiful surprise! (9.5/10)

Total Time 39:15

An album that reminds me a lot of modern crossover prog bands like A FORMAL HORSE, BENT KNEE, KNOWER, INNER EAR BRIGADE, iNFiNiEN, or even the multiple projects involving New York's CONIGULIARO BROTHERS and BLACK MIDI--which helps win me over to their party--but it is the intermittent and often surprising and unexpected appearance of pure Jazz-Rock Fusion guitar that really makes me smile and, if truth be known, keeps me engaged as I hope for more. I love this music! It's so creative and unique!

92.80 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of modern Pop-Jazz-Rock Fusion. This is an album that just keeps giving more and more with each and every listen. Highly recommended for any lover of music. I feel that this grower is going to be near the top of my Year-End Top 10!

MAGICK BROTHER & MYSTIC SISTER Tarot, Part I

The Neo-Canterbury band from Catalan is back with their sophomore album--and I'm so excited. (Their 202 self-titled debut, is one of my top 5 favorite albums of the 2020s, so far.)

Line-up / Musicians:
- Eva Muntada / piano, synthesizers, organ, Mellotron, vocals
- Xavi Sandoval / bass, guitars, mandolin (3), vocals (6), sitar (7), backing vocals (11)
- Alejandro Carmona / drums
With:
- Dominic O'Dair / spoken words (2,5)
- Maddy Gray / spoken words (4)
- Tony Jagwar / sitar (6)
- Didac Ruiz / percussion (7)
- Maya fernandez / flute (8,9)
- Glenn Brigman / voice (11)

 

1. "The Fool" (5:39) great bass with a bit of a mix of THE BEATLES' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and ALAN PARSONS PROJECT feel with their uses of panned synthesizers, reversed lead guitar, and vocoder, respectively. Once the vocals, drums, and chugging rhythm guitar join in, it becomes more like a psychedelic song from someone like The PRETTY THINGS on S.F. Sorrow or GENESIS' first album or, from the 21st Century, WEST INDIAN GIRL. Very warm and inviting. (8.875/10)

2. "The Wizard" (3:05) male vocal recitation over the spacey opening, but then piano, drums, and bass take us into a more psych-rock motif before switching over to a very NEKTAR-like passage starting at 1:25. This is excellent psychedelia! Too bad it doesn't have more of a "finished" quality to it. (9/10)

3. "The High Priestess" (3:38) dreamy female vocals (many tracks) with some Baroque instrumentation beneath. Very beautiful--and so Sixties-ish! The vocal arrangements could rival anything from THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS, STEELEYE SPAN, or MELLOW CANDLE (or, in the 21st Century, The MEDIÆVAL BÆBES). Eva Muntada's vocal arrangements are amazing! (9.5/10)

4. "The Empress" (3:42) more dreamy, floating vocals over more normal folk-rock-like instrument palette. I am so impressed with Eva's amazingly etheric vocal layering! It's so Siren-like in its calm and ultra-confident allure. Whale-like lead guitar arrives in the third minute. Nice! And thank you, Maddy Gray, for those seductive words to finish! (9.125/10)

5. "The Emperor" (2:52) a little more reminiscent of the band's first album, the rich palette of Fender Rhodes, thick bass, "distant" horn synth, and fuzz guitar make for a wonderfully alluring sound. The spoken voice of Dominic O'Dair fills the pause in the middle with pertinent descriptors and nouns from the lexicon of the Tarot world. (9.125/10)

6. "The Hierophant" (3:21) guest Tony Jagwar's searing sitar soloing over fast-rocking bass and drums and hypnotic floating waves of synths! This reminds me of KULA SHAKER at their absolute best! Xavi Sandoval is the listener's champion: he makes his bass sound and lines so infectious! (9.5/10)

7. "The Lover" (3:21) Mellotron and keyboard bells (and distant flute) make for a very dreamy, Days of Future Passed-like soundscape. Then harpsichord takes over to back the angelic multi-tracked voices of Eva Muntada before the music switches to pure Indian with Didac Ruiz' tabla play and Xavi's sitar. Unexpectedly fragmented but it all works! It is an amazing cross-cultural view of the cosmic phenomenon we call "love"! (9.125/10)

8. "The Chariot" (3:06) more bass-led music that could very well have come from the band's debut album, Xavi, Alejandro, and Eva create a wonderful groove over which wah-ed lead gutar, flute, and organ take turns soloing. I love the flanged drums! Great tune! Xavi's electric guitar really cooks in that 30 seconds! This one reminds me very much of something from Devonshire band MAGIC BUS. (9.25/10)

9. "The Justice" (4:56) Xavi's great bass, front and center, seducing us from his first notes, with reverbed drums and piano and dreamy 1960s flute open this one before Eva's balmy vocals--in a lower register--come in to sing us her folk wisdom. Great pop-jazziness to this one. Should/could be a hit! Eva's Melltron and Xavi's heavily-effected chorused lead guitar come in with about a minute to go but it's 'tron and flute that take us to the end fade. Wow! A perfect song! (10/10)

10. "The Hermit" (3:11) floating strummed guitar chords with matching lead guitar notes and Mellotron male voices open this instrumental like some kind of Steve Hackett impressionistic piece. More vocals and heavily-flanged cymbal play join in during the second half. Great atmosphere with a very mystical result. (8.875/10)

11. "The Wheel of Fortune" (4:21) lightly-flanged 12-string pickings for an intro before the music shifts into a psychedelic pop waltz with Glenn Brigman's dreamy DONOVAN-like flanged voice singing. It's so Sixties dreamy Psychedelic Pop! Masterful! Even the rising chord progression that carries the song has something magically mind-altering to it! Absolutely, astonishingly wonderful! (9.5/10)

Total Time 41:12

The band has definitely chosen to proceed down the more space/psychedelic form of Canterbury that Daevid Allen, Steve Hillage, Pierre Moerlin, and Gillie Smyth travelled over their careers--maybe even moreso! I have to agree with fellow reviewers that this is one of the finest collections of Neo-1960s-Psychedelia that I've heard--and that it surely qualifies of one of 2024's prog masterpieces!

92.61 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a minor masterpiece of wonderfully-suggestive Canterbury-tinged Space/Psychedelic prog.

BENT KNEE Twenty Pills Without Water

Despite the loss of founding members and BEN Levin and Jessica Klon (who have moved on to devote more attention to their own other projects), the Boston-based progressive rock band goes on, here releasing their sixth since their 2011 self-titled debut.  

Line-up / Musicians:
- Courtney Swain / lead vocals, keyboards, bass
- Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth / drums
- Chris Baum / violin, backing vocals, guitar
- Vince Welch / synthesizers, rhythm guitar, bass, sound design, production

1. "Enter" (0:47)

2. "Forest" (5:07) interesting, very Eastern musical palette that, in my opinion, would probably be better without any contribution from a Western-oriented (KATE BUSH-like) drum kit. Lots of distorting psychedelic effects on nearly everything and everybody--at least, until the electric piano break in the fourth minute. I absolutely LOVE the restart and finish! (9/10)

3. "I Like It" (3:10) great bleed over from the previous song with sustained though unstable strings synth note/chord to which Courtney eventually sings sounding like something from the 1980s: Siouxsie and the Banshees or Laurie Anderson. She is so fricken talented! Great bass/synth bass play from Vince Welch and the strings and violin arrangements are amazing! One of the coolest songs the band has done in a long time. (Maybe the best, most engaging things I've heard from them since Shiny Eyed Babies.) (9.75/10)

4. "Illiterate" (3:28) Once again the band treads into the World Music pop blending world that Peter Gabriel really exploited in the 1980s, and once again Courtney morphs her voice into something totally unexpected: something sexy, sassy, aloof, and disinterested. Amazing! Genius! (9/10)

5. "Big Bagel Manifesto" (5:12) here Courtney morphs yet again: treading onto the grounds that Julia HOLTER and Elizabeth HEATON have elevated to such esteemed heights. A song that may be close to achieving perfection. (9.75/10)

6. "Cowboy" (2:57) old-time acoustic guitar with an old-time front porch singing imitation. Tough to pull off, but they do. Wow! And then the way it gets sucked down a distortion hole in the alley of barking dogs! Who would have ever expected anything like this on a Bent Knee album?! (4.75/5) 

7. "Never Coming Home" (4:00) despite a retro-poppy opening, this one serves as a brilliant blend of several highly recognizable, wildly eclectic styles. Very clever and well done--end eminently enjoyable. And, (believe it or not), incredible lyrics--such a poetic selection of words. I am completely under a spell! This could--should--be a radio hit! (or should have been back in the 1980s!!) Great guitar and keyboard effects at the end, Chris and Courtney! (9.5/10)

8. "Comet" (0:45) a synth wash bleed over from the previous song within which a dream scenario of a family eating at the family dinner table. Somehow this serves as a bridge between "Never Coming Home" and "Drowning." 

9. "Drowning" (6:40) a fairly simple, straightforward song that is totally reliant on Courtney Swain's vocals and lyrics. It's okay. Courtney's great but I guess I'm always hoping for something more in a progressive rock song--more change, development, hooks--something. The one encouraging thing I can say about this is that it is gorgeous if drawn out a little long. (8.75/10)

10. "Lawnmower" (5:03) more based in bucolic, acoustic-sounding instrumentation (acoustic guitars and bass!)--almost like a proggy folk song--this one succeeds. I love the use of power chords and "I never mow the lawn" lyrics to convey the symbolism of accepting/resigning one's comprehension that one's loved one is never coming home. (9.25/10)

11." DLWTSB" (3:23) another surprisingly well-conceived and cheeky blend of retro sounds and styles delivered with absolute perfection. The first half sounds very much like an outtake from The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots; the second half like something from a 1980s New Waver like DEPECHE MODE, SIMPLE MINDS, or MADHOUSE. (9/10)

12. "Exit" (2:39) a large banked chord of sustained-yet-subtly-morphing synth strings swells before slowly decaying into a Lethe-like river of floating soul-fluid. Beautiful, dreamy, uplifting, and inspirational. The perfect bookend to the opening song for this nearly-perfect masterpiece of an album. (9.75/10)

Total Time 43:11

This is an album I enjoy so much that I can see myself listening to it every day for quite some time: it's filled with so many ingenious and effective nuances and layers that it'll take a long time to get to really know much less distinguish and memorize each and every song--songs that are definitely all unique and thus deserve this kind of attention. It is an endeavor that I greatly look forward to.

I am so surprised with the absence of such virtuoso musicians as Ben Levin and Jessica Klon how able and wonderful are the bass and guitars throughout this album. At the same time, I think this is Courtney Swain's breakout "solo" album: She somehow chameleonically transmforms her voice and the emotions and very-personhood she possesses with virtually each and every song on this album. I am left stunned--humbled before her skills and talent. And I mean no disrespect to her stalwart crew of supporters: they are absolutely brilliant! But, come on guys, Courtney is the show! As an overall soul-sucking album, this might be as good or better than Shiny Eyed Babies! (I'll let you know in a few months the staying effect this album holds when compared to that of their 2014 masterpiece.)

92.35 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a masterpiece of very diverse and impressively innovative crossover progressive rock music. Without doubt, this is an album that is an essential listen (if not acquisition) for any self-professed lover of progressive rock music. 

MIDAS FALL Cold Waves Divide Us

The amorphous Scottish trio is back with its first album in five years--since the masterpiece that is Evaporate. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Elizabeth Heaton / vocals, guitars, strings, synths, piano, drums
- Rowan Burn / guitars, synths, piano, drums
- Michael Hamilton / bass, synths, drums

1. "In the Morning We'll Be Someone Else" (4:09) Post Rock perfection. This one opens with a delicate and spacious palette of atmospheric sound before spaced-out drums, guitar harmonics, and the occasional guitar power chord over/within which the great Elizabeth Heaton sings in her voice that sounds like it comes from the Queen of the Underworld. The song keeps building and building--especially with the cymbal crashes and additional sustained guitar note play embellished by axe-master Rowan Burn in the fourth and fifth minutes. (10/10)

2. "I Am Wrong" (5:12) true Post Rock with all of its walls of sound in their dynamic glory, getting better, stronger, more powerful, with each minute of the song's progression. Elizbeth's vocals are amazing--using words that strike one like a cascade of arrows! I have to, here, thank Michael Hamilton for his love of metal music--and Rowan for her excellent acquisition of drumming skills/choices (as well as her awesome duet of guitar arpeggi). When Elizabeth pierces us with the her long-held vowel howls (within the lyrics) and then the "O-o-ooooh" screams in the second half, I think I've been seduced against my will she And then if you are fortunate enough to see the band's video of the song on YouTube with dancer Amber Dollin's extraordinary performance of videographer Stephen Alexander's Possession-inspired cinematography, you know why this is one of the best songs--maybe the best song--of 2024! (10/10)

3. "Salt" (5:28) a more tenderly-rendered song though it is still fraught with angst and latent danger like all of the other music from this album. Elizabeth's performance(s) are awesome--especially that background siren's voice. This is another true Post Rock song. Too bad the vocals don't soar more and that the instruments don't crescendo as high as usual. (8.875/10)

4. "In this Avalanche" (4:04) gentle wooing of the listener with plenty of heavy-hearted words. The music is solid though very slow and drawn out in its subtle and deliberate build. (8.875/10)

5. "Point of Diminishing Return" (5:00) an interesting song for the weird warbling effect imposed upon the lead synthesizer--the instrument that presents and carries the melody over the course of the first half of the song. All of the heaviness backs off at the half-way mark so that the music can reform and rebuild--this time with "cello," guitars and synths sharing the polyphonic re-presentation of the melodies. Were it not for Elizabeth's wordless vocalese in the fifth minute this would be a complete instrumental! (9/10)

6. "Monsters" (4:18) after a very delicate vocal in the sparsely-populated atmospheric opening, the song gets much better in the mostly-instrumental second half. If I weren't so deaf to lyrics, this typically-emotional vocal performance might strike deeper chords. As it is, it feels more like a nice Unforgettable Fire-era U2 song. (8.75/10)

7. "Atrophy" (4:01) opens with a very pregnant, very delicate feeling sonic field--double bass-sounding MIDI keyboard notes and heavily-reverved sustained ("infinity" Michael Brook called it) guitar notes in the background. Elizabeth introduces her Celine Dion-like style voice with heart-wrenching precision. At the end of the second minute her voice gets a little meatier while the soundscape remains ambient heavily-repressed metal. Extraordinary performance from Elizabeth; I don't know if I've ever heard quite this kind of stretched out, almost-operatic of a vocal performance from her before. The insidious build in the sonic realm hear comes from layers upon layers of synthesized chords instead of strumming guitars. (9.25/10)

8. "Cold Waves Divide Us" (5:54) softly bounding keyboard chord notes and ominous distorted guitar chords in the background support Elizabeth's etheric, child- (or ghost-) like vocal here. The drums and electric guitar that arrive in the third minute are by far the most dynamic/aggressive of the whole album. Elevated by the awesome ending. (9.75/10)

9. "Little Wooden Boxes" (5:23) a palette and feel that reminds me of the spacious latency of Chris Isaac's 1991 world mega hit, "Wicked Games," yet Rowan, Michael and Elizabeth have taken the soundscape into an entirely different direction--one that remains richly atmospheric in spite of its Post Rock slow build. In the first part of the fourth minute things empty our leaving Elizabeth's voice in a deep well of heavily-reverbed space, but then the storm surge wave of full power unleashes to carry out to the song's end. (9.25/10)

10. "Mute" (3:41) ominous low-end chords and a pulsing yet-syncopated tom-tom sequence and synth bass ground this one to the heavy metal core of the Earth. Even Elizabeth is compelled to sing in lower-than-usual register until all hell breaks loose at the three-minute mark. Awesome guitar from Rowan! And then Elizabeth's plaintive attempt to patch things up with her healing voice closes the song out. Wonderful! I love the force of this one! (9.25/10)

Total Time 47:13

Everyone paying attention to my writings and playlists knows that Elizabeth Heaton possesses one of my favorite voices of the 21st Century--made even better by the stupendous music that she and Rowan Burn and Michael Hamilton weave around her as well as by the tremendous effects they use on her vocal tracks. This album feels quite different from its predecessor, Evaporate, not quite as reverb-drenched atmospheric, with a more diverse choice of song styles and instrumental palettes. Cold Waves Divide Us may not be as consistently high as Evaporate, but the highs ("In the Morning …", "I Am Wrong" and the title song) might very possibly be higher. 

92.25 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; another minor masterpiece of powerful, atmospheric, vocal Post Rock music from my favorite act in the Post Rock sub-genre. Highly recommended: essential for you post rock fans. And, if you've never had the extreme privilege of hearing the voice of Elizabeth Heaton, this would not be a bad place to start!

ARNAUD BUKWALD Orange Fuze

Dijon's funk culture historian returns with another album flowing from his true best love: 1970s Funk Jazz and R&B--peppered with a little Frank Zappa and George Clinton zaniness, of course.

 
Line-up / Musicians:
- Cherry Pob / vocals
- Captain Cosmic (Arnaud Bukwald) / vocals, guitars, keyboards, composition, arrangements

1. "highs and lows" (2:02) long-time favorite collaborator Cherry Pob is back and in her best CHAKA KHAN voice for this late-70s-like Pop-R&B tune. Too bad they didn't extend it into a full song. (4.5/5)

2. "reborn" (2:41) bursts out of a little funk-jazz intro into a full-on jazz/R&B vocal with multiple tracks from Cherry Pob supported by Captain Cosmic's great funk-jazz-R&B instrumentation--and then joined by the Captain himself on the vocals. Love the horn section accents. (9.25/10)

3. "purple garlic" (1:52) funk organ, drums, bass, clavinet, horn banks, with synth horns and live horns (sax) soloing over the top. A little sample of the JBs, anyone? (4.625/5)

4. "knock out" (3:11) a little Betty Davis attitude! Nice lead guitar work, Maggot Brain! (8.75/10)

5. "revolution" (1:49) son of Kool & The Gang, Gil Scot-Heron, and Chic, here's Arnaud at his most nostalgic! (4.375/5)

6. "casus belli" (3:11) very engaging smooth jazz opening that leaves you salivating for what is possible--for what might come--and then the Captain delivers a sexy Euro-African-accented narration vocal as if we're watching some Black Sexploitation film from the mid-Seventies. Cherry Pob's eerie vocalise gives a Get Out! feel to the song. Awesome! (9.25/10)

7. "sunbath" (2:07) smooth jazzy Disco-R&B of the Minnie Ripperton/Randy Crawford/Chaka Khan vein. (5/5)

8. "the Groovy show" (1:27) Expanded/jazzed up Billy Preston "Outta Space" clavinet opening turns jazz funky with horns. (4.375/5)

9. "dynamite" (3:32) funk rhythm track with great funk rhythm guitar, clavinet, saxophone and horn section. Then comes the raunchy fuzz guitar, Afro scream, flutes, and Talk Box. Also, outstanding percussion throughout this song. More like this, please! (9.5/10)

10. "rebirth" (0:40) brief but awesome synth/keyboard piece. (5/5)

11. "city child" (4:04) Arnaud's Sly Stone/Gil Scot-Heron voice reaches for some Barry White sexiness. Big Switch at 1:40 to some Chic/Jamiroquoi. Great to be back in the late 1970s! At 3:05 there is another shift into some funk jazz with clavinet and trumpet before moving back to some Sly Stone style for the finish. Awesome blend and recap of the best of the groovy years. (9.75/10)

12. "cheeba" (1:37) a little jazz funk with some Reggae flavor. Again, awesome blend. (4.5/5)

13. "butterflies" (1:38) Arnaud has that rare gift of being able to melt the legs of the listener with only two words of his uber-sexy singing voice. Here it's just Arnaud with his Fender Rhodes. (4.375/5)

14. "phoenix" (3:46) beautiful Smooth Jazz chords with fretless bass and Steve Gadd-like drum perfection. Surprisingly, this is "only" an instrumental: sometimes it surprises me that Arnaud and/or Cherry aren't don't occupy every second of every album with their AMAZING voices. (8.875/10)

Total Time 33:37

It seems a bit unfair to assign this album a "progressive rock" categorization (even Jazz-Rock Fusion), but there is no hesitation that this is a GREAT album of pop-funk-R&B-jazz fusion from a major sound magician, master of many instruments, and true and devoted student of the 1970s funk scene.  

92.125 on the Fishcscales = A-/five stars; a masterpiece of modern retro-Jazz-Funk/R&B. Definitely HIGHLY recommended to all lovers of the Funk!

THE ARISTOCRATS Duck

The unapproachable trio of modern-day virtuosi are back with another display of skills that may be unparalleled in 21st Century rock and prog.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Guthrie Govan / guitar
- Bryan Beller / bass
- Marco Minnemann / drums
With:
- Rusanda Panfili / violins (9)

1. "Hey, Where's MY Drink Package?" (7:01) A quirky fun song with astonishing musicianship that twists and turns as if the band members were racing through the streets of a Renaissance-designed city. A top three song. A top three song. (14/15)

2. "Aristoclub" (4:48) (8.875/10)
3. "Sgt. Rockhopper" (5:51) (8.875/10)

4. "Sittin' with a Duck on a Bay" (7:21) an entertaining display of familiar riffs and phrases strung along with virtuosic ease and effortlessness. A couple of the passages are even kind of cool--something the likes of Randy Bachman and Jeff Beck would even envy. (13.375/15)

5. "Here Come the Builders" (6:16) more blues-rock-based music with an endless string of regurgitated riffs based on the memorable earworms from our musical heritage. I don't really like the song but I cannot deny the talents on display. Amazing. (9/10)

6. "Muddle Through" (7:01) could very well have been a song from Steve Vai's most recent album. A very good song with lots of space to allow the listener to appreciate the remarkable subtleties routinely employed by these virtuosi. (13.75/15)

7. "Slideshow" (7:15) opens sounding like something light and delightful from a MONOBODY album, Marco and Bryan turn it into something a little more rock/prog rockish. Te third motif in the third minute, then, is a little spotlight back to Robert Fripp and King Crimson: a melodic guitar line within a Belew-Fripp-Levin-like weave that Robert, I think, would kill to know he could create. Guthrie's guitar solo in the fifth minute is more rock standard, but then the band goes heavy power chord like Tears For Fears did on Sowing The Seeds. The finish finds the boys reverting to the MONOBODY-like Post Rock. Definitely a top three song for me. (14.25/15)

8. "And then there Were Just Us/Duck's End" (9:04) opening with a Southern guitar rock sound like The Outlaws or Jared Leach's GHOST MEDICINE, the band then turns down a mellower side road--kind of a CHRIS REA guitar-centric Smooth Jazz path. Then in the third minute Guthrie takes on a WES MONTGOMERY jazz guitar style before Bryan is allowed to express a little at the end of the minute. Then there is a crazy wah-wah-pedal solo that STEVE VAI could've/would've done before a bridge of chord repetitions and progressions holds space for Marco to show off a little. Back to the Chris Rea/Bruce Cockburn palette for the sixth and seventh minutes before a pause at 6:50 allows a reset into the opening Southern Rock world--with bassist Bryan Beller really knocking the sound out of the park here while Marco does what Marco does (impeccably). My other top three. (18.75/20)

9. "This is Not Scrotum" (5:06) a Spaghetti Western? No, it's a klezmer tune! A klezmer tune with amazing musicianship (ncluding the multiple violin play of guest Rusanda Panfili). Great fun! (9/10)

As accomplished as these musicians are--and as sophisticated these songs are--I'm not much of a fan of this kind of heavy blues-jazz-rock music, and yet I cannot deny the "Wow!" factor that these guys' performances evoke from me: all three of them; multiple times in each and every song! There is no better guitarist on the planet right now than Guthrie Govan, there is probably no better drummer on the planet right now than Marco Minneman, and this bass player really impresses. It's too bad that all of the music here seems to draw from already-familiar, previously rendered sounds, riffs, forms, and structures as it seems that the possibilities for the creation of new music with these guys is totally possible: they have the talent and skill and understanding to go "where no one has gone before." But, other than piecing together their own unique and unusual collages of song bits, they don't. At the same time the boys owe so much to the masters of the past--especially the likes of Jeff Beck, Tony Levin, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Vinnie Colaiuta. 

91.5625 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of stunning musicianship from three of the 21st Century's most virtuosic instrumentalists. Despite the fact that I don't always like the musical sounds, styles, or palettes presented here, I can only recommend this album very highly to any music lover.

SLIFT Ilion

The Toulouse-based psych-rock trio that debuted in 2017 releases their fourth album.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Jean Fossat / Guitar, Synth, Vox
- Rémi Fossat / Bass, Vox
- Canek Flores / Drums, Percussion
with:
- Etienne Jaumet / Saxophone, Synth
- Olivier Cussac / Synth
- Clemence Lagier / Heavenly Vocals

1. "Ilion" (11:08) one of the best heavy psychedelic songs I've heard in a long time. I love the near-Gregorian chant group monotone vocals when they start. More layers of vocals--now screaming and harmonizing--join in during the second minute and then the shouting ones take over. A great instrumental passage starts around 2:30 with awesome searing guitar solo(s) (not sure if there are two tracks of the guitar or merely a strong echo/delay effect being applied to it). Great sound! The vocals are back with all layers working, chant and scream/shouts until the sixth minute when another more KINGSTON WALL-like instrumental passage takes over. Great walls of sound! 

     Things begin to slow down and deconstruct at the end of the sixth minute, leaving an ominously atmospheric PT-like section of multiple synths weaving together like a HANS ZIMMER soundtrack (Interstellar). This is also awesome! On to the ninth minute--the 8:22 mark--when one of the Fossat brothers enters to emit his battle cry. Then a solid wall of heavy Post Rock sound starts up with drums, bass chords, and tremolo guitar strumming their fury (or adrenaline hype) until 10:20 when there is a let up--as if the has reached the mountain top--where the scream/shouting vocalist reenters to claim his victory. (19.75/20)

2. "Nimh" (9:38) bleeding over from the previous song, the chords have changed and drums and bass backed down a bit, but M. Fossat is still finding it necessary to scream/shout his impassioned gospel. It's tense, intense, and powerful, if not as melodically- or harmonically-rich as the previous song. Another stripped down, more pregnant than the other softer passages, and eventually, in the sixth minute, releases its pent up energy with full, sustained orgasm, leaving in its wake a very quiet, spacious empty-cave-like passage in which Clemence Lagier issues her "Heavenly Vocals." Sinister-feeling snaking synths beneath  Clemence appear and soon reveal a very heavy monstrously-plodding section over which M. Fossat screals and then fills with his screaling guitar to the song's end. (17.875/20)

3. "The Words That Have Never Been Heard" (12:32) starts off with ticking sounds, joined by a faster clipping sound, before all hell breaks loose with a KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION-like pattern and a little Fossat screal. In the second half of the second minute the song moves into a different variation of its sound and a new motif: one with some awesome bass play and guitar chords matching M. Fossat's "distant" and a little-less-insistent scream vocals. A brief pause in the middle of the third minute unleashes a more intrusive vocal verse, but then the music goes a bit more techno with screaling guitar chords being slashed away in the background while multiple synths weave their melodic magic within and over the top. Man this amazing bass player (Rémi Fossat) and drummer have a great rapport! Guitar arpeggio riff is matched by "Heavenly Vocals" over the top in the eighth minute. Then, at the end of the eighth minute, the music backs off except for an excellent fast-paced percussive track over which M. Fossat starts to shout. So cool! This lasts a bit before the rest of the band rejoins with the Kitchens of Distinction sound palette. At 11:00 the band moves back into another quiet, spacious passage with only sustained guitar notes playing a slow arpeggio to the song's end. (23.75/25)

4. "Confluence" (8:37) bass synth drone and synth water-trickling rhythm track carry over from the previous song before reverbed sax and guitar join in, playing slow, rather sad and plaintive melodies, note by note, as if in their own private lonely universes, even after the hard-charging bass and drums step in at 1:20. Around the 2:00 mark the guitar and sax begin to come to life a little more--and then a synth horn joins in to harmonize with the reverbed sax, note for note, until the guitar chords start to come crashing in mark like falling rocks at the three-minute mark. Again I hear KINGSTON WALL as well as great Post Rock riffs in the mix at this point. At 5:15 Jean Fossat leaps off of the cliff with some serious guitar soloing. A slight break in the middle of the seventh minute is followed by some viciously epic guitar shredding over the next minute. Marveilleux! The song then ends with just guitar feedback. Brilliant! (19/20)

5. "Weavers' Weft" (9:41) opening more like a Viking Metal song with more male chorus chants over steady plodding processional-like music--the shout/screaming voice of M. Fossat taking over in the third and fourth minutes. The music then shifts into greyhound racing mode at 3:42 over which a repeating guitar strummed poser chord progression recurs with lots of space in between as the bass and drums play frenetically. At 5:20 we stop, recharge with choral and screaling vocals leading the band back into a heavy motif, but this time slower. At 6:04 this slowed down plodding heavy wall of sound becomes more DEVIN TOWNSEND-like in its pacing while the choral men chant in their monotone style only, this time, in a far higher pitch than their previous choices. Simple but oh-so-heavy SWANS-like guitar, bass, and drum Post Rock ensues as the vocals stop. At 8:12 there is a KEVIN SHIELDS-like bending-guitar chord between SWANS-two chord bashes that eventually becomes more sedated triplet chords from high on the guitar's fretboard. This is the end. (17.625/20)

6. "Uruk" (9:55) arpeggiated guitar chords become small chords while drums and bass thrums support choral vocals that sound like they come from some Scandanavian Psych rock band. The whole sound palette almost harkens back to some of the more trippy band/albums of the late 1960s. The middle of the song follows the guitarist's four-chord progressions (they change a couple times). Awesome drumming on display here! Distant reverbed vocals are screamed from way back during the seventh minute--M. Fossat holding shockingly long notes! Things break down to guitar's three-note four-chord progressions accented by matching cymbal taps, going very quiet in the ninth minute, and then the full band bursting back out into full volume at 8:20. Man! I love this drummer! At 8:45 the lead guitar and sax start screaming at one another with wicked ferocity! But they do not sustain it, instead they let the band slowly deflate or decompress their instruments to let the song end. Wow! (17.75/20)

7. "The Story That Has Never Been Told" (12:35) this one opens up like a spiritually-based German Kosmisches song but then goes the way of a SONAR-like Math Rock song for its second half. It's cool, and masterfully performed, just not the kind of piece that keeps me engaged like some of the other more-sophisticated constructs on the album. (21.75/25)

8. "Enter The Loop" (5:03) another trippy heavy prog psychedelic/stoner rock motif that the band "gently" pummels into our brains--though this sound palette contains a little more industrial sounds. (8.875/10)

Total time 79:08

Like many other reviewers, I am blown away to constantly have to remind myself that all of this sound is coming from just three guys (using, of course, lots of effects and multiple tracks as well as a few guests). Reminds me very much of Finland's great Kingston Wall in that way.

91.48 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a refreshingly creative minor masterpiece of finely crafted heavy prsychedelic rock. Highly recommended to any and all self-attested prog lovers. 

INNER EAR BRIGADE Perkunas

One of my favorite delights has returned with another album of quirky Canterbury style Jazz-Rock Fusion.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Bill Wolter / Guitar, Keyboards, Compositions, Producer
- Ivor Holloway / Saxophones, Ewi, Clarinet (5), Composer of Earendel and Brood X.

- Chris Lauf / Drums and Percussion

With:
- Madeline Tasquin / Vocals on all tracks but 6
- Melody Ferris / Vocals; Lead Vocals (5, 6)
- Stephen Wright / Bass (4, 6, 7)
- Jason Hoopes / Bass (1, 2, 3)
- Andrew Vernon / Keyboards (1, 2, 3, 6)
- Andrew Jamieson / Keyboards on 1, 2, 7)
- Aharon Wheels Bolsta / Tabla and Jews harp (1)

- Theo Pavodiosiois / Trumpet (4)
- Eli Wallace / Keyboards (4)
- Shayna Dunkleman / Percussion (5)
- Jordan Glenn / Drums (5)
- Curtis McKinney / Bass (5)
- Max Stoffregen / Piano and Synths (5)
- Charith Premawardhana / Viola (5)

- Alison Niedbalski / Lyricist and background vocals on "Perkunas"

1. "Ecobio Curves" (7:40) an amazing opening song, replete with fully-developed and wonderfully-performed and -rendered musicianship including wonderful group choir vocals in the background. (14/15)

2. "Sumimasen" (6:27) dirty Fender Rhodes introduction for the first 25 seconds before other instruments join in. By the end of the first minute, the band has congealed into a beautiful tapestry of sound that are founded on a cleverly-syncopated rhythm section while a chorus of vocalists including Melody Ferris and Madeline Tasquin (and others?!) sing a wonderfully-laid back and gorgeously-melodic vocal line over the top. Then there is a funny JANE SIBERRY-like all-female greeting conversation in the middle of the second minute. How fun! This reminds me a bit of The Northettes if they were in a MICHAEL FRANKS song. Great drumming from And there really isn't a single note or moment that I don't love! One of my favorite Inner Ear Brigade songs of all-time! (10/10)

3. "Earendel" (5:52) pure vocal-less instrumental jazz rock--Yacht Rock. Nice smooth sax play by Ivor Holloway (on multiple tracks)--especially the solo during the STEELY DAN-like fourth minute. (8.75/10)

4. "Goblin Gruel Part 1" (6:19) after the harpsichord opening, this cutie-pie turns into something with a bit more retro swing style--enhanced by the dominant presence of the truly more Northettes-like female choir vocals and quirky, syncopated and quick-to-turn music. As a whole, this one is definitely reminding me of the music of Canterbury band, NATIONAL HEALTH--despite the presence of Ivor Holloway's saxophone and an uncredited trumpet (perhaps MIDIed through Ivor's electronic wind instrument ["Ewi"] though it really does sound like a true trumpet). (9.5/10)

5. "Muse 2 Entropy" (4:35) Ivor's clarinet and Curtis McKinney's bass open this one before drums and Melody Ferris's familiar Barbara Gaskin-like voice and style joins in duplicating the clarinet's (and piano's and viola's) melody line(s). Nice jazz of the Dave Stewart-Barbara Gaskin style. It is clever how the clarinet, piano, viola, and guitar take turns with the melody line--sometimes doubling up, sometimes just subtly switching out--all the while maintaining the same line with Melody's vocal. (8.875/10)  

6. "Brood X" (6:04) a quasi-surf-and-clam bake rocker sounding like something from one of Frank Zappa's earliest albums. Jazzy like an Estradasphere Venice Beach-New Orleans Zydeco blend with ditzy-blonde vocalese (courtesy of brunette Melody Ferris). Pleasant and upbeat. (8.875/10)

7. "Perkunas" (9:27) incredibly poor sound engineering--as if someone stuck a single mike up on a stage during a live performance. The static/distortion allowed on the Fender Rhodes during the long, boring introduction is criminally bad. Madeline Tasquin's voice sounds frail. A kind of clunky, bull-in-a-china shop construct. (17.25/20)

Total Time 48:12

90.88 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; my favorite Inner Ear Brigade album since their 2012 debut, a minor masterpiece of modern Canterbury Style jazz-rock music. Highly recommended to all prog lovers--especially if you like Canterbury or Jazz-Rock Fusion.

CIELO DRIVE Pieces from a Broken Star

Krautrock?! From España? You got me curious!

Line-up / Musicians:
- Óscar Sanfiz / Guitars, Bass, Kalimba, Voices, Samples, Sound Manipulation & Devices

- Dirk Ittenbach / Keyboards, Swarmatron & Samples
- Alberto Guillén / Drums & Electronic Percussion

1. "First Piece" (2:07) a gentle birth-of-the-universe-like ambient intro. (4.375/5)

2. "Second Piece "(3:23) one continuously droning piece that digs deep and never lets go. A piece that MASERATI would be quite proud of! Awesome! (10/10)

3. "Third Piece" (4:21) the use of the piano buried deep within the Trip Hop electronica is pretty ingenious. This piece reminds me very much of the Massive Attack song, "Everywhen." (9/10)

4. "Fourth Piece" (5:31) very much something rooted in the world of the 1990s Trip Hop scene: like a MASSIVE ATTACK song that's been sent through an engineer's effects box as a whole, complete song, and added to, here and there. The synth sword-spark swipes and strikes along with the drum and bass additions in the second minute also feel old school despite their heavily-processed sounds. I'm glad that the song's composers have adhered to some kind of ABABCAB form so that we, the listeners, get a break from some of the Star Wars/2001/Alien creepy sounds. Otherwise, I consider this song very entertaining. (9/10)

5. "Fifth Piece" (2:08) this one seems to owe its rhythm track to Graham Sutton and Mark Simnett and their BARK PSYCHOSIS project. The field of swarming and travelling bees, however, is all their own. (4.5/5)

6. "Sixth Piece" (2:36) a highly-processed 1980s techno drum-and-bass beat is given astral creepiness by the droning guitar strumming and vocal "oo-aah-oos" floating around within the mix (somewhere in the background but still in the center of the brain). (8.875/10) 

7. "Seventh Piece" (2:17) the floaty vocals carry over from the previous piece but the rest of the music turns more future Industrial tech--as if we're inside an engine room or huge power plant. Then an intense radio signal enters at the end, clearing the soundscape of its chaos (maybe ending lives in the process).  (4.5/5)

8. "Eighth Piece" (2:57) for the first 1:20 this is pleasant and gentle--a welcomed interlude--but then all hell breaks loose over a disco bass drum line. A little too grating and irritating, despite the calming "center" provided by the gentle piano notes. (8.6667/10)

9. "Ninth Piece" (2:50) a droning hallway white light in which we have to check to see (hear) what's behind every door we pass. (8.75/10)

10. "STAR" (11:45) steady clouded cymbal hits backed with scratchy, droning synth as an even more grated ride cymbal rises slowly into the mix, to the foreground, with a severely-mangled Hohner organ-like bass line also slowly joining the party in the third minute. Electro-cymbal crashes pick up in the fourth minute as more active heavily-distorted electric guitar strummed chords also rise and join the mélange. The drums/drummer becomes more active around the 5:00 mark as his drums very gradually emerge from out of the din of distortion. A second electric guitar, also heavily distorted, arises out of a different channel, playing a different melody in short rotation. In the eighth minute a very deep, full, and heavy distorted bass begins to rise and join the field, playing a three-note melody that mirrors that of the most recent electric guitar. At the nine minute mark the instruments begin to leave, just as they came: one at a time, only much more quickly in their fade out/removal than the way they came in. Very much what I think of when I think "Krautrock": music for which the engineering is every bit as important as the instrumental performances (maybe more). A cool listening experience but I'm not sure I need to hear this song again. (22.5/25)

Total Time 40:00

The music certainly drones on: it's all instrumental--without lyrics or vocals--created by a three-man ensemble, but somehow it never gets boring, managing to always maintains its tension and engagement. It feels as if the authors intend the album as a one-listen, one "suite" listening experience; thank goodness the album tends to alternate heavy, cacophonous "pieces" with gentler, almost-ambient ones.

I get why this is welcome/included in the datatbase of a progressive rock music sharing site; I get that this is a direction that Krautrock could have, might have taken (may still be on!) Like many of the original musics and albums that became labeled as "Krautrock" there are often elements or sounds or technologies more developed by the Berlin School of Progressive Electronic Music. The same can be said for this album.

90.167 on the Fishscales = A-/4.5 stars; if you're into the history, current state, and future of Progressive Electronic Kosmische Dance Musik, this is an album you will not want to miss. If you're looking for cinematic space electronica, this may also be for you. If you're looking for musicianship over production and engineering, this may not be for you. I would, however, recommend that you check it out!

HANDS OF THE HERON Quiet Light

1. "Evergreen" (4:08) the dulcet strains of female folk singers performing over gently plucked banjo arpeggi. I love the spacious, patient, giving, turn-taking of the three vocalists as well as the subtle joinder of cello and violin in the underneath. There is a timeless, Judy Collins-like feel to this piece. (9.5/10)

2. "Making Space"

3. "Dearie

4. "Aquamarine

5. "Pieces of Me

6. "Which Waters

7. "Boat Song

8. "Improvisation: Lament for Palestine

9. "Lullaby for a Friend

10. "Picturing Myself" (3:48) very delicately yet-quickly picked chords of an acoustic guitar supported with bass and other bowed strings open this song before the harmonized vocals of the trio of Fates enter to present the song's signature phrase. The vocals between these vocal chords are singular though beautifully, as if hesitatntly-accented by injections from the other two. What exquisite timing and definition these singers have, even when woven into Celtic knots. (9.3333/10)

11. "Half Moon Horizon

12. "Improvisation: Quiet Light

Total Time: 

 

on the Fishscales =  / stars;

Special Mentions:

BRAINSTORY Sounds Good

Lineup / Musicians:

1. "Nobody But You" (2:14) (4.375/5)

2. "Peach Optimo" (2:50) a top three song. (9.3333/10)

3. "Listen" (2:52) (9/10)

4. "Gift of Life" (3:21) old-time Soul like The Dells or Delphonics or today's Durand Jones & The Indications. Beautiful falsetto vocals, beautiful b vox, beautiful instrumental support. (9.25/10)

5. "NyNy" (2:28) Great quirky, fun groove with such smooth and inviting singing. A top three song for me. Great subtleties throughout--expressed as if with complete investment and sincerity. (9.25/10)

6. "I Will Be" (2:49) quirky with a touch of Hall & Oates and/or Harry Nilsson to it. (8.875/10)

7. "Hanging On" (3:11) kind of a subtle earworm: you don't know how much this one has got inside you until you're out on the road and find yourself singing it while the wind blows through your hair with the farmland/desert speeding by. (9/10)

8. "X-Faded" (2:48) my song of the Summer of 2024. Such groovy fun and brotherly silliness. Probably my favorite song on this great album. (9.75/10)

9. "Too Young" (3:02) acoustic guitar and vocal makes this song feel as if it comes from another musical genre--like Dylan or Tom Petty--that is, until the chorus with its Soul-ful background vocals. (8.875/10)

10. "Stay" (2:18) another brilliant little funk/R&B/NeoSoul song whose stay is far too brief. Horns like these would be quite welcome in more songs. Something / Anything era Todd-Rundgren comes to mind (as well as Hall & Oates). (8.875/10)

11. "Sweet & Lovely" (2:37) The Beach Boys or The Beatles? A merger of the two at their absolutely most romantic. Such great vocal arrangements--especially in the verses--outside of the chorus. (9/10)

12. "Rialto Winds" (1:35) an instrumental?! (4.375/5)

Total time: 

90.87 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of quirky, fun/funny modern funky Soul/R&B.

DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS Private Space 

Indiana's new Soul hit wonders reach even higher heights than their previous work.

1. "Love Will Work It Out" (3:46) DJ's version of Bobby Caldwell's mega hit "What You Won't Do for Love." (8.875/10)

2. "Witchoo" (3:43) one of the great R&B pop songs of 2024. (10/10)

3. "Private Space" (5:12) another song worthy of lots of superlatives. (9.5/10)

4. "More Than Ever" (3:15) feels like an homage to the late great TEDDY PENDERGRASS. (8.875/10)

5. "Ride or Die" (4:15) a bit of The Stylistics blended with The Dells with some orchestral touches that sound Love Unlimited Orchestra (Barry White). Excellent retro Soul. (9/10)

6. "The Way That I Do" (3:30) a bit of an early Disco feel with the percussion work taking us a bit outside of the Motown sound. (8.875/10)

7. "Reach Out" (4:18) (9.125/10)

 

8. "Sexy Thang" (3:22) (.25/10)

9. "Sea of Love" (3:48) (9.5/10)

10. "I Can See" (3:35) (8.875/10)

Total time:

on the Fishscales = / stars;