My Summer of Joy and Delight

 Not only have I been healthier than I've been in years but the self-appointed Deep Dive into the history and world of Classic" 1970s era Jazz-Rock Fusion has been so rewarding: generating a daunting yet-thoroughly enjoyable list of here-to-fore unknown music for me to explore. I've had particular fun getting to know so many European artists whose existence much less music were totally unheard of before this. Also the major revelations have included:

• How much I LOVE ADORE CRAVE Funk!
• the innovative bass play of Anthony Jackson
• the unexpectedly diverse and virtuosity guitar play of John Abercrombie
• All of the Mwandishi albums
• the transcendant Kosmische Musik of Lonnie Liston Smith
• supernova Hermann Szobel
• Michal Urbaniak (with vocal acrobatics wife Urszula Dudziak)
• the entire Return To Forever discography
• John Lee & Gerry Brown: ahead of their time
• Wisconsin's own Matrix
• the genius of Terje Rypdal
• the joy and absolute genius of Don Ellis
• So many German and Eastern European bands like Exil, Out Of Focus, Embryo, Volker Kriegel, Energit, Fermàta, Laboratorium, Leb I Sol, Missus Beastly, From, Martin Kratochvíl and Jazz Q, Kornelyans
• More Italian J-RF bands like Etna, Perigeo, Napoli Centrale, and, of course, Arti E Mestieri
• More Scandanavian bands like Moose Loose,  Secret Oyster,  Dr. Dopo Jam, Janne Schaffer, Jan Garbarek, and Achimedes Badkar
• The many faces and bands of Allan Holdsworth (especially 'Iggingottom!)
• The expanded histories and discographies of Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Tony Williams, Toto Blanke, Eddie Henderson, Don Ellis, Larry Coryell, Brian Auger, Weather Report, Miroslav Vitous, Pierre Courbois, and 
• the Catalan scene in Barcelona

 

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) (9/10)
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) (9/10)

Total Time 40:45

COSMIC GROUND melt

Dirk Jan Müller is back with some more modern Berlin School of Progressive Electronic Music, this one very much founded in the sequences and familiar soundscapes of Classic Era TD or Klaus Schulze but enriching the music with new 21st Century sounds, samples, and techniques. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Dirk Jan Müller / analog modular synthesizers, sequencers, Fender Rhodes, Farfisa organs, Leslie, Mellotron, guitar, percussion, samples, field recordings, revox

1. "planet dirt" (13:28) traditional Berlin School sequenced song with rich and unusual, even what you'd call "earthy," sounds and textures woven into the atmosphere. (26.375/30)

2. "eternal autumn" (4:05) extraterrestrial planet exploration, on foot, complete with chatter between the scientists and scraping, scratchy noises of their boots walking through the gravelly touraine. A sci-fi soundtrack extension of Brian Eno's work from the mid-1980s. (8.66667/10) 

3. "revelation" (5:12) slow development and rise of what sounds like a variation on the Run, Lola Run sequencer theme. Why does s/he keep running by the industrial parks--along the train tracks? Definitely a Klaus Schulze connection here, as well. (8.75/10)

4. "black rain" (18:30) odd droning loop for the first three minutes, then Eno "Lizard Point"-like scratchy "outdoor" soundtape feel for the next three, moving underground into subterranean worlds for the next part of the journey (perhaps the catacombs beneath Naples, Italy: Napoli Sotterranea), before resurfacing on one of the planets in the Hyperion universe: the lush, swamp-world known as God's Grove. As a matter of fact, from this point on I am feeling as if a soundtrack has been laid while I wait, hiding, watching and waiting (in fear and trepidation) for the arrival of the TechnoCore assassin, Rhadamanth Nemes. Awesome (yet unnerving)! (35/40)

5. "melted past" (7:56) a very traditional, smooth Berlin School sequenced song that feels quite indistinguishable from the great soundscapes of the past masters--except in the more-modern sound treatments of the final two minutes. (13.25/15)

6. "scab" (16:50) more expansion and variation upon Brian Eno's work from the On Land period of his Ambient Music series evolution. The final four minutes is the best part. (30.125/35)

Total Time 66:01

87.26 on the Fishscales = B-/3.5 stars; while I always like the music Dirk Jan Müller makes, I seldom find myself drawn to bring it back into my world for repeated listens. This is partly due to the fact that I do not choose this type of music for either my aural backdrop to my day--or to my meditations--but also because it often, like this album, lacks the moments and effects that surprise, interest, or excite me. It is, however, almost always quite excellent musical representation of the 21st Century Progressive Electronic sub-genre.

SUB ROSA AniGmA

Polished crossover prog from Brazil. The band's third album display's their continued dedication to melodic accessibility of thoughtful lyrics using familiar sound palettes created from "classic prog" sounds.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Barbara Laranjeira / vocals, drums
- Rudolf Pinto / guitars, vocals
- Reinaldo Jose / bass, vocals
- Romulo Cesar / drums, vocals
With:
- Walner Lucas / keyboards
- Ariane Tavares / vocals

1. "Vision and the Voice" (4:03) nice sound palette--and nice female singing voice. The song never really rises up to grab me, though. (8.75/10)

2. "People Who Choose Not to Live" (4:38) no, not blues rock! Please! (8.5/10)

3. "The Emperor's Old Clothes" (4:16) okay, Barbara: you've earned my attention. (8.875/10)

4. "Hades Atma" (3:01) a nearly-perfect retro-prog sound palette with some very nice vocal performances and interestingly divergent motifs. Reminds me a bit of Pure Reason Revolution's music during their debut period (2006). (8.875/10)

5. "Tomorrows and Yesterdays" (2:22) (4.333/5)

6. "The Silent" (5:05) founded on a great guitar sound and arpeggiated chord progression. Again I'm reminded of early Pure Reason Revolution. The second motif sounds more akin to the gentler side of URIAH HEEP or BLACK SABBATH. (9/10)

7. "Darla" (3:19) the lead male vocalist's voice is not quite as pleasant as Barbara's--he sounds like an early Ozzie Osborne trying to sing in the Prog Folk world instead of Heavy Metal. (8.5/10)

8. "Sandgarden" (5:34) two songs in a row with a male lead vocalist would not be so bad were the musics about more than just supporting the rather flat-line two-note vocal melody. Were I more of a lyrics guy, I might be able to suffer through. The band (and song) is redeemed, however, by an excellent two-part Floydian instrumental second half. Excellent Gilmour-esque lead guitar. (9.125/10)

9. "Ten Seconds to Tragedy" (3:56) more interesting Pink Floyd-like flow. (8.75/10)

10. "Anigma" (5:03) yet another Roger Waters/Pink Floyd song! They're actually pretty good at this! I just wish A) I liked Roger Waters' music and style and B) I cared and tuned into lyrics more than I do (it's such an effort!) (8.75/10)

11. "I'll Always Be There for You" (2:33) no, no! Please no 1960s bubble gum-surfer pop! Despite the band's loving intentions, I just can't abide. (4.25/5)

12. "Under the Rose (Upon the Cross)" (5:36) nice mellow vocal over nice, slow chord progression. I like even more the use of alternating male and female vocals in the lead position. It feels like some old French duet--perhaps I'm reminded of the songs Serge and Françoise Gainsbourg did together back in the 1960s. But then at the four-minute mark Sub Rosa goes a different route: here sounding like some Latin revolutionary spouting off with their "Part III - Templum" part. And yet it's all meant to be the replication of the performance of a circus emcee! Interesting! Perhaps Sub Rosa have a little French or Italian in them! (8.75/10)

13. "The Simplest Love of All Times" (5:20) again using the male-female alternating singing approach, but then combining the two for the chorus. The music is just too simplistic, the pace too plodding. (8.6667/10)

14. "True Self" (5:31) yet another organ-centered plodder. Even the lead singers sound challenged to find/put some energy and enthusiasm into their performances. Too bad! The music is warm and comforting. Nice guitar solo in the third minute, but then it starts all over: the torture never stops! The band tries to rise hackles in the instrumental finale. Tries. (8.75/10)

Total Time 60:17

The music and musicianship is not very sophisticated, but the concepts and goals for each song are quite admirable, even alluring. This band's sound reminds me a lot of British bands Big Hogg  and Kentish Spires. I hope Sub Rosa continue to grow and progress as well as those two bands. What incites my awe about these guys is the fact that they are writing such lovely, thoughtful, poetic, and insightful lyrics in a language that is not their own. Bravissimo! Also, my original intention was to just cursorily sample the music of this album--not even listen to each song--but something drew me in and compelled me to not only listen to every song, but to listen start-to-finish, thoroughly, with words flowing into a quasi-thorough review. That, alone, is worth commendation as my tolerance and interest in wasting my time on music that we've all heard over and over a million times is at a low ebb.

87.40 on the Fishscales = B-/3.5 stars; interesting and engaging but, ultimately, rather lackluster and pedestrian music. Too bad! I found myself very hopeful: wanting to like this, wanting to hear more enthusiasm and vitality in the music.  

RICK MILLER One of the Many

A very decent, consistent album of lushly atmospheric songs that owe much to Roger Waters, Tony Banks, Steve (and John) Hackett. This may be a Tony Patterson Equations of Meaning 2.0.

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) (9.125/10)
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) (17.5/20)
2. "Canto per Lucy" (9:07) (17.75/20)
3. "L'Empio Simulacro" (11:24) (17.875/20)
4. "Prigioniero di Prisca Doglianza" (23:08) (39.9375/45)
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

I used to love this kind of stuff: spacious and lushly atmospheric music with virtuosic vocals--here bringing in so many elements other than your basic NeoProg smoothness--but I'm kind of burned out on it now. Maybe I'll heal and come back for this is very well conditioned music with meaningful and heartfelt performances throughout. You might even say that this is peak Haven: they're clicking, synching, and entraining as well as could ever be hoped.

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) exceptionally well crafted but perhaps just a bit too thin. Also, perhaps the ideas here are a bit drawn out.  (31/35)

2. "Ad Infinitum" (8:44) (/20)

3. "It Walks Among Us" (14:02) deeply poignant voice-and-piano tandem in the third minute. Wow! I am moved. But then it's all a bit undone by the somewhat hokey, cinematically fabricated chorus. But when the incredible vocals of Paul Sadler are accompanied by Andreas' piano there seems to be some alchemical magic going on. The strings in the sicth minute feel totally out of place, but the explosive ULVER-like stuff cascading in Inception-like multi-dimensionality beneath and all around is totally awesome! Around 7:20 all the pieces once again align into perfect symmetry to usher us along: into a tunnel to our destruction and demise. The thickening darkness collapses at 8:40 into a maelstrom of guaranteed entrapment--which turns out to be a DEPECHE MODE-like passage with more excellent multi-layered vocals even through a multiple track guitar solo. Wolfgang's syncopated drumming here is outstanding and very engaging. This DM section goes to the 12-minute mark when things slow down to just drums (an excellent drum pattern) over which Paul sings in one of his more plaintive That Joe Payne voices to the song's end. (27.5/30)

4. "Assimilation" (8:14) (/15)

Total Time 48:02

COSMIC GROUND Area 24

Here Dirk is really experimenting with the manipulation of sampled sounds as well as some click-editing and reverse/inverse track treatments. A bit like what if Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai), Christian Fennesz, or 1980s Brian Eno went Berlin School. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Dirk Jan Müller / synthesizers, sequencers, Fender Rhodes, Farfisa organ, Mellotron, percussion, field recordings

1. "area 24 (part one)" (4:00)
2. "area 24 (part two)" (6:23)
3. "area 24 (part three)" (3:13)
4. "area 24 (part four)" (9:16)
5. "area 24 (part five)" (5:09)
6. "area 24 (part six)" (6:33)
7. "area 24 (part seven)" (9:08)
8. "area 24 (part eight)" (6:49) my favorite song on the album. Very like Brian Eno in 1982.

Total Time 50:29

YOO DOO RIGHT From the Heights of Our Pastureland

This Quebecois band is sounding more and more like countrymates GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR and less and less like CAN.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Justin Cober / Guitar, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Charles Masson / Bass
- John Talbot / Drums, Percussion
- Francis Leduc-Bélanger / Trumpet on track 1

1. "Spirit's Heavy, But Not Overthrown" (13:19) a heavier, almost punk version of Post-Rock-infused Krautrock. The instrumental passages are much more interesting than the punk-Krautrock. (26/30)

2. "Eager Glacier" (9:11) built over a pounding Native American-like drum pattern infinity guitars weave their detuned chords over the top, slowly growing in power and volume, as added and increased cymbal play also reflects the growing tension. The coolest parts are the very-seldom key changes from the guitars (always collectively). At the five-minute mark the drums cut out completely, leaving the whining, droning guitars alone for about 40 seconds, then everything comes crashing back in like a modern day MY BLOODY VALENTINE or KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION jam. Guitar chord progressions begin at the seven-minute mark and proceed with more rock-like bass-and-drum pattern. A little like 4 A.D. band DIF JUZ here. Not bad! (17.75/20)

3. "Ponders End" (7:18) JAM-like guitar stroking with DICK DALE-like spy music guitar riffing and marching band-like drum pounding creates this very odd, almost incongruous sound. It's creative but a little drawn out without enough variation and development--even with the scaled-down end of the fourth minute and then switch of guitar-chord progressions thereafter. Another Post Rock (reminding me of two Irish bands: U2 and Post Rockers GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT) shift for the last 90 seconds tries to add some variety. (13/15)

  
4. "Lost in the Overcast" (3:53) interesting slow-paced interlude of more Native American drumming and slow, spacious guitar strums. Innocuous. (8.75/10)

5. "From the Heights of Our Pastureland" (8:39) 4:20 of thrashing heavy Post Rock guitars takes a turn into MAUDLIN OF THE WELL territory with some suddenly gorgeous and very spacious long-decay guitar chord play, eventually set over Native American-like drum rhythms and slow-pulsing single note on the piano. I really like this part! Not as big of a fan of the guitar thrashing first part. (17.625/20)

Total Time 42:18

I don't remember such a predominance of Native American-like drumming in previous Yoo Doo Right music. It works, kind of, but can be a bit tedious over time.

87.50 on the Fishscales = B-/3.5 stars. Interesting but, ultimately, disappointing--especially because this band popped onto the scene showing so much promise.

KYROS Mannequin

Line-up / Musicians:
- Shelby Logan Warne / vocals, keyboards
- Joey Frevola / guitars
- Peter Episcopo / bass, vocals
- Robin Johnson / drums & percussion

1. "Taste the Day" (2:26)
2. "Showtime" (4:10)
3. "Illusions Inside" (5:09)
4. "Esoterica" (6:55)
5. "The End in Mind" (7:41)
6. "Digital Fear" (3:35)
7. "Ghosts of You" (5:02)
8. "Liminal Space" (4:39)
9. "Technology Killed the Kids IV" (7:26)
10. "Have Hope" (7:57)

Total Time 55:00

CIRCE LINK & CHRISTIAN NESMITH Arcana

Lineup / Musicians:
- Circe Link / vocals
- Christian Nesmith / all other instruments, except:
     Drums by Christopher Allis
     Keyboard solos on "The Chariot" by Matt Brown

1. "The Tower" (11:37) (/20)

2. "The Magician" (11:16) (/20)

3. "The Fool" (8:29) (/20)

4. "The Hanged Man" (9:58) (/20)

5. "The Chariot" (15:41) (/30)

Total time: 57:01

AURORA CLARA IV

Proggy flute-led Jazz-Rock Fusion from Spain.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Nill Olivera / Bass
- Marco Anderson / Drums
- Raul Mannola / Electric, Acoustic Guitar, Flamenco Guitar
- Juan Carlos Aracil / Flute, Percussion
with
- Paul Austerlitz / Bass Clarinet (4)
- Ivan Mellen / Percussion (2,3,4)
- Denis Bilanin / keyboards

1. "The Last Candles" (11:14)
2. "Five Sisters" (5:56)
3. "Song To John" (5:39)
4. "End Of January" (8:58)
5. "Maktub (For Sami And Laura)" (7:33)
6. "One For The Road" (5:40)

Total Time: 45:00

JUPITER FUNGUS Garden Electric

Line-up / Musicians:
- Ares Papatriantafillou / Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar (Ear Intro)
- Fotis Xenikoudakis / Flute, Tin Whistle
- George Papageorgiou / Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Glockenspiel
- George Emmanuel / Electric Guitar
- Nick Vell / Drums

1. "Underdog" (9:53) (/20)

2. "Circles" (13:05) (/25)

3. "Past Ground" (11:36) (/20)

4. "Thoughst of Revenge" (13:00) (/25)

Total time: 47:32

LUZ DE RIADA Rizoma

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

DIRT POOR ROBINS Firebird! 

A concept record from the Deadhorse Universe that was released February 28, 2024.

Lineup / Musicians:
Neil and Kate DeGraide

1. "Political" (4:22)

2. "Cry Wolf" (4:36)

3. "You'll Never Hear It Coming" (3:55)

4. "Fever Dream" (4:55)

5. "Beauty Will Save the World" (6:11)

6. "To the Heights" (4:10)

7. "All at Once" (4:42)

8. "Holy Roller" (3:15)

9. "So Long to Yesterday" (4:44)

10. "Empty" (4:01)

11. "The Imperishables" (2:39)

12. "Firebird" (4:59) a very cool rendering of Stravinsky's famous suite (and Yes' iconic concert opener).

Total time: 

AZURE Fym

released May 23, 2024

Lineup / Musicians:
- Chris Sampson / vocals, electric guitar, mandolin
- Galen Stapley / electric guitar, nylon string, theremin
- Alex Miles / bass
- Shaz D / keyboards, grand piano
With:
- Andrew Scott / drums
- Adam Hayes / bongos, congas; Fish Guiro (1, 7, 11)
- Nina Doornenstroom / trumpets (3)
- Camille De Carvalho / oboe d’amore, clarinet, and basson (4, 6)

1. "The Azdinist // Den of Dawns" (6:03)

2. "Fym" (3:20)

3. "Mount, Mettle, and Key" (5:19)

4. "Sky Sailing / Beyond the Bloom / Wilt" (11:07)

5. "Weight of the Blade" (6:22)

6. "Kingdom of Ice and Light" (6:40)

7. "The Lavender Fox" (4:10)

8. "Agentic State" (5:57)

9. "Dopplegänger" (3:05)

10. "The Portent" (6:24)

11. "Trench of Nalu" (16:47)

12. "Moonrise" (2:53)

Total time: 

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.

SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM Of the Last Human Being

After 13 years of hibernation, a public Kickstarter campaign raised the money to force these musicians out into the open.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Nils Frykdahl / guitar, vocals

- Carla Kihlstedt / violin, percussion guitar, bass harmonica, vocals

- Michael Mellender / guitar, xylophone, trumpet, percussion, vocals

- Dan Rathbun / bass, dulcimer, vocals

- Matthias Bossi / drums, glockenspiel, xylophone, piano, backing vocals

1. "Salamander in Two Worlds" (6:31) I really love the band's slow infiltration back into our worlds. I'm only sorry that my brain does not register the words, lyrics, or messages Nik Frykdahl is trying to convey. Am I missing anything profound? (9/10)

2. "Fanfare for the Last Human Being" (1:31) (4.5/5)

3. "El Evil" (5:45) a little more metallic to start with but then it all goes avant garde in league with Kavus Torabi and Bob Drake and Major Parkinson. Again, cogitating the message might be helpful since the song is so reliant upon Nils' performance there, but the angular and rather-dense music supporting Nils is entertaining/interesting enough. (9/10)

4. "Bells for Kith and Kin" (1:26) Who are Kith and Kin? Friends of Keith and Ken?

5. "Silverfish" (7:17) I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Carla Kihlstedt's Björk-like theatric vocals. (/15)

6. "S.P.Q.R." (4:05) (/10)

7. "We Must Know More" (3:36) (/10)

8. "The Gift" (6:11) (/10)

9. "Hush, Hush" (7:45) (/15)

10. "Save It!" (2:59) (/10)

11. "Burn into Light" (5:25) (/10)

12. "Old Grey Heron" (7:24) (/15)

13. "Rose-Colored Song" (5:46) (/10)

It's been so hard for me to keep slogging through the incredibly dense and abrasive music of these songs on this highly-anticipated album. I appreciate the band's penchant for complexity and circus-like theatricity but I just don't find myself enjoying the music--which makes it even more of a challenge to try to come back to the album (or even an individual song) for the repeated listens necessary to critique and rate! In the end, like so much of my prog listening efforts this year, I find myself willing to just give up: offer up only a rating instead of my usual detailed review. It's just not fun anymore!

B/four stars; excellent angular/dissonant avant prog that cerebral music lovers who can do without melody or danceable rhythms will probably love. I'l rate it up for group skill and musicianship and complex composition, but down for accessibility and personal enjoyment.

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. 

UTOPIANISTI Reasons in Motion

Markus Pajakkala is back (finally!) with an album of music inspired by his explorations of African music and rhythms. He has even employed a bunch of Temperi, Senegalese, and Mauritanian musicians as collaborators to go along with his usual rhythm section of Anssi Solismaa, Jaakko Luoma, and newcomer Ville Hatanpää on drums!

Line-up / Musicians:
- Markus Pajakkala / baritone and tenor sax, flute, additional synths, percussion and voice
- Inari Ruonamaa / alto sax
- Olli "Trumpenator" Helin / trumpet
- Matti Salo / guitar
- Anssi Solismaa / keys
- Jaakko Luoma / bass
- Ville Hatanpää / drums
- Ismaila Sané / percussion, voice (left channel)
- Gilbert Kuppusami / percussion, voice (right channel)

1. "Greenwash" (4:48) with the odd combinations of sounds--squishy, spacey synths, weird organ, African percussion, et al. --I'm not even sure what I'm listening to! In the end it's really a fairly typical West African jazz-rock cake that happens to have frostings from the crazy imaginings of a crazy Finn covering the top and filling the layers in-between. It's fun and entertaining, at times reminding me of the spirit in DON PULLEN's "Kele mou bana." (8.875/10)

 
2. "All Whale Panel" (4:06) a song that is trying to project the feeling of a being a live song from an outdoor all-night rave or dance party from some celebrated Tiesto-like DJ. Definitely a top three song. (9.125/10)

3. "Yegaa Intro" (1:35)
4. "Yegaa Nu Betaa" (4:33) expressing an easy joy that is not only infectious but danceable. A top three song for me based solely on the spirit invoked by Ismaila Sané's vocal calls. (8.875/10)

5. "Cleptocrats" (4:24) nice, infectious grooving instrumental music that feels like the musical soundtrack to a travel montage. More of the horn section interplay with Markus' weird organ. Could've been a  top three. (8.875/10)

6. "Jaa Di Burung" (5:35) slowed down grooviness with enough space to really hear and focus on individual instruments--all of them! Really well constructed and rendered. Markus' baritone sax play really shines here. My other top three song. (9.125/10)

7. "Hit It With The Pinky." (4:05) starts out sounding like a Mario Brothers video game soundtrack stuck in some kind of pause mode, but then the "big" band jumps on board (8.75/10)

8. "No Culture, No Soul" (8:26) a near-Jamaican groove stuck on repeat while Ozrics-like "space jungle" noises flit in and out of the sonic field. Coordinated horns step in from time to time to take over the lead but then disappear for longer spans of time allowing the baseline groove to continue to pacify and hypnotize us into a ganja-like stupor. Impressive musicianship and sound engineering throughout. (17.5/20)

9. "Kakistocrats" (5:08) aside from the farfisa organ, this one taking us back into a more traditional (or just old) sounding Afro-jazz-rock fusion. Nice trumpet soloing in the second and third minute from Olli Helin which is then followed by Inari Ruonamaa's delicate alto sax and Ismaila Sané's percussion work in the fourth. Is Makus trying to reproduce Ray Manzarek's organ sound from the earliest days of The Doors? (8.75/10)

10. "Le Nuit Des Morts-Vivants" (9:50) a percussion-based tune that sounds like something familiar despite also traipsing into the territory of old-fashioned spy-detective movie soundtracks. It's laid back, and the foundational groove is definitely (surprisingly) simple, allowing for the solos to shine a little brighter--of which guitarist Matti Solo gets a nice one to fill the fourth minute before Olli's effected trumpet takes a turn. IN the end, the song is really a vehicle in which to display Markus' inventive engineering of a song around Ismaila Sané's surprisingly sneakily-polyrhythmic percussion play. With almost every band member getting a turn in the spotlight this is really a more traditional jazz song. And the solos are pretty good! (17.5/10)

Total Time: 52:34

The music, though definitely fun and entertaining, seems often more simplistic and slowed down (for the benefit of the musicians?) than I was expecting. (Markus Pajakkala music is usually anything but slow and simple!) This allows for a surprisingly easy listen. Also, it seems at times that Markus is creating this music more for the display of the talents of his bevy of international musicians. I'd love to hear these guys really break out: play at top notch, breakneck speeds (as I suppose they're capable). Maybe that will come with a future album release.

 

88.625 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent collection of African-infused jazz-rock.

ACTIONFREDAG Lys fremtid i mørke

The sophomore release from these young Norwegians finds the band spanning quite a broad spectrum of sounds and styles--often more heavy and abrasive--as well as traipsing down familiar Canterbury-inspired paths of their debut album. I like this latter music much better than the former.

 
Line-up / Musicians:
Katrina Lenore Sjøberg / vocals
Aksel Valheim Lem / guitar
Ivar Haugaløkken Stangeby / keyboards
Espen Fladmoe Wolmer / drums
Martin Hella Thørnquist / vocals, guitar
Ola Mile Bruland / bass
With:
Maya Storvik / oboe
Anders Kristian Krabberød / ebow guitar
Martin Nordrum Kneppen / recorders
Åsa Ree / violin
Mari Mile Bruland / clarinets
Håkon Oftung / flute
Trond Gjellum / cymbals
Kristian Frøland / slide guitars, glockenspiel
Liv Santos Holm / bass synth
Nikolai Haugseth / french horn

1. "Angst Oppå Bordet" (3:35) opening with an abrasively dissonant song like this is certainly a turn off. Luckily, I chose to proceed to the next song. (8.6667/10)

2. "Dalai Lama´s Five Dollar Mamas I" (3:51) (8.75/10)

3. "Karesuando Camping" (3:13) love NORTHETTES-like vocals from Katrina Lenore Sjøberg served over a gentle fare of ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS-like music. I'm even hearing strains of TIRILL in Katrina's voice in this engaging, even mesmerizing song. One of my top three songs. (9/10) 

4. "Planet Bygningsetaten" (4:53) Canterbury jazz-lite with excellent bass, Rhodes, and vocal performances from both Martin and Katrina. Another top three song. (9.125/10)

5. "Cloudboy Blidbop" (4:36) jazzy instrumental with a little retro-Indie-folk-pop thing going on. A nice song that takes a bit to get going (too long of an intro). (8.875/10)

6. "Ping Pong Lovesong" (bonus track only available on CD version) (1:28)
7. "Dalai Lama´s Five Dollar Mamas II" (5:14) okay Canterbury style quirky, jumpy jazz jam. (8.75/10)

8. "Ja Noir" (3:55) after a somewhat bombastic orchestral opening, the song devolves into a simple tow-person piece with reverbed electric guitar reacting to beautiful music being played by Ivar Haugaløkken Stangeby's Fender Rhodes. At the very end of the second minute Katrina's dreamy/airy voice enters and the band forms beneath her, congealing into a gorgeous little modern-day Canterbury tune à la bands like OIAPOK, INNER EAR BRIGADE, and GADADU. Beautiful singing from Katrina. Beautiful support from guitar, keys, and drums. A top three song for sure--probably my favorite. (9.125/10)

9. "Slipp Ivar Fri" (5:04)  more quirky, jumpy modern day Fender Rhodes-dominated Canterbury with Martin's lead vocal skirting HUMBLE GRUMBLE territory. Odd tom-tom solo in the middle. Some magical parts, some that completely miss the mark (for me). (8.875/10)

10. "Litt Mye" (1:38) family-playing-at-the-beach sounds with someone stroking some guitar chords and, eventually, a few voices joining in with a lyric and melody.

11. "Thank You Kleveland" (4:09) sounds a lot like Detroit's RASCAL REPORTERS--like a Canterbury étude: it just goes round and round with more instruments (orchestral) joining in with each time through. Nice cinematic journey with nice melodies throughout (created mostly by the lead guitar). (8.75/10)

Total time: 41:38

88.43 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent collection of original Canterbury-inspired (which I find myself calling "modern Canterbury" and should probably be labeled "NeoCanterbury") songs. Definitely a band to keep watching.

COLIN MASSON The Visitor

Line-up / Musicians:
- Colin Masson / guitars, bass, keyboards, drum programming
With:
- Ryan Masson as Labyrinth (1)
- Cathy Alexander as Berys Braveheart (1), D whistle and tenor recorder (4)

1. "Helvetia" (21:13) (36/40)
- i. "Let the Rain Fall - opens like a cross between The Who's "Emminence Front" and some melodramatic instrumental by PINK FLOYD
- ii. "Bullet Train - then it becomes more Mike Oldfield like
- iii. "Kaleidoscope By Numbers
- iv. "Through the Narrow Passages" there's even some Tangerine Dream and Believe-like motifs here. 
- v. "Counterpoint
- vi. "Flight of the Swallow - with some excellent chunky bass play here.

2. "The Nature of Evil" (10:21) cheesy melodrama and bombast (17/20)

3. "Bones of the Mountain" (19:53) More Oldfield / Alfonso XII stuff. (34.6667/40)
- i. "The Sun Always Rises
- ii. "The Weburn and the Dart
- iii. "The Open Road
- iv. "Hound Tor
- v. "Bicycle Race
- vi. "Wistmans Wood
- vii. "StormWrack
- viii. "Rocks and Rainbows

4. "Spered Hollvedel" (8:25) nice Celtic Prog Folk that sounds like it comes from the campfire around which Dave Brons, Iona/Dave Bainbridge, and Big Big Train might be gathered. I like the fact that even when the electric instruments start to wail the acoustic instruments still remain prominent and important in the overall weave. (18.25/20)

Total Time 59:52

This album kept me coming back to it due to its very well-engineered and -mixed sound coupled with nicely sophisticated (but never drifting over into angular avant-garde) instrumental weaves throughout.

88.26 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very nice, highly engaging and listenable album of high-quality, melodic Celtic Mike Oldfield-like collection of prog.

THE AMAZING Piggies

Did you ever think that The Amazing could make their effects-drenched sound even more lush? Or that they would have ever made female vocals to so prominent in their mix? Or that they would ever resort to using cheap old computer drum machine sounds instead of Moussa's jazz-nuanced batterie? Who ever thought that music that was already so lush could get even more lush?

Here on Piggies they're reaching the for effects levels used by The Cure or Robert Fripp, OMD or Robin Guthrie's Cocteau Twins (or the whole 4 A.D. label!), Nick Laird-Clowes' The Dream Academy or the McAloon Brothers' Prefab Sprout, Steve Kilby's The Church or Bauhaus/Love And Rockets! It's atmospheric psychedelia taken to Elysian extremes. But it's good! Christoffer Gunrup's lyrics have never been more poetic: scaled down to minimal presence, they seem to pack more of a punch. Not much in the way of instrumental prowess put on display here, it's all about the mood: the most beautiful ambivalence humans can produce with music.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Christoffer Gunrup / vocals, guitars
- Reine Fiske / guitars
- Fredrik Swahn / guitars, keyboards
- Moussa Fadera / drums

1. "Streetfighter" (4:43) 8.667/10)
2. "Antichrist" (4:29) (8.667/10)
3. "Piggies" (3:52) (8.875/10)
4. "Last Stand" (5:34) (9/10)
5. "Cinnamon" (4:58) (8/875/10)
6. "I Think I Found a Way" (4:07) (8.875/10)
7. "Figurehead" (4:25) (9/10)
8. "Through the Cracks" (6:05) (9/10)

Total Time 38:13

Favorite songs: "Piggies," "Last Stand" and "Through the Cracks" (the two songs nearest to the band's old style), and "Cinnamon" (with the Robert Fripp guitar and female choir vocals), and the Dream Academy-like "I Think I Found a Way."

Though this is less a prog album than any the band has done--reviving more of the 1980s Goth-glam music or the 1990s heroine trippie music of The Cowboy Junkies or Portishead--it is an album that I enjoy more with every listen. Still, I miss the way the band would jam at the end of every song back in their early days.

88.135 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent albeit short album of beautiful music the listener can get lost in.

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.

MAGICK BROTHER & MYSTIC SISTER Tarot - Part II

The Barcelona Canterbury Funk band's second studio album release of 2024, this one from November 22.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Eva Muntada / vocals, synthesizers, Mellotron, piano, organ
- Xavi Sandoval / guitars, bass, backing vocals (9), mandolin & percussion (10)
- Alejandro Carmona / drums
With:
- Tony Jagwar / sitar (1,10,11), lead guitar (1,9)
- Maddy Gray / spoken words (1,5)
- Didac Ruiz / percussion (2)
- Glen Brigman / vocals (9)

1. "Strength" (5:05) some of Eva's sultry pagan poetry played over Ozrics-infused funky psychedelic rock that sounds as if it were a cover of a classic 1960s pop song. Nice lead guitar solo from guest Tony Jagqar in the fourth minute. The presence of creepy Fender Rhodes and sitar add to the occult-esoteric mystique. A charming, promising, top three song. (9/10)

2. "The Hanged Man" (3:31) a percussion-entrenched instrumental that moves through two or three parts with layers of synths and heavily-treated piano washing over the top. (8.75/10)

3. "The Unnamed Arcane" (3:25) an instrumental that was resuscitated from the cutting floor of Tarot, Part I. (8.7/10)

4. "The Temperance" (4:26) another throwaway instrumental that they forgot to throwaway. (8.7/10)

5. "The Devil" (3:23) trying to inflect a little Zeuhl into the Canterbury soundscape? In the third minute Eva's spoken voice reverberates like a 1970s Elvira casting spells. (8.75/10)

6. "The Tower" (3:16) now back to the 1960s--like something from a female-fronted psychedelic rock band like the or Ultimate Spinach, It's A Beautiful Day, Pan & Regaliz, Carol Of Harvest, Earth And Fire, or perhaps Jefferson Airplane. (8.875/10)

7. "The Star" (5:00) a spacey New Age Gong or Steve Hillage song. Lots of Ozric bubbles, erps, stretchy weirditudes and oolite plurnies with and gentle keyboard and guitar apreggi floating around in and around the soundscape. A top three song. (9/10)

8. "The Moon" (5:54) Eva's vocoder voice with more soft-core Ozric-Gong-Hillage sounds built over a straight 1965 psychedelic rock foundation. (8.75/10)

9. "The Sun" (4:42) a decently constructed 1960s pop song with great bass play, Mellotron, and heavily treated (and nicely arranged) vocals from both Xavi and Eva singing in unison. Lead guitar in the fourth minute is performed by guest Tony Jagwar. My final top three song. (8.875/10)

10. "The Judgement" (5:56) sitar and acoustic guitars and dreamy ethereal female whispervocals dominate this simple almost-Prog Folk song. Sounds a lot like the music that Mediæval Bæbes' Katharine Blake continues to make. (8.875/10)

11. "The World" (7:12) another pointless, meandering, needlessly drawn out pseudo-POPOL VUH-like jam with strummed and picked acoustic guitars, sitar, treated piano, and heavily-reverbed female vocalese (mostly aaah's) that achieves non of the transportive/transcendent effect of Florian Fricke's ground-breaking band. (12.75/15)

Total Time 51:50

While still of excellent sound quality and very consistent in terms of sound and stylings when compared to Tarot, Part I, the music here feels more "supplemental," less developed, polished, and/or finished. There are far more minutes of instrumental music--a lot of it what feel like "background msuic" jams--and less of Eva's wonderful vocal stylings and arrangements. Where Xavi and Eva rushed to get this out to the public? Was this really the finished product they wanted to share with their admiring audience? After the delightfully high quality and consistency of Tarot, Part I--on which the band felt like it had grown (since their self-titled 2020 debut)--I had expectations for Part II that are here sharply disappointed.  

87.85 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a decent collection of what feels like unfinished psychedelic covers of classic 1960s hit songs. 

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.

ODDLEAF Where Ideal and Denial Collide

A French ensemble who've risen out of a former incarnation as makers of mediæval music, the band's debut album is raking up the accolades from virtually everyone who encounters it. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Olivier Orlando / Bass, guitar, backing vocals
- Carina Taurer / Keys, backing vocals
- Adeline Gurtner / Lead vocals
- Mathieu Rossi / Flute, e-flute, backing vocals
- Clément Curaudeau / Drums

1. "The Eternal Tree" (2:06) (4.375/5)
2. "Life" (11:31) a murky-sounding song that feels far too simplistic and predictable to possibly be receiving the attention it's been getting. The CAMEL-like bluesy passage starting at 6:10 is almost laughable for its predictability. Adeline Gurtner's lead vocals are weak and so poorly recorded and Olivier, Carina, and Mathieu's background support are just as poor. (17.125/20)

3. "Ethereal Melodies" (7:55) though sounding a lot like the previous song (chords, keys, sound palette, main melody) the band's previous incarnation as medievalists is able to shine through due to the quieter, less bombastic soundscape. Still, I can't fight the domineering feeling that I'm listening to a 2.0 cover band version of one of the older Prog Folk masters (Renaissance, Magenta, Mostly Autumn, Iona) (13.125/15)

4. "Back in Time" (14:24) Adeline and the band's best early Christina Booth/Magenta imitation (which makes them an imitator of Annie Haslem/Renaissance, right?). Mathieu Rossi's e-flute play and Carina's Hammond are quite top notch, even exciting and inspired, but Adeline's Christina Booth-like vocal performance sounds too much like the often-tired-sounding singer she sounds so much like. Too bad she wasn't given some of the theatric voice-acting roles the boys and instruments were given. I like the entertaining circus-like theatrics and more impressive display of instrumental skill and whole-band cohesion. (26.5/30)

5. "Prelude" (1:04) a successful exercise in Vangelism. (4.5/5)

6. "Coexistence - Part I" (11:20) a multi-part instrumental suite that is really just rather bombastic NeoProg--complete with Genesis rhythm tracks, a Pendragon-like environmental theme, and lush IQ instrumental palette. The construction is solid with the flow believable and engaging. The instrumental performances are solid and sometimes almost refreshingly unique (some really nice woodland folk weaves in the fifth and sixth minutes). (I don't really like the DAAL-like passage in seventh and eighth minutes.) The mix of the instrumental palette is pretty decent. Too bad the sound quality is so murky poor. (17.5/20)

Comparisons to Renaissance, Magenta, Mostly Autumn, and Iona are warranted, but only in terms of imitation. The sound quality, however, never reaches the high levels of quality mastered by these other bands; in fact, its the murky sound (and rather rudimentary, by-the-numbers prog) that turn me sour on this music. I really wanted to like this album--the preceding reviews were all very exciting--but my hopes are totally and completely deflated by the product I'm listening to. They have talent: and vision--but they need to grow a lot in the skills department and, moreso, in the sound engineering department. Still, the album does get better both over time (with repeated listens) and the deeper into the album one goes. (My expectations are now adjusted: prepared for the low sound quality (which reminds me of the horribly murky and overly-expansive soundscapes Cornwall-based band of Scots, THE EMERALD DAWN seem fixated on) as well as the inconsistent skill display and often too-imitative compositional quality. 

Total Time: 55:55

87.50 on the Fishscale = B-/3.5 stars; a debut album whose inconsistent qualities will, hopefully, improve as the band matures. It is my hope that the band find better studio and engineers and concentrate more on the Prog Folk elements of their music rather than the bombastic NeoProg.