April 2014 – T P A

Xavi Reija – Resolution

Previously a quintet featuring keyboards and sax, now a trio, Xavi Reija’s band does things a drums/bass/guitar line up should not be able to, creating splendidly intuitive avant jazz rock suites that do not suffer the loss of those aforementioned…

Molly Bloom – All Pressure

It’s been a little over 10 years since I first sampled the delights of Molly Bloom’s music and to this day I am grateful to Owen Davies who suggested I might check them out. So back in 2004 following on from…

Spoke of Shadows – Spoke of Shadows

You can’t make an album based around the Warr guitar without it sounding like the last incarnation of King Crimson, can you? Well, not necessarily, as this fine release proves. Spoke of Shadows is Herd of Instinct Warr guitarist Mike…

Splashgirl – Field Day Rituals

Languishing in my pile of “to do” CDs since the turn of the year Field Day Rituals, the fourth album by Norwegian trio Splashgirl, released in February last year is a little outside my usual remit of left field and…

Panic Room – Incarnate

Panic Room have made great strides in the period since the release of their debut, Visionary Position, in 2008 and with Incarnate, their fourth album to date, they will hopefully move to the upper echelons of the current wave of…

Messenger – Illusory Blues

Messenger are a multi-national troupe who came together in London in 2012. Led by guitarists and vocalists Khaled Lowe and Barnaby Maddick, they hooked up with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano, who has worked with Ulver amongst many others, and shut…

Lazuli – Tant Que L’Herbe Est Grasse

Lazuli have come from nowhere to become one of my very favourite current bands, based initially on their performance at last year’s Summer’s End Festival. They were just stunning and put on one of the most effortless and absorbing performances…

Man – All’s Well That Ends Well

This latest addition to the Esoteric Recordings’ Man reissues is this Deluxe 3CD Edition of their 1977 album, All’s Well That Ends Well, recorded at what was a regular haunt for the band, The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London. For these three…

Sonar – Static Motion

Swiss minimalists Sonar were formed after guitarists Stephen Thelen and Bernhard Wagner had attended Robert Fripp’s Guitar Craft classes. The pair recruited drummer Manuel Pasquinelli and bassist Christian Kuntner and Sonar was born. Inspired by the Crimson line-ups of 1972…

Gayle Ellett – Djam Karet

We are delighted to publish this interview with Gayle Ellett, co-founder of Californian prog legends Djam Karet, who this year celebrate their 30th anniversary with the release of the cunningly titled Regenerator 3017, reviewed recently by yours truly on these…