Islington Assembly Hall, London Wednesday, 15th November 2017 Islington, long since gentrified by incremental Hipster Creep, is the sort of place where, if so inclined, Tarquin and Jemima could waste their ludicrous salaries from Perfect Curve* in sundry branches of…
View More Ulver / Stian WesterhusMonth: November 2017
Mike Porcel – Echoes
CDBaby.com is a real treasure trove to find great contemporary music and while searching one day recently I discovered Cuban born American musician Mike Porcel and his latest album, Echoes. Echoes is a musical expression of a life journey and…
View More Mike Porcel – EchoesMichael McGear – Woman
For a few years now, Esoteric has been widening its furrows, letting in much more than what the average fan might consider “progressive rock”. I sometimes worry that they are straying too far from their original grounds, but the results…
View More Michael McGear – WomanPapir – V
Three years after the heady sounds of IV, Danish metronomically precise, but altogether human instrumentalists Papir return with V, unsurprisingly their fifth studio album. The titular minimalism continues into the track titles, which are simply numbers, continuing a tradition from…
View More Papir – VRick Wakeman – Piano Portraits
The Forum Theatre, Billingham Wednesday, 15th November 2017 One man, a grand piano and some Wonderous Stories! Rick Wakeman concludes 2017 with a lengthy series of intimate, one man shows under the title of Piano Portraits and in support of…
View More Rick Wakeman – Piano PortraitsGandalf – Journey to an Imaginary Land / To Another Horizon / Magic Theatre
Ouch! Make sure you have your headphones turned down, as the blastoff at the beginning of Departure, the first track on Austrian artist Gandalf’s 1980 debut album Journey to an Imaginary Land, is somewhat deafening. But it’s an ideal starting…
View More Gandalf – Journey to an Imaginary Land / To Another Horizon / Magic TheatreMarillion
The Palladium, London Tuesday, 7th November 2017 When Marillion are in this kind of mood, few bands are able to scale the heights of their sheer energy, presence and captivating virtuosity. Fresh from a triumphant evening at the Royal Albert…
View More MarillionAnouar Brahem – Blue Maqams
Whenever I would listen to Sid Smith’s Podcasts from the Yellow Room, I would imagine that a spider was creeping underneath my arm and giving me goose bumps, not just from discovering reissues, but also artists and bands both old…
View More Anouar Brahem – Blue MaqamsDrought On Mars – Autumn Leaves
Drought On Mars hail from Bridgnorth, Shropshire in the U.K. and is another excellent new band which I found on CDBaby.com. The key to this band is the melancholic, but beautiful vocals of Vicky Kempner, whose voice is mature beyond…
View More Drought On Mars – Autumn LeavesTiger Moth Tales – The Depths of Winter
Peter Jones has been making quite a name for himself in prog circles in the last few years, largely on the back of his hugely impressive live shows, both solo and in conjunction with Red Bazar, who he also joined…
View More Tiger Moth Tales – The Depths of Winter