Released as part of this alternative rock band and musical institution’s 50th anniversary, Universal/Virgin send us this large box of enticing shiny things from Planet Gong, approaching us in a descending orbit around our burning planet. It’s landed over there…
View More Gong – Love From Planet Gong: The Virgin Years 1973 -1975Month: September 2019
Caravan – The Decca/Deram Years: 1970 – 1975
Caravan are a legendary Prog band from Canterbury whose elegant and whimsically lyrical music has captivated many listeners over the years. They released a stunning selection of albums of consistently high quality in the mid-1970s and are still around today…
View More Caravan – The Decca/Deram Years: 1970 – 1975Lunatic Soul – Under The Fragmented Sky
Under the Fragmented Sky was a rather unexpected release in 2018 from Lunatic Soul. In late 2018 there was understandably a lot of focus upon Riverside’s new album Wasteland, but earlier in the year there was this rather less lauded…
View More Lunatic Soul – Under The Fragmented SkyNova Cascade – A Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
It’s been just over a year since I reviewed Nova Cascade’s debut album Above All Else and the band, spearheaded very much by Dave Hilborne, have gone from strength to strength with very positive reviews, so it was with great…
View More Nova Cascade – A Dictionary of Obscure SorrowsThe Kentish Spires – Sprezzatura
The follow up to last year’s The Last Harvest see’s this Canterbury scene inspired band gain a couple of new members (drummer James Hall and woodwind player Chris Egan). It was recorded over a 40 day period, where the band…
View More The Kentish Spires – SprezzaturaToto – 40 Tours Around The Sun
Toto is a band that divides music fans into two camps, pro or con, and there is no middle ground. You either condemn the group for its silky smooth productions, catchy tunes and (too) high hit content, or you embrace…
View More Toto – 40 Tours Around The SunIQ
Islington Assembly Hall, London Saturday 7th September Resistance Album Launch Event The launch of a new IQ studio album is a special event – they only happen about every 4 or 5 years, so it’s understandable that there was a…
View More IQJustin Hayward
Symphony Hall, Birmingham Tuesday 10th September 2019 When Justin Hayward plays Birmingham it inevitably feels like a home-coming. Even though he was born in Swindon (“that place that everyone passes on the M4”, he laughs), Birmingham is the home town…
View More Justin HaywardTool – Fear Inoculum
Ah, the joys of writing about a band with no preconceptions. You may think it strange, but until I listened to this album I don’t think I’ve knowingly heard anything by Tool. This band are evidently HUGE on the prog…
View More Tool – Fear InoculumKing Of Agogik – After The Last Stroke
After the Last Stroke is the seventh album by German multi-instrumentalist Hans Jörg Schmitz, who releases solo albums under the curious soubriquet ‘King of Agogik’. This name came from a humourous exchange experienced by Schmitz when he was playing with…
View More King Of Agogik – After The Last Stroke