March 2019 – T P A

t – Solipsystemology

Endings are nearly always beginnings. The thought is worth bearing in mind as you approach Solipsystemology, the seventh studio album from the provocative and challenging Thomas Thielen or ‘t’ as the German multi-instrumentalist is otherwise known. Certainly it is not…

Ed Wynne – Shimmer Into Nature

The late sculptor, David Wynne, designed the interlocking hands that appeared on the British 50 pence piece in 1973. It commemorated the U.K.’s entry into Europe and it was an optimistic and forward looking time for the population. This was…

Haken / Bent Knee

Islington Assembly Hall, London Saturday, 16th March 2019 Bent Knee As Bent Knee take to the stage for the final night of their European tour supporting Haken, they are greeted by a healthy crowd curious to find out what this…

Wills Dissolve – The Heavens Are Not On Fire

Texas-based progressive metal band Wills Dissolve’s debut album, The Heavens are Not on Fire, is an Opethian meditation on misanthropy and religion told through the lens of a rural West Texas religious community’s reaction to the Leonid meteor storm of…

Dream Theater – Distance Over Time

Let me start by quoting the last couple of sentences from my review of 2016’s The Astonishing: “While it’s definitely the band’s most solid and consistent work for a long time, one wonders if this album is indicative of future…

P.F.M. (Premiata Forneria Marconi)

U.L.U., London Saturday, 2nd March 2019 Italian Progressive Rock legends P.F.M. recently played to a sold out and very enthusiastic crowd at the U.L.U. in London. I have to confess to only being recently more fully aware of P.F.M., having…

Alan Emslie – Obnubilate

‘Obnubilate’: “darken or cover with or as if with a cloud; obscure” – according to the Oxford Dictionary, and just in case you were curious. Mmmm… Obscured By Clouds now there’s a thought, and although I’ve been listening to Alan…

Alan Emslie

In 2018 multi-instrumentalist, drummer, orchestral percussionist, session musician and composer Alan Emslie released his first solo album in thirteen years. Not a man who likes to hog the limelight, but one who prefers to let his music do the talking.…

Cheeto’s Magazine – Amazingous

This is the sort of upbeat, preppy music that I have to be in the right mood for these days, and right now as our stupid little rock whizzes round the plug hole in ever decreasing circles in a vortex…

Tim Bowness – Flowers At The Scene

I’m not going to lie, I have been a massive fan of Tim’s work since a kind friend gave me a copy of Flowermouth by No-Man back in the dim and distant ’90s, and his recent run of solo albums…