September 2020

Pencarrow – Growth In The Absence Of Light

Wow! Talk about growth! I enjoyed Pencarrow’s debut four years ago, but I wouldn’t say I raved about it. It was a solid album, with a lot going for it, and I don’t think I ever read a negative review…

Toundra – Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari

Formed in Madrid in 2007, Toundra’s latest, an alternative soundtrack to the legendary silent movie The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, is their sixth release and it came out in February this year, a 100 years after Robert Wiene’s seminal German…

Back Street Crawler – Atlantic Years 1975-1976

Paul Kossoff is mostly known for his guitar work with Free, but his solo output is often missed out, unfortunately cut short due to his untimely death. For me, his guitar work was most distinctive, he felt it was not…

Pie Are Squared – Con Calma

Con Calma, Mohammed Asraf’s second release of the year in his guise as Pie Are Squared, is well named. A calm sense of detachment and escapism pervades the serene and contemplative sounds of this album. It’s an album to lose…

Camel – Live At The Royal Albert Hall

Finally, it’s been a long time coming: the new live Blu-Ray/DVD/double audio CD from Camel saw the light of day earlier this year. Being present on the night, I noticed the presence of an extensive crew of cameramen to record…

Stirrup+6 – The Avondale Addition

A squeak, a muffled belch, some scrapings and scrabblings on strings, more guttural grunts, and gradually, very slowly, we ease into something that sounds like ensemble coherence, a tune even! The instruments begin to play a wonky march, at first…

Steve Hackett – Selling England By the Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live at Hammersmith

For the last decade or so, Steve Hackett has been making a very nice living, thank you very much, by dusting off old Genesis classics in front of appreciative audiences across the world. And why not? He had a hand…

Rebecca Foon – Waxing Moon

Rebecca Foon is a new name to me, however this Canadian cellist has had a long career as a solo and band performer in her homeland. She has been rightly acclaimed over the last decade or so, and yet this,…

Deep Energy Orchestra – The Return

One of the outstanding releases from 2018 was Deep Energy Orchestra’s Playing With Fire, so with the announcement earlier this year of the follow-up, the succinctly titled The Return, anticipation was high. For those who purchased DEO’s debut album, I…

Hedvig Mollestad – Ekhidna

Commissioned to write the signature work for the 2018 Vossajazz – Norway’s long-running and well respected annual jazzfest, held in the eponymous city – Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen took the opportunity to expand her established trio format to a six-piece, encompassing…

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Month: September 2020