Bob Mulvey

Esthema – IV

Not entirely sure how Esthema’s third album, Long Goodbye, arrived at TPA HQ back in 2014, but I’m certainly glad it did. From the opening bars I was intrigued and then very quickly hooked, as their subtle blend of intricately…

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.…

The John Irvine Band – Metaphysical Attractions

One of the earliest album reviews to appear on TPA was the second release from Edinburgh based The John Irvine Band, their name derived from the man behind the project – composer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, yep you guessed it, John…

Deep Energy Orchestra – Playing With Fire

A truly absorbing display of empathic creativity, with all eight musicians truly on fire, who collectively have produced a deeply engrossing hour’s worth of compelling and fascinating music. Eclectic compositions combining World and cultural Indian music, jazz, classical and progressive…

Plini – Sunhead [EP]

Djent, nu-prog, math-rock, along with numerous equally bafflingly titled genres and sub-genres, denoting the heavier, more extreme end of the musical spectrum, seems to be an inexhaustible resource. Viewed from afar and admiring the complex polymetric time signatures that defy…