Another band following in the currently popular minimalist jazz fusion tradition, the Swiss group AKKU Quintet make music that is at one and the same time glacial and precise, yet human and emotional. The plaintive conversation between piano and guitar…
View More AKKU Quintet – Aeon
When it was announced that Swedish progressive music pioneers Isildurs Bane and Steve Hogarth, Marillion’s vocalist, had come together for a musical collaboration my interest was notched up quite a bit. Isildurs Bane have been around in progressive music circle…
View More Isildurs Bane & Steve Hogarth – Colours Not Found in Nature
Nooumena, with their odd name derived from Greek philosophy, hail from Caen in France and Controlled Freaks is their second album, the first, Argument With Eagerness, came out in 2011. They have close connections to fellow Caen avant-prog band Rhùn…
View More Nooumena – Controlled Freaks
This second album from Naryan, a self-described “Melancholic” seven-piece from Finland, is a strange listen. The use of multi-instrumentalists with violin, flute and orchestration makes for a varied and powerful large-scale sound, and they obviously go for emotions and feeling…
View More Naryan – Black Letters
Following on from the pleasant discovery, late last year, of the rather intriguing Cubic album from LITE, I noted that regular touring partners were fellow countrymen and Tokyo based trio, Mouse on the Keys. At the time I remember checking…
View More Mouse on the Keys – Out of Body [EP]
Cast are a powerful band from Mexico who are well known throughout Latin America and the World, recognized and reviewed on progressive outlets in North America and Europe for many years. They are prolific with 20 albums released over 30…
View More Cast – Power and Outcome
Way back in 2010, one of MoonJune Records’ many Indonesian guitarist discoveries gave us his band Ethnomission’s first glorious outing Save The Planet. Released on 1st January 2017 comes this second offering from Ethnomission HQ, the superbly exploratory Mata Hati.…
View More Tohpati Ethnomission – Mata Hati
I loved Encircled’s first album, The Gun Has Replaced the Handshake, but opined that it would be far better with drums, so now we get album two, The Monkey Jamboree, and it HAS drums. On first listen, it crosses over…
View More Encircled – The Monkey Jamboree
The Hadron Big Bangers (T.H.B.B.) come from Newtown, Connecticut, and consist of full-time members Robert Are and Martin Ear. They state that their influences include Dali, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, The Legendary Pink Dots and Captain Beefheart. Intrigued…
View More The Hadron Big Bangers – flAsh
As a reviewer, I try to wield the Sword of Truth while wearing the Trousers of Objectivity. No fawning and grovelling from me – fearless, searing honesty is my only approach. Publish and be damned is my philosophy. Just because…
View More Big Big Train – Grimspound