T P A

Gasparotti – Ciullini – Stancati – Portraits

Portraits, as per its Bandcamp page, is the first in a new series from Unexplained Sounds Group, with each release creating a ‘portrait’ of three musicians by showcasing representative pieces of their recent musical journeys, and hopefully serving as an…

Sonata Arctica – Acoustic Adventures: Volume One

Sonata Arctica are well established in the classic tradition of Finnish power metal bands, but have so much more to offer than out-and-out metal thrash, and their latest album should endear them to a much broader audience, particularly of a…

A Different Aspect #75

Featured artists: Band of Rain | Marco Mattei | The Kite Experiment | Sugar Horse | Moron Police | Oxygene8 ||: As we sail further and further into 2022, a chance to check the manifest, clear the decks and pick…

Stephen Lambe with David Watkinson – Yes in the 1980s

It’s a well known truth that the history of Yes is littered with strife and controversy. In fact, it’s probably the trauma that’s actually held the band together all this time, in some weird way, binding it all up like…

Dec Burke – Life in Two Dimensions

I was – and fervently remain – a huge admirer of Dec Burke’s third studio album, Book of Secrets (released in 2016). From the outset there is a wonderful, infectious energy which drives pulsating rhythms carrying songs bristling with power,…

Hedvig Mollestad – Tempest Revisited

Hedvig Mollestsad is a well respected and very talented guitarist who hails from Norway. She fronts the Hedvig Mollestad Trio, a band that you must hear, if you haven’t done so, as it will help you understand the breadth of…

Jethro Tull – The Zealot Gene

In common with most Jethro Tull fans, I was shocked and saddened when Ian Anderson knocked the band on the head nearly 20 years ago. By all accounts, long-time guitarist Martin Barre felt exactly the same. But listening back to…

Nektar – Sounds Like Swiss

Well now, where has this little nugget been hiding for the last 49 years I wonder? I’d have thought all the half-decent Nektar live recordings must have appeared long ago, and then this turns up! A sound board recording of…

Jomo Tuun – One Tuun

One of the first albums I reviewed for TPA was Guranfoe’s debut, Sum of Erda – a wonderful and eclectic fusion of sounds that was thoroughly grounded in the ’70s yet never suffered the pitfalls so many retro prog bands…

Retreat From Moscow – The World As We Knew It

The World as we Knew it is the debut album of the rather strangely named Welsh melodic rock band Retreat from Moscow. They may be new to most people, but when someone with the ear of the excellent Robin Armstrong…