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Furio Chirico’s The Trip – Equinox

Look up any list of “best drummers of all time” and there’s always a glaring omission: Furio Chirico. Never heard of him? Listen to this: What Chirico lacks in subtlety, he makes up for in pure speed and dexterity. Elsewhere…

Gordon Giltrap & Paul Ward – Scattered Chapters

Released in 2017, The Last of England was very special, the opening six pieces taking us through an enchanting pastoral landscape, capturing the romanticism of Vaughan Williams, Field and Elgar, with lush arrangements that both soothed and absorbed. The remaining…

Mike + The Mechanics

The Arena, Swansea Thursday, 11th May 2023 My regular meat-and-potatoes gigs are generally more angular than this, but when your better-half only owns four CDs, and one of them is by Mike + The Mechanics, and it’s her birthday, and…

Random Earth Project – Airwaves

Random Earth Project (REP) are a four-piece, formed in January 2022. The band are a group of experienced musicians who seem driven to taking this opportunity to create themselves a space in the re-vitalised neo-prog scene. Having spent time in…

Plank – Future of the Sea

For their first new music in a number of years, Plank have taken their inspiration from the plight of the planet’s oceans, a subject that every one of us should be concerned about. In a sharp and concise 36 or…

Jo Quail / Dead Space Chamber Music

The Gryphon, Bristol Tuesday, 9th May 2023 Embedded in the wedgiest end of an upstairs room at the cheese-like Gryphon in Bristol, a performance area can be found. The ‘stage’ is about 10ft at its widest, tapering to around half…

Davey Dodds & Friends – Cask Strength

Not that many will need reminding, but during 2021 the planet was gripped by an ongoing pandemic. Like so many others, this robbed Davey Dodds and friends the opportunity to promote their music, although if there was a silver lining…

Empyre – Relentless

In this streaming self-promotional world, many doubt the role of record labels in the modern music industry, but when it comes to curation and band selection they do still play a part especially the smaller niche labels. Like InsideOut or…

Yes – Mirror to the Sky

Creating new Yes music over the last decade has been extraordinarily challenging. The band has had to re-group under the most tragic of circumstances, twice, incorporating new members who have had to get fully engaged with learning the back catalogue…

Mystery – Redemption

Canadian melodic and symphonic progressive rock band Mystery will release their eighth studio album, Redemption, on 15th May. It has been five years since their last album, the highly-acclaimed Lies and Butterflies, and whilst the live releases Live in Poznan…