Saturday, February 26, 2022

Week of Feb. 20, 2022

Another really good week of finds. Probably spent a good 15 hours listening to this particular block of music. A tip of the cap to Prog Magazine (progmagazine.com) which is responsible for providing leads to most of this music. I feel very fortunate that I can do this and sink into enjoyable music and not being chased and hunted in my home country by a ruthless and evil maniacal leader (that goes for Putin too).

News

Russia invasion of Ukraine likely occurs

Biden implements first round of Russian sanctions

Stock market moves to lowest point since June 2021, 22% off all-time highs

Phil Mickelson steps on his dick promoting a Saudi-backed golf league

Winter Olympics in Beijing end on a whimper

Music of Note

Another Swedish prog/goth rock band with decent chops. Flavors along the lines of Breaking Benjamin and Chevelle. Worthy of a listen. A lot of tracks (27!) to navigate.

Tuneful engaging rock not too dissimilar to the Norwegian band’s countrymen A-Ha, but without the pop cuteness. The atmospheric arrangements and droning vocals follow a formula long used by Radiohead.

Similar to prog rock fave Spock’s Beard, the harmonized vocals of female vocalist Lee Douglas with brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh is a nice feature. Solid writing and arranged with impact.. Tasty.

Interesting Music

Accessible rock with pleasant arrangements, vocals. Understated musicianship, sort of like Grateful Dead without the long jams.

Soft Machine redux? Has that same syrupy dreamlike character and Hammond era keyboards. The song “Chemical Boogie” shows off some of their best attributes.

Was expecting a letdown after “Art Angels” because it represented a step up in using real instruments over electronic equivalents, but these are simpler and cleaner.

If Ozric Tentacles had a younger brother, this might be it. Spacy keyboards with a heavy dose of rhythmic percussion and bass lines. Music to clear the mind (or have a beer) with.

Where Grimes high pitched soprano vocals conveys a pop quality, St. Vincent, an equally capable writer and performer, gives a little more Madonna like earthiness. That said, it’s not that satisfying in the end.

Polished songwriting and production separates these masters of metal rock from the pack.

An American band trying to sound like Panic at the Disco, they make a valiant attempt.

Opeth has been compared to Porcupine Tree but I just don’t see it. More in the vein of Mastodon and similar doom metal bands, the compositions aren’t as expansive and makes use of snarling vocals I’m not a big fan of hearing. Some tracks ARE good, so I’ll continue to check some of their newer releases as this was a 2008 release.

Not So Great

No real stinkers this week. Everything had some worthy moments.

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Week of Feb 13, 2022

Whew! It's been an active week.

News

Russia threatens Ukraine invasion

Trump destroys some documents, other classified found in home in Florida

Jan 6 committee investigating false electors submitted from seven states

Text messages released showing direct communications from Fox personalities to White House

Truckers in Canada try to impede traffic in demonstration on masking

Omacron rates high, but deaths and hospitalizations are down

Super Bowl prep for LA Rams and CIN Bengals

Music of Note

Likeable beat heavy synth guitar band. Understated harmonized vocals adds to the dreamy melodies. Drumming reminiscent of P-tree. Nice long songs kept interesting by structure changes. Could be a new favorite.

Clearly, these guys are able to make engaging prog rock compositions without resorting to excess. Consistently listenable.

Crazy mix of instrumental hard diving metal rock with whimsical. Pearl Jam with teeth, including the Eddie Vedder like vocals. Fun listen.

An edgy Britany Spears or Aimee Mann electro pop, consistently infectious tunes. Very solid. Given a nod as one of the best releases in 2015, it’s easy to see why.

If Robert Plant led a rocking bar band, it would sound like this. Straight forward guitar based roots rock. Dynamite.

Interesting Music

Clearly a band wanting to break the mold of a heavy guitar metal band by using a female vocalist and switching tempos. Kind of results in a hot mess, some of which is interesting

Described as an English space rock band that’s been around since the 90’s. Can’t see it - certainly no Ozric Tentacles. Imagine if Bob Dylan led Thin White Rope would be closer..

Primarily a synth rock duo, the two produce an easy listenable set of pop tunes. Call it a better, more refined and elaborate version of Owl City. One song, “Making it Great Again”, skewers the nature of right wing media and populists in a backdrop of lush melodies and delicate vocals.

Energized pop tunes ala Blink 182. Not bad, just unspectacular

Layering keyboards like Philip Glass disguises the fact these are well-dressed pop tunes. As I listened to more of the album, I found myself adding several songs to my playlist destined to the portable player. They had a "stickiness" to them that wouldn't let go.

A lot of pre Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd with meandering simple segments and random soaring chords.

A southern American version of Mumford & Sons, with the same impactful songs and lovely voices.

The song “The Glass Man” is reminiscent of one of those epic Porcupine Tree tunes using different movements and instrumental/vocal mixes to paint a picture. Then "Cut My Throat" comes along and throws a whole different eeriness but engaging musical portrait. Not sure what you get from song to song, but it works.

Given that they started as a Pink Floyd cover band, it isn’t hard to see the influence.

What would you expect from a German metal band using song titles from various geological periods? Somewhat in the same vein as Tool, it is quite listenable.