This was the week of Covid. It finally got me. Oddly, the start of the week and the beginning of the illness felt like a chest cold. It hit pretty hard. On Monday, I tested and the test was negative. By Thursday, things were improving except that I couldn't taste anything. Uh oh. Sure enough, the test came back positive.
Of course that means isolating - not only from the public but also the rest of the family. Plus, food is no longer pleasurable. What to do? Watch TV, read, and listen to lots of music.
On the good side, this is probably the best group of new music I've had in a while. Really good stuff.
Best of the Week
Frost* - Day and Age
2021 17 tracks (1:51:12)
Outstanding sophisticated prog rock from this supergroup of art prog rock artists. This deluxe edition includes instrumentals of the original set which isn’t necessary. But, what a set. It’s vibrant dynamic stuff that puts them in the forefront with other great bands like Flying Colors, Dream Theater, and Spock’s Beard. It starts with the eleven minute masterpiece “Day and Age” and doesn’t let up. This group could easily become my newest obsession. A+
Suns of the Tundra - The Only Equation
2023 9 tracks (55:24)
A new artist with a great debut. First impressions reminded me of Placebo (particularly the singing), but with a little more thrust and power. Highlights include “Run Boy Run”, “The World is Wide”, and “The Rot”. Terrific. A-
Egor Lappo - Abandoned Corners
2023 10 tracks (40:40)
Several of these tasty tracks have an XTC feel about it, not something you would expect from a St. Petersburg (Russia) artist. Songs often had enjoyable hooks without sounding cheesy. The notable emphasis on electronic keyboards gives it an 80’s feel. Songs are great. What a surprise. A-
Interesting Finds
Unifaun - Unifaun
2008 12 tracks (1:15:55)
This Norwegian band has an incredible knack of sounding like classic Genesis work during the Gabriel and Hackett period while singing like Phil Collins. Of course, copying a band’s style only works if it is well done; this is well done! It’s all here, the fabulous intense bass lines that Rutherford played, quick theme changes but always returning to the core riff, occasional non-sequitur element, and bouncy playful interludes. The songs are nearly (not quite) Genesis quality, all very listenable. I know I’m going to play one of these songs down the road and think, “which Genesis album is this from…oh, wait, it isn’t.” A commendable achievement! B+
Roger Waters - The Lockdown Sessions
2022 6 tracks (39:32)
Beautifully understated reissues of songs from The Wall and The Final Cut are captivating. Waters still sings some of the songs despite his advanced age, but he fortunately has help with a couple of background singers. For the most part, it’s their voices, a gentle strumming of acoustic guitar, a few keyboards and simple drumming, all done to a heartfelt and effective level. They all improve on the originals, especially “Comfortably Numb”, the hit from “The Wall”. I would have never expected this. B+
AVKRVST - The Approbation
2023 7 tracks (48:47)
I love adventurous prog rock and this has it all. Starting with a quick intro, the next four cuts are regular length songs followed by two songs totaling 24 minutes. The last two cuts allows them to stretch out their ideas with long involved segments. This borders on the edge of prog metal and only resorts to vocal growls for brief stints, thankfully. It’s still solid. B
Anchor and Burden - Kosmonautik Pilgrimage
2023 9 tracks (1:04:25)
Listening to “Self Assembly” and “Royal Augmentation” evoked a very King Crimson like feel with its heavy use of a thin melody line punctuated by abrupt guitar threads, complicated Bruford style rhythms and energized climaxes. KC was a master at creating songs with an abstract idea to the point one asked, is this music or noise? Anchor and Burden has the same feel. Not all of it works; “Crown Hive” is highly dissonant sounding like a lot of random noise. Still, more to like than not like, bonus points for making some really involved stuff. B+
Forgettable
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