A gargantuan edition of Music Blog, many new releases obtained through the usual sources and the last session with Mike that garnered many good tidbits. At least half the below capsule reviews are from those online listening sessions.
Best of the Week
Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang - Dislocation Blues
2006 12 tracks (1:08:15)
This blues based album was sadly the last one Chris Whitley played on, but it is a treat. The superb slide guitar work, excellent acoustic guitar, and emotional blues singing by both is top notch. The recording shows every bend string, anguished voices, authoritative bass notes in full vibrancy. “Stagger Lee” tells a story with such authenticity, you can feel the steamy heat. Outstanding. A
King Buffalo - Acheron
2021 4 tracks (40:08)
Good industrial stoner rock by this Rochester, NY band. All the songs are near the ten minute mark giving them plenty of time to provide soaring guitar solos and extend themes, doing this without the songs dragging on and on. I think I added every song to my playlist group. A
Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
2023 11 tracks (32:21)
Don’t let the understated performance fool you. Right from the start with the cut “Bug Like an Angel” emotes such strong sadness, it will rip your heart out. Most songs, like “Heaven” are slow and gentle but pack a punch. She is one to keep an eye on. A
Interesting Finds
Aisles - Beyond Drama
2023 7 tracks (12:52)
This Modern six-person progressive rock band from Santiago Chile doesn’t have a lot of Latin influence, more European than anything. The music is consistently well-developed and doesn’t lean on some prog highly repeated themes. Steve Wilson would be proud of this band. Only the hit and miss of some of the songs makes this better than average rather than awesome. B
Amarok - Hero
2021 7 tracks (41:50)
Given the well-formed progressive sounds, I’d be surprised if this Polish group was trying to emanate Riverside. They are doing a damn good job of it. Pretty good throughout. A-
Meg Baird - Furling
2023 9 tracks (43:46)
Shoegaze meets folk rock with this album by Meg Baird, previous member of Espers and current member of Heron Oblivion (if they are still making music together). Meg Baird has one of those voices that is perfect for folk, not far off from Sandy Denny type vocals. While it might not be exactly playlist material, the music is relaxing, best for a quiet evening with a slight buzz on. B
Bdrmm - I Don’t Know
2023 8 tracks (41:09)
Described as a hull indie, crank wave, nu gaze bedroom pop, it offers a nice pleasant electronic rock sound with a bit of shoegaze. Fast beats, pounding bass, ghost-like voices all add a new age wave vibe. “Advertisement One” is a bit of a welcome change-up as it slowly evolves from soothing chords to a vigorous ending. “A Final Movement” was a little too dreary for my taste and lacked musicality. A mixed bag for sure. B-
Blur - The Ballad of Darren
2023 12 tracks (42:30)
Blur has been around since 1990-ish, playing new wave music britpop. This new release eight years since their last shows them in fine form. I just wish the songs were more interesting. There are a few good tunes, but a lot that are lackluster as well. C
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Future Is Your Past
2023 10 tracks (39:19)
With a band name like this, don’t expect cheery music. They play neo-psychedelic shoegaze music with a nod to the past. The “Brian Jones” part of the name is directed at the sound early Rolling Stones played which is evident in cuts like “As the Carousel Swings”. The Jonestown Massacre” part sounds more like the song “Do Rainbows Have Ends”, a song filled with hopelessness. It’s compelling almost great listening A-
The Clientele - I Am Not There Anymore
2023 19 tracks (1:03:04)
Chamber pop is an unusual category, but The Clientele could make me a fan. It’s hard to imagine a cello working in a pop group, but hearing its songs like “Fables of the Silverlink” illustrates how it works as well as keyboards or other contemporary instruments. “Stems of Anise” is a beautiful song, fun and perky without sounding maudlin. Not a bad outing. B-
Explosions in the Sky - End
2023 7 tracks (45:31)
This instrumental post-rock band from Texas has been around for about twenty odd years and has eight albums to show for it. This appears to be an album of hard reflection of how mankind is mishandling our planet's condition and the outlook is not good. Fortunately, the songs are interesting enough to carry the day. B
Fires in the Distance - Air Not Meant For Us
2023 6 tracks (49:50)
FITD is a progressive metal doom band from Connecticut. It’s an all-instrumental outing. It may be metal doom, but it does have melodic moments. It just doesn’t sound like regular listening will allow you to grow into it. C
Golden Apples - Bananasugarfire
2023 10 tracks (35:13)
Easiest way to describe the sound of the Golden Apples is retro-grunge; elements of sixties jangle rock with a dash of grunge. Sometimes the mixture works and sometimes they don’t. C
Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day
2009 7 tracks (1:02:32)
This may be a one-off project by Dutch multi-talented musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, principal organizer of Ayreon and other side projects such as the album Golden Age of Music. No great surprise, this is a solid outing, right from the start with the song “Twisted Coil”. One of the better prog rock efforts that showcases extended songs. B+
The Holy Family - Go Zero
2023 8 tracks (41:45)
Scary drone rock can be unsettling at times. Notably, the “Go Zero Suite, Pt II” gets into a compelling groove over its ten minute span. C
Karnataka - Requiem for a Dream
2023 8 tracks (1:19:45)
This is a Welsh band despite being named for a state in India - go figure. Their music is also far from India influenced, more like neo-classical symphonic prog rock. This is their first release in eight years. It is well-seasoned and easy to listen to prog rock. The group’s female singer is very good. The 25-minute title cut is a meandering basic idea, a little long to listen to outside of background music. A for effort but C for result. C
Ladytron - Time’s Arrow
2023 10 tracks (41:16)
Neo-synthpop electronica artist Ladytron hale from Liverpool. Their catchy dance oriented music is quite mesmerizing. The constant recessed vocals and keyboards is a little annoying. B-
Lazuli - 11
2023 11 tracks (54:22)
In any language, Lazuli is great. To me, they are like Gazpacho in that the purity of vocals augment a fine musical base. I crave longer versions of their work. A-
The Mommyheads - Coney Island
2023 10 tracks (45:19)
A modern pop band that formed in the mid-90’s for a couple of albums, disbanded, reformed in 2008 and have been releasing albums for the past few years like they are living on borrowed time. Maybe at the time they were the wrong band for the times, but they are making a good run now. They don’t have the polished singing of an XTC but the songs have a similar structure. Smart, interesting - pretty good stuff. B
Mandoki Soulmates - Magyar Kepek
2022 19 tracks (1:14:09)
Interesting neo-classical and jazz rock. Mandoki is a German-Hungarian musician who put together this group. The album contains studio and a few live performance cuts, all sung apparently in Hungarian. If the music was stronger, the language barrier would be okay, but at times they sound like a big band giving background to the vocals. C
Molybaron - Something Ominous
2023 10 tracks (37:37)
Another Swedish progressive metal band that must come from something in the water in Stockholm. Regardless, this has some good hard driving moments all in the form of the 3-4 minute “hit sized” tune. Maybe they aren’t all good, but mostly they get the job done. B-
The Omnific - Escapades
2021 11 tracks (50:09)
You would think a band with a core group featuring two bassists and a drummer would be pretty limiting, but they make it work. The two bassists are able to produce a progressive jazz djent sound with a little help in the use of some electronic and acoustic keyboards. It is interesting listening. B-
Orbital - Optical Delusion
2023 10 tracks (51:07)
Fun hoppy music by Orbital that plays in a rave electronica dance music style guaranteed to get your feet moving. “Moon Princess” featuring legendary Japanese electronica musician Coppe is a hoot. Really good. A-
Ozric Tentacles - Lotus Unfolding
2023 6 tracks (45:40)
Ed Wynne is still at it and he hasn’t lost a step in making infectious spacey psyche rock. It does sound derivative of earlier works, which is fine. But it seems like I’ve heard it before. Still good. B-
Parannoul - After the Magic
2023 10 tracks (59:05)
So, some mysterious Korean musician records under the name Parannoul producing a dense form of shoegaze rock. It may be sung in Korean, but it certainly sounds like Western prog music. There are some fine moments on this. B+
Pattern-Seeking Animals - Spooky Action at a Distance
2023 14 tracks (1:33:15)
If there is such a thing as “classic” progressive rock, this is it. They do it as well as anyone. This album has some live selections that are of high quality, near studio level production. Still, it could have used a little seasoning as some of the songs are half-baked. Could have been better. B-
Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void
2020 11 tracks (58:51)
Progressive metal band from El Cajon, CA, a band that would partner well with Subsignal (see below) with the tuneful pounding and good vocals. They aren’t above throwing a wrinkle in, like a flute sequence in “Pull the String”. B
Path of Ilya - Heterostasis
2023 7 tracks (49:50)
Instrumental prog rock from France has a little stoner side to it in this recent release. They are good at catching a groove and propelling it for the seven or eight minute duration many of the cuts last. B
6 Turning 4 Burning - 6t4b
2023 9 tracks (1:10:39)
The three member band from Cleveland makes classic sounding rock that would sound good on a muggy night with a beer in hand. One thing it could have done without is a nine-minute version of the ELP hit “Lucky Man”, which they could not improve or at least alter with some additional value. Outside of that, there are some nice pleasant rock ballads like “Something’s Wrong”. The 8-minute “Help Me Through This” shows another side of their repertoire. B
Soen - Memorial
2023 10 tracks (42:03)
Soen’s get-after-it progressive industrial rock is a welcome hearing by this long time Swedish group. It belongs in that rock class of Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin with the tight song arrangements, staccato bass/drum work, and anthem-like singing. B
Son Volt - Day of the Doug
2023 14 tracks (39:31)
The album celebrates the songs of Doug Sahm, a Texas musician songwriter considered a great in Tex-Mex rock, folk, and blues. Son Volt was formed by Jay Farrar after Uncle Tupelo broke up and plays alternative country and Americana music styles. A good Americana album with a mix of songs of love, blues, fun, and angst. A-
Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex
2023 10 tracks (1:04:05)
Steven Wilson snuck this new one in on us after diverting our attention to the latest Porcupine Tree and redoing of various classic rock albums. This is more spacey and temporal than even his prior individual work. A lot more electronic synth and bass/drumming with less emphasis on vocals. I think this is the better side of Wilson’s solo work. Nothing here is below average and most is very good. A-
Strawbs - Settlement
2021 9 tracks (39:01)
Hearing that the Strawbs are alive and kicking is a surprise. Equally surprising is they sound better than ever. The psychedelic folk rock sound sounds fresh despite beginning in 1964(!) and still producing after almost 60 years! The album Bursting at the Seams was my first acquaintance of them and that was released in 1973. Amazing. The lovely “Each Manner of Man” is worth the price of admission. Some don’t hit the mark but kudos for keeping it going after all these years. B-
Subsignal - La Muerta
2018 13 tracks (1:00:39)
German progressive metal rock that is more melodic than grinding. Their music would satisfy those that enjoy Chevelle or RPWL. B+
Tinariwen - Amatssou
2023 16 tracks (1:05:17)
Good music comes from all over the world, including the desert regions of Mali. Tinariwen is considered a pioneer of the desert blues while bridging folk and pop into the mix. Some of the rhythms sound traditional, but much of the music uses contemporary guitars beautifully played. Native languages are also used, so the meanings can only be conveyed by tenor and inflection. It’s amazing sounding throughout. B+
Forgettable
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