Best of the Week
Crown Lands - Fearless
2023 9 tracks (58:14)
Crown Lands may sound like their countrymates Rush, but as far as I’m concerned, they beat them by a country mile. The sounds are similar, from Cody Bowles high octave vocals to some of the rhythmic melodies with expressive guitars. Rush may rule the anthem single, but they never made an equivalent of the eighteen minute opener, “Starlifter: Fearless Pt. II”. It’s a stellar piece filled with great moments that sustains through the whole epic. After such a great start, can the remaining titles on the record hold up? Pretty much so. “Reflections” and “Lady of the Lake” are strong songs that sandwich the acoustic song “Penny”. Fuck it, it’s great. It has cool artwork too. A
Erland Dahlen - Racoons
2023 7 tracks (37:31)
You would think a percussionist putting out a solo album would be one note, filled with bombastic displays of rhythm on the backbone of weak sauce music. Not so. Dahlen creates full soundscapes filled with soaring synths, odd little burps of electronic moog sounds, natural bells, and of course, drumming (acoustic, not electronic) with high and low timbre strikes. If one was to go to a nighttime laser show, this is exactly the kind of music that would be perfect. Beautiful, lively, full of depth, every song runs chills up and down body parts. Sheer delight. A
Venus Principle - Stand in Your Light
2022 11 tracks (1:08:10)
Really good album that was chosen only after reading some of the Crippled Black Phoenix members decided to split and form this band. Strong melodies, haunting textures, great vocals all make this a fantastic first effort by this group. The two lead vocalists offer something that is seldom heard in a doom metal band - harmonies. That is the reason they are thought of as a soft metal or “gaian” doom band by just offering a hint of folk or ambient. The melodies are an important element because without good execution the album’s slower tempo and similarities would have made it somewhat ponderous. Instead, you just want more, like whatever comes up on the next album. A
Interesting Finds
Gong - Unending Ascending
2023 8 tracks (40:03)
Gong has gone through so many changes since inception it is hard to say if this is really Gong. But, who cares? This is terrific and it still seems to carry the essence of Gong. Some of the spacey tunes are weaved around guitars, electronics, and horns. The lyrics are typical of Gong’s own fantasy world which means there is no connection to reality. No song sounds like another; it can be good/great (“My Guitar is a Spaceship”, “Choose Your Goddess”) or it can be puzzling (“Ship Of Ishtar”). At this rate, Gong could go another twenty years. A-
Trevor Rabin - Rio
2023 10 tracks (55:06)
This is a strange album because of its multiple personalities in the songs, sometimes within the songs themselves. Some of it is very powerful, notably, “Oklahoma” though it starts out as a twangy country song, evolves to a somber reflective segment before becoming a symphonic mess. There is a great tune in there that is obscured by production. There are country elements throughout regardless of Rabin’s South African roots. There are moments of the Yes sound, not surprising given his recent alliance with the current Yes lineup as the main guitarist. He’s a good vocalist and the album is well produced. I get the feeling there was a better album like a Flying Colors album but just didn’t emerge. B
Astral Magic - Ad Infinitum
2023 5 tracks (39:47)
Astral Magic is led by Finnish guitarist Santtu Laasko with the help of special friends. Mainly instrumental, there are some vocals by Bridget Wishart. The flavor of rock is considered space rock, kraut rock, math rock, psychedelic rock and you-name-it rock. Four of the songs are about five minutes each with the last track running more than eighteen minutes. All of it is decent dreamy electronic music with bits of guitar and percussion thrown in. The guitar sections have that David Gilmour wail that is so appealing in this type of music. Amazing how the quality level stays given Laasko puts out an album about every two months. B
The Chronicles of Father Robin - The Songs & Tales of Airoea Book 1
2023 6 tracks (46:17)
Actually comprised of several Norwegian musicians from different groups, this musical project spans three separate releases of which this is the first. True prog rock uses influences from Yes, Jethro Tull, and Genesis to piece together musical movements within the long tracks. It is thick with ideas, most of which work to sound as elaborate as the cover art. It would have been better if some of the music maintained a theme rather than venture scatterbrained in several directions, but it is still a worthy outing. B
Plini - Mirage
2023 5 tracks (23:02)
This new EP by Australian phenom Plini has a lot of fire in its 23 short minutes. The trick of being a master guitarist is to make sure the music is more important than the technique, which this does. Along with fingering pyrotechnics, there is some strong accompanying work. The bass lines are particularly strong. This isn’t just a straight up rock album like most fret masters, there is a new age metal component that is refreshing to hear. Is he going to push Joe Satriani into retirement? No, he’s got a ways to go before he unseats the big Kahuna. But this is a fine start that has something more to offer. B+
Shylmagoghnar - Convergence
2023 10 tracks (1:06:30)
Shyl… started out as two Dutch friends making heavy metal music together, but now continue as one. As heavy and dense as it gets, it still comes across as…melodic?? The wall of guitars and pounding bass and drums don’t disguise the fact that the music swings in a beautiful manner. Unfortunately, they decide to shit on their fine work by OPENING THEIR FUCKING MOUTHS with some of the most atrocious singing (sic) using throat vocals that bypass the vocal chords. I know, I know, it’s a thing with doom metal bands and this may be the worst example of it ever. They spared four of the cuts and one cut where it’s a whisper instead of the incomprehensible gravel growl they think is singing. This could have been one of my favorite albums but just sucked the life out of half of it. B
Dance With the Dead - Driven to Madness
2022 10 tracks (39:07)
This was surprisingly good. Dance With the Dead is a duo, one plays synthesizer and the other plays electric guitars. Thus they are categorized as a synth darkwave band, a combination of electronic music with metal elements. No vocals, all instrumentals. If Chester Bennington had been around, these songs could have passed for Linkin Park. It’s a little repetitive like many EDM bands are, but the quality stands up. B
Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lions’s Skull
2008 7 tracks (53:23)
A dark moody slow tempo album by a band headed by Dylan Carlson, best known for being Kurt Cobain’s friend who gave him a shotgun used to kill himself. This is more of an album of soundscapes rather than songs by using droning guitars and pondering bass lines at extremely low tempos. Most of it is interesting and probably suited to background music. For what it is, its fine. Just don’t throw a party and use it for dance music. B-
Django Django - Off Planet
2023 21 tracks (1:19:57)
A double helping of fun danceable up tempo electronic rock but with an alternative edge that makes DD better than most bands of this type. They don’t get into a beat rut. Some of the songs sound more like songs rather than changing a few notes to the same beat. Listening to the whole album does not develop the same kind of fatigue that a !!! or EDM album will. There are numerous guest singers that add more depth as well. Still, with 21 songs, it isn’t likely they all satisfy and there are only a few standouts. I don’t mind there is some dilution in the quality with the quantity because nothing is objectionable. B+
Bleacher - Bleachers
2024 14 tracks (48:04)
It may be self-titled but it’s the fourth Bleachers album. The key element is super producer main songwriter and singer Jack Antonoff, a ten-time Grammy winner for Taylor Swift among others. Boy, does it start out a house afire. The first six songs are from good to great (great being “Modern Girl” and “I Am Right On Time”). Then it turns into pop mediocrity. As you would expect from a master record producer, the production is magnificent, but they would have benefited with better material. B-
Forgettable
Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley (poorly recorded basement rock)
