Exposé Online banner

Latest reviews

Next Exit - One Way Ticket - 1981-82

Cover art

For some time now, I’ve been writing about the saga of Spokane’s Sweet Madness, a New Wave-ish art rock band active from 1979-81. Two compilations of their recordings have been...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 2017-09-20)

Dante Roberto - Circle

Cover art

Italian classical composer, music teacher, keyboard wizard, and progressive music lover Dante Roberto has released his debut album, The Circle. The album opens with “Dante...

 » Read more
(Posted by Henry Schneider 2017-09-20)

Forsqueak - FSK

Cover art

FSK is the debut album by the new Italian progressive jazz band Forsqueak, a quartet consisting of Bruno Pitruzzella (guitars), Sergio Schifano (baritone guitar), Luca La Russa (bass), and...

 » Read more
(Posted by Henry Schneider 2017-09-19)

Stephen Whittington - Windmill

Cover art

Australian composer Stephen Whittington’s latest release features two extended compositions performed by the Zephyr string quartet, a group based in Adelaide who also compose, improvise, and...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 2017-09-19)

Quimper - Wake up Gastone

Cover art

Hot on the heels of their last release a couple of months back, Quimper has another EP of four tracks, Wake Up Gastone. The title track opens the EP with a slow four-note-phrase to the...

 » Read more
(Posted by Henry Schneider 2017-09-18)
More reviews »

Latest features

Seeking the Dimensional Connector —
The Kalaban Interview 2017

Cover art On the upper floor of a large garage on back side of the property, equipped better than most commercial garages might be, we walk up a long stairway and open a red door with something scrawled on it. This is Randy Graves’ world class recording studio, where he and drummer Kyle Nish have been working on the latest Kalaban release, Edge of Infinity. These days it’s more of a project than a working band. If there were a need to play live, musicians would have to be hired to play the various parts, but at this point Graves and Nish are content to simply create music in the studio and record it. Tonight is a special night, they are working on a long piece of music (as yet untitled) destined to be used as the soundtrack for a motor sport racing DVD, filmed on the Bonneville salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake.  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 2017-06-22)

Enraging the Painter Next Door —
The Zero Times Everything Interview

Cover art Among the many groups that have originated with Robert Fripp’s Guitar Craft seminars, Zero Times Everything stands as an outlier. While there are guitars involved, the music is largely electronic, with programmed percussion parts, heavily processed sounds, and sampled voices. About as far from the California Guitar Trio (for example) as you can get, at least on the surface.  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 2017-05-19)

Chasing the Exhilarating Foreboding —
The Jack o' the Clock Interview

Cover art For about ten years now, Jack o' the Clock has been turning heads and ears with their singular style of music, which takes in elements of classical music, folk, and rock, combining them with a heavy dose of "It's so crazy it just might work!" Leader Damon Waitkus has assembled an ensemble who demonstrate that formal musical education does not always kill creativity, blending bass guitar and drum kit with violin, bassoon, hammer dulcimer, and countless other instruments common and obscure.  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 2017-05-09)

Accessible Complexity from Tiny Seeds —
The Human Ottoman Interview

Cover art As if we needed more proof that creative music can spring up outside the so-called cultural centers of the country, we have Human Ottoman, a trio from Portland, Oregon. Grouping together drum kit, vibraphone, and cello is unconventional enough, but they take it to another level by writing music that contains elements of jazz, rock, and electronics combined with reckless abandon and an adventurous spirit. To say they sound like no other band is not hyperbole, but simple statement of fact.  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 2017-04-14)

Craft in an Age of Disposable Culture —
Stick Men in Seattle, 2017

Cover art I suppose there are many contenders for the title of Hardest Working Band, but luckily that’s not a real contest, and certainly hard work alone is no gauge of worthiness. Since Stick Men got started as a development of Tony Levin’s Stick Man album ten years ago, the band has kept the new material coming, with studio and live releases getting into double digits (depending on how you count multiple versions of some of the live albums).  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 2017-02-10)
More features »

Listen & discover

Jenny Scheinman sings "Run Run Run"

More recommendations
ProgStock 2017

Print issues

Latest news

2017-09-06
Holger Czukay RIP – Holger Czukay, a musical experimentalist without boundaries who has been involved with expanding the sound palette of rock music since the late 60s, has died at the age of 79. After studying with Karlheinz Stockhausen in the early 60s, he became fascinated with the possibilities of rock music, and was a co-founder of the pioneering group Can. He leaves behind an impressive body of work both as musician and producer. » Read more

2017-08-22
John Abercrombie RIP – Another of the greats of jazz guitar has left us. John Abercrombie plied his way through a beautiful series of albums on the ECM label as well as bringing his talent to bear on albums by many of jazz's greatest artists. From his early work in the group Dreams to Gateway and outstanding work with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Wheeler, and many more to his own trios and quartets, he brought a unique instrumental voice to the world. » Read more

2017-07-27
Yestival Dates Beef up the Beat – Word reaches us that Dylan Howe (son of guitarist Steve Howe) will be joining Yes on their "Yestival" tour, drumming alongside longtime band member Alan White. » Read more

2017-05-19
First ProgStock Festival Set for October – October 2017 will see the inaugural edition of a festival called ProgStock in Rahway, New Jersey at the Union County Performing Arts Center. With a definite slant towards neo-progressive music, the event is sure to please many fans with the inclusion of such artists as Echolyn, Glass Hammer, and Aisles. The festival will take place October 13-15. » Read more

2017-05-05
Clive Brooks RIP – Word reaches us today of another sad passing in the music world. Drummer Clive Brooks, best known as a member of such Canterbury bands as Egg, Uriel / Arzachel, and Groundhogs, has died at the age of 67. Details are sketchy at this point. The news was reported on Nick Mason's Facebook page — Brooks was Mason's drum tech. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Atavism of Twilight - Atavism of Twilight – [reviewing advance cassette - ed.]Known best for opening at Djam Karet's most recent show, this is yet another band from the Los Angeles area making progressive music. An instrumental five piece...  (1994) » Read more

MK II - Burning Daylight – Remember the long protracted intro to "Shine on You Crazy Diamond"? That's a fair enough reference point for the first track on this British trio's debut. Other reference points for this album might...  (1994) » Read more

Doubt - Never Pet a Burning Dog – Keyboardist Alex Maguire's new trio, flavored with the occasional Canterbury tinge, is a testament to the durability of that jazz-rock essence on European musicians. Maguire's insane fuzzy electric...  (2010) » Read more

Kava Kava - You Can Live Here – Blasting off with "Headset," a big bluesy rock song with brass trimmings, one might be reminded of Colosseum or other great British bands of the early 70s. Each track that follows reinforces...  (1995) » Read more

Xinema - Basic Communication – Xinema is a three-piece group from Sweden; the members originally played in a band called Madrigal in the mid-80s (not to be confused with the current band of the same name). Basic Communication, the...  (2008) » Read more

Random review