Exposé Online » Reviews of releases for 2004

Phenomena - Still the Night

You know how in some Hollywood movies, when they need a rock song for a scene, you’ll hear some very generic music that sounds vaguely like one of those 80s pop-metal bands, like the music...

Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - Illusion Suite, Sketches, Exit & Ko Ko Ko Ke

Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii is one busy lady – she appears on three of these four releases. Illusion Suite finds her in the standard piano trio setting, though the result is...

Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - Illusion Suite, Sketches, Exit & Ko Ko Ko Ke

Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii is one busy lady – she appears on three of these four releases. Illusion Suite finds her in the standard piano trio setting, though the result is...

Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - Illusion Suite, Sketches, Exit & Ko Ko Ko Ke

Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii is one busy lady – she appears on three of these four releases. Illusion Suite finds her in the standard piano trio setting, though the result is...

Qoph - Pyrola

It’s been entirely too long since this Swedish band’s 1998 debut. Since that time, the band has formed their own label and started singing in English. Their basic sound is intact,...

Disen Gage - The Screw-Loose Entertainment & Libertage

Next to Vespero, my favorite Russian band is Disen Gage. To date we have covered their 2016 to 2019 releases. Now I have the opportunity to focus on their formative years (2002 - 2006) by reviewing...

Ahleuchatistas - On the Culture Industry & The Same and the Other

Of all the genre labels ever devised, math rock has to be one of the most annoying. It’s an insult both to rock and to math, and seems to me borne of two mistaken beliefs. First, that math is...

Autumn's Grey Solace - Over the Ocean

In this Florida duo, Erin Welton covers vocal and keyboard duties, Scott Ferrell covers everything else, and they both have a hand in composing the tunes. This is by far the prettiest music I have...

Ars Nova - Ars Nova

If you name your band “Ars Nova” you have to be: a) Serious Artists; b) Sarcastic reactionaries; c) Into psychedelic drugs; or d) Japanese. It’s Latin, for goodness sake, and...

Various Artists - Psychedelic Underground 8 - 10

One of the fundamental limitations of mining and other industries that rely upon non-renewable resources is that those resources will eventually run out. You would think the same rule would apply...

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Of Natural History

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's entire character is represented well by the opening track "A Hymn to the Morning Star." The song opens ominously with a growling dog then transforms into...

Trettioåriga Kriget ‎– Krigssång

With their second album, a year after their outstanding debut, Trettioåriga Kriget put out another classic in Krigssång. Musically, it picks up right where the previous record...

Trettioåriga Kriget - Trettioåriga Kriget

With the explosion of quality music coming out of Sweden, Norway, and Finland over the last few years, it’s worthwhile to look back and remind ourselves that excellent rock from Scandinavia...

Tim Burness - Finding New Ways to Love

Tim Burness is an English neo-progressive composer who has existed under the threshold of most music consumers’ radar. The childlike toy count into the first piece, “Open Man,” is...

Djam Karet - No Commercial Potential... and Still Getting the Ladies

In some respects, Djam Karet can be viewed as a band with a split personality. Sometimes they are a tightly rehearsed unit performing composed music; sometimes they are purveyors of ambient...

Soft Machine - Live in Paris May 2nd, 1972 (aka Live in France)

[This was written about the original One Way edition. - ed.]

Wow! Another newly found live recording which was previously available only in bootleg format? Unfortunately, the disc...

Popol Vuh - Shepherd's Symphony

Those of us who grew up listening to Popol Vuh in the 70s recall a sound that was at times haunting and other times shimmering and uplifting. Regardless of the album, Popol Vuh created atmospheres...

Jan Akkerman - 10,000 Clowns on a Rainy Day

Word is out that Thijs Van Leer has reformed golden age prog band Focus with a flashy new lead guitarist. Clearly, where would Focus be without original shredmeister Jan Akkerman, who earned 70s AM...

Ahvak - Ahvak

Sometime during recording of 5uu’s Abandonship, it became apparent to drummer Dave Kerman that he could no longer reside in the US and properly incorporate his unique set of musical...

Ahvak - Ahvak

Ahvak is an Israeli six-piece featuring a mix of newcomers and veterans of the progressive music scene. The two chief composers are Roy Yarkoni and Udi Susser, who both play keyboards (Susser...

Ahvak - Ahvak

Dave Kerman said he was playing with a cool band over in Israel, and they were about to release their first album… but I sure wasn’t prepared for something of this caliber. Ahvak, a...

Richard Leo Johnson Trio - Poetry of Appliance

Although the American guitarist has a couple previous releases, this is his first in a trio configuration, in this case with violinist Ricardo Ochoa (who also contributes theremin to some of the...

Deborah Martin / Cheryl Gallagher - Tibet

In 1999, composers Martin and Gallagher took a trip to the “land above the clouds” — so inspired they were by the experience that they composed an entire album which attempts to...

Koenjihyakkei - Hundred Sights of Koenji

The latest entry from the ever-growing Japanese zeuhl scene is Koenji Hyakkei, a four piece of guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, with male and female voice. Their sound lies firmly along the...

Popol Vuh - Einsjäger & Siebenjäger

Popol Vuh was one of the great spiritually-minded groups of the 70s, producing a great run of albums that started with a couple of early "big Moog" electronic albums before leader Florian...

Various Artists - Progression in Balance Vol. 1 & 2

Quebec’s Unicorn Records, founded in 1996, has been serving primarily as an outlet for Canadian prog-rock bands, though the roster has grown to include groups such as America’s Parallel...

Anthony Phillips - Missing Links Volume 4: Pathways & Promenades

Subtitled Missing Links Volume IV, this is the latest in that series, which I suppose supersedes the Private Parts and Pieces series. Similarly, though, this is a collection of...

Green Milk from the Planet Orange - He's Crying "Look" & City Calls Revolution

This Japanese trio really does seem to hail from another planet. While there are echoes of psychedelic German jams from the 70s and alternative noise acts of the 80s, the mixture is thoroughly...

The Muffins - Double Negative

I suppose any time a band that has been around as long as the Muffins puts out a new album, there’s going to be some disagreement among fans about its merits. Whether they changed too much or...

Strawbs - Live at NEARfest & Hugh's Room

Strawbs line-ups have undergone quite a few changes in recent years. Having never seen Brian Willoughby, I was happy to view his guitar stylings since they are substantially different from Dave...

Strawbs - Déjà Fou

Ghosts was the first Strawbs record I ever heard, and I seem to remember liking it immensely from the first play; the band quickly became one of my favorites, a position they’ve held...

Hardscore - Monkey Trial

This is one of the more bizarre and intriguing things I’ve heard in quite a while. It’s set up as a kind of audio movie with a story about a woman who can talk to animals who has taken...

Magma - K.A.

If the Theus Haamtahk Trilogie was Magma's live return to form, than surely K.A. was the group's return to form in the studio. The music from K.A. was all written...

Bruford - One of a Kind

After UK’s rookie tour of the US, Eddie Jobson and John Wetton fired Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth, thus removing the pervasive jazz element from their soon-to-be transitory super group....

Soft Bounds - Live at Triton 2004

Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper have been involved in so many projects together all it takes is for an alternate rhythm section to assemble under the two musical compatriots and a new project is born....

East of Eden - Mercator Projected

East of Eden's debut is one of the great late-60s albums, following on the way the Beatles started occasionally fusing their music with the sounds of other cultures. However, where the Beatles...

Richard Franecki & Hadley Kahn - eemn

When guitarist / synthesist Richard Franecki (F/i & Vocokesh) and drummer Hadley Kahn (

Escapade - So You Know

For those just tuning in now, Escapade was a New York based free-psych improvisational heavy stoner rock band that operated from the mid-90s until around 2006, with a rotating cast of musicians...

Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Random Acts of Happiness

It has been said that jazz is all about Swing. I’ll go along with that — as long as I get to define Swing my own way. Swing is more than just a particular rhythmic feel; Swing, to me,...

Atoll - Musiciens - Magiciens

When I think back to when I started to get into European progressive music, it was not just the music that caught my ear, but a lot of the artwork, and I've always really liked Musiciens -...

Nuova Idea - In the Beginning

Nuova Idea are probably best known for being part of Italy's largest family tree, including the New Trolls and Osanna. Nuova Idea's Ricky Belloni (on Clowns) joined the New Trolls...

Barry Cleveland - Volcano

For this outing, San Francisco Bay Area guitarist Barry Cleveland has enlisted a troop of comrades in his effort to bridge the gulf between western musical idioms and those beyond these shores....

Marvin Ayres - Cellosphere

Marvin Ayres is a string player (cello and violin here) who specializes in using electrified instruments to build ambient clouds of sound (see

Marvin Ayres / Pete Gomes - Neptune & Sensory

Marvin Ayres has a different approach to ambient music, using electric violin, viola, and cello instead of keyboards (with the exception of a bit of organ on one track). I suppose it’s a bit...

Marvin Ayres / Pete Gomes - Neptune & Sensory

Marvin Ayres has a different approach to ambient music, using electric violin, viola, and cello instead of keyboards (with the exception of a bit of organ on one track). I suppose it’s a bit...

Stella Vander - Le Coeur Allant Vers

Stella Zelcer established herself as an artist with an uncompromising independent streak long before the close of the 60s, when she was known simply as “Stella.” Despite having a keen...

The Collectors - The Collectors & Grass and Wild Strawberries

The Collectors hailed from Vancouver, Canada, not exactly a hotbed of the worldwide psychedelic scene, which maybe helps explain why they didn’t make a bigger impact. Their two albums, though...

The Collectors - The Collectors & Grass and Wild Strawberries

The Collectors hailed from Vancouver, Canada, not exactly a hotbed of the worldwide psychedelic scene, which maybe helps explain why they didn’t make a bigger impact. Their two albums, though...

Nektar - Remember the Future

For me, Remember the Future has always been the Nektar album. It was the first one I heard, and the others have seemed like variations on its format (disregarding the later...

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Early reissues

Here we have the long-awaited reissue of Marc Bolan’s earliest recordings, back when Tyrannosaurus was spelled out in full and electric guitars were unusual coloring rather than the...

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Early reissues

Here we have the long-awaited reissue of Marc Bolan’s earliest recordings, back when Tyrannosaurus was spelled out in full and electric guitars were unusual coloring rather than the...

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Early reissues

Here we have the long-awaited reissue of Marc Bolan’s earliest recordings, back when Tyrannosaurus was spelled out in full and electric guitars were unusual coloring rather than the...

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Early reissues

Here we have the long-awaited reissue of Marc Bolan’s earliest recordings, back when Tyrannosaurus was spelled out in full and electric guitars were unusual coloring rather than the...

Gong Matrices - Gilli Smyth - Parade

For many of us who attended the IPMF in San Francisco in 1999, the long wait in the lobby while Porcupine Tree had ‘technical difficulties’ was rewarded with the unique spectacle of...

Kit Watkins - Flying Petals

Haven’t heard much from Kit since Rolling Curve and three related ambient releases in 2001. Flying Petals is one of four new releases for 2004 (this, plus two new ambient...

Joe Jackson Band - Afterlife

This is not Joe Jackson’s first live album. There was Live 1980/86 and Summer in the City (2000) and (for the really dedicated fans) Joe Jackson Live (aka Two...

Jukka Tolonen - The Hook & Hysterica

Tolonen is a Finnish guitarist who spent the early 70s toiling with the progressive band Tasavallan Presidenti. After leaving that band, he put out a series of obscure but very worthwhile solo...

Jukka Tolonen - The Hook & Hysterica

Tolonen is a Finnish guitarist who spent the early 70s toiling with the progressive band Tasavallan Presidenti. After leaving that band, he put out a series of obscure but very worthwhile solo...

Guru Guru - Seven Reissues

Guru Guru is one of the better known Krautrock bands from the 70s. In Spring 1973 they released their fourth album Guru Guru, engineered by the legendary Conny Plank, featuring drummer...

Ut Gret - Time of the Grets

Here is a group that, like The Rascal Reporters, consists of two musicians who between them play about a billion instruments. Musically however we are talking about an entirely different ball game....

Buyi - Buyi, Namejiu & Endless Wine

Sometimes I think that every tradition of folk music must at some point have its own Fairport Convention. Of course it’s an oversimplification, but in broad terms we can say that FC melded...

Opeth - Lamentations - Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003

This concert focuses mostly on Opeth’s “mellow” album Damnation. For the first set, it is performed in its entirety in order (with one other song interpolated). Then they...

Colosseum - Valentyne Suite

Like so many British bands of the 60s, Colosseum suffered from label meddling when it came to the release of their albums across the Atlantic. Their first album, Those Who Are About to Die...

Renaissant - South of Winter

Here’s another branch of the Renaissance tree, this one under the stewardship of longtime drummer Terrence Sullivan, along with what appears to be numerous Sullivan family members (Lee,...

Pattern Is Movement - The (Im)Possibility of Longing & Stowaway

In spite of their obvious resemblance to progressive rock, this Philadelphia band has gone the “math rock” route, and are apparently getting away with it. More power to them –...

Kings of Convenience - Quiet Is the New Loud, Versus & Riot on an Empty Street

This is one of those belated discoveries, where a copy of this Norwegian duo’s latest came into my possession, and then I attempted to work my way backward to their self-titled (and...

KTU - 8 Armed Monkey

I don’t suppose “King Crimson with accordions” was high on anyone’s list of expected musical combinations, but here we are, and I’m glad somebody thought of it. The...

Xhol Caravan - Talking to My Soul

On the heels of releasing Electrip in the summer of 1969, the public TV station SWF offered to produce a show dedicated to Xhol Caravan, an offer they couldn’t refuse. So in 1970 SWF...

Matraz - Tiempo

By now I guess it’s safe to say more people know Matraz from their second album (Gritaré, reviewed...

Matraz - Gritaré

I’m a big fan of many female vocalists, with Tori Amos, Björk, Kate Bush, Jane Siberry, and others high on my all-time favorite artist list. It’s always been a disappointment to me...

Gogglesphere & Lafcadio - Babies in Hell & Sham Duvet

One might ask why these two discs are being addressed in the same review; it’s because both Gogglesphere and Lafcadio are essentially the same band – or that is to say they have the...

Espers - Espers, The Weed Tree & Espers II

Beautiful music delving into mantric excesses in protracted light is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Percolating effluvial melodies encroach upon sensibilities of newfound mellifluousness setting...

D.S. Lionfire - Jerusalem: A Symphonic Saga - Part I: The Mask of Love

Jerusalem: A Symphonic Saga is a collosal undertaking of a fellow who calls himself D.S. Lionfire. He calls this creation of his an opera, the first part twenty years in the making, and...

Tessa Drummond - Days Like This

One of the great things about writing reviews for this magazine is that unexpected things drop in your lap. Case in point, Tessa Drummond. She’s a singer-songwriter from New Zealand who...

Kaos Moon - Circle of Madness

A full ten years after their debut, After the Storm, Quebec’s Kaos Moon is back. Some things have changed, namely the roster that now revolves around keyboardist / drummer / vocalist...

Kansas - Kansas & Song for America

The first two Kansas albums contain some of the group's best material and show a band on the way up in their formative years. Commercial success for the band would not arrive until two albums...

Kansas - Kansas & Song for America

The first two Kansas albums contain some of the group's best material and show a band on the way up in their formative years. Commercial success for the band would not arrive until two albums...

Various Artists - Flowers Made of Snow

Cold Meat Industry is a label out of Sweden that caters to those who enjoy “the evolving sound of someone else’s nightmare.” The 23 tracks spread across these two disks offer...

That 1 Guy - Songs in the Key of Beotch

That 1 Guy prides himself on being part Trent Reznor and part Frank Zappa mixed up with a snaky Primus vibe. Spin those disparate concepts altogether and you’ve got a good idea how...

Side Project - Our Last Album

Their first serving is ska jangle sailing right at the edge of Primus in a Sublime bowl on the outskirts of the New York Downtown scene at a soup kitchen. Bad Brains never tasted this good. They...

Marissa Nadler - Ballads of Living and Dying & The Saga of Mayflower May

The voice is crystalline and exhilaratingly haunting, a crisp and refreshing elixir. Her muse is resolute, hewn from emotion, fashioned from a steadfast rock that never falters. Melancholy is a...

Molca - Super Ethnic Flavor

“Balkan Dawn” opens the disc in fine, atmospheric form, and shortly we’re treated to the unique sound of an Ashbory bass. This rather bizarre instrument is a 30-inch, two-pound...

Elton Dean / Sophia Domancich - Sea of Infinity & Avant

Two of the late Elton Dean’s last sessions as leader and co-leader have been championed by Hux records in the UK. Sea of Infinity captures him again leading an out session careening...

After Genesis - The Cryme of Selling Lambs

Classical aficionados are well familiar with the concept of reinterpreting compositions from composers alive and dead. It’s different for rock music, as we overwhelmingly prefer the original...

Persuader - Evolution Purgatory

Everybody has dark moods. It’s part of being human, and – let’s face it – this world is a pretty screwed up place. Those of us who don’t have lighter moods to offset...

Alexander Volodin - Reflection of Time

This is the kick-off album from this young Russian composer. It could be a soundtrack to work of Kandinsky. “The Flower Is Growing Up” starts with Schnitzler-esque ping-ponging sounds,...

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius - Live Wires

Count me as a supporter of the proposition that the world needs more hot electric violinists playing jazz-rock fusion. Jean-Luc Ponty has moved on to other things, and someone has to take up the...

Orbit Service - Twilight

Here we are adrift in a sea of melancholy. Or maybe a better metaphor would be floating in orbit. There are lots of nice textures and rich sounds on this recording, the Denver band’s second,...

Shingetsu - Live

I haven’t heard Shingetsu’s studio album, so this concert recording is my introduction to their music, and it’s quite a surprise. And like many surprises, it has both good and bad...

Tiles - Tiles

That just has to be Max Bacon on vocals! It must be – you know that singer guy from GTR, the most progressive rock band that Steve Howe and Steve Hackett were ever in? If I had to pick out...

Atoll - Musiciens-Magiciens, L’Araignée-Mal, Tertio & Rock Puzzle

I always thought of Atoll as being the number two French symphonic rock band in the 70s, after Ange. Like Ange, they applied the ideals and techniques of progressive rock to French culture and came...

Atoll - Musiciens-Magiciens, L’Araignée-Mal, Tertio & Rock Puzzle

I always thought of Atoll as being the number two French symphonic rock band in the 70s, after Ange. Like Ange, they applied the ideals and techniques of progressive rock to French culture and came...

Atoll - Musiciens-Magiciens, L’Araignée-Mal, Tertio & Rock Puzzle

I always thought of Atoll as being the number two French symphonic rock band in the 70s, after Ange. Like Ange, they applied the ideals and techniques of progressive rock to French culture and came...

Cream - Disraeli Gears - Deluxe Edition

What comes to mind when you think of psychedelic blues rock? For me, it’s Cream. They were the most important UK rock band out of the 60s besides the Beatles and the Stones. Eric Clapton,...

Väsen - Keyed Up

After many years as a quartet, Väsen returned to their original trio configuration for last year’s Trio (

Triakel - Sånger från 63°N (Songs from 63°N)

This is a collection of songs that originate in the Jämtland province of Sweden, most of them traditional, some more recent but in a traditional style. The trio of singer Emma Härdelin,...

Steve Baltes / Harald Grosskopf / Axel Manrico Heilhecker - Viermal Drei (4 x 3)

Having been associated with the likes of Ashra and Klaus Schulze, these three guys decided to venture out on their own and see what they could come up with. The result forms a highly successful...

Thee Majesty - A Hollow Cost & Thee Fractured Garden

The incarnations of Genesis P-Orridge continue to manifest in many different and sometimes compelling ways. Two of the composer’s spoken word series are reissued here by Voiceprint in part to...

Thee Majesty - A Hollow Cost & Thee Fractured Garden

The incarnations of Genesis P-Orridge continue to manifest in many different and sometimes compelling ways. Two of the composer’s spoken word series are reissued here by Voiceprint in part to...

The Residents - WB:RMX & 12 Days of Brumalia

If you need a Christmas album to scare your family and friends, look no further. The 12 Days of Brumalia was released as a downloadable album on the Residents web site in December of 2004,...

Spiral Realms - Trip to G9

Simon House is an esteemed musician in my opinion, continually inventive and quite diverse, being the violin / keys player for the classic '69-'70 period High Tide, a short stint with Third...

East of Eden - Mercator Projected

An engaging and groundbreaking early British progressive band, East of Eden used electric violin, dual saxes, flute, recorder and bagpipe to add texture to their guitar based rock. The end product...

Pierre Moerlin's Gong - Pentanine

The late percussionist Pierre Moerlen’s last Gong lineup was this outstanding group of Russian musicians assembled for the SKIF festival in 2001; the group recorded these 13 tracks in a St....

Randone - Nuvole di Ieri, Ricordi & Hybla Act 1

Oddly enough, for their first release on Electromantic, Randone was a trio: Nicola Randone on vocals and guitar (who had previously released material under his full name); Marco Crispi on lead...

Esagono - Vicolo

Here’s a little Italian gem rescued from obscurity. Esagono apparently only recorded this one album as a group, but members of the band were involved with many other projects, including Arti...

The Shiver - Walpurgis

It’s generally not a good sign when a band’s best material is written by other bands. The Shiver is a case in point. This Swiss band’s forte was covering British blues-rock, but...

Virus - Remember

The German band Virus is mainly known in progressive rock circles for their 1971 debut album Revelation. By the time they recorded this live radio concert in 1973, they had abandoned...

The Nels Cline Singers - The Giant Pin

Since these initial recording dates in 2003 guitarist Nels Cline has been propelled from obscure LA sound sculptor to the indie big time with Wilco. Sifting through these older trio performances...

Eccentric Orbit - Attack of the Martians

Eccentric Orbit announce their intentions right out of the gate. Their debut album begins with some big Mellotron chords, then a theme on organ leads into a section where Mellotron chords are...

Gracious! - Gracious!

McLatchey's Second Tier

When most of the big name progressive rock acts were barely out of their pajamas, this Vertigo band was already leaping forward from the influences of...

Óðmenn - Óðmenn

These days there are basically two ways of finding out about long-forgotten progressive artifacts (well, three if you count good old fashioned word of mouth): magazines / fanzines / newsletters...

Luarvik Luarvik - Passioon & Fuuga

Passioon & Fuuga is Estonian band Luarvik Luarvik’s third release. Founded by Art students Mihkel Kleis and Andres Lõo in 1998, the group takes its name from a character...

Lu7 - L'Esprit de l'Exil

Japan’s Intermusic and Musea have been teaming up on a number of releases in the past few years, allowing some obscure Japanese artists to get a somewhat wider audience. One such group is...

Imanissimo - Z's Diary

Imanissimo clearly relishes in the progressive rock zeitgeist, with their website’s numerous references to “prog” and their prideful boast of their 2005 AMI award (don’t...

Orme - L'Infinito

Le Orme should win a prize for Most Consistent Band. From Felona e Sorona through to Il Fiume and now with L’Infinito, there’s an unmistakable continuity in...

Nouvelles Lectures Cosmopolites - Friesengeist, Part 1

As soon as I submerge the opening of the first track “Ballade” of Part 1 I’m hooked. It’s this wistful folk mood of accordion, piano, and vocal melody which touches...

Zinkl - Temptations of St Anthony

My last encounter with Anton Zinkl-Singer was with Dance Music for Insects back in 2002. For this outing, his seventh, the insectoid clicking that characterized that album is gone,...

Brian Hopper - If Ever I Am

Canterbury fans may recall Hugh’s brother who was a member of the Wilde Flowers and played sax on Soft Machine Volume Two. Since that time Hopper was also involved in the bootleg...

Green Isac - Etnotronica

Green Isac (the Norwegian duo of percussionist Andreas Eriksen and multi-instrumentalist Morten Lund) have returned with the fourth release since their 1990 debut, Strings and Pottery....

Death and Taxe$ - The Alaska 12 Expeditions

It would be easy to recommend this album based purely on the circumstances surrounding its release. What started out as the next D&T album turned into a completely different and ultimately more...

CocoRosie - La Maison de Mon Rêve & Noah's Ark

With childlike glee, these sisters embrace one's ear with aural tincture. Romanced beautifully by tiny fragmentary conscious nests, we become ensconced within the folds of their rapturous...

Carreg Lafar - Profiad

The traditional music of Wales doesn’t get as much attention as that from other parts of the British Isles. That’s a shame because the country’s musical tradition is rich,...

Badirov Project - Greeting from Nostradamus

Vladimir Badirov is a drummer/percussionist hailing from Uzbekistan. Greeting from Nostradamus comprises eleven tracks of ethnic jazz fusion with Badirov’s drums and keyboard...

Thork - We-ila

The French seem to have a lock on dark symphonic prog these days (see Nil elsewhere this issue) – or maybe it’s just those two guys named Maurin (David on guitar and Samuel on bass and...

Osanna - Palepoli

McLatchey's Top Tier # 20

This is the fourth Italian progressive rock album in this tier and truly one of the most original albums from the decade. Like Ommadawn but...

Shine (Buckethead, Bill Laswell, Shin Terai) - Heaven and Hell

Eccentric Orbit - Attack of the Martians

Os Mundi - 43 Minuten

Os Mundi, Latin for “origin of the world,” was a 70s Berlin-based band that released only two albums, Latin Mass and 43 Minuten. Both of these Krautrock classics have been...

Rufus Zuphall - Weiß der Teufel

Marillion - Marbles on the Road

Ange - Live Tour 2003-2004 - Par les Fils de Mandrin

George & Caplin - Electronic Eulogy from Morse Code Infinity

Metamorfosi - Paradiso

Chris Cutler - Twice Around the Earth: An Experiment in Listening

Earthmonkey - Audiosapien

Beep Beep - Business Casual

Basement 3 - Fuzzyland

Tortoise - It's All around You

Gentle Giant - Giant on the Box

Gentle Giant - Scraping the Barrel

The Holy Modal Rounders - Bird Song - Live 1971

The Holy Fire - The Holy Fire

Glass - No Stranger to the Skies

Blackbirds 2000 - Psychedelic Gems 6

Novalis - Novalis

Novalis was a Krautrock band from Hamburg, Germany and their self-titled second album is part of Revisited Records’ reissuance of the Brain back catalog. This album is an amazing mixture of folk...

Cold Fairyland & Lin Di - Ten Days in Magic Land, Bride in Legend, 2005 Live & Seeds on the Ground

One of the first musical things I discovered after moving to Beijing was this band from Shanghai. Their Chinese name (Lengku Xianjing) is taken from the Chinese title of a book by Japanese writer...

Il Bacio della Medusa - Il Bacio della Medusa & Giovane Amante

Amygdala - Amygdala

Spirit - Son of Spirit / Farther Along & Future Games / Spirit of 84

After Spirit’s first four classic albums, the band entered a period of fluctuating personnel, style, and success. The double-LP Spirit of ‘76 had marked the revitalization of the band...

The Electric Prunes - Return to Stockholm 2004

John Cale - Words for the Dying

Heart - Little Queen, Dog & Butterfly, Bebe le Strange

Heart - Little Queen, Dog & Butterfly, Bebe le Strange

Heart - Little Queen, Dog & Butterfly, Bebe le Strange

Can Atilla - Omni

Nautilus - In Search of Castaways

Various Artists - Modern Drummer Presents Volume One - Drum Nation

Jesús Figueroa - Jesús Figueroa

Debase - Unleashed

Yohimbe Brothers - The Tao of Yo

DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid - Celestial Mechanix: The Blue Series Mastermix

Remy Stroomer - Different Shades of Dust

Gnomus - II

Matthew Shipp - Harmony and Abyss

Ray Charles - Ô Genio Live in Brazil

Tangerine Dream - Bootmoon Live Series

1977 was the year that Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann conquered North America and Canada with a massive twenty-plus city tour (and on select dates performing with Laserium). The April...

Tangerine Dream - Bootmoon Live Series

1977 was the year that Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann conquered North America and Canada with a massive twenty-plus city tour (and on select dates performing with Laserium). The April...

Tangerine Dream - Bootmoon Live Series

1977 was the year that Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann conquered North America and Canada with a massive twenty-plus city tour (and on select dates performing with Laserium). The April...

Tangerine Dream - Bootmoon Live Series

1977 was the year that Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann conquered North America and Canada with a massive twenty-plus city tour (and on select dates performing with Laserium). The April...

Tangerine Dream - Bootmoon Live Series

1977 was the year that Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann conquered North America and Canada with a massive twenty-plus city tour (and on select dates performing with Laserium). The April...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Alexander Vogel & Collaborators - Eight Releases from 2004

Alexander Vogel is your atypical teenager with an affinity for percussion and English improvisational icons. In late 2004 he took it upon himself to begin solo home recordings which soon evolved...

Cornerstone - Once upon Our Yesterdays

Austin Bridges - Awake the Day

Terra Ambient - The Gate

Blow up Hollywood - Fake

Simon Dupree & the Big Sound - Part of My Past - The Simon Dupree and the Big Sound Anthology

Nicholas Greenwood - Cold Cuts

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Lost Christmas Eve

Kinzokuebisu - Momijigari

Billy Currie - Still Movement

The Black Noodle Project - And Life Goes On...

Harry Chapin - Legends of the Lost and Found

Homestead & Wolfe - Our Times

Penny Arkade - Not the Freeze

Quikion - Ramadan

Nurse with Wound & collaborators - Angry Eelectric Finger 1-3

Nurse with Wound & collaborators - Angry Eelectric Finger 1-3

Nurse with Wound & collaborators - Angry Eelectric Finger 1-3

Flower Travellin' Band - Satori

Red Pocket - Thick

Christian Décamps et Fils - Murmures...

Aera - Türkis / Live

Aera - Humanum Est / Hand und Fuß

The Van Allen Belt - Lactater-Tots

Myriad - Natural Elements

Mitchell Froom - A Thousand Days

John McLaughlin - Thieves and Poets

Farpoint - From Dreaming to Dreaming

Fritz Doddy - The Feeling of Far

Ellis Marsalis - Ruminations in New York

Release Music Orchestra - Bremen 1978

Hidria Spacefolk - Balansia

Björk - Medúlla

Emily Bezar - Angels' Abacus

Bill Frisell - Unspeakable

Dragonwyck - Dragonwyck

Rosebud - Rosebud

Joy of Cooking - Joy of Cooking, Closer to the Ground, & Castles

Those looking for a 'good ole time' need look no further — funky West Coast psychedelia flavored country-rock to be found here. Equally rooted in the blues, this stuff is steeped in the tradition...

Joy of Cooking - Joy of Cooking, Closer to the Ground, & Castles

Those looking for a 'good ole time' need look no further — funky West Coast psychedelia flavored country-rock to be found here. Equally rooted in the blues, this stuff is steeped in the tradition...

Electrelane - Rock It to the Moon, The Power Out, & Axes

Yes - Songs from Tsongas

The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark, Blueberry Boat, Rehearsing My Choir, EP, & Bitter Tea

Nautilus - What Colours the Sky in Your World?

Zaboitzeff & Crew - Missa Furiosa & Voyage au Centre de la Terre

Lucia Micarelli - Music from a Farther Room

Flëur - First Four Albums

Phideaux - Fiendish, Ghost Story, Chupacabras, 313, & The Great Leap