Fatal Fusion’s third release follows on seamlessly from The Ancient Tale, continuing their brand of contemporary progressive rock. It is deliberately epic in sound and theme,...
» Read moreThis Italian band has a history that goes back to a precursor band called Buttered Bacon Biscuits, a name presumably paying homage to a love of Southern rock along the lines of Lynyrd Skynyrd....
» Read moreWhat’s with the vibes lately? Just a few days ago I reviewed Human Ottoman, and it seems like only a couple of months ago it was Empirical — now I’ve got I.P.A. This Norwegian /...
» Read moreWe’ve been reviewing pianist and composer Satoko Fujii’s releases for a number of years, going back to the earliest days of the printed edition, as well as various side projects...
» Read moreErik Wøllo is has had a long career that started out as a jazz guitarist and over time has come to favor electronics, using effected guitar, guitar synthesizer and keyboard synths and...
» Read moreAfter eight years as an independent label, Fruits de Mer Records marks its 100th vinyl release with a double gatefold LP by The Honey Pot called Ascending Scales. And in the usual FdM...
» Read moreJuly released their self-titled psychedelic masterpiece in 1968 and then disappeared for decades. Due to the reissue of their album and a second one of demos etc. July recorded and released a...
» Read moreThe interaction of memory and mood can be an interesting thing. There are times, after wading through a stack of less-than-wonderful CDs, that it seems like the world is full of musicians who just...
» Read moreIn the case of Burnt Belief, a small refinement of the sound from their previous album makes for another satisfying set of instrumental rock music. Etymology (2014) was an excellent group...
» Read moreFor the Fruits de Mer Member’s Club annual freebie last year, Keith Jones produced an exclusive CD of David Bowie covers titled
Showed Her Face is Russian band Ciolkowski’s second album, released in 2016. Just like their third album
Even someone who spends as much time listening to music as I do can’t listen to everything that comes out, even if you constrain the possibilities to progressive rock and jazz. So I come into...
» Read moreWarm Spaced Blue is the second release by Ingranaggi della Valle. Whereas their 2013 debut release In Hoc Signo had its roots in 70s Italian prog, the band decided to go in an...
» Read moreIn the past, Darkroom has produced music in a variety of forms. There have been songs featuring vocalist Tim Bowness (no surprise given that half of Darkroom is No-Man / Samuel Smiles guitarist...
» Read moreIn the past, Darkroom has produced music in a variety of forms. There have been songs featuring vocalist Tim Bowness (no surprise given that half of Darkroom is No-Man / Samuel Smiles guitarist...
» Read moreZhongyu is the musical project of Exposé’s own Jon Davis (noted reviewer and our web master). About ten years ago Jon spent three years living and working in Beijing, China...
» Read moreWhat first hits me as a listener on the album opener “Apple of My Mind’s Eye 2” is the strong Chinese influence, in the instrumentation, scales and percussion used, which should...
» Read moreFrom reading the credits, Uruguayan guitarist Beledo’s Dreamland Mechanism may seem like a bit of a grab-bag, with differing personnel from track to track, including some with Beledo...
» Read moreIf you’re looking for a stroll down memory lane with this re-interpretation of Pink Floyd’s classic Dark Side of the Moon, you won’t find it here. This is a radical...
» Read moreThe gifted Indonesian guitarist Dewa Budjana is back again with Zentuary, a sprawling 2CD set that follows last years’ Hasta Karma. Here we have a dozen tracks covering over...
» Read moreListeners hungry for the sound of classic 70s rock have had plenty of new music in the last few years to scratch their itch, what with all the German and Scandinavian bands in the same vein. Grande...
» Read moreI haven’t seen them use the term “psychedelic” to describe their music, but Chicago’s Boolean Knife certainly have qualities in common with modern psych bands, most notably...
» Read moreThis Place to Be is the reissue of one of Roach’s finest long form pieces (that means a single 74 minute track) from 2016 that went out of print quickly after its original release,...
» Read moreAfter recently listening to Phenomena’s Anthology, this album by Lucifer’s Friend provides...
» Read moreSerbian keyboardist Vasil Hadžimanov and his band have been a going concern since the mid-90s, releasing a total of six albums since 2001’s Razlooga Za…, and although...
» Read moreJust like a typical post-rock track which starts simply and builds gradually to an epic climax, the band Wang Wen started with a few albums of fairly standard (but well done) instrumental music,...
» Read moreWorking my way through the Disen Gage catalog I have now reached their 2016 album Snapshots and their EP Equilibrium Trip, which has two tracks from Snapshots....
» Read moreWorking my way through the Disen Gage catalog I have now reached their 2016 album Snapshots and their EP Equilibrium Trip, which has two tracks from Snapshots....
» Read moreSomewhere in the stack of CDs I’ve got to review, this release from Obake must have fallen down a crack or something. So it’s catch-up time… This band is another project...
» Read moreEven the non-Catholics among music fans are likely familiar with the structure of a mass, having listened to musical settings for the ritual dating back to the time of J.S. Bach or even earlier....
» Read moreI think it’s safe to say that Invisible Strings is the friendliest release on RareNoise to date. This collaboration between sound wizard Eraldo Bernocchi and slide guitarist Prakash...
» Read moreNot so long ago we covered a new release by Brian Eno collaborator Leo Abrahams, and here we have another...
» Read moreIf I had become aware of Jamie Saft’s work earlier in his career, maybe I wouldn’t be so surprised every time he shows up on a new release that sounds completely different from what...
» Read moreAndrés Campuzano has been developing his An Danzza project for quite a few years now — the first album, Last Autumn Tears, dates from 2010, and there have been three other...
» Read moreOriginally released on cassette in 2016, Sulatron Records just reissued this excellent slice of revival Krautrock jamming on both vinyl and CD. Hailing from Umeå, Lappland, high up in the...
» Read moreBetween the release of Vespero’s first two releases of their Abyssinian trilogy, they gave a live performance on May 15, 2015 at the Union of Theatre Artists in Astrakhan that included...
» Read moreYurt is an Irish rock band that specializes in dark textures, mostly instrumental, with lengthy tracks of crushing riffs just slightly too clean to qualify as sludge. When singing is present, the...
» Read moreOn Seaside Air, Sweden’s long-running band presents seven songs with English lyrics after decades of singing almost exclusively in Swedish. Musically, the sound is pretty much the...
» Read moreNo, the musicians are not machines. Their parts are not programmed. They are in fact real musicians playing real instruments together. The combination of instruments is a bit unusual, sort of a...
» Read moreSelections from the bands that played at Psych Fest I and Psych Fest II in Russia, plus some planned for Psych Fest III are contained on this double CD set. Most of the bands are new to me with the...
» Read moreSelections from the bands that played at Psych Fest I and Psych Fest II in Russia, plus some planned for Psych Fest III are contained on this double CD set. Most of the bands are new to me with the...
» Read moreSyndone appeared on the Italian progressive scene around 25 years ago with their debut release Spleen, and have released five more in the years since, although there was a 17 year gap...
» Read moreOr should that be Let’s Take All the Yellow Pills? I hadn’t heard of Caudal before, but I’m familiar with their guitarist Aidan Baker, from Canada, who has about eight...
» Read moreEleven instrumental tracks with creative titles such as “Cut-29,” “Cut-07,” “Cut-32,” etc. are what you experience on this 2016 release by Russian trio Jahroom...
» Read moreThis Oslo band plays instrumental music inspired by various forms of classic music, especially 70s soundtrack music, funk, and early jazz fusion. Somehow, they also end up having some features in...
» Read moreHoward Givens is the founder of Spotted Peccary Music, and although only a few releases outwardly bear his name (or his project Brain Laughter), nearly every release on the label (over 100 now) and...
» Read moreThe last time we touched bases with Karmamoi was their 2013 album Odd Trip, and at that time they were a full five-piece band with a dedicated singer. The album at hand under review is not...
» Read moreFor the attentive reader of Exposé, pianist, composer and bandleader Satoko Fujii needs no introduction; her work in jazz, classical, and free improv has been documented and...
» Read moreAfter last year’s collection of adaptations of the music of other composers, Debora Petrina is back with Be Blind, a set of original tunes stylistically reminiscent of...
» Read moreBasta! is another Italian band on the Lizard Records label, and their new album Elemento Antropico is a set of eleven instrumentals. I was expecting heavy percussion or a drum line from...
» Read moreEli Gras is a Spanish experimental musician exploring electroacoustic music. In 2016 she released Xylotheque, a collection of six different electroacoustic experiments ranging from two to...
» Read moreThis is one of those cases where I want to write a review that simply says: “Stop reading my review and go get this immediately!” But I realize there are very few people in this world...
» Read moreThe Kings Place gigs were the first live performances by Big Big Train in 17 years and of course they were a completely different group back then (you don't even have to backtrack that far to...
» Read moreMy peak Consorzio Acqua Potabile experience was their Progday performance, whenever it was (2000?). Before that point I found their albums to be good but not compelling; live they were much more...
» Read moreWith the lawsuit over the Wishbone Ash band name finalized in Andy Powell's favor, in 2014 "Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash" became "Martin Turner Ex-Wishbone Ash." Late...
» Read moreI was a bit surprised when this one turned up. I remember their 2007 EP HottoïzzoH fondly, and in my review wrote, “Speaking of butts, these talented Finns need to get off...
» Read moreTwo years ago in the quiet Swedish town of Norje near Salvesborg, 35,000 enthusiastic fans gathered to experience the heavy psychedelic presence of a band formed nearly 50 years ago, Vanilla Fudge....
» Read moreFollowing this band from Portland, Oregon has been very encouraging. The first album I heard was Freeze in Phantom Form (2012), and it presented a young band with a great sound that was a...
» Read moreTemnee is a hard rock / stoner / psych / instrumental band from Tver, Russia that started in 2013. In May 2014 they released their EP Astrodiving on Bandcamp. On Astrodiving,...
» Read moreThis trio’s second album finds the players developing their sound into some new areas. The busy, distorted middle section of the lead track, “Cleome,” brings a different sound...
» Read moreThird Ear Band from the beginning was one of the strangest sounding bands, and remains so to this day. I remember bringing home the LP of the band’s first album Alchemy (bought...
» Read moreWe have often reviewed albums by bands who were together back in the good old days playing progressive rock, but for whatever reason never got their chance to record or release anything, and then...
» Read moreJodie Lowther is one half on London-based electronic band Quimper, whom we’ve been covering for a few years now. Jodie provides vocals and visual art for Quimper, but she is an experimental...
» Read moreOver a dozen years ago, the Shout Factory label was tasked to release the entire Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass catalog on fresh new digipak CDs. Mac Beaulieu even
It’s been a half dozen years or so since French TV’s last one, I Forgive You for All My Unhapiness, and it seems that the longer the wait between albums now, the more difficult...
» Read moreMy previous encounters with the playing of saxophonist Ryoko Ono involved her work with Acid Mothers Temple — she appears on Have You Seen the Other Side of the Sky? and Crystal...
» Read moreI snapped up copies of the band’s self-titled debut and its follow-up, Shiny Eyed Babies, when they were available, and as adventurous as those two privately released albums are (and...
» Read moreMusically speaking, Canterbury isn’t so much a place, but a state of mind that can exist anywhere. In the case of Amoeba Split, a six-piece with many guests, the spirit is alive and well in...
» Read moreWriting about Offa Rex’s wonderful new album sparked a renewal of interest in one of my all-time...
» Read moreSherpa is a mysterious Italian five-piece (plus numerous guests) making a gentle, folky, psychedelic rock that features guitars, bass, loops, synths, xylophone, harmonium, hand drums and other...
» Read moreExit Kanon is the solo project of one the Famlende Forsøk / The Smell of Incense family member, ChrispH. ChrispH has been working on and off on this music since 1985, only playing excerpts...
» Read moreWho out there was asking for a violin legend to do pseudo-orchestral versions of “Eye of the Tiger,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” or “The Final...
» Read moreDie Krupps was one of the first pioneers of electronic and industrial music alongside Einstürzende Neubaten in the early 80s. Die Krupps’ first release was 1981’s...
» Read moreThis longstanding Finnish quartet has been around since the late 90s, with only four releases to their credit during that time, and as such their sound has changed and evolved over time. Today they...
» Read moreOver the passage of time, since the late 80s, bassist and multi-instrumentalist Yoh Ohyama has led two distinct versions of Asturias, although the early albums made no distinction because the...
» Read moreThe Aaron Clift Experiment and Herd of Instinct played some gigs together earlier this year and Aaron encouraged them to play at this year's Voyager Festival in Austin in September. I was...
» Read moreGuitarist David Fiuczynski is probably best known for his acrobatic, highly technical playing, but this release finds him in very different territory. The “Microjam” part of the title...
» Read more8x8 is the transatlantic collaboration between musicians Lane Steinberg in New York City and Alex Khodchenko in Kiev. Inflorescence is their third album, the second to be released on...
» Read moreJudging only by the credits, Bang Tower is not a band, but a project of guitarist, keyboardist, singer, and composer Neil Citron, who also is credited wth production, engineering, mixing and...
» Read moreFrom his earliest days in Charlie Musselwhite’s blues band, and playing for organist Barry Goldberg, guitarist Harvey Mandel has had a very distinct sound, his trademark being a seemingly...
» Read moreThe Lords of Thyme, what a great name, and one the perfectly captures the essence of their music! Joe Woolley, Tali Trow, and Pat Kenneally used to be part of Circulus, the UK psychedelic...
» Read moreArthur Lee and his band Love released two seminal psychedelic rock albums in 1967, Da Capo and Forever Changes. When their fourth album Out Here was recorded in late 1969...
» Read more38 years is a long time between albums, and from their 1978 album Battlement, only one member remains, co-founder Thomas Neuroth, with seven more members joining the lineup in the interim....
» Read moreThis release by Gaudi is a perfect auxiliary to the RareNoise catalog — the music consists of tracks from the label’s vaults mixed and matched by the producer into a coherent pair of...
» Read moreStick Men has been a very busy band of late, somehow managing to tour extensively in spite of the other work all three band members do outside the trio. Keeping track of all the different projects...
» Read moreFrom their beginning, Stick Men have included occasional vocal tracks in their repertoire, though they have always been fewer in number than the purely instrumental pieces, and completely absent on...
» Read moreFrench keyboardist Patrick Gauthier is not one to flood the market with product, and when he does release something new, it’s always worthy of note. A former member of Schizo, Heldon, Magma,...
» Read moreThe third album by this outstanding seven-piece plus guests from Genoa presents a full range of emotions in two expansive multi-part side-long suites, and is certainly on par with some of the best...
» Read moreRecently I read Derek Bailey’s book Improvisation, and one of the things he discussed was idiomatic improvisation, which is improvisation within an established style such as jazz or...
» Read moreBi-Ki ? is the duo of two alto sax players, Sakina Abdou and Jean-Baptiste Rubin, and in concert situations they typically perform from within the audience, the two players following each other,...
» Read moreFor four albums of grotesque mutant psychedelic madness, Haiku Funeral has been the duo of Bulgarian vocalist / guitarist / keyboardist Dimitar Dimitrov, a veteran of black metal bands like Glades...
» Read moreMost will remember Garybadi as that heavy prog band from Genoa featuring guitarist “Bambi” Fossati that made a couple notable releases back in the early 70s (Nudo,...
» Read moreLong-time readers will be aware that Sleepytime Gorilla Museum was the object of near cult-like...
» Read moreGuitarist Kevin Kastning and woodwind player Carl Clements are no strangers to collaboration. A Far Reflection is in fact their fourth, following Dreaming As I...
» Read moreHere we're talking bloop, bleep, squeak, and buzz electronics, with immense all-consuming textures that highlight sonic friction on all surfaces, without a hint of sequencing anywhere. This is...
» Read moreSaint Luminus AKA William Rustrum is a Los Angeles-based musician who left a career in electrical engineering to pursue music professionally. He enrolled in the Musician’s Institute in...
» Read moreFrom their home base in Marseille in the south of France, they are known for their performances at Prog Sud and Crescendo festivals, as well as other festivals and tours throughout France, Europe,...
» Read morePolish electronic composer Maciej Wierzchowski (aka Vanderson) has something like 31 releases to his name on his Bandcamp page, quite prolific for a 39 year old musician. He released...
» Read moreThere is no one quite like Kevin Kastning. Stretching back well over 20 years and two dozen or more releases, both solo and in collaboration with other like-minded players, the gutarist, composer...
» Read moreIn the 60s Jürgen Karg played bass for Wolfgang Dauner. Then in the 70s his interests shifted to synthesizers and electronic music. Over a five year period he amassed an extensive collection...
» Read moreSelekt is Bureau B’s sub-label for releasing experiments, collaborations, and remixes. For its third Selekt release, Bureau B wanted to see what would happen when they brought two...
» Read moreBack in the 90s, I randomly came across the CD Vittrad at my local public library and checked it out on...
» Read moreHeavy metal has always lent itself to what might be called progressive tendencies, and sometimes the dividing line between what’s called metal and what’s called prog is pretty arbitrary...
» Read moreAfter a band produces an album as outstanding as Corima did with Quetzalcoatl, there’s always a risk that they won’t be able to match it next time round. The good news is that...
» Read moreGreek singer John Kampouropoulos calls his band Kamp, which is handy for non-Greeks whose eyes glaze over at the sight of a name with that many letters. He has a very pleasant and engaging voice,...
» Read moreUniversal Totem Orchestra was a side project of Italian band Runaway Totem, which over the years since their formation in 1998 and two albums is now a full fledged zeuhl band. Their third and...
» Read moreItalian dark rockers The Mugshots released their latest opus of progressive / punk / doom metal / soundtrack / black metal / new wave / pop music in October 2016, marking their 15th anniversary as...
» Read moreThe gothic Italian neo-progressive band Presence is not a particularly prolific band — Masters and Following is only their fifth or sixth album since forming in 1994, and eight years...
» Read moreConsorzio Acqua Potabile (CAP) is an Italian progressive band that formed in the 70s, eventually releasing a handful of albums starting in the 90s. For their latest they teamed with Alvaro...
» Read morePeter Baumann was an integral part of Tangerine Dream from 1971 to 1977, which in my opinion was the group’s best period. So I was excited in 1976 when Peter Baumann released his first solo...
» Read moreBureau B has released a massive boxed set containing the full versions of Cluster’s official albums released between 1971 and 1981: Cluster 71, Cluster II,...
» Read moreTwo years after their debut EP Apophenia, Glasgow Coma Scale returns with a full album, Enter Oblivion, and a vastly matured sound. It took the band a long time to assemble all of...
» Read moreAdelbert van Deyen’s first two albums, 1978’s Sternzeit and 1979’s Nordborg, established him as a Berlin school electronic musician, and contain what is probably...
» Read moreAdelbert van Deyen’s first two albums, 1978’s Sternzeit and 1979’s Nordborg, established him as a Berlin school electronic musician, and contain what is probably...
» Read morePandora is an Italian neo-progressive band born out of love for 70s progressive in 2006 by the father (Beppe Colombo) and son (Claudio Colombo) team with Corrado Grappeggia. This trio of keyboards...
» Read moreSeven years after Blotch, Moebius released his next solo album, Nurton. On this second...
» Read moreDrummer for the Düsseldorf band Kreidler, Thomas Klein also records as Sølyst. His latest solo effort is The Steam Age. Based on the title, I was expecting something along the...
» Read moreAfter Moebius’ passing in 2015, Bureau B started reissuing his final four solo albums. The first in this series is Blotch, curiously named after a dab of paint. Moebius had a long...
» Read moreIn 1983, New York City band Liquid Liquid had a hit with their song “Cavern” that was later sampled by Grandmaster Flash for his hit “White Lines” because of its strong...
» Read moreQluster is the third incarnation of Kluster / Cluster, with Hans-Joachim Roedelius as the sole original member. In 1969 Roedelius, Dieter Moebius, and Conrad Schnitzler founded Kluster. Two years...
» Read moreIt’s been about five years since Mike Oldhill (who releases his material under his real name Michael Altenberger in his native Germany) released his debut album Eleven Explorers,...
» Read moreThere is something endearing about the Soft Hearted Scientists, be it their name, their label name, their vocal harmonies, their whimsical songs, their catchy melodies, etc. I’ve been a fan...
» Read moreThose psychedelic gnomes from Cardiff are at it again, this time feverishly working in their lab to concoct a double dose of their signature pop-psych music. Golden Omens is an alchemical...
» Read moreThe first thing you notice about this album is the delicate crystalline structure of the cover art and then the molecular diagram of aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid. Then there are the track titles...
» Read moreAt about the same time as Guerssen reissued the first two Circles albums in 2016, Bureau B issued this...
» Read moreDutch composer Michel Banabila has been recording and releasing music since 1983 and he has produced musical scores for films, documentaries, plays, and dance. This Early Works...
» Read moreMichael Bundt began his career as a bass guitarist and founder the obscure Krautrock band Medusa, which morphed into the second incarnation of Nine Days Wonder. After leaving Nine Days Wonder,...
» Read moreRolf Trostel was a second generation member of the Berlin School of electronic music. In the late 70s and early 80s, Rolf worked as a distributor of the PPG Wave Computer 360 A, which provided him...
» Read moreRolf Trostel was a second generation member of the Berlin School of electronic music. In the late 70s and early 80s, Rolf worked as a distributor of the PPG Wave Computer 360 A, which provided him...
» Read moreRolf Trostel was a second generation member of the Berlin School of electronic music. In the late 70s and early 80s, Rolf worked as a distributor of the PPG Wave Computer 360 A, which provided him...
» Read moreEstonian soundtrack composer Sven Grünberg began his career while still a music student in 1974 by founding the progressive rock band Mess. After the band broke up he started exploring the...
» Read moreThis third album by Corima arrived late last year and here it is May already, and it’s definitely in need of a long overdue review. Their second solidly zeuhl-influenced album...
» Read moreThis one is definitely a curiosity, based on the ancient Vietnamese folk tale of the toad’s journey to see the king of heaven to ask for an end to a long drought, along with an entourage of...
» Read moreBureau B continues their Kollektion series with this compilation of eleven Cluster compositions curated by John McEntire. John McEntire is a drummer, percussionist, recording engineer, producer,...
» Read moreBelying the beautiful sounding title, as well as all the beautiful music herein, the theme of Stewart’s instrumental debut album – if one strings the song titles together in the order...
» Read moreBack in the early 1980s, Renaldo & The Loaf were like, the weirdest band in the world, sort of like the British answer to The Residents, though somewhat different, without all the anonymity and...
» Read moreAdelbert van Deyen is a Berlin-based electronic musician who was very active in the late 70s and early 80s. Atmosphere was his third release, issued in 1980 and now reissued on Bureau B....
» Read moreWhen guitarist / synthesist Richard Franecki (F/i & Vocokesh) and drummer Hadley Kahn (
While this is ambient music, and perhaps somewhat electronic based, it’s far more than one guy hiding behind an assumed name layering gobs and gobs of synth overlays on a recording. Dean de...
» Read moreOne can’t accuse Parker of flooding the market with product; this live set is only her second album, the first in nine years, but after even a single listen, one can conclude it was clearly...
» Read moreConrad Schnitzler was one prolific composer. Six years after his passing we are still presented with music from his archives. In 1975 he recorded a number of untitled pieces intended as soundtracks...
» Read moreSolo (or Surakarta) is a city of half a million people in central Java with a rich history, long a center of Javanese identity and tradition, second only to the better known Yogyakarta. Pasar...
» Read moreIn the late 60s, two Paraguayan brothers of German descent, Joern and Dirk Wenger, began playing together in a beat / psychedelic band The Rabbits. The Rabbits released a very rare EP and then the...
» Read moreWe’ve covered Glenn Branca in these pages before, but Rhys Chatham has so far avoided our attention. Like Branca, Chatham is a modern composer with elements of minimalism to his writing who...
» Read moreGo back. Go way way back to the beginning. Carl Weingarten has covered a lot of musical territory since the early 1980s, but with An Endless Premonition he takes the listener back to his...
» Read moreTime Trilogy is the second collaboration between Uwe Cremer (aka Level ∏) and Swedish soundtrack composer Thomas Rydell. As suggested by the title, there are three long tracks on the...
» Read moreAt the heart of this jazz trio is Jarry Singla, an Indo-German pianist who also plays Indian harmonium, with influences ranging from European musical traditions and a variety of jazz styles, as...
» Read moreLong overdue, the follow-up to Tohpati Ethnomission’s 2010 Save the Planet is here, and I must say this was well worth the wait. Tohpati himself has been active all these years, with...
» Read moreThis appropriately titled collaboration between guitarist Carl Weingarten and improvisational pianist Catherine Marie Charlton is at once expressive, transcendent, and organic, bringing together...
» Read moreReviewing an artist like Ravi Shankar is quite a challenge, and this live set from 46 years ago presents the difficulty in a big way. In Hollywood, 1971 gives us four pieces spanning over...
» Read moreIf you like your progressive rock old-school early 70s style, Progress is the prescription. This five-piece powerhouse hails from Estonia, choosing a song-oriented format with lyrics in their...
» Read moreComposer Nicholas Chase has a number of releases to his credit, but this is the first time we have reviewed any of his works at Exposé — perhaps all of those six...
» Read moreAt hand are five compositions in a category somewhere between interesting and magical, originally recorded around 1993, remastered ten years after that, with a couple of the pieces (a purely...
» Read moreThe Chronicles of Israfel is the solo project of Canadian guitarist and former Pulse Ultra member Dominic Cifarelli. After the breakup of Pulse Ultra in 2004, Dominic spent many late nights jamming...
» Read moreFrom my viewpoint, it seems like there must be almost as many psych bands in Norway as there are metal bands, but my experience is limited to what shows up in my inbox, which is more likely to...
» Read moreHailing from New Hampshire, Rick Habib (drums, percussion, and vocals), Bob Lord (bass and keyboards), and Jon McCormick (guitars and vocals), have released their debut self-titled album, a mixture...
» Read more25 years ago German synthesist Lambert Ringlage formed the Spheric Music label to publish his first solo CD. Since 1991, the label has grown to include the discography of 20 different electronic...
» Read morePianist Brandt and saxophonist Vogel, long before the latter’s fame in Burnin’ Red Ivalhoe and Secret Oyster, played together in the Vogel Brothers Quartet in 1963. Don’t look for...
» Read moreLuigi Milanese is an Italian guitarist and composer who is just as adept on acoustic guitar and electric guitar as he is with orchestral compositions. His new album, Closer to Heaven, is...
» Read moreWith the names Merzbow and Keiji Haino on the cover, you’re probably not expecting pastoral compositions for acoustic instruments. Rather, you might even expect a continuous blast of...
» Read moreSometimes music will hit you just at the right time, when the combination of circumstance, mood, and sound just works, and sometimes the reaction is so subjective it can be hard to work...
» Read moreOne of the promising recent trends in music around the world has been the increasing cross-fertilization of what can roughly be labeled academic chamber music with other styles. Of course this is...
» Read moreThis Swedish band has never been prolific, but they compensate in quality what they lack in quantity. It’s been five years since Glue Works, and I’m happy to report that...
» Read moreNuclearte is a Scilian band that began in 1996 as a pure ethno-electro-acoustic ensemble integrating musical elements from around the Mediterranean basin (Spanish-Moorish, Balkan, and Greek). Their...
» Read moreWho would’ve expected that after a lapse of 22 years, Esquire, the duo formed by Nikki Squire, first wife of Yes founder and bassist Chris Squire, would resuface with a new album, but indeed...
» Read moreThis “Collection of Modern Russian Psychedelic Music” concentrates on one particular aspect of psychedelia, namely the side that leans towards space rock rather than concise, catchy,...
» Read moreSeems like it was less than a month ago I was writing about Goblinsz…?!, the improvisational collaboration between Alex’s Hand and Ádám Mészáro....
» Read moreTaking a break from all the noise and avant-isms that have crossed my desk recently, I find this very nice release from Richard Palmer-James. This songwriter is best known to fans of progressive...
» Read moreJohn Howard is a new name to me even though his musical career began in the mid-70s, went on hiatus in the mid-80s, and reignited in 2004. He has some 15-odd releases and Across the Door...
» Read moreIn this age of cynicism, it’s easy to be suspicious of a person who seems very positive. When you meet someone who is all smiles and bubbly attitude, you wonder if they’re hiding...
» Read moreConrad Schnitzler left a huge legacy of unreleased music. He loved to embark on daily musical excursions through the sonic diversity of his synths, preserving them for use in other compositions or...
» Read moreWith Hawaii, Aisles provides a good example of how a tried-and-tested genre can still produce creative gems. In broad terms, the band plays neo-progressive rock superficially like most...
» Read moreWhen I think of Greece, the last thing that comes to mind is 60s psychedelia. But with a steadily growing fan base is this five-person band from Thessaloniki, Greece The Basements. And what a great...
» Read moreIn the years since its formation, John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet has recorded a series of albums that seem to exist in a world of their own. The two defining factors are the...
» Read moreVoices from the Fuselage (VFTF) is a five-piece progressive rock band from the UK formed in 2010 by vocalist Ashe O’Hara, guitarists Mitch Ramsay and Josh Galloway, bassist Dale Gorham, and...
» Read moreThis is the second collaboration between Spirits Burning master of ceremonies and multi-instrumentalist Don Falcone, and Clearlight – or more precisely Cyrill Verdeaux, who is the mastermind...
» Read moreOstWest is the third album in Automat’s trilogy centering on Berlin’s airports, and their musical interpretation of the impact of the thousands of refugees fleeing to Europe....
» Read moreA couple of years ago I reviewed Wadada Leo Smith’s Great Lakes Suites, and...
» Read moreSeeing the names on the cover of this release might very well lead to confusion — at least for those familiar with any of them. To fans of progressive rock, Michael Manring is most likely the...
» Read moreAnd while we’re on the subject of inventive combinations of acoustic and electric instruments (see
After recording Sort Of, a second album emerged but Polydor pulled the plug and Uwe Nettelbeck signed both Faust and Slapp Happy to the burgeoning Virgin label in the UK. They re-recorded...
» Read moreIn the early 70s Anthony Moore was exploring different avant garde musical techniques, working in Uwe Nettlebeck’s studio in Wümme. Anthony recorded and released two experimental albums...
» Read moreWhen we last encountered Jim of Seattle, he had presented us with the sprawling We Are All Famous, a collection of 19 tracks covering a wide stylistic range with humor and skill. With his...
» Read moreSoccer96 is a duo with a very full sound. Dan Leavers (AKA Danalogue, primarily keyboards) and Maxwell Hallett (AKA Betamax, primarily drums) are occasionally joined by guests on sax, percussion,...
» Read moreSince their respectable and promising debut two years ago, Helsinki’s Montage have continued forward with a excellent follow-up that brings forward some of the harder rock aspects of their...
» Read moreAt first, this album seemed to come out of nowhere, a release from a band I never heard of. But one look at the personnel and my hopes went up. The name Percy Jones jumps out, bringing up all sorts...
» Read moreIt is well known that John Coltrane’s music was influenced by exposure to Indian ragas. Here is a case where some of Coltrane’s ideas are applied back to South Asian traditions. Not...
» Read moreTerry Dolan was an East Coast singer-songwriter who took Horace Greeley’s advice and migrated to San Francisco in the late 60s. In 1972 he recorded a full album of songs that was never...
» Read moreConsidering the first wave of 60s San Francisco bands as Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and of course the Grateful Dead, then...
» Read moreWhen the music on this compilation first surfaced in 1996 there was skepticism of its authenticity. Many thought these tunes were recorded by contemporary musicians emulating music from the 70s. It...
» Read moreChurch of Hed’s latest involves two side-length tracks of keyboard based electronic rock inspired by the Berlin school of music in its prime over 40 years ago. That’s not to say that...
» Read moreWelsh spacerockers Sendelica greet you this Christmas season with a cover of Scott Walker’s (The Walker Brothers) “Nite Flights” from 1978. On the original song you get an...
» Read moreCure for Gravity, aside from being a really cool name, is a band from Oakland, California consisting of Joe Markert (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Chris Gamper (drums), and Dave Walcott (guitar). On...
» Read moreWith The Organ Grinder, Free Nelson Mandoomjazz expands their sound further from its base of sax, bass, and drums by featuring more guests than before and varying arrangement structures....
» Read moreIn the spring of 2013, Bobby Beausoleil released this as a download, a single 18+ minute piece of music originally written and recorded for his wife of 30+ years, Barbara, who had planned to...
» Read moreJürjendal’s latest all-instrumental effort, his third, rides a powerful wave of emotional rock, bringing together brilliant melodic sensibilities captured in soaring worlds of shimmering...
» Read moreBritish Columbian Paul Marcano is an obscure musician who released several cassettes in the early 80s. 10,001 Dreams on C-90 was a sequel to his first release, Islands in Space....
» Read moreThe latest in the Curved Air Rarities series (Volume 2) is in fact a two disc set of material that is in fact not Curved Air at all, but instead improvisations by subsets of band members, former...
» Read moreOne will be forgiven if they are unable to read the band name and title on the front of this beautiful CD package; just try a little harder to move your mind back to a time when such things were...
» Read moreMany of the Western artists who have been inspired by the music of India and the Middle East have gone the acoustic (or near-acoustic) route, others have infused those sounds into space rock,...
» Read moreGuitarist Luciano Margorani has been active in the Italian experimental music scene since the mid-80s, as a solo artist, as a member of La 1919, Ferdinando Farao’s Archipel Orchestra, and...
» Read moreThis past July the Cary Grace Band (Cary Grace - vocals, EMS, VCS3; Andy Budge - bass guitar; David Payne - drums; and Victoria Reyes - keyboards, vocals, percussion) performed live at the Kozfest...
» Read moreJust in time for Christmas Sweden’s Us & Them have a new color vinyl ten inch on Fruits de Mer. And quite an ambitious one as they cover five different songs by the iconic Sandy Denny....
» Read moreIn the world of rock guitar trios, which is quite a large one, there are many examples where the guitar holds the spotlight with flights of improvisation while the guitar and bass hold to solid...
» Read moreIn the world of rock guitar trios, which is quite a large one, there are many examples where the guitar holds the spotlight with flights of improvisation while the guitar and bass hold to solid...
» Read moreI’m not sure how this band got their name — perhaps it’s a joke, since there are so many death metal bands in their part of the world (Norway) with similar names. Maybe the name...
» Read moreBKF’s latest epic marches onward from his previous, We’ll Always Have Fresno (2013), with a healthy dose of local humor, aggravated madness, inside jokes, and in-your-face...
» Read moreHard to believe that Coastlines marks album #15 for New Zealand composer and synthesist Rudy Adrian, but it is in fact so, going back to his Sequencer Sketches and Atmospheric...
» Read moreHaving established itself in the brotherhood of independent vinyl labels, this December Fruits de Mer releases its first split single with another independent label, Static Caravan. The FdM side...
» Read moreThis CD EP by Dysehaus arrived unsolicited in my mail box the other day with only a small information insert, nothing even approaching a press release. A search on the web showed that there is a...
» Read moreWith elements of classic 70s funk, flighty vocal jazz, and sheer instrumental audacity, Emily’s D+Evolution shows Esperanza Spalding coming into her own as an artist to be reckoned...
» Read moreAs the music industry has changed over the last few years, some of the functions previously performed by record labels, such as paying advances for studio time, serving singles to radio, and...
» Read moreDo Not Disturb is the 13th studio album by the legendary Van der Graaf Generator, and the third studio album since they reinvented themselves as a trio ten years ago (Peter Hammill, Hugh...
» Read moreIn November 2013 this young Italian band released an EP called Mediocrazia featuring four...
» Read moreWhen it comes to the pantheon of progressive rock pioneers, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, and Gentle Giant get the lion’s share of attention. And while their influence on future generations of...
» Read moreMcLatchey's Second Tier (Revised)
This is a new addition to my second tier, a live radio broadcast documenting a rare sweet spot in musical history. The Allmans had just come...
» Read moreIt seems no matter how many times I listen to Butterfly Killer, it never seems to make sense as an album. The music is very scattered somehow, with elements that seem to be working at odds...
» Read moreIn 2013 Record Collector magazine launched a new series of albums focused on labels they rated as “modern collectibles.” Righty they chose Fruits de Mer as their first release...
» Read moreKepler Ten is a new melodic progressive rock band formed in 2014 after bandmates James Durand (vocals, bass, and keyboards), Steve Hales (drums and piano), and Richie Cahill (guitars) had teamed up...
» Read moreLovers of ambient music are well familiar with the musical output of Dirk Serries AKA vidnaObmana. Since he began experimenting with electronic music in the late 80s, Dirk has been involved in at...
» Read moreThere’s nothing quite like the music of Steve Roach captured in a live setting. One may hear no audible applause, nothing else that might give away the fact that it was recorded live (in this...
» Read moreThe Dreaming Tree exemplifies the personality disorder one finds in some UK bands, especially covers bands trying to create an identity of their own. Writ large this quintet is a pop-rock group...
» Read moreAlchemy Sound Project is billed as a “composer-performer collective.” It features five principal members, each of whom is responsible for two compositions in the set, along with a...
» Read moreWho would have thought that in 1996, 26 years after their seond album, Contact, hit the cutout bins, that proto-electronic band Silver Apples would reactivate? But indeed it happened....
» Read moreThis Russian band could accurately be categorized as either space rock or post rock. Their instrumental music grooves along nicely, like good space rock should, and has lots of trippy synth sounds....
» Read moreThe Fast Camels is a relatively new band from Glasgow that is heavily influenced by 60s psychedelic rock. Drew Sturgeon (vocals and guitar) and Mark O’Connor (vocals and lead guitar) got...
» Read moreRadio Moscow is a power trio of guitar, bass, and drums originally from Iowa and now hailing from San Diego. Their new album is a live set recorded over two days with no overdubs in December 2015...
» Read moreHairy Mountain is the second release from West Australian band Datura 4. Continuing on from their debut album Demon Blues, Hairy Mountain presents 10 new...
» Read moreThis Japanese band has yet to garner much interest outside their homeland, but are certainly deserving wider recognition. The quartet consists of Noriyuki Inoue (guitar), Kie Katagi (piano), Go...
» Read moreOn October 21, 2016 Snapper / Madfish released a mammoth career spanning boxed set of Steve Hillage’s music titled Searching for the Spark. This set highlights Steve’s solo...
» Read moreForming in 2007 in the City of Brotherly Love, neo-psych band The Orange Drop has been releasing their special blend of mind altering music on Bandcamp since 2011. On November 4, 2016, Mega Dodo...
» Read morePaul Myerburg AKA Paul Martin grew up in Manhattan in the 50s and 60s, spending many of his summers in Baltimore, drawing inspiration from the Rolling Stones, Beatles, and Bob Dylan. In the mid-60s...
» Read moreFor listeners hungering for a keyboard-heavy concept album along the lines of Rick Wakeman’s early work (Journey to the Centre of the Earth or King Arthur) might find some...
» Read morePepe Sánchez is a Spanish drummer who began performing in 1959, working for record labels as a session musician and also playing non-stop with orchestras in Casablanca, Tangiers, Gibraltar,...
» Read moreNot long ago I was writing about Naima, a Spanish group with a contemporary take on the classic jazz piano trio. Chat...
» Read moreIt takes a special kind of dedicated listener to make it all the way through an ivory tower release like A 1000 Keys. In full disclosure, A 1000 Keys is not for everyone, and if...
» Read moreLong-time fans of progressive rock will remember the string of outstanding releases by this Italian band. In particular, their third album, De Republica, captured the hearts of adventurous...
» Read moreVictor Anthony Stanshall AKA Vivian Stanshall, the eccentric singer-songwriter, author, poet, and wit was best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, his exploration of the British...
» Read moreEnglish quartet Syd Arthur made clear on 2014’s Sound Mirror that they were OK cutting the cord to the 70s Canterbury sound that gave them a following within the prog community...
» Read moreBen Levin is the guitarist of Bent Knee, and with all the recent buzz about that band, it’s interesting to take a look at what he does on his own. Life and Back is his seventh...
» Read moreThe Absent City is the solo effort by Ukranian bassist Alex Pustovit. Alex performs in jazz bands and has always been fond of old school progressive and psychedelic rock. Three years ago he decided...
» Read moreIcarus Peel, the leader of the UK’s psych sensations The Honey Pot, is releasing a new solo album this October, Forget-Me-Not under Pussy Willow. This is his fourth solo album and...
» Read moreImprovisation is an artform that many musicians attempt to create within, but very few have the knack to master to the point where anyone – other than the musicians creating it, can enjoy....
» Read moreIf anyone had any doubts that the late 60s and early 70s were a time of broad innovation and experimentation, this collection provides ample evidence that even outside the cultural centers of New...
» Read moreIt seems that reviewing Huis is an occasion to dust off the Old Prog Geek hat and think back on things decades past. Some readers will remember the advent of what came to be called Neo-Prog...
» Read moreTCP is the acronym for Temporal Chaos Project, a progressive rock band based in Boulder, CO that formed in 2008 as a studio project. The band is Henry Tarnecky (vocals and keyboards), Blake Tobias...
» Read moreThe Sun Is New Each Day starts with a double-bass drum blast and the first thought is, “Oh no, another prog metal clone!” But the next thing you hear is a violin backed by...
» Read moreWith the cover art hinting at an occluded blue star deep in space, I was expecting cosmic or space rock music. Instead guitarist-singer-songwriter Buck Curran presents eight moody and introspective...
» Read moreVespero has been plying the spaceways for about ten years now, though we here at Exposé have only encountered them through a few appearances on Fruits de Mer collections and...
» Read moreOver ten years in writing and four years recording, Holon is the recording project of singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Ronny Pedersen, and The Time Is Always Now is the first...
» Read moreBack in the late 70s/early 80s was the heyday of big hair and flashy clothes for musicians. By today’s standards they now look pretty silly and sometimes downright creepy. Case in point is...
» Read moreDeeperNET is the recording project of one Andrew Miles, Portland, Oregon based electronic musician, and The Network is his third release on Spotted Peccary. The eight tracks here follow a path...
» Read moreOnségen Ensemble is a Finnish band with roots in jazz, stoner rock, progressive rock, and black metal. After playing for about 10 years and releasing two EPs, they have released...
» Read moreShadow of Time takes Steve Roach’s sound full circle to the mid-80s introspective atmospheric period highlighted by his Quiet Music series and Structures from...
» Read moreI’ll admit to not having heard much of Suzanne Ciani’s recorded work. Lixiviation is a fascinating glimpse into 70s electronic music, but I’ve not delved into her...
» Read moreThe piano trio is one of the most standard of jazz groups, and in recent years there have been some notable examples of bringing the configuration out of the era of classic jazz into modern times....
» Read moreThis is the follow-up to Csillagköd’s 2014 Spotted Peccary debut release Silent World, and finds him continuing his exploration of space. The core of his sound finds an...
» Read moreWith his second Realm offering, electronic artist Barton Rage teams up with trumpet player Toshinori Kondo, and the result is perhaps even better than Realm I, which featured Bill...
» Read moreThe Yorkshire moors have long been a land of mystery and imagination. The Black Meadow sits atop these moors where strange things have happened over the years. Professor Roger Mullins of the...
» Read moreWith the passing of the Pot Head Pixie Daevid Allen in March 2015, it at first seemed doubtful that Gong would continue. But as the Gong family constantly fractured, reformed, and assumed new...
» Read moreCalifornia’s Sidewalk Society returned this August to the Fruits de Mer roster with four cover tunes, two by The Action and two by David Bowie. FdM is noted for resurrecting obscure bands and...
» Read more“Propositions” was a track on Curved Air’s debut album, at 3:09 a normal-length song, an energetic blast of early progressive rock that features a vocal section at the start, then...
» Read more“Arnold Layne had a strange hobby…” This 20-year-old artifact of 60s covers will surely hit the spot for anyone who grew up in the years from 1966-1970, taking a sampling of...
» Read moreNear the top of the list of things you thought would never happen: a Mamma non Piangere (“Mama Don’t Cry”) reunion, after some 35 years. The band’s two LPs from the late 70s...
» Read moreCrystalaugur’s Terranaut has been one of those rarities from the 70s that has collectors drooling whenever a copy surfaces. This private pressing of 200 copies has been bootlegged...
» Read moreIn the aftermath of 70s progressive music and the primal scream that was punk, many artists tried other avenues of expression through blending of music with poetry or painting. In the West we had...
» Read moreUranium Club is a brand new label for releasing rock, progressive, and electronica. Their first release is Ghost Medicine’s debut album Discontinuance. Ghost Medicine is essentially...
» Read moreLet me first say that I thought stream of consciousness word-jazz poetry went out of fashion decades ago with poets like William S. Burroughs and Ken Nordine. I guess I am being naive, because...
» Read moreCal aka Cal Rock & Roll was a mid-70s band from New York formed by some veterans of the club scene: Larry Calabrese (guitar and vocals), Andy Barone (bass), Jerry Joy (drums and vocals), and...
» Read moreFor those of you who do not know, Necro Deathmort is the English synth duo of Matthew Roziek and AJ Cookson, and their goal “to make electronic music that was as heavy as doom metal, wth...
» Read moreTyll was a German band formed in the early 70s when Kerston Records approached Det Fonfara about releasing a Krautrock album. Fonfara and former bandmate and ex-Eulenspygel drummer Günter...
» Read moreReviewing for Exposé sometimes brings odd music my way. The latest is Moog Maximus by The Bongolian aka The Big Boss aka Nasser Bouzida. Moog Maximus is his fifth...
» Read moreThe promo material describes Simon Scott as a UK sound ecologist. Sound ecology appears to be an academic discipline for studying the effects of sound (natural and manmade) on the environment. In...
» Read moreAstralasia has just released a new CDEP with five tracks of fun and uplifting music. Some of the tracks are brand new and others not so new. All five are to varying degrees cheesy, hence the name....
» Read moreIt was in August 1997 that we learned about the reunion of Focus, with original members Thijs van Leer and Hans Cleuver, and bassist Bert Ruiter who played with them from Focus 3 onward,...
» Read moreThe last time I heard a release by this Israeli born Brooklyn NY based composer and multi-instrumentalist was his excellent 2011 release Opposite Views. Why it was never reviewed in these...
» Read moreMost will know Darryl Way as the violinist and one of the founding members of Curved Air, who was with the band on their first three groundbreaking albums, and then intermittently after that while...
» Read moreAfter exploring acoustic and electronic composition for 14 years, UK composer and Music Director of the Union Chapel in London, Claire M Singer presents her debut album Solas....
» Read moreFor the first 80 Fruits de Mer fans who purchased the May 2016 singles, FdM threw in a CDEP by The Insektlife Cycle from the Philippines. The CDEP Schizoldelia contains two versions of...
» Read moreThe warning label on the package says “lo-fi noise” and “stoner” — I swear somewhere there was a sticker that said “sludge” or something like that....
» Read moreI was never an Eagles fan. They were too mainstream for my tastes. So I had no idea that the BBC used their one excursion into space rock, “Journey of the Sorcerer,” as the theme music...
» Read moreIt is always risky to cover an iconic song, as it invariably draws comparisons to the original. Not one to shy away from iconic psychedelic treasures, Vibravoid’s Christian Koch has...
» Read moreCabo Verde aka Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands 350 miles off the coast of West Africa. It was uninhabited until Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized it in the 15th...
» Read moreCamera’s latest album, Phantom of Liberty, is due to hit August 5. This is another great release by this new band, further establishing them as the musical heirs of...
» Read more1974 saw the birth of the UK avant-rock band Red Square. Consisting of Ian Staples (guitar), Jon Seagroatt (sax and bass clarinet), and Roger Telford (free-jazz drummer), Red Square shared the...
» Read moreAfter seeing Nosretep play live several times and talking with them, they have come to exemplify the kind of musicians who play music for the love of it. The “business” side of the...
» Read moreKim Seviour, Touchstone’s former lead vocalist, recently signed to White Star Records to pursue her solo career and release her debut album later this year. Along the way Kim recorded a...
» Read moreWe managed to miss out on Carpani’s previous release, 4 Destinies from 2014, but I’m happy to report that 2016’s So Close. So Far. is a stellar example of modern...
» Read moreThe End of the Lane is The Luck of Eden Hall’s new vinyl single on Mega Dodo Records due for release on August 15, 2016. Side A is the title track inspired, by Neil Gaiman’s...
» Read moreI haven’t heard anything by this Italian band since their second album The Fifth Door in 1994; that’s like 22 years ago, but it seems the band was on a long hiatus until 2010...
» Read moreThe vibraphone is an instrument with a distinctive sound that seems to conjure up certain moods. It’s generally bright and happy, even when playing the blues, though at times can lean a...
» Read moreI find it very interesting that obscure musical gems continue to surface and be reissued. Case in point is the US garage-prog-psych band MacArthur, who recorded and released an ultra-rare privately...
» Read moreJust like their previous release Reverberating Garden Number 7, the title of their new release Hollow Ghost / Rochelle Salt is equally obscure, but not the music. The eleven songs...
» Read moreGwynneth Haynes, songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, and de-facto leader of the Portland, Oregon area band Sophe Lux (with a handful of releases to their credit) has turned a new page...
» Read moreThe master of surprise has a couple more releases for this year, both falling more or less in the experimental electronics realm. For the most part these certainly aren’t your typical...
» Read moreThe master of surprise has a couple more releases for this year, both falling more or less in the experimental electronics realm. For the most part these certainly aren’t your typical...
» Read moreThis year’s Fruits de Mer Club’s member freebie is a set of David Bowie cover songs. Conceived and recorded months prior to Bowie’s untimely death this past January,...
» Read moreWe last encountered Jaggery on their 2015 live album, where they presented superb versions of highlights of their studio albums plus a few new tunes. Those new tunes find a home on their latest...
» Read moreLost Kite is a father-son duo featuring Stefan Carlsson, who was a member of the awesome Kultivator, but if you expect a similar Canterbury-influenced RIO mashup, you’d be disappointed...
» Read moreBlack River Transect puts me in the awkward position as a reviewer of writing about music created by good friends. So take my words in that light, and I’ll try to describe it in...
» Read moreOne of the many joys with reviewing music for Exposé is being exposed to excellent new artists and music. Case in point is the Australian band Trappist Afterland. Hailing from...
» Read moreMira, un Lobo! is the musical project of Portuguese artist Luis F. de Sousa as a means of dealing with unemployment, crises, and depression. Mira, un Lobo! allowed him to drift away from his...
» Read moreLong-time floating ambient innovator Steve Roach, the man who nearly single-handedly created this genre, branching out of the electronic music tree now pairs up with British innovator Robert Logan,...
» Read moreLong-time floating ambient innovator Steve Roach, the man who nearly single-handedly created this genre, branching out of the electronic music tree now pairs up with British innovator Robert Logan,...
» Read moreThe Neighbourhood Strange is a young new garage-psych rock band that formed not too far from Stonehenge in 2015. Their self-titled debut single comes in two formats, heavy vinyl 7-inch and CD. The...
» Read moreTangerine Dream fans will be ecstatic! Peter Baumann, Tangerine Dream member from 1971-77 has just released his first solo album in 20 years! After leaving the band in 1977, he embarked on a solo...
» Read moreSuddenly Jon Anderson is bursting with activity (Chris Squire’s passing could have had something to do with it). One of the first projects out of the gate is this collaboration with...
» Read morePapernut Cambridge’s fourth album has arrived. Unlike 2015’s Nutlets 1967-80, Love the Things Your Lover Loves is a set of whimsical original songs The twelve songs...
» Read moreThis year Welsh spacerockers Sendelica turn 10 years old.* And The Cromlech Chronicles is their present to us. Prior to last year’s 13th Dream of Dr. Sardonicus festival, Sendelica...
» Read moreWith Intoxicatingly Lost, Trail Records gives Guangzhou’s Zhaoze their most prominent international release to date. This collection contains four tracks from 2015’s...
» Read moreWith Goblinsz…?1! Seattle’s expatriate musical misfits (now resident in Berlin) present an improvisational collaboration with Hungarian guitarist Ádám...
» Read moreIn mid March Dan Pound’s latest album Shadows of the Heart arrived in my mail box. Based on his previous work I was looking forward to this new album with seven electronic...
» Read moreI’m probably not alone in regarding the prospect of a Hijokaidan album with some trepidation. As one of the longest running producers of avant-noise rock, they have an extensive catalog of...
» Read moreIt’s probably inevitable that a band including two tapping instruments (in this case both Chapman Sticks) and a drummer is going to elicit comparisons with Stick Men, and by extension, King...
» Read moreSimulakram Lab is the electronic duo of Paolo Prevosto (composer and sound designer) in collaboration with Eugène (voice and sound engineering). On their debut album guests Liz Enthusiasm of...
» Read moreCircles was the obscure German electronic trio of Dierk Litert (synths, sequencers, drums, bass, guitar, voice, saxophone, and flute), Mike Bormann (guitars, bass, and synths), and Busch Buchweitz...
» Read moreCircles was the obscure German electronic trio of Dierk Litert (synths, sequencers, drums, bass, guitar, voice, saxophone, and flute), Mike Bormann (guitars, bass, and synths), and Busch Buchweitz...
» Read moreAs with the previously reviewed Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra release, All...
» Read moreSubtitled “Archives 2005-2016,” one might get the idea from that subtitle that this is a bunch of leftovers from the last ten years or so, but that’s certainly not the case...
» Read moreLook at the list of names on the front cover. Roswell Rudd has been one of the most prominent trombonists in avant jazz since the 60s, having worked extensively with Archie Shepp and many others;...
» Read moreJune 6, 2016 sees the release of Tír na nÓg’s live performance from last fall, Live at the Half Moon. This acid folk duo were active in the early 70s and then on hiatus...
» Read moreThree times is the charm, or so it seems for Herd of Instinct’s third full length album, which is nothing short of a Stick player’s instrumental dream with dual keyboards adding a new...
» Read moreThis collecton of ten songs is just like you probably imagine it from the title. The spirit of endless youth collides with a 60s perpetual summer vacation, songs that are to-the-point and loaded...
» Read moreIn the last couple decades, a lot of bands have mixed klezmer sounds into rock — I don’t know who the first was, but there have been quite a lot — and in jazz there’s a long...
» Read moreListening to an album like As the Worm Turns brings to mind a lot of different thoughts. Here’s a Florida guitarist I’ve never heard of putting out an album featuring guest...
» Read moreThe different incarnations of Goblin are about as varied as the Gong family tree. The current band, Goblin Rebirth, contains two members from the mid-70s, Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Agostina...
» Read moreGregorius’ second Spotted Peccary release captures the essence of stillness, beauty, and tranquility, often brimming with solitude and introspection, in ten highly melodic guitar based...
» Read moreThis collection of ideas put to sound is an instrumental concept album about moving, woth titles like “Don’t You Feel at Home?” and “Too Many Addresses.” In the liner...
» Read moreI often find recordings of the “lo-fi” esthetic very frustrating. Bad quality sound in a live situation is something that often can’t be avoided, and is mitigated by the positives...
» Read moreIf I had to pick a short phrase to sum up Ampledeed’s second album, it would be “meticulously complex.” It’s been nearly three years since I first heard this band, and it...
» Read moreIf the album title and cover isn’t a strong enough hint, maybe the closing track “So Long” is. One would be safe to assume that this is Ded Ringer’s swansong, after eight...
» Read moreOne year after their previous single One Lie at a Time / The God of Gaps, The Galileo 7 are back with two new blistering garage-psych-pop songs. Bassist Mole is bashing away on his drum...
» Read moreThis latest entry in Roach’s catalog is an archival release of two long (and long lost) recently rediscovered pieces recorded in 1983 during his formative period (around the time of...
» Read moreOn Friday I received the promos for the FdM May releases. Normally I treat my review queue as First In / First Out, but being a fan of Crystal Jacqueline, I just had to listen to her new EP...
» Read moreAll India Radio is essentially the efforts of Australian musician Martin Kennedy accompanied by an assortment of guest musicians and collaborators. All India Radio has been releasing music since...
» Read moreIt’s often been said that progressive rock was a development from the psychedelic rock of the late 60s, but it’s safe to say that much 70s progressive rock had very little of the psych...
» Read moreTwo years ago the Finnish group Octopus Syng released an outstanding album Reverberating Garden No. 7, but the eleven songs on the album did not include the title track. Now Octopus Syng...
» Read moreOne year after their debut single Thee Jezebels return with four new blistering and high-spirited songs. Side A kicks out the jams with the opener “Mover and a Groover.” This is a...
» Read moreWhen this CD arrived in my mailbox, I had never heard of the band. They’re a Maryland group described as “progressive metal,” so I set my expectations accordingly (which means...
» Read moreChicago’s The Luck of Eden Hall have been playing and recording their special brand of psychedelia for almost 30 years now. They have a respectable discography of nearly 30 releases,...
» Read moreThis release on Tenzenmen collects together this Ukrainian band’s two Bandcamp EPs from 2013, Radio Free Taxipod (tracks 1 - 4) and Vulgata (5 - 9). Within a few seconds of...
» Read moreIn the category of groups with unusual instrumentation, Phall Fatale deserves special mention. There’s a drummer (Fredy Studer), two singers who contribute keyboards and electronics (Joana...
» Read moreThis is the third Naked Truth release, and the first I’ve heard. The quartet features what might be considered a standard jazz configuration of keyboards, bass, and drums with a trumpet as...
» Read morePadilla’s latest Spotted Peccary release, Heaven Condensed, his 40th release (both solo and in collaboration) in 20 years, is a swirling cauldron of synths – analog and...
» Read moreOf the bands that combined rock with classical music starting in the late 60s and early 70s, some went the keyboard-heavy route with Mellotrons and the like to add the required grandeur, but others...
» Read moreSendelica provided a live version of “Ziggy Stardust” on the Fruits de Mer 2016 Annual
I’ll admit to a preference for energetic music, so this collection of tunes by singer / pianist Jenny Maybee and trumpeter Nick Phillips, joined by acoustic bassist Paul Eastburn but without...
» Read moreThe April 2016 batch of Fruits de Mer singles contains a release by a new FdM artist Claudio Cataladi from Palermo in Sicily. Claudio is a singer-songwriter who combines acoustic guitar and...
» Read moreBack when I interviewed Proud Peasant’s frontman Xander Rapstine in July 2014, he mentioned his love for Krautrock, especially Eloy, and also Manfred Mann’s Earthband. During the...
» Read moreFor almost 60 years Ennio Morricone has been composing memorable movie soundtracks, perhaps best known for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. He also has his dark and experimental side,...
» Read moreAfter spending the last few months diving into some classic Duke Ellington and Count Basie recordings, I was excited hearing about this new release from one of the best-known of a later generation...
» Read moreIn advance of their next album release in May 2016, Love the Things Your Lover Loves, Papernut Cambridge released an EP of three songs in February as a Valentine special. The EP features a...
» Read moreI’m sure everyone who read my review of Simon McKechnie’s previous album,...
» Read moreSan Francisco in the mid-60s was an incubator for a lot bands. In 1966 a group of teenagers got together and formed a garage band that lasted from 1966 to 1978. Over that 12-year period the band...
» Read moreThis review could easily become an essay on Frank Zappa’s compositional ideas, since nine of the sixteen cuts here are adaptations of his work, and Ed Palermo’s originals tend to follow...
» Read moreSeems like just yesterday I was listening to, and writing a review of, Forrest Fang’s previous release, Letters from the Farthest Star. Not complaining at all, I enjoy his music and...
» Read moreThree years ago Ampledeed released their debut album, A Is for Ampledeed. 2016 sees the release of their sophomore effort BYOB – so I assume that their next release will be...
» Read moreIn 2006 Christophe Vaillant formed the 60s beat music group Pony Taylor in Avignon, France. Then in November 2014 he began work on a solo album by singing all parts and playing all instruments....
» Read moreIn the early 80s, performance artist Anna Homler crossed paths with avant-garde composer Steve Moshier, and this collaboration was the result. Moshier took recordings of Homler’s wordless...
» Read moreEndless Tapes is a collaboration between Porcupine Tree’s bassist Colin Edwin and drummer / multi-instrumentalist Alessandro "Petrol" Pedretti. Two years ago Colin and Petrol sat...
» Read moreReviewing music is a blessing. I am exposed to various genres and bands. And every once in a while I am blown away when I hear a brand new release. On February 26, 2016 Mega Dodo unleashes on the...
» Read moreTwo years ago Brit neo-psych band The Honey Pot felt trapped. They had been playing festivals, making records, receiving airplay, and gaining an international following via Fruits de Mer. They were...
» Read moreAfter releasing their Elapsed Memories EP on Fruits de Mer in Feb 2015, The Chemistry Set returned to the studio to complete the recording for their next album, The Endless More and...
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2020-12-09
Harold Budd RIP –
Harold Budd, one of pre-eminent American composers of avant-garde and minimalism, has died of complications from the coronavirus. Budd came to prominence in the 70s, championed by Brian Eno on his Obscure Records label, with music that blended academic minimalism with electric jazz and electronic music. Much of Budd's best known work was done in collaboration with other artists, including Eno, Daniel Lanois, Robin Guthrie, Andy Partridge, John Foxx, Jah Wobble, and many others. »
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2020-11-20
25 Views of Worthing Finally Gets Released –
A while ago, we wrote about the discovery of a "long lost" Canterbury-style gem by a band called 25 Views of Worthing. And now we're pleased to find out that Wind Waker Records has released their music on an LP. »
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2020-10-14
Audion Is Back in Business –
Our esteemed colleague Alan Freeman has restarted Audion Magazine after a seven year hiatus. The new incarnation is available online on their Bandcamp site. Audion's history goes back to 1984, and included 58 issues up to 2013. Issue #59 is available now, and #60 is in the works. »
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2020-10-06
Romantic Warriors IV – Krautrock (Part 2) Is in the Works –
Zeitgeist Media, the people who have brought us the great series of documentary films chronicling the history of progressive rock, are working on the second installment of their examination of German music. Krautrock 2 will focus on artists from Münich such as Guru Guru, Amon Düül II, Xhol Caravan, Kraan, Witthüser & Westrupp, and Popol Vuh. »
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2020-09-09
Simeon Coxe RIP –
Simeon Coxe, best known for his experimental electronics in the band Silver Apples, has died at the age of 82. The band's 1968 debut album set the stage for both German electronic music and experimental punk music a decade later. Coxe died on September 8 from pulmonary fibrosis. »
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Jaga Jazzist - What We Must & Spydeberg Sessions – This Norwegian band has been refining their particular brand of jazz (if that’s what you want to call it) for nearly ten years now, and while some things remain the same from their beginnings,... (2006) » Read more
The Who - At Kilburn 1977 – These DVDs present The Who at two ends of their peak years. Disk one captures them at Gaumont State Theatre, running through a set that was intended for Jeff Stein’s 1978 documentary The Kids Are... (2009) » Read more
Aragon - Mouse – Every time the subject of this Australian neo-progressive three-piece comes up, someone almost immediately says something negative about singer Les Dougan, along with something mildly complementary... (1996) » Read more
Pallas - Moment to Moment – Many bands who were part of the 80s neo-prog movement are facing the reality that even though their popularity is holding steady and it’s easier than ever to record albums and perform live,... (2008) » Read more
Sonic Abandon - Sonic Abandon – This overlooked project is simply two talented guitarists playing together with engaging rhythms and somber effects units. There are four pieces loosely connected by some vague, linear continuity.... (1997) » Read more