A little early before Thanksgiving and getting your Hanukkah and Christmas Wish List ready. I know I've been out of the limelight lately due to being busy and other things I have had lately. But I want to wish everyone both a Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, and Merry Christmas to everyone. Let's see what 2024 will have in store for us!
Here's my top 20 list of 2023.
1. Ring Van Mobius – Commissioned Works Pt. II: Six Drops of
Poison
2. The Fierce & The Dead – News from the Invisible World
3. Crown Lands - Fearless
4. Jethro Tull - Rokflote
5. Iron Jinn – Iron Jinn
6. Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
7. Stephan Thelen – Fractal Guitar 3
8. Novelty Island – Wallsend Weekend Television
9. Anchor & Burden – Kosmonautik Pilgrimage
10. Philip Selway – Strange Dance
11. Kanaan - Downpour
12. Jason Blake – Subsequent Ruins
13. Lars Fredrik Froislie – Fire Fortellinger
14. Haken – Fauna
15. AVKRVST – The Approbation
16. Soft Machine – Other Doors
17. Alice Cooper – Road
18. Edward Reekers – The Liberty Project
19. Zopp - Dominion
20. Blood Ceremony – The Old Ways Remain
Since Thanksgiving is about three weeks from now, I decided to get this list on here on my blogsite. Yes, criticism is always welcome. But you might want to prepare yourself to get your wish list ready before Christmas and Hanukkah right now. So, here it is!
1. Rosalie Cunningham – Two Piece Puzzle (Esoteric Antenna)
2. Porcupine Tree – CLOSURE / CONTINUATION (Music for Nations)
3. VOIVOD – Synchro Anarchy (Century Media)
4. Ben Craven – Monsters from the Id (Desert Comb Music)
5. Anvil – Impact Is Imminent (AFM Records)
6. Birth – Born (Bad Omen Records)
7. Motorpsycho – Ancient Astronauts (Stickman / Rune Grammofon)
8. Fractal Sextet – Fractal Sextet (Alchemy)
9. Edenbridge – Shangri-La (AFM Records)
10. Anima Morte – Serpents in the Fields of Sleep (Cadabra Records)
11. SheWolf – SheWolf (Frontiers Music)
12. MAGMA – Kartehl (Seventh Records)
13. Regal Worm – Worm! (Quatermass)
14. Alice Austin – Goodnight Euphoria (Relentless Sunshine)
15. OU – One (InsideOut Music)
16. Pure Reason Revolution – Above Cirrus (InsideOut Music)
17. Clint Bahr – Puzzlebox (MoonJune Records)
18. Mahogany Frog – Faust (MoonJune Records)
19. The Utopia Strong – International Treasure (Rocket Recordings)
20. Klaus Schulze – Deus Arrakis (SPV Recordings)
Mattias Olsson does it again by bringing somber arrangements,
strange surreal imagery, post-apocalyptic atmospheres, and video game-like
scores to life with Molesome’s latest release last year entitled Aftonland. When you put on a Molesome
album, it may be a dividing line in the sand for listeners who want to accept
Olsson’s invitation or not.
On Aftonland, there’s
a strong connection to the Krautrock atmospheres along with the twelve-tone
techniques of classical music raging from Arnold Schoenberg, Tangerine Dream,
Popol Vuh, post-rock textures of Violent Femmes, Hans Zimmer, and Wojciech Kilar.
He brings all of the ingredients and puts them all together to create this
landscaping structure to life that is filled with destruction, horror, and the
aftermath of the townsfolk by going to another form of life in the next chapter
of the book.
Both of the two tracks, Tremolo
and Fading Joni, one of which featured
a mournful Hammond organ sound, has some dooming guitar textures, and rising
beauty that brings to mind a continuation of the Violent Femmes’ Colour Me Once from the 1994 soundtrack
to Brandon Lee’s last film, The Crow. You
could tell that Molesome are tipping their hat to the American folk-punk band
with a funeral-like composition, knowing that things won’t be the same over the
loss of a loved one.
But it’s the cello-like sun rising atmospheres that sets up
this sun setting environment knowing that something terrible has happened in
the little town in the opening track, The
Final Option. This is where Molesome go into the towns of Tomaso Abinoni’s Adagio in G Minor knowing that there is
a killer on the loose and we have to keep our eyes on this massive murderer and
bring him to justice.
Meanwhile Friction
showcases the underwater beauty with classical guitar-like sounds and the dawn
of a new day that brings to mind some of the Frippertronics that Olsson channels
with a bit of a sun coming over the dark, grey clouds knowing there’s a new day
approaching as the vocalizations on Vox
Humana goes for the 12-tone technique by walking towards the mountain top
during a heavy snow storm.
Something that Webern would have really appreciate what
Mattias is doing to conduct the vocalist by walking up, down, high, and low
arrangements that would have send chills down his spine over the tones of
serialism. And it has send chills down my spine listening to this. I could tell
that Olsson has done his homework very, very well and double-checked his work
very carefully to honor the masters knowing they have his back.
Closing track Exit takes
listeners out of the tunnels and into broad daylight and finally seeing the sun
again. There’s a big of hope for the townsfolk, but knowing that they hard work
and troubles they had in that once dystopian city will be a giant scar on their
backs for the rest of their lives. Knowing that they won’t be the same by
reaching towards the surface.
Whether you get it or you don’t, Molesome’s music as I’ve
mentioned earlier, is very challenging. They take you on this sombering ride that
will make you understand what may happen in the Orwellian and the video game
franchise, BioShock like no other.
But for Olsson, he created his own video game score to life.
As I was listening to both Rosalie Cunningham's latest album Two Piece Puzzle and Richard Digance’s song Working Class Millionaire on my iPod Touch, I remember it was just
another day. My Dad send me an e-mail on what has happened. Another school
shooting in Uvalde, TX that happened Wednesday. Everything came to a screeching
halt when I watched the chaos unfolded.
There was this sense of déjà vu all over again. From Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Santa Fe, Parkland, and now Uvalde.
I didn’t want to believe it at first, but watching what was going on the TV,
the grieving of parents losing their kids in a shooting, the grief will be with
them forever, and the pain will never go away.
19 children and 2 adults gunned down. Think about it, think
about it. What is going on? The horrors of gun violence is still going on. Mind
you, I’m not good at politics, but I need to ask your patience and believe me
what I’m going to say on what has happened since the tragedy occurred Wednesday, may upset some people.
It’s terribly sad here in the State of Texas. And you can
feel it in the air. I had no idea what to expect. Reading a comic book, playing
the BioShock series for the umpteenth
time, or writing the next review whether it’s progressive rock, metal, jazz,
punk, or alternative music on Echoes and Dust.
But if you’re confused, angry, filled with sadness and
grief, as I’ve mentioned before the pain will never go away. It will be with
them, for the rest of time. I can’t imagine what the parents in Uvalde
are going through right now after what happened at Robb Elementary School.
Texas has been my home since the day I was born. And for
nearly 38 years, I haven’t left my hometown state. My family and I went through
a lot; from surviving Tropical Storm Allison, Hurricane Rita, Ike, and Harvey,
we kept going and made it through. Our House didn't flood, but we're still here. I can remember last year back in April when my Mom passed
away, I didn’t do much reviewing. I didn’t want to talk to anyone on social media, nothing. I had
to grieve a lot knowing that the piece of the puzzle was missing on that fateful Saturday morning on the 3rd of that day.
And the small piece of the puzzle, it is still missing a year later. The next question; how will the families move on? The answer; It’s going to be a very
long, long time. I can remember the opening lines from Pink Floyd’s On the Turning Away which is; “On the turning away/From the pale and downtrodden/
And the words they say/Which we won’t understand/Don’t accept that what’s
happening/Is just a case of others’ suffering/Or you’ll find that you’re joining
in/The turning away.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about that song yesterday. And what David Gilmour wrote in the song is about the political situations that’s going on in
the world. Here’s my take on what the song is about. We have both sides from
the left and right trying to decide how to prevent gun control, and sometimes
they want to do things differently, but it can be really hard to watch them
arguing back and forth on what’s going on.
And one final question which will be a very hard to answer, what is going to happen after the tragedy that occurred Wednesday? We may never know.
Here’s something that has taken me on a ride that I’ll never
forget. Barbara are a duo which considers the Tydeman brothers creating this
beautiful pop-orientated sound carrying the aspect of The Beach Boys, Super
Furry Animals, City Boy, 10cc, ELO, and Klaatu. Their debut EP Mildly Entertaining is a gripping EP
that showcases the Brothers vision on how Progressive Pop is still growing
stronger than ever.
The five tracks that are on here, Henry and John delve into
this underwater beauty using a lot of the textures that Lynne had done prior to
his days as a songwriter, producer, and arranger to get the ideas done right.
Now I’m not saying that Barbara are channeling Electric Light Orchestra, but it
showcases so much homework ideas that the duo have created.
From Rainy Days in
June, you can tell that there’s a bit of Rosalie Cunningham in the song as
if the Tydeman’s are tipping their hat to Ex-Purson maestro, knowing that they’re
keeping her vision inside the song. It has a dreamy landscape in the atmosphere
that soars upwards into the heavens with a West End-vibe, featuring these
Queen-like guitar structures to watch the rain drop hitting at the right
momentum.
These New
Communications is a celebration to give signals in NASA to see if the
astronauts are having a ball on the Moon. And it’s a party they’ll never
forget. ‘60s organ, string section, talk box effects, wah-wah sounds it’s all
there. The song sets up the story that they have become the talk of the town,
becoming massive celebrities, and knowing that they’ve accomplished their
mission with a massive amount of success.
A Perishing of
Cherished Things sees Barbara channeling Graham Gouldman, Lol Mason, and
Harry Nilsson rolled into one. It has a reggae twist in the arrangement, but
with a bossa-nova groove in the riff from the wah-wah sections. You can tell
that they have a bit of humor into the sound as Don’t Send Me Messages has an Andrew Gold vibration from What’s Wrong With This Picture-era in
the styles of Lonely Boy.
The closing track BRB
has a mellowing record-scratching intro before going into a vaudeville finale
that gives the duo a chance to dance to the end by going on their own rocket
ship as they head home towards Earth. But, they let listeners know that this is
only the beginning for the group. Because they’re just getting started. Their
debut EP is quite a trip.
It delivers ideas, hope, and strong vibrations that’ll
hopefully get us free from the tricky times of the pandemic when everything
came to a screeching halt two years ago. And while the tracks deliver the
goods, Barbara are the ones to be on the look-out for in the roaring ‘20s.
How long it’s been since I’ve listened to some real good
music and reviewed on my blogsite, Music from the Other Side of the Room? The
answer, I really don’t know. It’s hard to tell. So, last night I got a chance
to listen to Tempest’s latest new album, Going Home. No, not the one with
Allan Holdsworth, Patto's Ollie Halsall, and Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman, but a Celtic band from the San Francisco Bay Area who
launched back nearly 34 years ago. The last time I reviewed them for my blogsite was back in 2015 for The Tracks We Leave, and that was it. Until now.
Despite various line-up changes, the band is still going
strong. So it’s been four year since their previous release Thirty Little Turns
was released. Now in 2022, the band are stronger than ever with Coming Home.
When I listened to the new album, I was quite taken aback on how they came back
with a giant battering ram to bring the roof down once again.
And this time, it’s with real vengeance. The opening track Mrs. Preston’s has a heavier powder keg
eruption with mandolin, brutal guitar chords, and violin dancing to the beats
with galloping percussion work.You feel
the intensity, the sound, and the dancing arrangements they would create to get
listeners off the floor and do the jig until the crack of dawn.
But what a great way to start the album off with a bang.
Then we head off to sea with a cover of Roger McGuinn’s Jolly Roger. It has this sing-along vibration, militant drum work,
organs delving into a mournful state, and the hope to reach dry land as Hjemreise walks into the British folk
sound of Steeleye Span’s All Around my
Hat-era by singing in the styles of Black
Jack Davy.
You feel the band tipping their hat to the masters as they
channel the border ballads throughout Europe and America before returning to
the step dance’s once more in a Bach-sque groove for The Optimist. Then, they sing it in Norwegian for the sisters on Systrarna and Shepherd’s Daughter.
I can imagine it’s both Lief and Lee singing together in
this song as he gives her a chance to come center stage to bring these ideas of
hope and will into the song as they continue to set sail with some unexpected
twists near the end for Lee hammering her violin down as she dances across the
aisles on the boat to give a chance of relaxation and enjoyment despite going
through all that heavy thunderstorms they endured.
Dark Lover sees
Tempest opening up the late ‘70s era of Jethro Tull’s folk-rock trilogy,
tackling the Heavy Horses period.
Lief tips his hat to Ian Anderson in this song. You feel some of that energy of
the band’s legacy during that time frame. And some strong energetic touches of
unsung heroes, String Driven Thing thrown into the mix also.
Now what’s this? Have Tempest transformed into a Celtic Glam
Rock band on Devil and the Farmer? Well
with Lee transforming herself into a snarling beast on double-tracking vocals,
the answer is yes. She’s hammering it down, having a blast while playing the
violin. You hear elements of Slade and Horslips rolled into one as the song
deals with while you make a deal with Satan, you pay the ultimate price.
Because not only he does that, he has a card underneath his
sleeve, and it isn’t going to be pretty until the very end. Speaking of the
end, we’re at the home stretch of reaching dry land by returning back to the
Celtic-Classical Folk styles of Dream
Morris and a cross between The Beatles harmonica sound on Love Me Do and Gentle Giant’s Acquiring the Taste to receive one of Paul’s Chickens with some
McLaughlin-sque midsection solo improvisation, it’s been one hell of a ride to embark on.
Tempest has done it again by Going Home. It proves that they have brought more of those gigantic
cannons to fire whenever they go through another song or instrumental take,
they know when to fire. And I have to say that while it took a few listens, I
hope to hear more from them. Because I hope they have more brainstorming ideas
to come in the roaring ‘20s.
As we are getting close to the end of 2021, it has been
quite a magical year for incredible artists, bands, and various genres to knock
it out of the ball park during these hefty times. Some concerts are coming
back, but done very carefully. Now there are some that are head-scratchers, un-expected
momentum, and surprised choices I’ve picked, you just have to live with that.
So, here we go, the top 25 albums of 2021.
1. Regal Worm – The Hideous
Goblink [Quatermass]
2. Isildurs Bane & Peter Hammill – In Disequilibrium [Atraxia Productions]
3. Dee Snider – Leave a Scar [Napalm Records]
4. The Anchoress – The Art of Losing [Kscope]
5. Mahogany Frog – In The Electric Universe [MoonJune Records]
6. Rachel Flowers – Bigger On The Inside [Rachel Flowers Music]
7. Diablo Swing Orchestra – Swagger & Stroll Down the Hole [Spinefarm / Candlelight]
8. Novelty Island – How Are You Coping With This Century [Think Like a Key
Music]
9. Penfriend – Exotic Monsters [My Big Sister Recordings]
10. Edge of Paradise – The Unknown [Frontiers Records]
11. Dennis Rea – Giant Steppes [MoonJune Records]
12. PAKT – PAKT [MoonJune Records]
13. The Grid / Fripp – Leviathan [DGM]
14. Jack O’ The Clock – Leaving California [Cuneiform Records]
15. Danny Elfman – Big Mess [Epitaph Records]
16. Laura Meade – The Most Dangerous Woman In America [Doone Records]
17. Jess and the Ancient Ones – Vertigo [Svart Records]
18. Field Music – Flat White Moon [Memphis Industries]
19. Jane Weaver – Flock [Fire Records]
20. Jane Getter Premonition – Anomalia [Esoteric Antenna]
21. Stephan Thelen – Fractal Guitar 2 [MoonJune Records]
22. Steve Hackett – Surrender of Silence [InsideOut Music]
23. Steven Wilson – The Future Bites [Caroline]
24. Emily Wolfe – Outlier [Crows Feet Records]
25. Trifecta – Fragments [Kscope]
Hunter S. Thompson once said that “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel.
Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I
have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I believe that
a care with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have
the right music very loud on the radio.”
Music will always be a part of your life, no matter how long
it will resonate with you. For Beledo, he always bounce back to the groove with
his latest release from the MoonJune label, Seriously
Deep. The genesis behind his follow-up to Dreamland Mechanism started out 11 years ago when he and Leonardo
Pavkovic first met and have appreciation of the music they shared with each
other.
The title came from ECM label artist Eberhard Weber from his
1978 release with Colours entitled, Silent
Feet. Both of them had admiration of Weber’s music. But it had a huge
impact from Beledo when Jorge played him the album in its entirety from start
to finish 43 years ago. And that was where the gem resonated from.
With Tony Levin, Kenny Grohowski, and special guests that
include vocalists Boris Salvodelli and Kearoma Rantao and vibraphonist Jorge
Camiruaga who introduced Eberhard’s music to Beledo many years ago, it brings
their friendship full circle for their latest release as it becomes a flower
ready to bloom at any second.
From the moment the opening title-track begins, you feel as
if you’re inside a dream. Beledo’s acoustic piano sets up these oceanic
landscapes to fill the entire stratosphere between Levin and Grohowski’s puzzle
pieces to fill in the empty space. But it’s his guitar that becomes a
paintbrush at times.
Beledo paints in the styles of Bob Ross and Jackson Pollock.
He creates both the mysticism and visual imagery that he brings his portrait to
life. With each color he puts on the board, Levin and Grohowski are there to
help him out whenever they can to fill in more of the gigantic trees or a
sunset to fill in the final blank.
Kenny pounds his drums very structured. He creates the river
wild on his drum kit while Beledo cries out each note by bending the strings
exquisitely before going into this unexpected change on Weber’s composition.
Levin’s Bass follows the two in hot pursuit as if he’s
cooking scrambled eggs for breakfast by seasoning it with an enormous amount of
Tabasco sauce on his upright instrument to add that extra spicy flavor. Quite
an introduction to start things off with a bang.
Mama D is a trip
down to Crimson land with National Health thrown in as Rantao’s vocals lays
down some of that romantic textures with the rhythm section setting up these
time changes for Grohowski following her vocals in a hot melodic lead. Coasting Zone is a walk into a Broadway
skip lane the trio create in the styles of a pounding powder keg waiting to
explode.
Between Grohowski and Beledo lighting the fuse, it is an unbelievable
result by adding more intensive lines they create for Levin to calm the
scenario down as Maggie’s Sunrise gives
the three-piece a chance to cool down as they watch the sun go down as if they’re
drinking Daiquiri’s to toast each other for a job well done.
Knowing they’ve got something wonderful up their sleeves, it’s
quite an eye-opening experience to witness a warm-relaxing moment to witness
the ball of light heading down the west with Camiruaga’s vibraphone embellishing
the Gershwin-like textures to have a party at the very end. Knocking Waves is a futuristic composition
that Beledo has created.
He gives Tony a chance to come center stage in the
composition as he adds some double-tracking tempo on his upright bass to set up
the midsection for Beledo channeling Steve Howe’s arrangements in Yes’ Close to the Edge. He channels Steve’s
vision by witnessing the waterfalls pouring down rapidly into the volcanic
mountains that were envisioned by Yes illustrator, Roger Dean.
But it’s Levin that adds more watery landscapes by going up
and down a spiral staircase that awaits its listeners to see where the next
parallel door will come upon us. Beledo hammers it down with some brutal
wah-wah arrangement as he punches back and forth with Grohowski’s snare-like
grooves that becomes a snake sniveling to eat its next prey.
A Temple in the Valley
sees Boris scatting down into a gentle view of the world. Beledo creates
these melodic tempos for him as he goes from high to mid arrangements on his
vocals to climb the highest mountains and scat like no other! There is
something very Zappa like in this track.
In the midsection, Beldeo and Boris walk into the Hot Rats territory as they continue the
extension from Peaches En Regalia honoring
The Grand Wazoo up in the heavenly sky. Quite an achievement that Beledo
channels the mastermind’s playing by walking into this Blues-like mystery for
Kenny to go into a ramming speed on his drum set before Levin lays down the law
once more.
Who knows what the trio will think of next? A tidal-waving
effect? Volcanic eruptions? It’s up to you to decide what the trio comes up in
this cliffhanger finale. The funk-like ending Into the Spirals Levin channels Bootsy Collins by climbing aboard
the mothership as they channel the styles of Parliament’s Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker).
Man does Beledo tip his hat to not only Bootsy, but George
Clinton as well. Seriously Deep is a
spectacular release from the MoonJune label this year. For Beledo, he has given
a lot of strength and hope throughout the entire structure of the album. And I
hope to hear more from him in the years to come.
From the moment the female voice describes the opening
statement, “The waves and the patterns
are merging.” It would start things off with the album’s opener, The Waves. It becomes a disturbing
nightmare that Chris Cordwell and Nick Raybould would create. It has this ‘80s
video game-like structure from Super Mario Bros. 2 as you enter different
parallels of the pyramids with these film-noir like atmospheres as the clock
ticks rapidly.
Then, the powder keg becomes a fuming heat to increase the
next track Rat Race. Nods to Roxy
Music’s The Bogus Man and Bowie’s Earthling-era, it’s a freak-out like no
other. Cordwell and Raybould would duke it out in a boxing ring punching each
other between their instruments. Hay-wiring chaos at its best, it is a batshit
composition that would keep you guessing until the end.
Fluctuate is a
journey into the unknown. A chilled-out futuristic string-section wasteland
that you’ve never seen before while Beatwave
channels Devo’s Oh No! It’s Devo-era
as they have their pumping iron muscles to get your blood flowing for Nick and
Chris tipping their hats to the Spud patrol with a Vivaldi-like crossover.
Mobius Trip becomes
a ladder-climbing composition for the duo. They climb each of the ladders that
transform into various patterns by reaching to the top of the mountain with a
challenging pace by going into a mid-fast tempo for the guitars to slide down
in one section to another.
Devoider closes
the album by leaving the hot temperature levels inside the jungle. Hallucinated
nightmares come to life for Thought Bubble as if they teamed up with Ozric
Tentacles and the Irrlicht-era from
Klaus Schulze. It is a crazy re-arrangement as they take us into a lane filled
with gigantic mushrooms waiting to be eaten for the rest of the month!
Thought Bubble’s ‘Around’
is one of the most mind-boggling debuts that will keep you guessing until the
end. ‘Around’ will be talked about in
the years to come in the roaring ‘20s. And I hope to hear more from Thought
Bubble in the next adventure that awaits them.
It’s been a long time since I reviewed something out of the
label, Bad Elephant Music. Back in 2013, I listened to one of the most mind-blowing
artists to come out of the label named Tom Slatter. His third studio album, Three Rows of Teeth, was a combination
between early Genesis, Caravan, and William D. Drake. And I gave it a glowing
review along with his other two; Through
These Veins and Black Water. And
then I had completely forgotten about him. Until now.
His latest release this year Escape, deals with escapism. Slatter took inspirations from comic
books, sci-fi novels, computer games, and being an indoor kid. Slatter is
bringing more stories to life again as an imaginative movie brought to life. So
has it been a while? Oh yes. So let’s get straight to his new album.
From the moment Time
Stands Still opens the album off, you hear these static sounds coming from
the TV while blistering guitar riffs channels a thrashing attack in mid-tempo arrangement.
It channels Diagonal’s sole self-titled debut album that Tom had picked up for
inspiration as his eerie stories structure in more Mellotron’s to float in at
the right moment.
It goes through this Ayn Rand-sque waltz channeling both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged with a folk-dystopian
midsection as the machines take over the entire planet. And then it back to the
metallic forefront with an orchestral vibe as Tom tips his mad hattering hat to
early Black Sabbath and the first two Iron Maiden albums with arpeggiated
textures brought to life.
Too Many Secrets has
these electronic hay-wiring effects going chaotic as it tells the story of a
group of soldiers who are in a rocket ship flying to another planet, fighting
one of the bloodiest wars that’s going on. And the question that remains, is it
worth fighting this stupid war that’s happening? Not to mention the dooming and
sludging atmospheres that he brings to the kitchen table.
Let’s All Pretend reminisces
between William D. Drake, Present, and Osanna’s Palepoli thrown into the blender. It’s Rock Progressivo Italiano
meets the Rock In Opposition movement with a nod to the late, great Roger
Trigaux’s guitar section while Rats becomes
a Punk-Folk attitude.
Fast-sped drums followed by guitar melody, the unexpected
time changes go from one corner of the living room to another. You can hear Tom
channeling Bowie’s Outside-era as he
picks up the pieces where Detective Nathan Adler had left off. Collateral is a psychedelic swinging
garage rock dance. It becomes a dance to the death between Be-Bop Deluxe’s Futurama sessions as it climbs aboard
Gentle Giant’s train chugging 500 miles per hour.
Going Nowhere is a
19-minute sci-fi opera brought to life. You can hear a Beefheart-sque
introduction that makes Tom’s train turn into a fast-speeding overture. There
is some Edgar Allen Poe structures for the main character’s death to happen
with these guitar-organ sound that is completely unexpected, but works very
well.
Not only there’s a ‘60s guitar on a tightrope, but he’s
continuing where Rush had left off during an extension of Cygnus X-1 Book One: The Voyage. And then, he makes it a joyful
walk before it gets even heavier as Tom fires more missiles by raising more
hell than ever before.
Tom then also returns back for another Italian Prog dinner
from Banco del Mutuo Soccorso’s Darwin period
to I Giganti’s Terra in Bocca. You
can the sound of a carousel organ come to life as Tom brings the steampunk
audiences to a standstill as the story gets even more dangerous.
Escape is Tom
Slatter’s nightmare brought to life. He is still our storyteller brought to
life again, following in the footsteps of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Rod Serling,
and Vincent Price. And I hope that I will hear more from him in the years to
come during these tricky times we’re living in.
The cover of Asaf’s latest release is a very striking artwork
from singer Sylwia Bialas. I can imagine she was inspired by Tarkovsky’s work
from the realms of Solaris and Stalker. Or it could have been inspired by
something bold and mysterious throughout the pandemic. Solar Flash is an unknown journey that awaits us.
Sirkis himself has been a very busy man working with artists
such as Gary Husband, Markus Reuter, Kenny Wheeler, Tassos Spilotopoulous, and
Yaron Stavi. The collaborations on this album featuring alongside Husband,
contains bassist Kevin Glasgow, and special guest Mark Wingfield. Now that is a
collaboration right then and there.
In an interview from 2010 on the Music Without Borders:Innerviewswebsite, Anil Prasad asked Asaf on what were the biggest challenges
he faces in his creative process and how he overcame them. His response was
this; “As a professional musician and a
band leader, I often face situations of stress in which it’s hard to let go.
There’s also recognizing your weak points and being able to face up to them and
work on them. The trick is to organically combine these elements together in a
way so they complement each other and become beneficial to the music.”
Solar Flash is
quite a challenging release. And for both Asaf Sirkis and the MoonJune label,
it is a fast-driven spiritual beauty brought to life that is like a flower
ready to bloom at any second.
The three-part story arc Polish
Suite is like a silent movie brought to life. You have these gentle
mournful piano work from Gary, setting up this city that is now a ghost town in
the middle of nowhere. You can almost feel a pin drop while Sylwia arranges the
emptiness of the city that it once was, is no longer there anymore.
Sirkis’ brush on the snare, walks across the town with
Glasgow’s bass in tow helping out the melodic vocals to give the last rite in
this fair city. Then, he packs his bags and goes into Nick Mason’s city to
celebrate The Grand Vizer’s Garden Party from
the Ummagumma album.
He becomes this mad scientist on the drums going crazy
before this foghorn-like sound from Husband takes full control for Mark’s
guitar to send a message to the gods in the sky in the Himalayan mountains in
the middle of a heavy snow storm. What Husband, Sirkis, and Wingfield would do
is to take listeners into the unknown that is a door-opening experience.
I can see Gary channeling bits of the Canterbury vibes from
Hatfield and the North in the style of scale-soaring beauty Calyx. I always envision Robert Wyatt
singing the third and final section of the suite. That would have been
something to close the curtain down throughout the structure of the
composition.
Kinship opens the
album with a surf-like wave arrangement that the trio create. You have Gary
doing this mysterious balance to channel Matching Mole’s Dave MacRae while
Glasgow has some mellowing tones on his Bass. Under the Ice has these cavernous arrangements to set up a
film-noir vibe from the 1940s.
Glasgow can go high and low on the fretboards. He captures
that smoky atmosphere before Gary lends those smooth R&B touches to know
that the case has been solved. Now comes the dark side in Asaf’s arrangements. Aquila is an ominous Mahavishnu approach
as Gary sets up this dooming rise on his organ to let Mark come out of Dracula’s
coffin and set up this mid-snarling effect he creates to let the Beast calm and
subdued.
Not only he channels both Frank Zappa and Allan Holdsworth,
it’s almost as if the two maestros are watching him up in heaven, knowing that
he’s tipping his hat to them up in the sky and they got his back. For Eric is dedicated to the drummer of
Weather Report, Eric Kamau Gravatt. It’s a cross between Steely Dan, Tangerine
Dream, and Soft Machine’s Third album.
With the spiritual voice of Sun Ra talking various subjects
throughout the piece, it becomes an intensive drive for the instruments to go
into this NASCAR race segment to reach the finish line at the end. Solar Flash is not only engaging, but an
amplified release this year from MoonJune Records.
When the trio gets together to create something
unexpectedly, it is like a cannon blast, knowing that it is going to be a wild
ride waiting to be unleashed.
I am not a morning person, mind you. Whenever I would
wake-up between 9 or 10am to get ready for Comicpalooza, I would take a shower,
get cleaned up, and have a small amount of breakfast so that I could get ready
to go the George R. Brown convention. Whether my Mom or Dad would take me from
2013 to 2018, it was a magical time to go for those Memorial Day weekends.
The construction can be tricky for them to take a different
passageway, and sometimes we would go a different route so that I can enjoy my
time from 10am to 6pm. I would look and see the cosplayers looking down at
their phones, going as a family, talking to their loved ones, friends, or
whatever they might do when they enter the building to enjoy the fun and forget
about all the craziness that is going on in the outside world.
When I’m at Comicpalooza, I am free from everything. I have
a great time, it can make my feet tired during the afternoons from all that
walking, but it becomes a safe haven. When I show them my badge whether it’s a 3-Day
pass or a Speed pass, I’m in to have a ball.
I never cover Comicpalooza. I don’t want to ruin the moment
for everyone during my time at the Convention. This is their moment to shine.
It’s sort of like other cons or expos from San Diego Comic-Con, New York
Comic-Con, E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), Wizard World, or Anime Expo
where they launched the new dubbed version of the original Sailor Moon back in
2014 in all of its uncut glory.
But it would be a whole expose to cover those and all those
travel expenses to go from area to another. It was the summer of 2014, I had
just graduated from Houston Community College and getting my Associate’s Degree
for Music in Performance for a nine year run. It was announced prior to the
convention that Stan “The Man” Lee was going to be there.
Meeting an icon like Stan Lee, was like meeting The Beatles
when they first arrived in the States on February 7, 1964. He along with Bernie
Wrightson, Peter Mayhew, Armin Shimerman, Jim Cummings, Sigourney Weaver, Neal
Adams, or Jim Steranko was the person I wanted to meet. I grew up watching the
animated series of both X-Men and Spider-Man on FOX Kids back in the ‘90s when
animation was cool then.
Then reading comics during that time frame. I stopped
reading comics until I got back to reading them again in the summer of 2012.
But I digress. The line for Stan was long, I my Superheroes PBS Blu-Ray
docuseries for him to sign. I couldn’t tell if I was in the middle or at the
back. But I could imagine it was long.
When he came in, the crowd went crazy as he sat down and
signed autographs. I came in and as he signed my Blu-Ray. We shook hands, and I
said to him, “Thank you for coming to Houston.” He replied back, “You are very
welcome!” Then came for the Photo Op. I always get starstruck whenever I meet
the people I wanted to meet. But I always keep my cool and not go ga-ga over
them. Just like those crazy people who are autograph seekers who sometimes hide
under the bushes and invade their privacies to get they’re signatures and use
it to sell on auction websites.
I was wearing my CAN Future Days shirt as I showed my
Blu-Ray he signed, the photo was taken and I thanked him again. I felt like it
was winning the lottery at times, but that was the moment I will never forget.
It was a moment in time that Comicpalooza during the
mid-2010’s like looking through your old scrapbook for a long, long time. Now
in the pandemic, it’s almost as if the dream is over and going through conventions
on your computer. But I look back on it now, and it was the memories that I
will never forget.
It’s quite a strange concept that Dr. Leonardo Pavkovic
would create some strange experiment inside his laboratory at the basement of MoonJune Records. But something has
lurked underneath the curtains that is waiting to be unleashed. It is a form of
live music from one of the most important quartets that has unleashed all of
its ammunition, and bring it to life at the Shapeshifter lab where originally
Markus Reuter, Tim Motzer, and Kenny Grohowski had recorded their experiment
live for a MoonJune release back on August 18th, 2019.
Brand X’s Percy Jones, Testament’s Alex Skolnick, Kenny
Grohowski, and Tim Motzer, have brought enough fuel to light the fires up for
this amazing 2-CD live recording at the same venue. Recorded last year during
the lockdown, you can imagine yourself being in the venue, being free from the
craziness that’s going on in the outside world.
Listening to the first act entitled The Unsilence, you can feel the tension cut with a knife. You have
Alex and Tim going at it by creating this beautiful sculpture as if they were
channeling either Jackson Pollock’s art design or creating more magical spells
to show off to their friends instead of pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
For Alex Skolnick, he’s more than just a Metal head, and a
member of Testament, but he can create these visual scenarios on his instrument
while Percy’s fretless bass goes into a counter clockwise as he climbs each
ladder with challenging results. I love how Kenny’s drumming goes on this
rampant whilst Alex channels the Krautrock masters, Manuel Gottsching and the
late great Michael Karoli from Ash Ra Tempel and CAN.
I imagine he would feed Motzer some strange idea as they
open up the soundscaping location before they take us into Andrei Tarkovsky’s
wasteland from the sci-fi epic, Stalker. It is very chaotic and very hay-wiring
at the same time. PAKT would do some strange experiments as Motzer uses bits
and bobs throughout his electronics to go all over the Shapeshifter lab like
there’s no tomorrow.
He and Skolnick are hammering down those Egyptian-like
textures in the hottest part of the Sahara desert. They work well together as a
team while Percy and Kenny go into a little Space Jam (no pun intended) as they
take a trip into the Isle of Everywhere from Gong’s You-era meets Herbie
Hancock’s Headhunters period.
The second act is called The Sacred Letter. Now this is
where we really get those boiling waters bubbling. It adds a virtual landscape
into an unknown wasteland that is waiting for us. Motzer’s eerie textures sets
up the illustration while Jones walks back and forth by giving Grohowski more
intense ideas on his drum kit.
There is a moment where I believe it’s Alex tipping his face
mask to Mike Ratledge’s composition on Facelift
from The Soft Machine’s Third album
originally released in 1970. It’s quite a treat from Alex making his instrument
sound like a wah-wah organ that would have gotten Mike’s stamp of approval to
create something like that.
Meanwhile, they walk into Sonar’s territory as Alex and Tim
go for the jugular. They walk into David Torn’s sonic voyages, but carrying
more of the Irrlicht-era from Klaus
Schulze. Percy is a madman to go crazy throughout his bass exercise as Alex,
Kenny, and Tim follow him in hot pursuit.
The climatic ending is where all hell has broken loose for
PAKT. They raise the roof up by going into a nuclear explosion by giving it a
mind-boggling finale with a sigh of relief. But I can imagine there’s more to
where it came from. I just wish it had continued more instead of a cliffhanger
ending by leaving us dangling on top of the Grand Canyon.
Contributor to All About Jazz’s own Mark Sullivan who wrote
the liner notes for the 2-CD set, watched the livestream performance during the pandemic. And I could imagine that it was quite a revelation for him to watch these four amazing geniuses bringing listeners on an adventure that we will ever think of dreaming about. I hope to hear more from PAKT in the
years to come from the MoonJune label. I can always wait and hear to see what
not just the quartet, but what Leo will have in store for us in the roaring ‘20s.
It’s been three years since Dewa Budjana has made another
album after the release of Mahadini. He’s been quite the busy man.
Collaborating with Tohpati, Tony Levin, Jack DeJohnette, and Peter Erskine, he
has shown no sign of stopping to bring his spiritual textures to life. With the
release of Naurora, he’s bringing the
circle in full.
Released on the Mehsada label from Indonesia on the MoonJune
label internationally, the album was recorded remotely during the Pandemic. Naurora takes you away from the
craziness of the outside world into the unknown. With help from Simon Phillips,
Joey Alexander, Jimmy Johnson, Gary Husband, and Carlitos Del Puerto, they’re
just band members, but a band of brothers lending Dewa a helping hand to bring
his latest creation to life.
The opening title-track features Imee Ooi’s vocalizations to
bring the curtains to rise with snarling guitar sections. Featuring Goblin-sque
atmospheres with its Epic sounding vibrations, it becomes a duel between Dewa
and Mateus Asato before they go into an exhilarating bossa-nova metallic
groove! As Puerto’s bass sets in the grooves, Joey takes center stage by laying
down some piano vibrations of Gershwin’s Rhapsody
in Blue.
Swarna Jigga has
these spiral staircasing improvisation as Dewa and Mateus share a duel by
duking it out a Zappa-sque midsection. Soaring arrangements thanks to Philips’
helicopter like drum work, the landscaping textures go for some time changing
melodies while walking towards these mystical forests to see what the future
will have in store for us on Kmalasana.
Sliding acoustic double-tracking guitars from Dewa, we as
listeners are waiting for the sun to shine as he turns this composition into
crossover combination of ambient electrical rain power to cry out in the middle
of a heavy thunderstorm. When you listen to Sabana
Shanti, at first, Dewa tips his hat for a brief second to Procol Harum’s Grand Hotel.
But then, McCandless’ sax gives an insight of a spectacular beauty
while Dewa and Dave Weckl go for a samba segment. It gives Paul a chance to relieve
the stress that people are going throughout the pandemic before Joey returns
for another Gershwin showdown by sending us into the clear blue sky.
Blue Mansion closes
the album with an ominous Indian tribe. With its Magma-like riffs, it becomes a
celebration before Husband lays down some Mars Volta-like grooves as Carlito’s
upright bass becomes a cat-and-mouse chase.
Naurora is Dewa’s
message for a chance of relaxation. While everything came to a screeching halt
last year in March, this album is definitely a sign of hope. It makes us go
through the tricky times during the pandemic that would make you want to dance,
punch, and sooth yourself throughout the situations that we're going through.
Whenever Roth-Handle Studios cooks up something strange
inside their laboratories, you know that Dr. Mattias Olsson’s experiments are out
there when it comes to Molesome. He’s very much like a mad scientist by
creating more strange inventions that is waiting to be unleashed. And he’s
pretty much done that with the latest release, Are You There?
Listening to this album is like going through the structures
of Hardcore Devo, Post-Punk, Chamber Music, Tori Amos, Bill Fay, The Faust Tapes, The Residents, and the
independent music production library, De Wolfe Music. Mattias has followed
Zappa’s advice by throwing the rule book into the fire. While we might abide by
them, it doesn’t mean we have to follow them. For Mattias, he broke the rules,
one by one.
Sometimes the grooves are trapped in this dystopian house
that is trapped between the 1950s and the futuristic ‘70s. For Olsson, it’s
almost that he had written the alternate score for the German Sci-Fi miniseries
from Fassbinder’s 1973 classic, World on
a Wire. You have the surreal Cinevox Italian Psych lounge take of Long Island, Booji Boy returning to the
post-apocalyptic sequel from Tunnel of
Love with Naturales while Mattias
channels the Faerie Symphony-era from
Tom Newman on Vernon.
Meanwhile Tanaka is speaking through the intercom in the
styles of Laurie Anderson between Spacestation
Funeral and Spirits before
Molesome raises the roof on Tim (Original
Soundtrack). And then, the nod to Delia Derbyshire flows in the string
quartet in the melodic textures of Ziwzih
Ziwih (OO-OO-OO) on Blues Soaked Hope
before the string section takes us to our home planet with our Boxes.
Molesome’s latest release this year may not be everyone’s
cup of Joe, but Olsson is always opening doors to see what the 22nd
century might be waiting for us. Challenging and insanely beautiful, Olsson is
quite the mad scientist that we really need for many years to come in the near
future.
Quel Che Disse il Tuono are an Italian progressive rock
quartet that considers members of Unreal City and Cellar Noise. Last year, they
released their debut album on the AMS label entitled, il Velo Dei Riflessi. Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poetry The Wasteland
which was originally published in 1922, the poem tackles themes on religion.
Not only that, but how the modern world itself is not impacted from the
landscape as it was before.
Francesca Zanetta, Roberto “Berna” Bernasconi, Niccolo
Gallani, and Alessio Del Ben are keeping the spirit of the Rock Progressivo
Italano genre alive. You can hear aspects of Camel, il Paese dei Balocchi,
Celeste, La Coscienza Di Zeno, Phideaux, and il Balletto di Bronzo’s YS.
The opening track il
Paradigma Dello Specchio, fires up their engines with mellotron, guitar,
and flute. By the moments the clouds are parting, we are driving in a deserted
highway with the four members channeling the Mirage-era from Camel with its
organ fanfare by travelling into the unknown as Zanetta channels the Marquee Moon-sque vibes from Television’s
Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine.
As the call-and-response comes crawling out the soil, Figlio Dell‘Uomo is a terrifying
nightmare for Zanetta and Gallani adding more fuel to the fire. Featuring some
lyrical textures of Jacques Brel’s Port
of Amsterdam and My Death, it has
some Murple-sque textures for Quel to rescue the penguin to being free from
being a sideshow performer and going back to his home land in the North Pole.
Moog snarling monsters coming in to terrorize the city, we
are in the battlefields to go into aspects between Van der Graaf Generator and
Le Orme as it segues into this post-apocalyptic Twilight Zone atmosphere that
Rod Serling had envisioned right before our very eyes.
Il Bastone e il
Serpente goes into The Mars Volta’s territory while Francesca channels her
vision of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. Bernasconi slaps some funky bass introduction
to honor Bootsy Collins as we head into the city with no chance of escaping
with some swirling synths and car revving percussion works by Alessio Del Ben.
Zennetta hammers those frets down with unexpected changes
before travelling into space and time of Phideaux’s Snowtorch-era while the final duel between good and evil on Loro Sono Me has some of the most
intensive battle sequences for the quartet to head out into the battlefield for
honor and bravery.
Il Velo Dei Riflessi may not be everyone’s cup of coffee per
se, but while this Quel Che Disse il Tuono’s debut, they really done their
homework very well during the pandemic while everything came to a screeching
halt last year. So I will be on the look-out for this incredible band to see
what they will come up with next.
It’s been ten years since Paolo “SKE” Botta, best known for
his partnership between Yugen and Not a Good Sign has released a follow-up to
his 2011 debut 1000 Autunni released
on the AltrOck/Fading Records label. It received critical acclaim and then went
out-of-print until 2018 when it was reprinted as 1001 Autunni as a double CD set featuring an additional live
recording.
Now in 2021, SKE has released a follow-up entitled Insolubilia. Produced by Marcello
Marinone, the second album is a return to the melodic waters once more by
following in the footsteps of Gryphon, Latte E Miele, Gentle Giant, Present,
Wojciech Kilar, Univers Zero, and Le Orme’s Felona E Sorona, Paolo’s follow-up
is like a flaming fire that simply won’t burn out.
And to be allowed to have 25 musicians from Stormy Six,
Wobbler, Ciccada, Isildurs Bane, Loomings, and Shamblemaths to name a few, they
aren’t just band members lending Paolo a helping hand, but a band of brothers
working together both as a team, and as a family. Not only have we had the
five-part opus of the title-track, but some of the most incredible highlights
that SKE has taken their listeners close to the edge.
Opening track Sudo features
an intensive organ and synth exercise with melodic horn arrangements. Martino
Malacrida’s climatic drum patterns takes us into a tidal-waving climax
featuring a spine-tingling folk background done by Tommaso’s mandolin. Insolubilia II has Evangelia Kozoni’s
angelic voice soars through the skies as we hear Airport announcements
throughout the building ready for another plane flying to another city.
Jacopo’s mallet percussions has some complex time changes
while Francesco’s heavy guitar lines go through a RPI (Rock Progressivo
Italiano) momentum with an arrangement done in the styles of Van der Graaf Generator.
Lo Stagno del Proverbio takes place
in the aftermath of a mob riot gone horribly wrong. Luca’s trumpet takes us
into the bloody streets by crying out to the gods above the heavenly skies with
some fanfare arrangements.
La Nona Onda is a
heavy, nightmarish, and brutal composition. Paolo channels the Pawn Hearts period by continuing where A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers had left
off. As the snarling textures of the guitar and mellotron lifts-off into outer
space, it continues of the reprise for the final battle on Sudo.
Insolubilia IV at first
begins with some 8-bit video game synthesizers, but goes in depth of the RIO
movement. Camembert’s Melanie Gerber is giving the sermon inside a gothic
cathedral as she channels the vocal styles of North Sea Radio Orchestra’s
Sharron Fortnam with some Wyatt-sque vibes as a mournful arrangement.
Scogli 4 feels at
times like a Univers Zero composition. Honoring the late great Roger Trigaux
with some late ‘60s Giallo themes from Mario Bava’s Blood & Black Lace, the dooming harpsichord, clarinet, and rain
pouring effects leaves us on a cliffhanger not knowing when the killer will
strike again.
The operatic choirs and horror themes on Insolubilia V comes at you with an
eruptive explosion for the shocking finale. Almost making an alternate score to
the 1975 unsung gem of Day of the Locust, the
bell tolls with some ghostly synths before Fabio’s bass brings the fuse to
explode at any second by going into a crossover between the first two albums of
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Black Sabbath’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath rolled into one.
Insolubilia is
quite an adventure from the complexing stories by Paolo “SKE” Botta. He has a
headstrong view on where he wants to take the next logical step by following
into a dangerous tightrope. But for Paolo, he’s brought a lot of ammunition and
brutal textures to life on his second release during the pandemic.
In 2012, during the time at the beginning of promotions for
Prog Magazine’s compilation of Prog Rocks! Ray Shulman describes the origins on
their seventh studio album Free Hand. “The idea was to kind of get back to our
roots. We lost my brother Phil. He left for the fourth album. And so it was an
idea to get back to our roots and go back to the kind of writing style in our
earlier albums.”
There’s no denying that Free Hand is quite a leap forward
for Gentle Giant to take it a step further by having all the creativity they
had done. From the swirling label of the Vertigo label to signing with
Chrysalis Records, Free Hand was also one of their most successful releases.
Reaching the top 50 in the Billboard album charts, this shows how much they
have come a long way.
Now in a new reissue from the Alucard label and remixed by
Steven Wilson who had done their previous work including Octopus, The Power and the Glory, and the Three Piece Suite, it is time to take a trip down memory lane by
focusing on why this band are deserving more recognition and were often under
the radar in the Progressive Rock genre.
From the moment you listen to groovy introduction of Just The Same you feel the synthesizer
solo work done by Kerry Minnear taking it a step further by channeling his Herbie
Hancock approach before the vibrations of the clapping rhythm going back and
forth, it is quite a swinging tune that Derek sings in that style as if it was
returning to the 1930s of vaudeville and a bit of Leonard Bernstein to kick
things off.
On Reflection starts
with the introduction of the vocals going back and forth between Ray, Derek,
Gary, and Kerry going into this complicated approach on the acapella sequence
as if they were returning to their Octopus-era
before the melodic piano, glockenspiel, and vibraphones done by Kerry, gives
some insight to honor the grand wazoo himself, Frank Zappa.
The first two minutes gives you an insight on a trip to the medieval
period for Kerry reflecting the good memories of school friends, and the best
parts of your child hood as if Minnear himself has become a multiplicity
version of himself that Wilson goes for the jugular to bring the two versions
of Kerry singing a duet before the heavier rocking approach done by Gary and
Ray go into a duel with his keyboards.
The title-track becomes a cat-and-mouse introduction between
Kerry laddering effect and Ray’s climbing upwards and downwards on his bass
before it transforms a dueling clavinet battle to be free from the torture and
learning how to fight back once and for all. I can tell throughout on the new
mixes on the third composition shows the guitars, drums, and bass are really
cooking as it goes into a hot boiling temperature by giving Gentle Giant’s way
of cooking, a hot and spicy flavor with some renaissance-like twists for the
lemon that is pouring into the soup!
Time To Kill features
I believe the first video game with the sound effects of Atari’s PONG before the sinister nightmares of
the pounding piano, thunderous drums and guitars setting up the crime scene on
what just happened. Derek is our detective lending our help with his Mundy
partner on foot, seeing where the criminal has left some clues and mysteries to
solve the case by bringing the killer with some complexing justice in an
operatic approach. As Gary brings some of the most brutal arrangements into the
forefront, Weathers and Minnear make their instruments sound like a gun battle
between the police and the criminal in a final showdown.
His Last Voyage gives
Steven a chance to have Kerry come into the forefront in his mixing. With a bit
of the reverbing effects, it is a journey into the man’s life as he goes on his
last journey into finding his inner self. He and Ray blend well in this
mournful waltz-like sequence, knowing that there’s no turning back once he
leaves his country to one day find peace with some unexpected changes
throughout Gary and John’s motif throughout the song.
And then it becomes a Miles David-sque ending for the band
to come out swinging with a Kind of Blue finale channeling the introduction of All Blues. Gary knows how to nail those
wah-wah bluesy effects by nailing the hammers down as he makes his guitar cry
out to the gods at the end as it becomes a climatic finale with a fanfare
vibration.
Talybont. Now this
is where the medieval vibrations come into the center. Channeling the styles of
Gryphon’s Red Queen to Gryphon Three, Gentle
Giant haven’t forgotten their renaissance roots from their first two albums as
it comes out swinging. Between Clavinet, recorder, and violin goes from
medieval, classical, and heavy rocking vibrations that gives the band a lot of
team work.
Mobile is a nod to
the Celtic Rock influences that has a Folk-Rock arrangement. You can imagine
Derek is dancing the jig town to town. With a nod to Steeleye Span and
Horslips, they have a way to show respect to the genre by taking it a whole new
level of moving forwards into the future.
Steven’s mixes on this album are quite intriguing. I loved
how he would bring the instruments and vocals through various locations on the
EQ by honoring the band’s legacy. There will be a dividing line in the sand on
whether they will accept Steven’s new mix on the album or not, but here, Free Hand is the real deal.
A Sweet Niche is the work of Keir Cooper and Olly
Sellwood. Like a cross between Jazz, Alternative, and Intensive Rock, Keir and
Olly have known each other since childhood. Olly has played with several
artists from the Bad Elephant label including active members of Knifeworld’s own
Charlie Cawood and Chrome Hoof’s Emmett Elvin. Not only that but he’s also
played with Necro Deathmort and Vodun while Keir performs with the London-based
band Yossarian and Chris Brett Bailey’s guitar sextet TMWKFBIMGYL.
They have started out as Eye Music. The first output for
Baritone Sax, Guitar, and Drums. And then Eye Music 2. Joining A Sweet Niche is
drummer Tim Doyle. WIRES is a
knock-out release from 2019. It is like a powder keg ready to erupt at any second.
From the influences between Faust, WorldService Project, Diablo Swing
Orchestra, Henry Cow, Captain Beefheart, and the first three Soft Machine
albums with a fuzztone aspect by honoring Mike Ratledge.
There are moments where we are living in the nightmarish
dystopian landscape after everything came to a screeching halt in March of last
year when the pandemic and COVID-19 hit. And A Sweet Niche carries some of
those expertise. As a listener, you can imagine yourself walking on a dangerous
tightrope. And from beginning to end, you may never know if Keir and Olly might
cut the rope at any second.
Crossed over between the Rock In Opposition movement, Punk,
Poetry, and Avant-Rock, they have cooked something hot and spicy inside their
kitchen by giving Gordon Ramsay the big giant middle finger. Olly’s sax at times
channels Lol Coxhill, David Jackson from Van der Graaf Generator, Lindsay Cooper,
John Coltrane, and Univers Zero’s bassoonist Michel Berkmans.
I always imagine that not only A Sweet Niche transfuse Punk
and Jazz, but listening to some of the legends of RIO bands while preparing WIRES. There’s Art Zoyd, Guapo, Magma,
and honoring the late great Roger Trigaux of Present. I loved the two-part epic
on Don Quijote. It becomes sort of
like the last stand for the noble to envision his knightly story.
Chaotic, complex, alarming, and tensed, they bring the
tragic hero of La Mancha with these haunting background themes on how much
Quijote has become his own worst enemy. Vocals add more boiling temperatures
that makes Sweet Niche’s arrangements even hotter!
Chantal Brown’s soulful take on The Art of Cultivation, tips her hat with a swinging attack
honoring the late great Nina Simone while Eleanor Sikorski’s poetic mind of
Allen Ginsberg adds the danger that is coming from the outside world for the Hungerstrike. But once Luke Toms
challenging combination between vocals and the instruments on What Pulls You Back, gives Sweet Niche
more ammunition than ever!
WIRES is a
roller-coaster ride from beginning to end. As I’ve mentioned earlier, it is a challenging
debut that A Sweet Niche have unleashed, but holy shit in a fucking handbag!
They are out of this world!
Formed in New York City as Dyanne Potter Voegtlin was a
student at the Manhattan School of Music studying classical piano performance,
Potter’s Daughter not only do performances in the Big Apple but in the
northeastern side of Pennsylvania. They have released their 2018 studio debut
on the Melodic Revolution label entitled, The Blind Side. And now they have a
new album in the works coming out this fall called, Close to Nearby with guest drummer, Simon Philips.
Last year during the pandemic, they released an EP called, Casually Containing Rage. Three songs
that includes a Warren Zevon cover, this was my introduction to the music of
Dyanne and Jan-Christian’s music. For me, it was quite an experience since it’s
been many years I listened to something from Nick Katona’s label. For me, to
open the door to the Melodic label once more, it’s putting one foot into
another.
The opening track of To
My Love which is a re-arrangement of the sixth track from The Blind Side, it starts off with a
middle-eastern mellowing take from The Savage Rose’s two studio albums between the
sole self-titled debut and In The Plain in
the late ‘60s, Dyanne pours her heart and soul singing to the gods once more.
And all of a sudden, it transforms into a laid-back groove
with Patrick’s drum work and Jan’s calming Bass lines while Dyanne tips her hat
to the late great Freddie Mercury by channeling the reverbing vocal works on
Queen’s The Prophet’s Song from A Night at the Opera. Once Amit’s
oceanic guitars fill the salty waters, it cuts to an abandoned area of an art
deco movie theater that has now becomes a ghost town.
The cover of Warren Zevon’s Accidentally Like a Martyr from his third 1978 studio album, Excitable Boy, is a heartfelt tribute to
the singer-songwriter. While I’m not the biggest fan of Warren’s music, it fits
well with Dyanne’s vocals as she looks up to the angelic skies knowing that
Warren is watching her, carrying that beautiful arrangement of the song
throughout the EP thanks to Jan’s bluesy textures.
The closing track might be one of Potter’s Daughter’s
controversial piece called, We Could Be. It
tackles the news reports from NPR’s David Greene on the death of George Floyd
who was murdered by Police Officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, is a haunting
composition. Whether you agree with this piece or not, you have to give Dyanne
a huge amount of credit for tackling this subject.
With its electro-jazz arrangement, the struggle to bringing peace
and understanding without violence, is a big, big challenge as Jan has a little
split second on the Guitar Synthesizers honoring the late great Allan
Holdsworth. Casually Containing Rage is
sort of the peak on what is to come for Potter’s Daughter’s next studio album
this coming fall.
It will be quite a revelation to see and understand Dyanne’s
wings have finally spread by flying over the clouds and seeing the good and bad
situations from the outside world on Earth. She might one day bring peace and
happiness to our home planet. And with their EP released last year, it will get
you going to see what Potter's Daughter will have in store for us on Close to Nearby.
