These two tracks mark the fervent debut solo offering from erstwhile frontman/songwriter/misery troubadour Jonathan Stolber of the much loved To Bury A Ghost (“one of our favourite records of the year” – EchoesandDust.com)
The Northampton based, former Abbey Road Masterclass graduate
& twice-nominated BBC Weekender Artist returns this Piano Day with two deep
cuts culled from forthcoming debut LP, “For The Blood Of England.”
The Minotaur
(Mesto in A-Minor)
is a majestic, blistering neo-classical piano-led instrumental that builds upon
Stolber’s plaintive Michael Nyman-esque performance and will feature on this
year’s Piano Day playlist. Backed by a searing string quintet, the song slowly
evolves into a grandiose cinematic crescendo as a colossal thundering funeral
march evokes an apocalyptic cacophony. The track is reminiscent in parts of Hope Of The States & Hans Zimmer and features live
performances from some of the UK’s
most talented string players, including David Dhonau (Her Name Is Calla) and Beni Weedon (Maybeshewill).
Slow It Down paints a different sonic picture. A
dense symphony of discordant, glacial synths swell into an explosive wash of
plucked harp and angelic, tumbling choir, whilst Stolber delivers his trademark
vocal: a fragile, intimate croon that recalls early Elbow & ‘Kid A’
era Radiohead.
Mixed by Leeds producer James Kenosha (Grammatics / Dry The River) and mastered by John Davis (Manic Street Preachers / Bloc Party / Joy Division).
Stolber has to date, had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many celebrated acts, including 65 Days of Static, James Yuill & Her Name Is Calla. The BBC, Drowned in Sound, Echoes & Dust, Gold Flake Paint, The 405, Sound Of Violence,John Kennedy and Gil Mills have all expressed support of his previous releases.
These two tracks serve as a gorgeous appetite-whetter ahead of the full debut scheduled for release later in 2020.
All proceeds from the Bandcamp download ‘The Minotaur’ will be donated in aid of mental health awareness :www.tinychanges.com
In 2019, PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS, the California-based band featuring Ted Leonard (lead vocals & guitars), Jimmy Keegan (drums & vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and John Boegehold (keyboards), presented its much-lauded eponymous debut.
Just a year later, the group announces May 15th, 2020 as the release date for its newest opus, “Prehensile Tales”, which expands the stylistic niche carved out by the debut and adds additional twists and turns along the way.
For the six songs on the album (the longest clocking in at over 17 minutes), the band introduced violin, flute, trumpet, cello, sax and pedal steel to the sound palette that was once again recorded & mixed by Rich Mouser at The Mouse House.
The track-listing reads as follows: 1. Raining Hard In Heaven 2. Here In My Autumn 3. Elegant Vampires 4. Why Don’t We Run 5. Lifeboat 6. Soon But Not Today
“I started writing for the second album right as we were finishing up the first one” says Boegehold, who is again producing. “I wanted to change around some of the songwriting approaches I’d been using and draw from a few different musical influences while not straying too far from the overall vibe of the band.”
Ted Leonard adds: “This album is another collection of lush arrangements and infectious melodies. I mean REALLY infectious. There are certain lines that are the last thing going through my head at night and the first thing in the morning. I think it’s actually furthering my insanity.”
For the striking cover image, P-SA collaborated with Polish artist Mirek (https://www.facebook.com/mirekis7/), whose ‘An evolutionary broadcast’ design Boegehold immediately considered a perfect fit to the album’s peculiar title.
“Prehensile Tales is a play-on-words I came up with while writing lyrics and thought it would be a funny album title. As a bonus, it actually seems to mean something that fits the music.”
To coincide with the album’s release, the band is set to perform at RosFest 2020 in Sarasota, Florida on May 9th and is lining up more dates later in the year which will be announced soon.
“Prehensile Tales” will be released as Gatefold 2LP plus CD, Limited Edition CD, and as digital album on May 15th, 2020 on InsideOutMusic.
Victor Lee was born in South Korea where he spent his childhood there. He moved to the US in his late teens and has been living there since. He started on classical piano and has always had a piano at home since he was too small to crawl up the chair, Victor then started playing guitar when he was 14.
This talented musician wrote his first ever original composition back in 2013, called “Absence”, to comfort a friend who had lost her dog at the time. Even though he felt the quality itself wasn’t quite there, Victor quickly fell in love with the process and the purpose that songs bring as it allowed him to express things that he couldn’t with words.
There followed his first official track “Second Chance” on Dec 6, 2016 with a very talented Norwegian drummer named Andreas Sjøen who then played on several more tracks on Victor’s debut album “Strangely Familiar” released in 2018.
On Sep 17, 2019 he released a single “Letter” which was a partnership with a renowned Instagram Music community called “Pickup Music” as a part of their educational program “Songsquad”
Victor Lee’s new single “Harbor City”, featuring Henrik Linder on bass and Andreas Sjøen on drums was released on January 10th, 2020. Victor plays electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and produced and mixed the song which was mastered by Jeremy Krull.
A marvelously upbeat track of prog/rock/jazz fusion, this song is seriously uplifting with fantastic keyboard runs and some mind blowing guitar solos. It flies along at a serious rate of notes but the musicianship is tight as a drum.
For five minutes you can forget real life and all its trials and tribulations and just immerse yourself in this inspiring musical concoction.
“My Arrival began life when three souls wandered into a single room with the intention to write music from a different perspective than they had done so before: shorter and accessible songs, without losing any of their intended intensity and progressive roots.
Their new album “Satur9 & Indigo” is intricate but elegant in sound. The music is made possible by the gentle weave of synths and guitars atop steady bass and drums, with vocals telling us the melancholic story of a man with a bleeding heart on a dying planet, desperate to find a new home.”
I do love a good press release and this one is no exception. Being a big fan of Sylvium, when Ben van Gastel (guitars & key) contacted me about this new project, I was very interested to hear what they had come up with.
Ben formed My Arrival along with Richard de Geest (vocals) and Fred Boks (bass, drums, keys), the music is closely related to Sylvium but with more relaxed, shorter tracks and is a bit more oriented to Art Rock, instead of prog.
Musically inspired by a changing world, the music was written with the intention to tell the story of a departure and a search for a new home.
Ben van Gastel: “All over the world people are looking for a safe home, not only because of war or climate change. Loved ones are left behind, hoping they will meet again soon, when they have found their new home. Richard de Geest has the gift of a singer songwriter.
He wrote the lyrics like a true poet! He takes you on this search for a new home with his voice, leaving no one untouched. Fred Boks is well known from Sylvium’s first EP release “Purified”. This time he has surpassed himself.
Being responsible for the mix and mastering, every sound is carefully balanced by Fred, sometimes twice or more! It was this finishing touch to take the music to another dimension.”
There is almost a melancholy feel to the album but it is overlaid by lush musical passages and a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. The musicianship is outstanding and the quality of songwriting draws the listener into this immersive and deeply engaging musical experience.
There is substance to the music, a real primal, deliberate and thoughtful feel and Richard’s warm and substantive vocal delivery underpins and overlays everything like calming influence.
The album is bookended by a sci-fi feeling intro and outro and then the music flows through some mightily impressive songs, Gone with it’s highly emotive touch and the Pop/Prog of the enchanting Pale White Dot accompany you gently into the rest of this impressive album.
Things get more meaningful with the dignified and languid brilliance of Strange Machine and the sombre, forlorn feeling Saturn & Indigo. There’s an eruption of intensity on the powerful Null Echo which fades into the stark beauty of Come Undone, these superb musicians just keep on delivering sublime song after song.
You want a rather well crafted instrumental that ramps up the tension a jot? Well here’s Failure of a Grand Design to give you exactly that with its haunting and apprehensive atmosphere. Full Dark no Stars is a compelling three minutes of emotive vocals and stirring music and Close Your Eyes is as wistful a piece of music you could ever hope for but one that leaves a plaintive and reflective feeling in the pit of your stomach.
The album will be released on the band’s own label, Mey Productions, giving them further opportunity to learn, to grow and to be inspired, thanks to their audience. That’s all that My Arrival want to do – bring musicians together, make music with them, inspire their audience and let them discover their world and, with ‘Satur9 & Indigo’, they have made a hugely impressive and influential start.
Heavy psych rock masters ELDER have released ‘Embers’, the first taste of their highly anticipated new LP Omens (released 24th April, Stickman Records), their first full-length since the globally-acclaimed Reflections of a Floating World.
The band have also revealed the album artwork for Omens, created by longtime collaborator Adrian Dexter.
In their own words: “‘Embers’ is doubtless one of the most energetic and upbeat songs ELDER has ever made, and really became the favorite to play while rehearsing to record Omens. It’s maybe the least traditionally heavy track from the record, but it’s certainly dense. Lots of interlocking guitar and bass lines, keyboards, synthesizer solos (thanks to our friend Fabio Cuomo!) – you can hear that we had plenty of fun making this album. Like any ELDER song, it’s best heard in context, and we’re excited to release the full record soon!”
Omens is perhaps the band’s most ambitious album yet – delving into deeper, more expansive, genre-pushing territories with five tracks of progressive, heavy, psychedelically evocative glory. Elements of OM, Pink Floyd, even Mastodon and Hawkwind combine to create a truly special record.
Formed in a small coastal town in Massachusetts in the mid noughties, ELDER have reinvented their sound over the course of five albums to grow from a stalwart of the stoner/doom scene into one of the most unique voices in the rock underground. Their long-scale compositions unfold as journeys, running the gamut of styles from the 70s to the present within a single song, with a penchant for “sheer gatefold-era grandeur” as described by Rolling Stone. After thirteen years, this is the first full-length recorded with a new lineup including guitarist Michael Risberg and new drummer Georg Edert, along with guest performances by Fabio Cuomo on Rhodes piano and synthesizers.
ELDER’s new album Omens answers any speculation about their new direction with an emphatic statement: evolution or extinction. Lush, intricately interwoven melodies grow and dissolve into spaced-out jams; massive riffs thunder down into a churning sea of psychedelic sounds and unpredictable grooves carry away the listener. ELDER paint pictures with their music, and Omens shows the band experimenting with an even more colourful palette – with good reason.
By continuing to incorporate new elements to their sound, ELDER’s output has repeatedly set benchmarks for their peers. Beginning with 2008’s Elder and 2010’s Dead Roots Stirring, ELDER made ripples in the stoner rock scene with their uniquely melodic approach to the genre. In 2015 they surprised again with Lore, a watershed moment in the band’s career (recently crowned “Album of the Decade” by TheObelisk) which brought in elements of post-, prog- and space rock into the ELDER sound. Despite several years of heavy touring surrounding the album, Reflections of a FloatingWorld was released just two years later, earning a spot at the top of many best-of lists including Rolling Stone (#5, 20Best Metal Albums Of 2017), Stereogum, acclaim from Metal Hammer, and more.
ELDER will be touring USA in May and throughout Europe in June and July.
John Holden’s‘Rise and Fall’ has been in my possession for a while now and I was very gratified to be given access to this remarkable album some three months prior to its official release. I was also very pleased that I had been thanked in the album credits, that having been an ambition of mine for quite some time.
‘Rise and Fall’ is the second album from John Holden and features substantial input and assistance from several core musicians including Joe Payne, Oliver Day and Oliver Wakeman, Sally Minnear, Jean Pageau and Michel St Pere from Mystery, not forgetting the always remarkably impressive Peter Jones. If, like me, you enjoyed John’s debut release ‘Capture Light’ (still available from John via Bandcamp) then I’m sure you will love this one too.
The album consists of just seven pieces, they are, however, lengthy and
well written. It is also expertly recorded and produced by John himself while the
whole album was mastered by Robin Armstrong of Cosmograf fame.
The guest list of collaborators is impressive with each bringing their
own skills to bear. Especially worthy of note are the keyboard skills and
musical arrangements of Vikram Shankar, a
musician who is not very widely known yet. The album is a great place to
discover him for yourself, he certainly looks to be a musician with a bright
future awaiting him.
As a side note, the packaging on this release is again impeccable, as are
the extensive sleeve notes in the booklet which give a deeper insight into each
of these tracks.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right on in then shall we…
The opening track, Leap of Faith, features Peter Jones on vocals, recorder and whistles, in fact Peter
bookends the album with a further performance on the last track Ancestors and Satellites with both
tracks sharing a recurrent musical passage, albeit it in a different key.
Leap of Faith concerns
itself with the antics of Eilmer, A
Benedictine monk who lived at Malmesbury Abbey in the 11th century
and one who was fascinated by the flight of the birds and bats that lived around
the priory He had it in his mind to fly like they did so attempted (like Daedalus, the Father of Icarus of Greek
mythology fame) to fly using wings he had made attached to his back and arms. You
can read the story in the song lyrics but I can say that gravity prevailed! This
piece is very moving and very atmospheric with Peter Jones really
bringing the tale to life in his own inimitable way.
This is a fantastic opener that sets you up for all that follows, which, in this instance, is the superb Rise and Fall voiced by Jean Pageau of Mystery. This talented vocalist gives a very emotionally raw vocal delivery that makes you feel his anguish as he sings of the relationship that one has with both their addictions and the person they care about, who also suffers the brunt of this addiction. This is a very honest song and another classy piece of work.
The next track, The Golden Thread, I consider
a truly beautiful song, one that has extra depths to it as it is a requiem
written by John’s wife Elizabeth who is a cancer survivor. She wrote this to
express her deep love for John and also so that, if she were not around, the
song and her memory would live on as a musical legacy of her life and struggle.
This piece of music is very gentle with an almost classical tone to it and is
sung by the remarkable talents of John Payne and Lauren Nolan as a duet, not being written as such initially but
Lauren’s voice worked so well with Joe’s that adaptations were made to make it work
in this way. The sentiments that this song espouses and expresses are both very
warm, loving and deeply profound indeed with Oliver Wakeman and Vikram Shankar playing on the song to magnificent effect.
The music reaches a crescendo before fading away to the harder edged Dark Arts on which Billy Sherwood provides a bass part in the style of the late great Chris Squire, playing the sort of bass runs the great man would have done whilst alive. The track also features a spoken excerpt of Francis Urquhart of House of Cards fame, setting the tone for a politically charged song about the abuse of power by those in charge. Once again Joe Payne vocalises with real passion and power to deliver a truly remarkable track along with more fine keyboards from Oliver Wakeman. I heard this song in an unmixed state six months ago and was suitably impressed then, and still am, by its magnificent, powerful delivery and content that is right on point.
The next track is Hereticwhich speaks of how ISIS destroyed lots of priceless artefacts in Palmyra
in Iraq after killing the 82 year old custodian Khaled Al-Assad at the
site and smashing 3000 year old plus pieces in a show of cultural terrorism. He
was beheaded in front of his family and his body was then hung in the central
square. Again, whilst a dark song, there is hope that the displaced peoples
will one day return and, as John says, “Empires rise and fall, ideologies
are replaced but still the healing power of love endures.”Sally Minnear’s vocals are excellent on this too as she sings in
tandem with Joe Payne.
After the Storm is about a
journey one woman takes and utilises the weather outside as a metaphor for
storms in her life and the ultimate realisation that, eventually, the storms
both outside and inside her will pass leaving a calmer and clearer path ahead.
This is mostly an acoustic piece and that adds a good contrast for the album
with some fine playing from Oliver Day.
The final song, Ancestors and Satellites, returns
to the opening section of Leap of Faith as Eilmer
saw Haley’s comet twice in his lifetime with John using this comet theme again
to show how little we’ve learnt in the days gone past. This song has vocal
contributions from Peter Jones, Joe Payne, Sally Minnear and Lauren Nolan but mainly its Peter who sings this so delicately
and with real warmth and all set to suitably atmospheric keyboards from John,
and Vikram Shankar.
The song talks about cave paintings over 40,000 years ago and also of the Apollo mission that landed on the moon in July 1969 and of the footprints they left there for ever. There follows an ensemble of synthesizers playing a multi tracked passage to great effect and the massed vocals singing the chorus once again before the comet melody returns once again to bring the song towards its impressive finale. Another thing of note is the fantastic and powerful drum work from Nick D’Virgilio. On this track and throughout most of the album Nick adds his magic and his drive to power these pieces along in a most delightful and satisfying manner.
The vocals are impassioned and strong and Michael St Pere’s epic
guitar line is heard, along with a bank of synths, sounding very epic and majestic
to bring this fantastic album to a fine conclusion.
To think that this is only the work of John, Elizabeth and a few select friends funded from the sales of his earlier album and without and label support is remarkable. It shows John Holden to be a man with both vision and a purpose. I for one applaud him hugely for his fine efforts on this most excellent album. This is going to be one of the albums of the year for those who take notice.
What do you get if you cross progressive rock artists Mystery and The Neal Morse Band with 80’s American rock legends REO Speedwagon ? It’s not as daft a question as it sounds, honest, just stay with me here…
Formed in Malta in the 1990’s by Trevor Tabone and now hailing from Prague after disbanding in 1999 before being reformed in 2008, Different Light follow up the exceeding well received album, 2016’s ‘The Burden of Paradise’ with the first part of a two part concept, ‘Binary Suns (Part 1)’ in early 2020.
It’s evident from the first notes of Amphibians that we have something special on our hands here, a superbly crafted track with a wonderful introduction of keyboards, guitar and drums that ramps up the anticipation smoothly in that well recognised overture style. It does remind me of Transatlantic and The Neal Morse Band but when Trevor Tabone’s vocals take over centre stage I cannot help but be drawn to a comparison with Kevin Cronin and his lead vocals for the REO Speedwagon track Keep On Loving You, it is powerful and distinctive and, along with the great vocal harmonies, really adds to what is already a superb song. Faith picks up where the previous track finishes and add a more soft rock feel to the music with those harmonious vocals and the excellent keyboard work giving it a seriously uplifting feel. Once again, the fantastic vocal harmonies give real gloss and class and a pure 80’s edge, joyful and inspiring.
Prog epics are ten a penny nowadays but when done well they are still music to my ears and the twenty-one minute plus intrigue of Spectres And Permanent Apparitions certainly fits in the latter category. A mighty length it may be but it breezes by and never outstays its welcome, the musicianship and elegant vocal echoing Canadian proggers Mystery at their finest to my ears. The way the instruments work perfectly together and allow those expressive vocals to be out front and centre is a lesson to anyone. Musical stroytelling of a high calibre is on show here and you find yourself totally immersed and drawn along on this expansive journey, very clever songwriting indeed!
There’s a darker edge to The Answer, a feeling of foreboding delivered by the more direct vocals and superb guitar riff. A song that has a hints or Americana and pure theatre running throughout. Magnificent and theatrical, Two Faces marches into view, part ballad and part rock opera but utterly bewitching and demanding in equal measure. It’s that piano driving things along that combines with the superb vocals to give that feel of almost a Queen and REO Speedwagon collaboration and I just love it.
This impressive album closes with the powerful rhythm of On The Borderline and what a closer it is, drums, bass, keyboards and guitar all work in perfect unison to give an exhilarating opening to this ten minutes of progressive rock brilliance. A compelling song replete with dynamism, charisma and intelligence. Here Trevor’s vocal takes on a thoughtful and measured tone, delivering the lyrics in a way that mesmerises the listener and draws them in even more and leaves you humming the refrain long after the track and album have come to a close.
I know we are only in February but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was still playing this beast of an album and waxing lyrical about it at the end of the year. A musical creation that is utterly fulfilling in so many ways and one that satisfies, captivates and entertains on so many levels. I cannot recommend this highly enough for music fans of any genre, it will leave the biggest and longest lasting smile on your face that you have ever, ever had, it truly is that good!
Released 17th January 2020 (digital), 8th February 2020 (CD).
July 2020 sees the publication of A Genesis In My Bed – the long overdue autobiography from guitar great and former member of Genesis, Steve Hackett. As with his music, Steve has written a highly detailed, entertaining and embracing tome that charts his life in full, but with a firm emphasis on his years with Genesis that saw the band’s meteoric rise to become one of the most successful British bands of all time.
Steve talks candidly
about his early life, his time with Genesis, and in particular his personal
relationships with the other four band members, with great insight into the
daily goings on of this major rock band.
Naturally, A Genesis In My Bed also regales stories of Steve’s career since leaving Genesis and the many different journeys that it has taken him on. With his flair for the creative, and a great deal of levity, A Genesis In My Bed is also a riveting read. Indispensable for Genesis fans but also essential for general music lovers and avid readers of autobiographies full of heartfelt and emotive tales.
1,000 copies individually numbered and signed by Steve are available to pre-order directly from the publisher
& the artist:
Polish progressive Rock masters RIVERSIDE are happy to share line-up news with all of you:
Riverside are a quartet again!
Dear friends, this is an incredibly important moment in the history of our band. From the beginning of February 2020, Riverside are officially not a trio any more, we are a quartet! It is with incredible joy that we would like to announce that the fourth official member of the band is…
Well, you can’t have expected anyone else? 🙂
He’s been with us for over three years. He let us recover from the tragic loss we have all experienced, he helped us survive and become, from year to year, a better and better live band. He has been our friend and our brother. We are welcoming him in our midst with great joy, in which we hope you will also share!
Ladies and gentlemen, on the guitars in Riverside: Maciej Meller!
Being a good guitarist and loving music is one thing, but being able to fit in with your personality, incredible modesty and humility, that’s an incredibly important thing in our band. Maciej meets all the criteria and we are truly happy that he wants to continue our journey with us.
***
We still remember. And we still go back to the moment when, after we lost Piotr, in 2016, the massive amount of your support made us continue as Riverside. We were not ready to invite anyone to our family at that time. “Wasteland” had to be recorded as a trio. We simply had to cope with the loss on our own.
Now, it’s high time for Riverside to have a guitarist in the line-up again, not only during live shows but also in the studio, when working on new material. So we are really pleased to let you know that after coming back from the final, spring edition of the Wasteland Tour 2020, together with Maciek, in the new line-up, we will start working on the eighth album.
The upcoming spring concerts will have a different character, a different tone, and Riverside will sound mightier than ever before. We would really like to see you there!
Last but not least – Piotr Grudziński will always be in our hearts, we all still love him and we will never forget him. But we have to move on. We are on a journey, they are waiting for us. There is more to create in this life, more to see, more to know, more to save. We hope that you will decide to stay with us again and that you will let us help one another through all of this.
We are here with you and for you.
Riverside
***
RIVERSIDE’s next touring run starts later this month and includes dates across Europe as well as an appearance at the Cruise To The Edge and shows in Latin America as follows:
RIVERSIDE – Wasteland Tour 2020 26.02. Madrid (Spain) – MON Live 27.02. Barcelona (Spain) – Salamandra 1 29.02. Milano (Italy) – Legend Club 01.03. Treviso (Italy) – New Age Club 03.03. Lubljana (Slovenia) – Kino Šiška 05.03. Zagreb (Croatia) – Tvornica Kulture 06.03. Novi Sad (Serbia) – Pozorište Mladih 07.03. Thessaloniki (Greece) – Principal Club Theater 08.03. Athens (Greece) – Gagarin 205 Live Music Space 10.03. Istanbul (Turkey) – Zorlu PAC 11.03. Sofia (Bulgaria) – Music Jam Club 12.03. Bucharest (Romania) – Quantic Club 13.03. Cluj-Napoca (Romania) – /FORM SPACE 15.03. Budapest (Hungary) – Barba Negra 27.03.-01.04. Miami (USA) to Belize & Honduras – Cruise To The Edge 2020
02.04. Mexico City (Mexico) – Auditorio Blackberry 04.04. Guadalajara (Mexico) – C3 Stage 07.04. Santiago (Chile) – Teatro Nescafe 09.04. Sao Paulo (Brazil) – Carioca Club
RIVERSIDE most recently released a special edition 2CD+DVD version of their current and highly successful studio-album “Wasteland” via InsideOutMusic. The ”Wasteland – Hi-Res Stereo and Surround Mix” 2CD+DVD comes as Digipak format with an additional Slipcase and includes a DVD bonus disc of “Wasteland” as Hi-Res Stereo 24bit version and as Surround Mix (4.1), plus 3 video clips. This edition also contains 5 previously unreleased acoustic tracks/versions on a separate CD.
Pure Reason Revolution recently announced the release of ‘Eupnea’, their first new studio album in nearly 10 years, for the 3rd of April 2020. Today they are excited to reveal the first piece of new music taken from the record, in the form of the epic 10-minute ‘Silent Genesis’, a track which Jon Courtney co-wrote alongside original PRR member Greg Jong.
The band comments: “With some tracks it’s blood sweat & tears to get them nailed, but “Silent Genesis” came together really quickly. While Greg & I worked on the music, Chloe was blasting out vocals in London. We had a lot of fun making this track; mangling synths, riffing & unexpectedly outroing with funk!”
‘Eupnea’ features the work of artist Jill Doherty on its front cover, and will be available as a Limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD (with etching on Side D) and as a digital album. Pre-orders are now available for both physical and digital here: https://PureReasonRevolution.lnk.to/Eupnea
The full track-listing is as follows:
1. New Obsession 05:09
2. Silent Genesis 10:20
3. Maelstrom 05:44
4. Ghosts & Typhoons 08:45
5. Beyond Our Bodies 04:28
6. Eupnea 13:23
Of the new album the band commented:
“We stuck to our manifesto of no musical boundaries and the result was ‘Eupnea’. We return to a more progressive sound with ferocious guitars, thunderous drums and the stacked harmonies that give us our signature sound. We’re excited to begin playing it live.”
You can watch an interview clip where Jon Courtney and Chloë Alper discuss the process of getting back together last year, and playing Midsummer Prog, here: https://youtu.be/sLlKj5u_SJ8
‘Eupnea’, the long-awaited return from the band, sees them harking back to their earliest days, while rolling in all of the musical experiments and experience they’ve gathered in the intervening years.
The cinematic soundscapes of Hammer and Anvil? Check. The dark atmosphere and synths of Amor Vincit Omnia? Check. The gauzy psych-prog of their debut? Ch-check.
It’s sprawling, with three tracks hitting the 10 minute mark and one notching up against 15 minutes. Sure, track length does not equal ambition, but still, it’s quite the statement of intent.
The band currently have two confirmed Summer festival dates, performing at Night Of The Prog Festival in Germany on the 17th of July, and Ramblin Man Fair in the UK on the 18th of July.
Pure Reason Revolution originally parted ways in November 2011 following touring in support of their 2010 album ‘Hammer and Anvil’. Since then, Jon Courtney started Bullet Height and released their debut album ‘No Atonement’ in 2017, while Chloë Alper began a new band called Tiny Giant as well as playing live with the likes of Charli XCX and James.
The band originally formed back in 2003, releasing their much-loved debut album ‘The Dark Third’ in 2006 via Sony BMG. They went on to release the albums ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ in 2009 and ‘Hammer and Anvil’ in 2010.
