Category: Album Reviews

Review – Cosmograf – Heroic Materials

“Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life.” – Jean Paul Friedrich Richter

Music heals you, music lifts you, music gives you solace, music is one of the only things that gives you succour when you are both happy and sad and music has made my life a better place to be.

Music can also tell a story and when it is in the hands of a talented musician like Robin Armstrong, that tale can be absorbing and captivating.

‘Heroic Materials’ is the ninth album from Robin’s musical project Cosmograf and tells the story of William ‘Billy’ May, a heroic Spitfire pilot, who looks back on his life at the age of 99 and realises the world has completely changed since he was a young man put into an impossible scenario, defending his country from the air. He no longer recognises much of the modern world but understands that the human race must live in a different way in the future.

The album sees the character wrestling with his memories of the war, and harbouring nostalgia for a past era but he realises that change is essential if we are to avoid climate catastrophe.

“Well goodbye to the age of steam, I felt you
Goodbye to the age of cars, I loved you…”

‘Heroic Materials’ represents Robin’s most complete release yet and is the pinnacle of his musical career so far, the opening spoken word intro of I Recall draws you into the sepia tinged world of nostalgia and Robin’s plaintive vocal takes up the refrain and the feeling of loss of a past that will sadly be missed. As we segue into the next track with the unmistakeable sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine, the hairs begin to stand up on the nape of your neck…

“Eastleigh dawn,
Behold a new design is born. A battle in the sky,
Requires the best design to fly…”

The three-part title track Heroic Materials opens with a delightful piano refrain from former Big Big Train member Danny Manners and turns into a majestic, slow burning classic with evocative lyrics that see you almost losing yourself in the story of this fighter pilot and his fateful life in the sky. Robin’s guitar playing, always stellar, reaches incredible new heights on this utterly compelling and emotive tale. Both stirring and touching at the same time, the way the narrative ebbs and flows with the music shows there’s genius at work here.

“Close the Door,
It’s not this era anymore… A story told,
I know it never will grow old…”

Industry is a voice over telling us about how the E-Type Jaguar evolved from the D-Type racer…

“Designer, fold the light, Great art, make it right…”

Lead single from the album, the dynamic and powerful British Made stands tall as a statement of what we have lost as a manufacturing nation and is a nostalgic throwback to a golden era of motoring and you can feel the pride in Robin’s vocals, a feel of the calm before the storm that is the fervent energy in the ardent guitar playing. It is music as a statement and you can feel the yearning for times gone by and the remorse at the loss of what was once a fine and well respected industry in this country.

“There’s never a moment to talk or reflect Mary, there’s never a chance, to speak to you…”

Our hero Billy met Mary in 1941, she was in the Air Transport Auxiliary and lived her life like the Spitfires she flew, at high speed. Mary is a beautiful tribute to the woman that he loved and lost as she ran out of fuel on a routine run and crashed. A melancholy but bewitching piece of music that hits me on an emotional level, perfectly crafted and performed.

“Is this a long goodbye to everything that’s real?”

Blinkers is a wonderful, if brief, diatribe of finding the courage to change that which we have become accustomed to and its mournful vocals and delicate piano give it a truly wistful, rueful feel.

“To live beyond the dirty war,
To live beyond the worst disease, To help my loving family,
To love a life where I am free…”

Robin is truly one of the best songwriters out there when it comes to progressive rock and on If Things Don’t Change he is at his illuminating best. A modern balladeer and troubadour, the way he crafts his stories is inspirational. Talking about how climate change will destroy the earth and how change is difficult but we must try to make a difference. The empathy in the vocal and the thought provoking, electrifying music is just outstanding, just check out the heartrending guitar solo and tell me you are not touched deeply by it.

“But if this world returns to dirt,
Erased by fire and greed,
There will clearly be no need, to start another one…”

The Same Stupid Mistake fires a warning shot, if we don’t change, we will destroy the earth and there’s no need to start again. A slow, meandering rhythm has a serious and thoughtful atmosphere and the words slowly work their way into your brain, hopefully to make you sit up and listen.

“I wish I’d made the most of what I had
The chances lost just make me sad…”

Robin’s soulful guitar leads into the contemplative thoughts of Regretful Refrain, a persuasive reflection on a past unfulfilled. As we come to the end of our time on this planet we wonder if we could have done things differently and made a difference, left a legacy and this rueful track captures that feeling perfectly. The dynamic vocals and sorrowful, potent guitar yearn for a perception of better times.

“This is what is left,
It’s down to you.
The world you left is dead, What shall we do?”

The musical refrain from the opening track returns on final song A Better World, a sumptuous and charismatic track and a promise to the world that we can, and will, do better, it’s a fine way to bring things to a close as Robin intones, “I wish you were here too, We’ll make it new.”

The sumptuous, questioning ‘Heroic Materials’ is undeniably brilliant. Robin has laid his heart and soul, his whole being in fact, down as music. Emotive, melancholy at times, this record is a story and history at the same time. A plea for the future of the planet it may be but, above all, it is an immersive artistic triumph and one of the best releases of recent years.

Released 9th September, 2022.

Order from Gravity Dream here:

Cosmograf – Gravity Dream Music




Review – Marcelo Maccagnan – Night tales

Marcelo Maccagnan has established himself as a bandleader and sideman on the New York scene.

Growing up playing a whole range of styles – rock, electronic music, Brazilian, pop – he took the opportunity of studying at Berklee in Boston to immerse himself fully in the jazz genre. The result is a truly authentic fusion of sounds which, whilst modern and electric, never loses sight of the improvisation. 

Marcelo’s latest album, ‘Night Tales’, fuses contemporary jazz with the music of his Brazilian homeland and rock and electronic music of his youth. He brings together some of New York’s rising stars for a record whose influences run the full spectrum from Milton Nascimento to Third Rail and Donny McCaslin.

On an album that comes closer to “Progressive Jazz’ than many that have gone before, the guests include Lithuanian vocalist Simona Smirnova, Korean pianist Sukyung Kim, French drummer Maxime Cholley and Malaysian guitarist Andrew Cheng.

Opening track Creatures of Habit features the sole vocal on the album and Simona Smirnova delivers an eminently powerful performance on this brooding, tension infused piece of music. Full of delicious anticipation and elegant musicianship, it showcases the skill that these young musicians possess. As the vocal ebbs and flows, the sympathetic drums and bass weave their tale in perfect symmetry with Simona. Occasional flashes of Andrew Cheng’s guitar and super smooth flurries of Marcelo’s bass intersperse this darkly stylish song like short, sharp electric shocks. As the whole track erupts into something much more energetic and primal, the vocals take on an almost manic edge and the music threatens to explode into chaos, it’s a masterful and marvellous piece of music.

Glass is a wholly laid back and relaxed instrumental that brings a much more ambient feel to proceedings, the subtle bass and drums weave an undemanding line that the guitar follows with occasional iridescent flashes before the track bursts into life with a wonderful edgy and funky vibe. There’s a feel of improvisation among the soaring grooves and punchy guitar that lead the track to a satisfying close. Gungi (Japanese for ‘flock’ or ‘herd’, apparently) showcases a group connection and musical synergy that only hours of performing together can create and, to my ears, leans more on the jazz element than the progressive. Think late night, dark room in an intimate venue, packed to the rafters, the whole audience swaying and pulsing along to the elegant beat, Marcelo’s bass solo is particularly inventive and engrossing. As a nod to his early years as a rock musician, the sole non-original composition on the album is a cover of Black Hole Sun from legendary American grunge band Soundgarden. As a big fan of the band I was intrigued to hear what this take on the classic would sound like and, suffice to say, I wasn’t disappointed. The intense and impassioned guitar playing from Andrew Cheng just blew my mind and the way the rest of the instruments just play subdued in the background, allowing the guitar to shine, is genius. A superb tribute to the band and the late Chris Cornell that showcases how creative the modern musician can be when presenting songs in a whole new fashion.

Vital Spark is another prog infused jazz track that takes a theme and runs with it, creating a wistful, contemplative piece of music where the instruments delicately tread the path before them and the pin-sharp bass gets the lead once again. The polished drums and repetitive guitar add a bit of direction as this masterfully constructed song plays on your senses. Album closer Breaking Out is another stylish piece of music, full of gravitas and with a dignified air. It invokes a more serious, questing atmosphere and, again, takes me that late night jazz club somewhere in the dark recesses of New York where I’m left to while the night away in the company of like minded people.

‘Night Tales’ is a superb melting pot of musical styles, all brought together into something rather special by a consummate group of musicians and a bandleader that is at the height of his game. It’s one of the best jazz/prog fusion albums I’ve heard in rather a long time and, when I finish this review, I’m off to listen to it again!

Released 29th July, 2022.

Order from bandcamp here:

Night Tales | Marcelo Maccagnan (bandcamp.com)

Review – Dim Gray – Firmament

“When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest of times, and to the latest.” – Henry David Thoreau.

Norwegian art-rock trio Dim Gray burst onto the scene with their debut release ‘Flown’ in 2020. Described as “Elegiac and beautifully dense post-prog from Norway” by Prog Magazine, it earned them many plaudits.

‘Firmament’ is that difficult sophomore album that hasn’t proved at all difficult to the three band members, Oskar Holldorff (vocals, keyboards), Håkon Høiberg (guitars, vocals) and Tom Ian Klungland (drums, vocals). All three have contrasting musical backgrounds in genres as diverse as black metal, rock, blues, folk and film music and it’s the fusion of all these influences that has created their own distinctive sound.

Having issued ‘Flown’ via their own Dim Gray label, ‘Firmament’ will be released on Big Big Train’s ‘English Electric Recordings’ label with Gregory Spawton of BBT commenting: “Until now, the label has just been a vehicle for Big Big Train and BBT band members’ outside projects. We’ve been interested in expanding the label’s activities for some time but only wanted to do so when we came across a truly exciting band that we felt had something new to offer musically. When we were introduced to Dim Gray, we saw that the band had enormous potential and were very keen to sign them.”

‘Firmament’ is twelve tracks of captivating, wide screen music featuring lush electronics, hauntingly beautiful vocals, string-infused chamber pop and indie-folk, all delivered in a grandiose fashion.

From the first notes and the enthralling charm of opening track Mare, you cannot help but be immersed in this utterly spellbinding and vivid musical world that the band have created. The elegant chiming notes that emanate from Høiberg’s guitar and the uplifting seduction of Oskar Holldorff’s voice immediately grab your attention and this just carries on through the whole album. The hypnotic Ashes with its strident beat and outpouring of emotion makes way for the equally impressive Undertow, a wonderful, slow burning, piece of music with the ethereal, wistful power of the strings at its heart, it is just exquisite.

There’s confidence and power to Avalon | The Tide, an irresistible force bursting with life that lifts you up and takes you on a musical thrill ride and it’s totally addictive. A calm and somber aura falls as you hear the opening strains of 52~, a mesmerising and hypnotic song that is also at times completely inspiring. Abalus | In Time has a breathless innocence to it that is beguiling. When the song blooms it becomes something more powerful and dynamic, almost becoming alive.

There’s a raw simplicity to Long Ago, the piano and vocals having a plaintive feel before the song waxes and wanes with a stylish guitar and elegant drums occasionally breaking the calm, a very moving piece of music. A hush descends as Oskar’s wistful vocal opens My Barren Road. Such an emotive song, it invokes feelings of longing, a yearning for the wilderness and the open road, close your eyes and you could be there. Cannons seamlessly blends art rock with indie folk, delivering a piece of music that just seems to dance across your soul with elfin-like wonder, something that exists on a higher plane and is always just out of reach.

The intro to Iron Henry is ghostly and introduces another exquisite slice of art rock, the piano and strings adding an air of authority but, despite the occasional moments of majesty, you never get away from that feeling of plucking at thin air, like its substance is almost intangible. Title track Firmament carries on that nostalgic feel, a graceful piece of music that tugs at the heartstrings with its wistful longing. Meridian takes its position as album closer extremely seriously, the elegant strings, hushed piano and thoughtful vocal adding serious gravitas to its otherworldly sophistication.

I was seriously impressed with Dim Gray’s debut release ‘Flown’ but the last forty five minutes has shown me that this band have elevated themselves to another level entirely. ‘Firmament’ is a magnificent achievement, twelve songs that ebb and flow superbly and sum up perfectly what music is truly about. These three truly inspiring musicians have created something that is prime and organic, their music can get under your skin and influence your very moods and my life would truly be a much sadder place without it!

Released 2nd September, 2022.

Order from Burning Shed here:

Firmament (burningshed.com)

Review – Shriekback – 1000 Books

“A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books” – Andrei Tarkovsky

“1000 Books is Shriekback’s 16th album and boldly marks the band’s 40th birthday. Big numbers for a big record – this is Shriekback in depth and detail, nine songs by turns majestic, elegiac, confrontational and just plain funky. The lyrical reflections on mortality, sensuality and the world we live in are carried along on impeccable multi-layered grooves, lucid and lunatic. The contributions of core members – Barry Andrews, Martyn Barker and Carl Marsh – are supported by the passionately precise backing vocals of long-time collaborators Wendy and Sarah Partridge, the assertive bass of Scott Firth and sonically framed with wide-screen vision by producer Christoph Skirl. Take something from this record and plant it in your life: it will grow with you.”

Shriekback have been doing their thing since the 1980’s but I got introduced to them by Martyn Barker, founding member and guitarist extraordinaire, after reviewing his wonderful solo album ‘Water & Stone’. The music couldn’t be farther apart with Martyn’s solo work being folk and Celtic influenced and Shriekback being, well, totally different! Electronica, experimental, indie-rock, funk and ambient, just about everything makes an appearance in ‘1000 Books’ forty-one minute running time.

If I’m being brutally honest, I could not make my mind up about this album on the first few listens with it being both intriguing and challenging at the same time but that’s what is so wonderful about a lot of music, sometimes it requires you to give as much as you take from it. With repeated listens this compelling and provocative album will finally open up and reveal its inner glories to you and, while it may not be for everyone, I found it utterly fascinating, thought provoking and, in a very good way, strange.

There’s a Victorian grandeur to opener Space In The Blues, all majestic with its faded pomp and splendour and a feel of ‘Pablo Honey’ Radiohead to its mesmerising rhythm. A funky bass, drums and guitar open Unholiness, a song almost too cocksure for its own good but, as it opens up, it has real good time vibe to it, I can almost hear an influence of the The B-52’s creeping in, an invitation to join the wild ride and it’s damn infectious too! Portobello Head is a venture into the unknown with a mad professor edge to it and a feel that David Byrne could have written this slightly maniacal song. It is utterly brilliant and darkly delicious, the band seemingly enjoying themselves way too much!

With lyrics delivered as if in a lecture, Slowly At First Then All At Once opens with a relatively calm facade and carries on with whimsical and wistful overtone. I’m waiting for that tongue in cheek enthusiasm to erupt but Shriekback surprise me by delivering something that wouldn’t be amiss on an early Pink Floyd or Gentle Giant release. That David Byrne influence mentioned earlier makes a return on the silky, stylish grooves of Good Disruption, a slice of New York indie-funk at its finest, sharp suit, white shirt and pencil tie a must. Edgy, earthy and hip, there’s a dark undertone to the moody and impulsive Everything Happens So Much, cabalistic disco rhythms abound as the menacing vocals raise the hackles.

Different Story is just joyful, swirling keyboards and a superb drumbeat underpinning a rather impressive song with a really catchy chorus. There’s an 80’s pop music polish to this really engaging piece of music. A hushed wonder seems to herald title track 1000 Books as the majesty and grandiosity of the opening track makes a return. There’s a tense atmosphere as the song seems to rumble on inexorably in its own mysterious fashion, “A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books”. The album comes to a close with the futuristic, almost alien, wonder of Wild World, an entrancing four and a half minutes of music that makes you look inward at your own self and invites a feeling of calm inquisitiveness.

‘1000 Books’ is not a just 9 tracks of music, Shriekback have created an engrossing and magnificently offbeat musical experience, at times intensely serious and at others, beuatifully chaotic. It may be a wild ride but, my friends, it is one that I would urge you to take because you will never have heard anything quite like it. On a most basic level, it just made me smile for a very long time and you can’t really ask for much more than that, can you?

Released 1st December, 2021.

Order direct from the band here:

shriekback – STORE

Listen to the album here:

https://shriekback.com/music

Review – The Wynntown Marshals – Big Ideas

Music can take you to many places, in reality and in your mind. My musical journey has led me to discover many new artists and fall in love with styles of music that I just never would have thought would have appealed to me.

Take The Wynntown Marshals, this highly accomplished Scottish Americana band, proclaimed ‘Europe’s best Americana band’ following the release of their debut full-length album ‘Westerner’ in 2010 and lauded by such music business luminaries as BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, only showed up on my radar due to legendary Scottish proggers Abel Ganz and the fact that The Marshals’ guitarist, the highly talented Iain Sloan, was a member of the Ganz’s live band at the time I was reviewing their self-titled 2014 release.

There’s no such thing as a coincidence, they say, and I became firm friends with Iain who then introduced me to The Wynntown Marshals and the rest is history. The band were due to release their third album, ‘The End Of The Golden Age’, in 2015 (which I duly reviewed) and I’ve been a big fan ever since!

“Work on the band’s long awaited fourth album, ‘Big Ideas’,originally started in 2018. The intervening years saw a line-up change and the confines of the global pandemic inevitably slowed progress, but the resulting album is arguably the highlight of the band’s 15-year career. Engineered and recorded with long-time collaborator Andrew Taylor of Dropkick, mixed by Garry Boyle at Slate Room Studios and mastered by Stuart Hamilton at Castlesound, the record is sonically a step above previous releases, and the mix allows the lush, vibrant instrumentation to take centre stage, providing the ideal backdrop to the recurring lyrical themes of nostalgia, love and loss.”

That’s what the PR says and I have been lucky enough to have spent the last three or four weeks delving into this latest gem from The Marshals so here is my take on what these talented lads have delivered.

The driving, strident piano opening of first track, the rockingly joyful New Millennium, sets the tone for the rest of the album, it’s an unapologetic, in your face song with an underlying joyfulness that is just highly infectious. The jangling guitars of title track Big Ideas herald a more serious song about the pitfalls of society’s relationship with, and reliance on, social media. The tone gives a feel of The Smiths but without Morrissey’s hang ups! It’s a handsome piece of music and Keith’s vocals give it the necessary gravitas and conviction.

The mood quietens with the next two tracks, the laid back and wistful Tourist In My Hometown is an utter delight, this nostalgic and thoughtful piece of music wraps you in its many charms, the beautiful keyboards are a particular delight and Keith’s vocals once again shine. The mournful strains of Iain’s pedal steel guitar open the heartbreaking The Pocket, an emotive story song inspired by the historic battle for Stalingrad. This track just bleeds emotion in every note and word. Plaintive and contemplative, its is a melancholy wonder.

The tempo rises and the mood is lifted by the faster paced Learn To Lose, a reflective country rock track that the legendary Tom Petty would have been proud to have written. The lyrics are perfect and give a feel of longing, regret and a yearning for the past and the music is just top drawer, the instrumental break in the middle is just genius! The Missing Me has a hypnotic feel to it, the music mesmerising and soothing and Keith’s vocal is spellbinding. There’s a touch of Chris Isaak to this song, Iain’s guitar adding even more of a haunting, mysterious edge to proceedings, a definite highlight so far.

Almost a perfect piece of music, time seems to slow when the opening bars of Keys Found In Snow kick in. The seemingly whimsical lyrics of this poignant and touching song unfurl into a tale of a relationship in freefall, it is heart-wrenchingly sad and yet exquisite at the same time. The interplay between the pedal steel and piano is utterly bewitching and absorbing and adds another layer of class to what is already a superb piece of music. A soaring hammond organ and plaintive harmonica are key ingredients of the somber Disappointment, a song with a harder edge underneath the great music, a well written country rock tale of life in middle America.

Treat Me Right is a country song through and through, Keith’s heartfelt vocals and the elegant music a backdrop to an oft written story of love and relationships, the laid back guitar solo is sublime and puts a smile on my face. The album closes with the more folk infused delights of ‘Full Moon, Fallow Heart’ which, while downbeat in its delivery, is still unrelentingly positive in its widescreen outlook. A graceful piano and Keith’s wishful, musing vocals finish the song, and the album, with a hopeful lilt.

There’s a joy in hearing a band at the height of their creative powers and The Wynntown Marshals have returned with an album full of superb songs that connect with you on every level. We can all relate to the stories told within this album and appreciate the emotive highs and lows that are felt throughout its ten brilliant tracks. ‘Big Ideas’ reaches beyond just being an amazing Americana record, its is an outstanding achievement in every way!

Released 2nd September, 2022.

Order from bandcamp here:

Big Ideas | The Wynntown Marshals (bandcamp.com)

Review – Montrose: I Got The Fire – Complete Recordings 1973-1976

‘Montrose: I Got The Fire – Complete Recordings 1973-1976’ is a new 6 CD box set from from the ever impressive Cherry Red Records/Esoteric Recordings label and is a fabulous overview of a legendary band whose sound and style was to make a huge impression in the world of heavy and hard rock in the mid 1970’s and whose influence still makes waves, even today.

Their debut album ‘Montrose’ was issued in 1973 and its 8 tracks were monumentally important and really changed how rock music was perceived around the world. You can trace the evolution of Van Halen back to the first Montrose record, it’s a direct line between the two, certainly sound wise, and you can see the link. That album was to yield such monsters as Rock The Nation, Bad Motor Scooter and Space Station #5, which still sound mighty some 40 years on.

Sadly the resultant albums were a case of diminishing returns amidst a desire from Ronnie Montrose to explore new sounds and approaches. All of which is bold but not always successful, and the sales faltered as a result. ‘Paper Money’, their second album, was the first casualty of this approach as it failed to gain critical appreciation for its bold sounds. For many the album lacked the muscular sound that had enlivened the debut and despite some fine songs, like I Got The Fire and Starliner, many considered the album light-weight, which adversely affected sales.

This led to dissatisfaction between Sammy Hagar and Montrose and Hagar walked out to be replaced by the relatively unknown Bob James who actually had a good voice but not as powerful as Sammy Hagar’s. The new line up released the ‘Warner Bros. Presents Montrose!’ album in 1975 but, again, the critics did not like its light-weight sound, although 40 years on, it does have some gems in the form of Matriarch, Whaler and Dancin’ Feet, all of which have aged pretty well.

The band’s next album was to be a return to form with hotshot producer Jack Douglas recruited to beef the sound up and to add his magic. Unfortunately the resulting record, ‘Jump On It’, was not a great success although it did have some good tracks like Let’s Go and Music Man. It’s a tragedy that the band failed to live up to their original promise but Ronnie Montrose could be a difficult leader and he got bored easily, always wanting something new to explore.

The second CD in this set kicks off with six demo tracks, as well as their excellent debut performance, recorded for KSAN radio at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California in 1973. The band would cut a further live set for KSAN that was focused on their recently released ‘Paper Money’ record, although the inclusion of I Got The Fire, Bad Motor Scooter and a storming extended work out of Space Station #5 really work well in a live setting.

These 2 sets make a big impression and show that Montrose really could deliver the goods, sadly public perception was not on their side and the band broke up, Ronnie to more experimentation sound wise, Hagar to a succesfull solo career before joining Van Halen as a replacement for David Lee Roth. Ronnie Montrose then formed Gamma and put out several albums of fine AOR.

This box set shows the potential they had and also how they failed to capitalise on it and sadly translate that into sales. It definitely has it moments but can be patchy in parts,  the live shows are excellent though. I’m glad to have heard it but feel, in reality, a decent best of and the magnificent debut are really all you need.

Released 29th July, 2022.

Order from Cherry Red Records:

Montrose: I Got The Fire – Complete Recordings 1973-1976, 6CD Box Set – Cherry Red Records

Review – VLMV – Sing With Abandon

“Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words.” – Robert G. Ingersoll

Music is infinite, there are notes to come that have not been heard by any human ear yet, music is the one constant that everyone can cling on to and, with all that has happened in the world recently, music is more prominent in our lives than ever before.

VLMV have returned with their third album ‘Sing With Abandon’. The follow up to the acclaimed ‘Stranded, Not Lost’, this new album is the result of years of collaboration, experimentation and crafting the music and sounds that make up VLMV.

Joined live by long time collaborator and fellow Code In The Clouder Ciaran Morahan, VLMV deploy loop stations, multiple delay pedals, piano and strings to create a slow-moving, high-flying soundscape of luscious gravitas. 

An ambitious yet concise album, ‘Sing With Abandon’ was born as songwriter and producer Pete Lambrou explored navigating life in the pandemic, multiple lockdowns and a country deciding to break up with its loved ones. Lyrically focused on feelings of isolation and separation, from our shared collective human experience to the deeply personal and everything in between, ‘Sing With Abandon’ touches on the isolation found within the communal experience of a country locked down and in crisis. 

Dreamlike in its beauty and whimsical and wistful in its delivery, this new record is utterly captivating throughout. There are moments of stunning, ethereal brilliance like the plaintive wonder of opening track There Are Mountains Underneath Us, a strikingly elegant piece of music that left me welling up with emotion and the gloriously refined The Navigator with its plaintive piano and sultry, hushed vocals from Anja Madhvani.

Honestly, there is wonder and amazement in every note and every word throughout the criminally short thirty-six minutes running time, the instrumental tracks, If I Could See Your Life Reverse with its edgier, slightly psychedelic feel and Steady Thyself (the first single released from the album) exquisitely sublime in its execution, the piano and strings so achingly beautiful, are moments of pure wonder and calm.

There’s no way to pick any highlights from this album as it flows best if you listen to it in one complete sitting. For Empire bleeds a melancholy emotion throughout, the haunting vocals a particular highlight, the imaginatively titled We Were Landed, We Were Landing Gently We Landed is another graceful instrumental, title track Sing With Abandon has a darker aura to it and Solus Ipse the feel of a babbling brook as its gentle notes and subtle vocal meander their way across your mind.

DearFearHere is impish and almost celestial in the way the ghostly, almost intangible vocals brush your mind while the rarefied, supernal musical notes dance along in unison. The album closes with the luxurious refinement of Our Corners (Reprise), a track that leads you by the hand to a place of calm solitude and reflection.

There are times when you hear a piece of music that leaves you open mouthed in appreciation and, when I first heard ‘Sing With Abandon’ I was utterly stunned. Albums like this are more than mere music, they pervade your very soul, take over your life and almost bring you to tears at their beauty. VLMV have created something so good that it almost becomes a state of mind and I thank Pete Lambrou from the bottom of my heart for doing so.

Released 19th August, 2022

Pre-order from bandcamp here:

Sing With Abandon | VLMV (bandcamp.com)

Review – starfish64 – Scattered Pieces Of Blue

starfish64 was established in 2006 by German singer-songwriter Dieter Hoffmann. Originally intended to be a vehicle for his solo-work, starfish64 began recording and publishing in the singer-songwriter genre at first. Over the years, however, sound and compositions shifted more and more towards progressive and new art rock.

‘Scattered Pieces Of Blue’ is the latest album and has been described by the band as ‘Somewhere between prog, pop, rock and outer space. And all in blue…’. To be fair, it is quite a fitting description as starfish64 have their own unique sound that does have touch of sc-fi soundtrack to it in places. The deliberate, almost monotone vocals work perfectly with the spaced out feel of the tracks and then the sublime guitar playing arrives to add that real touch of rock to the music.

This new album has been the band’s most successful yet, which is testimony to the strong songwriting and seamless flow between the often disparate styles of music. These musicians are masters of the segue in a way, which, on other albums by different artists, just doesn’t work. Here it becomes the signature of a band supremely happy with their musical style.

There’s the dreamlike contemplation of album opener Blue Piece Of Something In The Air, the sharp suited brilliance of Birdsong (I really like this track!) with its rather fine sprawling guitar solo at the end and the more upbeat Sunrise Over The Weathered Roofs Of Platania, a song that should be the musical definition of ‘sunny disposition’, three tracks that open the album in fine style.

Forget Me Not brings authority and seriousness, a stylish song that brings to mind a more laid back Kraftwerk to me, the plethora of synths and keyboards is wonder to behold. The short and sweet Blue Piece (Reprise) is like a rather appealing palate cleanser before an elegant piano opens the wistful and thoughtful Happiness, the dreamlike quality of this song is utterly charming.

Perhaps the most interesting and thought-provoking piece on the album, Time’s Up Utopia has a calming and engaging extended instrumental opening that lifts the anticipation perfectly. Tangerine Dream soundscapes wash around you, interspersed by the more direct vocals, a perfectly judged combination. This song is possibly the best that the band have ever written, in my humble opinion, it ebbs and flows in an utterly compelling manner and leaves you completely satisfied, the guitar solo is a piece of genius too! Intersection One sounds like a sci-fi soundtrack in composition and name and contains a cavernous dynamism, Number Forty-Five has a powerful edge to it, harder than most of the other songs, the echoing guitar imbues it with a forceful, potent, energy. The album closes with the surreal countenance of Space Junk, a nostalgic, almost mournful feeling piece of music with an honest and determined outlook and the best guitar solo on the album, all fire and brimstone. It’s an impressive way to close out what has been a rather brilliant album.

starfish64 have been around for a pretty long time and definitely know how to make music but, with ‘Scattered Pieces Of Blue’, they have raised their already considerable level to a new high. Often thoughtful and contemplative but also at times vivid and intense, it is an album that they should be truly proud of and contains their very essence as musicians, I highly recommend it.

Released 5th June, 2022.

Order from bandcamp here:

Scattered Pieces Of Blue | starfish64 (bandcamp.com)

Review – Ms Amy Birks – In Our Souls

Ms Amy Birks returns with ‘In Our Souls’, the follow up to her debut solo album ‘All That I Am & All That I Was’.

‘In Our Souls’ represents Amy’s second time around as a producer and mixing engineer. She recalls the process as being “a time of solitude, of many a late night, exploring ideas and losing myself in the books and poetry of the Bronte’s and my own personal journey over the past few years, developing my ears, skills and confidence as a composer. My first record, ‘All That I Am & All That I Was’, was very much about deeply personal experiences but with this album I wanted to extract more strength and feeling from the musical palate and have more fun with it, which has enabled me to step back a little from the lyrics and put more faith in my ability to write not only songs but pieces of music.”

Amy, lead singer and lyricist of Beatrix Players, is joined on the album by Helena Dove and Tom Manning , two co-writers from the original line-up of that award-winning band. Manning also composed and played all the guitar parts on the album. Amy is once again accompanied by flautist John Hackett while introducing violinist Frank Van Essen and cellist Clare O’Connell to what is a virtuosic line-up.

For ‘In Our Souls’, out of the twelve tracks on the album, Birks, a long-standing fan of the Bronte sisters, sets the words of three Bronte poems to music. Birks furthered her knowledge of the sisters and their personal musical leanings through several trips to Haworth and the Bronte’s parsonage prior to selecting poems that would provide inspiration for the album.

Ms Amy Birks takes the beautiful sound that she developed on her first album, that, in itself, an extension of the Beatrix Players’ amazing combination of chamber orchestra and popular music, and elevates it to an even higher level of brilliance. The whole album is just under fifty minutes of sheer musical wonderment where Amy’s stunning vocals blend perfectly with the consummate musicianship of her amazing group of players.

There are no highlights really but only because every song is an exquisitely crafted gem of ethereal grace and wonder. The opening, title track, In Our Souls, commandeers the words of Charlotte Bronte’s poem, ‘Evening Solace’ and creates a song that just oozes sublime calm, Hold On is a song about a transformation, at soul level, which is what Amy thinks nature can do for a person, if they are open to it and has more urgency engendered by the vocal and a superbly improvised violin from Frank van Essen. There’s a powerful dynamism to Elsa, a song Amy wrote when at university about a woman who is aware of her desires and her attraction and of the wife she knows exists but cares little for, the music creating an aura of drama and tension.

Brothers is without-doubt the most personal track on the album, Amy explains; “I have two estranged brothers and those tumultuous relationships have been the subject, or at least the undercurrent of many a song. For whatever reason, we have never seen eye to eye, hence the opening words of ‘I don’t understand why. Do you? Do you know why?’ and the build-up of aggression through the instrumentation. This, I suppose, is my therapy.” It makes for truly thought provoking piece of music, full of tension and emotion. There’s a delicate, if melancholic, refinement to The One That Got Away, a sad sort of love song about a relationship that almost was something more than friendship but was more of an awakening and a red flag. Wistful and rueful, its artistry belies the plaintive undertone that the track’s subject engenders. A Death Scene takes the words from the wonderful Emily Bronte poem with the same name to create a contemplative and slightly dark piece of music with a thoughtful edge and features some spellbinding guitar playing from Tom Manning and the remarkable flute of John Hackett.

The Woman In White, a song where Amy looks back at herself as a young bride and not really recognising who that person was anymore, is possibly the darkest track on the album from a lyrical point of view and this lends a brooding quality to the piece. With the layers of driving strings and guitar, this is Amy enjoying herself. It’s a highly visual piece that takes her back to an earlier time. The third Bronte poem on the album, The Dream, is from the greatly underappreciated (in Amy’s opinion) Anne Bronte and has a lighter, more frivolous and sweeter feel though, in keeping with the woman who wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the mid-section has a power and authority all of its own. Goodnight For Now is another song that Amy wrote while at university. A gentle, graceful, acoustic piece that, once again, showcases Amy’s amazing voice, it’s about a woman gently letting down a man for she is out of bounds and shows that Amy has always had her head in the romance of Austin and the Bronte’s.

There’s a heart wrenching feel to the wonderfully dramatic Living In Sin, a song about transformation and having the strength to be who you really are. The sombre tone of the music and Amy’s downplayed vocal give real sentiment and fervour to the track. Amy wrote Cannot Contain about greed and how we can all get sucked in by wealth and ‘success’ if we’re not paying attention. It is quite a curt track with an edgy tension underpinning the whole song and the almost irascible tone to Amy’s vocal brooks no argument! The album comes to a rather satisfying close with the wondrous, almost elemental, joy of an instrumental version of the title track.

Well, what can I say, Amy is a rather prodigiously talented songwriter with a quite remarkable voice and when that is put together with musicianship of such stellar talent as is shown here, you are well on the way to musical perfection. ‘In Our Souls’ is a collection of wonderful songs that will delight, enchant and enrapture musical connoisseurs for a long time to come, it truly is that good!

Released 8th April, 2022.

Order the CD from bandcamp here:

In Our Souls | Ms Amy Birks (bandcamp.com)

Review – Nick Fletcher – The Cloud of Unknowing – by John Wenlock-Smith

Nick Fletcher is a man of many talents for not only is he the guitarist in the excellent John Hackett band, he also has his own acoustic guitar recitals happening in the North of England. Last year he released his excellent solo album ‘Cycles Of Behaviour’, which was very highly regarded. In addition, Steve Hackett, no less, has stated that he considers Nick to be the finest Jazz Rock guitarist in the country. In the intervening months Nick has completed and released his new album ‘The Cloud Of Unknowing’, let us have a look and see shall we?

The album consists of nine tracks which are all thematically linked by the album’s attempts to illuminate a journey towards enlightenment, understanding and the acceptance of how things are and our place within that cycle. It is mainly instrumental, although it has vocals on the fifth and ninth songs and is best heard as a single piece of music to get the best out of it and to allow the journey to unfold as you listen.

Nick says the album came out of lockdowns and during the time of the pandemic in which he became open to search for deeper meaning and value to life. He did this by looking at mythology and to Christian mysticism from the likes of St John Of The Cross, whose words that illuminate the paradox we face are shown on the inner CD sleeve. Right, enough background, let’s hear the music…

The first piece, Out Of The Maelstrom, is a brutal hard-hitting track that reminded me of Billy Cobham’s ‘Spectrum’ and the track Quadrant 4 as it has a similar vitality and energy to it. It is full of dynamism and a mad organ from Dave Bainbridge, off which Nick plays flurries of notes and runs and it’s all highly impressive. Even better though is the more reflective The Eyes Of Persephone, which features a great flowing piano solo from Dave and over which Nick soars, playing some fluid guitar lines that would not be out of place on a Camel album. However, it still has a fire burning underneath making it a formidable and exceptional track

We then move into a set of five tracks that together form a suite entitled ‘Scenes From The Subconscious Mind’.

The suite opens with We Need to Leave This Place…Right Now!, twenty seconds of modern life noises, traffic and sirens and the like that display the unrest of life, this then moves into the more, almost metallic, crunch of Pandemonium which is rather brutal really, although it allows a great platform for Nick to solo from, adding some very sweet slide guitar tones in the latter part. This is all magnificently underpinned by the wonderful and highly versatile fretless bass of Tim Harries whose parts really add much to the sound, another magnificent track.

Then we have The Cloud of Unknowing Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, the first vocal track from Stuart Barbour, who is a contemporary Christian musician who Caroline Bonnet suggested to Nick. His voice is very English sounding, sounding a little like John Wetton in his U.K. days. This is an album that is better with some volume as the sound unfolds as you listen, the more you play it the more you hear, the track ends in gentler but still highly atmospheric soundscapes.

We then have a gentle arpeggio led guitar piece called Awakening The Hydra, which in turn leads to Dance of the Hydra, a blistering five plus minutes of wild fusion playing and a monstrous riff that the likes of Metallica would love It is a brutal, kicking piece of music with lots of wild guitar riffs and manic drumming from Russ Wilson. Nick is all over this track, employing many of his artistic tools to profound effect, there is furious playing but he never loses sight of feeling, melody and touch and this closes out the suite perfectly.

Arcadia is a classical guitar piece that flows seamlessly into The Paradox Part 1 Part 2. This is a very questioning song that asks questions about how we live today. There is a great synthesiser solo from Dave Bainbridge at the halfway mark and a very spacey, yet fluid, guitar line from Nick carries the song forward, along with more subtle slide parts that really add to the atmosphere of the song. The song ends gently with classical guitar playing that draws everything to a close and completes our journey. Hopefully, during the journey, we should have gained enough insight to be able to continue our lives in the light of the wisdom that has been handed to us, to discover, absorb, and allow us to illuminate the paths that lie before us.

‘The Cloud Of Unknowing’ is an astonishing album that reveals more and more of itself as you become familiar and open to its themes. It is deeply spiritual and is one that we invariably need in these days of turmoil that the world is facing. Whatever you believe, this album is at least a call the ponder, muse and meditate even if only for yourself, why not try it? It is a highly highly recommended listening experiencefor the discerning music fan.

Released 6th June, 2022.

Order direct from the musician here:

Nick Fletcher – The Cloud of Unknowing CD | Nick Fletcher guitar (nickfletcherguitarmusic.com)