Emma Roebuck – Page 4

Review – Birdeatsbaby – Tanta Furia – by Emma Roebuck

Much is being said about the fact that music isn’t progressing or progressive anymore, with a few notable exceptions. The audiences that buy the music are more likely to buy a 5.1 remix of a 1974 re-release over a new and unknown band. It makes me sad when I can come across so much new and exciting stuff to be discovered and that leads me on to this jewel.

‘Tanta Furia’ is the fourth album by Birdeatsbaby, a band new to me, and, to be honest, after hearing this I shall be visiting the back catalogue post haste. The music is dark, chaotic, manically varied and caustic but, most of all, it’s brilliant fun. Its genre busting, you won’t box this in anywhere. I was sent this by the band’s PR Company and I should really thank them. Mishkin Fitzgerald (Lead Vocal, Piano) Forbes Coleman (Drums), Gary Mitchell (Guitar, Bass Double Bass) & Hana Maria (Violin) are the four fine components that make up this excellent band.

The album bounces from some very solid pop/rock, Scars (in the mould of Kate Bush gone Goth), to the insane sounds of In Spite of You that is anthemic and maniacal, reflecting the post-abusive-relationship ‘screw you’ message. The beauty and poetry of Bones of God is aching plaintive and emotionally striking… Its sleazy dirty and pure all rolled into one delightful album.

This record is not for everyone, it’s marmite in the same way that Knifeworld are but also a musical universe away, it would make for an amazing double header though. The band are obviously an eclectic bunch with no fear of writing music that they enjoy, drawing influences from as far afield as Lana Del Rey to Evanescence and from Muse to Ella Fitzgerald. Birdeatsbaby are creating something that stands out head and shoulders above much of what is being recorded in the mainstream today. I am reminded in many ways of We Are Kin and their last album ‘…and i know…’

This quartet tell stories in music and words and they plunder a style to suit the song theme rather than make the theme fit one style. I think it may be too late for the Prog scene to claim these but they are definitely Progressive with a capital P and their fans, or “The Flock”, are in for a treat when they get their hands on this gem!

Released 7th November 2016

‘Tanta Furia’ will be available to order from the official band shop

Video for No Mirror:

Review – Under A Banner – The Wild Places – by Emma Roebuck

“Under A Banner are Adam Broadhurst -guitars, vocals, harmonica, cittern; Jake Brooks – guitars and backing vocals; Simon Hill -bass guitar; Tim Wilson -drums, percussion, backing vocals; Kat Davis – keyboards. Powerful, poetic music about the world and the people and spirits which inhabit it.”

When I was sent this album the above information was all I had to go by. They sent an image for the album and a couple of paragraphs from the wonderful PR people at Bad Elephant Music (Martin) in the email.

Wolverhampton’s Under A Banner are another band new to me but I show no fear in my own ignorance or absence of previous hearing. It went onto my tablet and I begun to listen in bed while I settled to peruse the current reading material, a novel in this case, but often it’s a policy or document for work. My first thoughts, after the first pass through, were of the sheer energy and passion captured in the recording. It is enough to run a small power station for a year. The music screams a preternatural folk roots sound that pulls from many different sources and influences as well. They are the natural descendants of The Pogues, The New Model Army and The Levellers, musically and in their choice of song topic.

The songs range for the vicious political narrative of Kill It All, attacking faith and consumerism through to the revolutionary call-to-arms of Legion. The styles all vary greatly but the central core of folk/punk is forever present. About Love critiques on the love song and relationships but with a sense of time perspective, misquote here, “it’s about more than the he said she said” and “in a thousand years we’ll all be dead”.

Already There kicks in with a simple guitar line and very traditional vocal style, Adam’s voice over a single guitar, but lyrically it is an attack on our constant need to add to the layers and barriers between us and what we have already. It has a plaintiff violin threading through the whole melody of the song stating “The beauty was already there”.

For me, the ultimate gem on the album is World of Hope and it shines despite some serious competition from the rest of the album. I suppose my inner cynic was drawn to the despair and loathing of a need to constantly look back at things and not see what we could have or have been.

If you have a desire to hear music written and performed with passion, soul and sincerity, as well as a willingness to open beyond limits, then this is definitely the one for you. I used the musical references of bands like the Pogues and NMA as they are the nearest reference points but, trust me, Under A Banner are neither of those bands, they are a unique force of their own.

Released September 30th 2016

Pre-order ‘The Wild Places’ from Bad Elephant Music

Review – Andy Tillison Diskdrive – (machte es) Durch – by Emma Roebuck

This solo album is, as Andy told me, a diary of his healing process following his serious illness last year. The literal translation of (machte es) Durch is “Made it Through” and this album is music that he considers to be “the extra material in the CD that is life”.

The album consists of 5 tracks, each different from the other, all of which thematically cover his musical influences and loves. From the electronic territory of Tangerine Dream journeying through Funk/jazz/trance through a tribute to Camel and an exploration of Borodin’s Classical influences. This all sounds highly pretentious and self indulgent doesn’t it? The reality is that it isn’t even vaguely pretentious, mainly because Andy is one of the most grounded people I know who has a passion for life and living it artistically through his music.

After his heart attack just over a year ago, enforced inactivity, especially after a particularly hectic and productive previous two years, cannot have sat well with him. The product of this sits on a CD for all to see and be laid bare.

The Pursuit of Oil opens the album and it comes straight from the Tangerine Dream ‘Ed Froese’ play book. Coming in at just under 22 minutes, this song shows an insight into what TD stood for in the early 70s. It starts and builds through the piece with a tension and atmosphere which makes you want to burst, until you get to the last 5 minutes when it explodes into a guitar (sound) and keyboard celebration of the ecstasy of being alive. Theo Travis adds a beautiful Flute refrain on this track that is the icing on a very impressive cake.

The album then flows directly into the title track Machte Es Durch continuing the thematic survival, almost “Phew”, feeling. It has a Jazz rock/prog style with a foundation that only a “Hammond organ” can provide. Intrinsically, it is a musical version of a journey with all the metaphors of improvisations and returns to the common core.

The idea for the title of The Hood Of A Dodge comes from the Bruce Springsteen song Jungleland but the music comes from the Trip hop Acid jazz of the 90s and, to be honest, feels like my experiences in the 90s at festivals and surviving that time somehow intact, Massive Attack and Portishead, eat your hearts out. It was recorded, apparently, in Ward 17 of Leeds General Infirmary last August, how I would have loved to have been on the ward that day!

Yuri Gagarin – From the Steppes of Central Asia is an interpretation of the classical composition by Alexander Borodin “In the Steppes of Central Asia”, the site of the Soviet Union space program and as far from the west as you can actually get geographically without being back in the west, so to speak. The power and passion in this track is worthy of the likes of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s ‘Pictures At an Exhibition’ and I think that, performed live especially, it would definitely be of that level.

Music Inspired by ‘Music inspired by the Snow Goose’ has been around for a while and Andy posted a version of this on youtube around Christmas 2013. It’s a fun homage to Camel and explores the classic Camel album “inspired” as they say in the book. Here is a full album in 9 minutes given the Tillison touch. His love and affection of the original ring true throughout the track and it is a mischievous fun trip full of nostalgia.

This is a healing album that I have taken to heart and passes the listening in the dark test as well as driving up the A1 from Scotch Corner to Newcastle and back several times over. As coping strategies go, this is a very good for the creator and the listener.

Released April 2016

Buy ‘Durch’ direct from The Tangent store

Review – Ludovico Laroche – Propulsion Galactica – by Emma Roebuck

“An 8 year project: an electro, psychedelic, prog rock, science-fiction concept album about a human used on an interstellar spacecraft to propel the ship using the kinetic energy in his blood-flow. The ship is suffering a mutiny as the sister ship powers beyond contact.

The captain of the vessel is accosted, beaten and finally ejected into space. Soon his voice is heard over the ships tannoy system causing the fearful, scattered crew to spiral into madness. The voices trace back to the ships teleportation device, which gives our human captive a means to escape.

His liberation is short lived as he finds himself marooned on a desolate moon, where it’s clear his fate is as one with the ship’s unfortunate captain. As one they are all left helplessly adrift amongst the stars that seldom shine”

This is the introduction to this delightfully bonkers journey, written and performed by Ludovico ‘G’ LaRoche, through the history of both music and the adventures of an experimental science project in space travel and it does it no justice what so ever.

Musically it is a journey through some serious good music condensed through the whole concept. There is some serious use of sampling to bookend the album accelerating through the various ages of rock/pop the 60s psychedelic heyday through to Prog to electronic Berlin school to downright rocking out. You cannot really single tracks out here as it is a whole suite of tracks that make up something greater than the sum of the parts.

Beginning with a scan across the airwaves in the way we used to turn the knobs on the old radios snippets of classical and psychedelic 60s pop tracks and interspersed with radio sci fi dialogue.

Straight into Propulsion Galactica Pt 1 a sitar sound dominates the track and a gruff harmony vocal line, straight from the summer of love. Part 2 comes straight from the Hawkwind play book of the mid 70s, it seamlessly spans Psychedelia to space rock without missing a beat. Sistership (XYZee) makes good use of sound clips from what sounds like a fifties Sci Fi radio series, it’s Buck Rogers meets the Forbidden Planet. The style is that of mid 80s synth pop Berlin School, overtones of electronica with hints of scratching. Mutiny – now, if you can imagine Lemmy singing prog and having a huge influence on the actual production then you have an idea.

Terminal Velocity has a Crimsonesque feel about it with a huge keyboard impact at its core. Anyone remember Wendy Carlos and the massive Moog sound? then welcome to the Pilgrimage with fat dirty guitar threaded through and anthemic track of huge sonic proportions..

Fast forward a bit and Marooned flows into Amongst The Stars That Seldom Shine which has a guitar line that has captured Brian May’s sound impeccably showing the end of the journey and bookend samples again with a lovely use of a classic Floyd Track.

Overall imagine Hawkwind, Syd Barratt, Lemmy and Public Service Broadcasting on an acid trip and then locked in a studio, yeah that’s what I thought too……

Released July 22nd 2016

Buy ‘Propulsion Galactica’ from bandcamp

Progradar – 2016 – Best of the First Six Months

(Yours truly and Prog Guru™ himself)

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first official Progradar Reviewers and Friends ‘Best Of…’ feature.

I asked those who wished to contribute to cogitate over what great music they had heard, released 1st January to 30th June, in the first half of 2016 and come up with a list of their definitive five favourites.

Not an easy task, let me tell you but, here are the selections of nine (including me) erstwhile wordsmiths and friends, including a few words as to why these particular releases made the cut.

Emma Roebuck (Progradar reviewer)

Cosmograf – The Unreasonable Silence

This is Robin Armstrong on some amazing form. I loved ‘Capacitor’ and I thought ‘Man Left in Space’ was a hard one to beat. I was clearly wrong and happy about it too. Robin is at his best when looking at the human condition when viewed through a less than regular lens. The mythology of Sisyphus and alien abduction combine to make such a lens. I will treasure seeing his one and only live performance so far at Celebr8.3 fondly. The album is dark and melancholy which is the way I like my music to be honest.

This film might change your life and Relativity being high points in an album that is a mountain range of achievement.

Preacher – Aftermath

Their second album, and independently released like the Cosmograf album (and another 2 in my, selection if I remember rightly.) Preacher craft both songs and albums exceedingly well. ‘Signals’, the previous album, shows signs (poor, but unintentional, pun) of a band with tons to offer. They draw their roots from 70s Floyd and the melodic side of the genre. It could be said that this is the album that Floyd should have released instead of ‘The Endless River’, I could easily agree but this is not that Floyd this is a band that use melody, harmony and song in a way that could go beyond the genre.

Stand out Tracks

War/ War reprise and Vinyl show how we look to emotions and actions and make things or deeds of them as people.

Drifting Sun – Safe Asylum

I was too young to be really aware of the genuine impact of the classic period of Prog rock. I caught the periphery in my early teens but felt no ownership of Yes, Genesis, VDGG, Floyd, Gentle Giant, etc only a serious attraction to the music as a 14 year old in 1975. In the early 80s, having ridden the horror that was punk, I remember seeing Marillion, IQ and Pallas in small pubs and clubs in 82 and it was a pure emotional and intellectual epiphany. It felt like I was hit in the heart and the brain with a piece of 2 by 4. I found home and ownership of music. I liked ‘Trip the Light Fantastic’ immensely and when I heard this album I felt all those emotions again. I was in the Sheffield Limit club again hearing something of very high quality and I connected immediately to this music. It is Neo Prog of a very high standard. They sound like themselves with echoes of the last 40 years resounding through the music.

Standout Tracks Intruder and Desolation– Retribution.

Jump – Over The Top

I have been a fan of Jump for the best part of 21 years. It is the Classic rock society that I owe big style, not just for these but many others, in times of musical desolation. I found my first sample of these by old school recognition and recommendation by word of mouth. Fast forward to many Jump gigs later, the new album ‘Over the Top’ comes out and it was ‘yes, get in!’. Some of the current live set had been used to fine tune some of the songs over the last 18 months or so and it shows. John Dexter Jones is a storyteller par excellence and the band are an excellent vehicle for those stories. The words are heartfelt and the music comes from the same place. If they lived in medieval times they would be the bards of old. The use of the past to illustrate the way of the world we live in now is the stock in trade here.

Stand out tracks, I want to say all of them but if I was to choose The Beach and the Wreck of the St Marie are those choices.

Kiama – Sign of IV

Just when you think you have Rob Reed figured out, Sanctuary, Magenta and so on, he does something out of the blue and blows the socks of you. Take good old rock sensibilities from the 60s and 70s, put them in the hands of some very talented individuals and they become a band which sounds like they have been a unit for years. I recently saw them support Frost* and wow, just wow.

This is a hybrid, musically drawn from the past in a very real sense, and is a homage to how they used to work but it does not feel like a tribute band in anyway. It results in a multifaceted album of light and shade with some fantastic songs and heartfelt lyrics. It is some of Luke Machin’s best work outside of Maschine & Rubidium. Rob Reed has a blast playing with sound and tone to create things like ‘Muzzled’, which is a tribute to the Floyd Album ‘Animals’, using the tones from the period to reflect the music and the time it came out. Dylans voice is amazing, we need more Kiama …

Stand Out Tracks Muzzled and Slip away.

Leo Trimming – (Progradar and TPA reviewer)

Red Bazar – Tales From The Bookcase

This was my TPA’s review’s conclusion early in the year for this surprise package, and I’ve had no reason to change it since…

This is an excellent collaboration: Red Bazar have helped Peter Jones express more of his serious, darker side and also allowed him to display more vocal dexterity. In return Red Bazar have gained a talented and very fine rock vocalist who has added great lyrical skill and vocal feeling to their own fine emotional musical palette…

This may be a bit of a dark horse, but Red Bazar may just have released one of the Prog albums of the year.

Matthew Parmenter – All Our Yesterdays

A favourite on two levels – it’s a great album of subtle artistry and fine music, and on another level the artist & his music touched me personally. My Progradar review concluded:

‘Matthew Parmenter has stepped aside from the magnificent, gothic group dynamic of Discipline to create a solo work of art suffused with dramatic shades and emotional lyricism, conveying tragedy and hope. This is an album that is likely to captivate and beguile with subtlety and delicate emotion. It certainly gave me unexpected comfort – Inside.’

Nine Stones Close – Leaves

A darkly trippy and psychedelic album. Part dream, part nightmare – this is an album for which repeated listens gradually unpeal the layers, like all the best progressive releases. My Progradar review observed:

‘Nine Stones Close create rich musical landscapes suffused with a sense of the dramatic and psychedelic… They do not stick to their old formula and want to progress. My advice is stick with these guys because you are never quite sure in which direction their songs or this albums may turn, but it sure is an imaginative and fascinating ride!’

Big Big Train – Folklore

A much anticipated release does not disappoint as the album describes modern folklore, ancient legend, elegies for lost love and epic stories of heroism and loss … plus bees (!) in a rich tapestry of folk tinged progressive rock. Lyrically intelligent and insightful, conveyed with integrity and emotion, and played with consummate skill and passion. Impossible to ignore – we all sort of knew it would be great. Of course it’s great!

Cosmograf – The Unreasonable Silence

Simply stunning. Robin Armstrong has imagined a rich narrative of alien incursion (or paranoid breakdown?!) with sonic brilliance. The imaginative story is unnerving, whilst the music is captivating on a human level but cinematic in scope – ranging from crunching Purple riffs, through atmospheric acoustic passages to sweeping Floydian soundscapes. Undoubtedly, major contender for Album of the Year already from one of the best Progressive Rock artists of this generation.

Gary Morley – (Progradar reviewer)

Hawkwind – The Machine Stops

Everything that Hawkwind evoke distilled into one disc. Great musicianship, tunes and tons of atmosphere make this the top of the pops for me. It’s been a long time since a Hawkwind album had such a buzz about it. Biggest regret – that I missed the live shows. Biggest hope – a proper live blu-ray & CD set is coming.

Preacher – Aftermath

Prog at it’s best for me needs a driver. Preacher use guitars. Proper guitars like your dad waffles on about when he talks about Pink Floyd, Steve Hillage, Jimmy Page and that time he watched Rory Gallagher play for 3 hours at the Hexagon Theatre and your mum was drinking pints and ended up paralytic, singing along to “Wayward Child” sat on his boss’s shoulders…

I Am The Manic Whale – Everything Beautiful In Time

Local boy’s debut embraces everything that is good about music. It has great tunes, off the wall lyrics and subjects that place it head and shoulders above most of what passes for modern music from the under 30’s. I’m looking forward to their next offering, be it a live gig in Reading or more music.

Gandalf’s Fist – The Clockwork Fable

‘The Clockwork Fable’ is a Steam punk opera, like a space opera or a soap opera but without the bad romance and dodgy backdrops.

I loved the variety of musical genres used to tell a totally bonkers tale of clockwork suns and steam powered boys looking for missing cogs in a giant machine all played out in a cavernous underground city. There are rock tracks, some great drumming, some “epic” prog , some plaintive melodies and a host of guest vocalists and musicians, all of which add to the mix without overegging the lily.

The first time you listen you get sucked into the world presented here. It’s a Post apocalyptic, dark dystopian world but there are flashes of humour and the absurdity does not detract from the sheer brilliance of the effort here.

Steven Wilson – 4 1/2

“left over’s” from ‘Hand .Cannot .Erase’ these track might have been, but as a snapshot of Mr Chuckletrousers ( © Angus Prune I Think) and his Zeus like stature in the modern Prog pantheon this is sublime in its perfection. Hints of Zappa referencing impossible “stun guitar”, epic soundscape that demonstrate his skill as an arranger and bleak yet beautiful lyrics are all wrapped in a package that sticks 2 fingers up at the download and go generation. This is a quality production in every detail, lovingly constructed and presented for your pleasure.

Shawn Dudley – (Progradar reviewer)

Messenger – Threnodies

It took several spins for this album to truly work its magic on me, but once hooked it just won’t let me go. A beautifully organic record, informed and powered by vintage sounds but not a slave to them. The tastefully arranged guitar work on this album is a particular highlight. Favorite tracks: Balearic Blue, Celestial Spheres.

Haken – Affinity

Haken leaves the 1970s sounds of ‘The Mountain’ behind, makes a brief stop in the 1980s for the song 1985 and then ventures forward into the future on Affinity. An endlessly inventive collection of intricately designed and passionately performed pieces it’s one of the most thrillingly forward-looking albums of 2016. It’s time to drop the “Prog Metal” genre tag, these guys have transcended it. Favorite tracks: The Architect, Red Giant

Purson – Desire’s Magic Theatre

Purson’s follow-up to ‘The Circle And The Blue Door’ is essentially a solo album from Rosalie Cunningham who wrote, arranged, produced and performed the majority of D.M.T. herself. A conceptual psychedelic journey influenced by her Father’s record collection and her own experimentation with mind-expanding substances. Another case of an artist using the canvas of vintage instrumentation and production techniques to create very personal and unique modern music. Favorite tracks: The Sky Parade, The Bitter Suite.

Big Big Train Folklore

Another beautiful collection of immaculately arranged and produced “pastoral prog” from this master collective of musicians. I recommend going for the extended track-list available on the LP and High-Res download editions, I believe an even stronger collection than the shorter CD version. Favorite tracks: Salisbury Giant, London Plane

Knifeworld – Bottled Out OF Eden

A wonderfully quirky concoction of pop sensibility, progressive experimentation and the harmonic sophistication of jazz all mixed together into a thoroughly accessible brew. And it’s fun! Favorite tracks: I Am Lost, I Must Set Fire To Your Portrait.

Roger Trenwith – (TPA reviewer and Astounded by Sound blog)

Bent Knee – Say So

An unparalleled triumph of invention, melody, and strangeitude, it will take some beating for album of the year.

David Bowie – Blackstar

Hardly seems right relegating this poignant artistic statement and full stop on a career of a true visionary to No.2, but from a purely musical point of view, them’s the breaks.

Knifeworld – Bottled Out OF Eden

A chronicle of loss leavened by hope, Knifeworld get better with each release. Criminally underrated.

Body English – Stories of Earth

Is there a sub-genre called “prog-pop”? If not, this is it. A truly joyous record shining a light in this dark Year of Stupid.

King Crimson – Live In Toronto – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Canada, 20th November 2015

Whatever I put here means leaving out at least half a dozen albums equally as good, so this came out on top after a complicated mathematical randomisation process involving dice, incantations, dead frogs, toads, and copious amounts of single malt. The mighty Crim remake, remodel like no-one else. The version of Epitaph will make you shiver, unless you have no soul. Superb!

Kevin Thompson (LHS) – (Progradar reviewer)

Big Big Train – Folklore

Does this really need a reason?, best of the Band’s excellent output so far and an album that will always be on my desert island disc list. As near to perfect as it gets…

Long Distance Calling – Trips

There are so many bands in this area of music it’s hard to stand out, but, on this release, Long Distance Calling have…..

Gandalf’s Fist – The Clockwork Fable

A tremendous 3 disc concept package of such quality. Never been better value for money and shames the bigger bands!!

Iamthemorning – Lighthouse

A delicately beautiful album from this Russian duo added further poignancy with the heartfelt vocals from Mariusz Duda on the title track.

Downriver Dead Men Go – Tides

Another band who came recommended and I’d not heard before buying. Slow, dark and emotional, this Dutch band surpassed my expectations.

David Elliott – (Prog Guru™, TEP, Bad Elephant)

Lazuli – Nos Âmes Saoules

There is nothing else quite like them, and they keep on going from strength to strength….

Bent Knee – Say So

My first exposure to this amazing American band…genuine innovators, and hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck exciting!!

The Dowling Poole – One, Hyde Park

Unashamedly unoriginal, but huge fun, and immaculately crafted. Big smiley music.

Knifeworld – Bottled Out Of Eden

Banging tunes, a great groove, and more bassoon!!

Frost* – Falling Satellites

A great return to the arena from the masters of modern progressive. Progressive rock with pop sensibilities – what’s not to like?

John Simms – (Progradar reviewer, Rev Sky Pilot blog)

Big Big train – Folklore

Consistently turning out excellent pastoral English progressive music, BBT have hit the motherlode again with this suite of songs celebrating the British folkloric tradition. From the sublime beauty of ‘Transit’ to the quirky tale of ‘Winkie’ the Pigeon, this is music of the highest calibre.

Anderson/Stolt – Invention of Knowledge

This, for me, is simply the best music anyone connected with Yes has produced since ‘Awaken’. It draws on the bestaspects of Yes and Flower Kings and produces something sublime and beautiful. It was a very close call between my Top 2.

Southern Empire – Southern Empire

One of the up sides to Unitopia folding a few years ago is that we now have both UPF and Southern Empire to carry on the legacy. This is a fine collection of melodic progressive rock music, exhibiting high levels of virtuosity and songmanship.

Knifeworld – Bottled Out of Eden

Another band with a unique style and approach to music making. This is a wonderful follow-up to ‘The Unravelling’ and Kavus and his band of minstrels continue to delight.

Mothertongue – Unsongs

The best music is that which stands out from the crowd, and Mothertongue certainly do that. Ecclectic, bizarre, unexpected and bonkers, this is a wonderful collection of (un)songs.

And finally my thoughts, this selection of five albums was incredibly difficult to pick but I’m pretty certain that, at this moment in time, it is my definitive top five!!!

Mothertongue – Unsongs

With its incisive, intelligent lyrics and first-class musicianship, Unsongs is unlike anything you will have heard in recent years. The music will lead you on a roller-coaster journey of acid jazz inventiveness that’s a big heap of noisy and light and also includes a lot of brass because everyone likes brass, right? A musical breath of fresh air that you will return to again and again, it’s just brilliant!

Big Big Train – Folklore

The acknowledged masters of pastoral progressive rock and intelligent and incisive storytelling return with a fresh collection of tales gleaned from our heritage and history. With their penchant for heartfelt lyrics and beautiful music it is an involving and mesmerising journey that everyone should take at least once in their life.

Cosmograf – The Unreasonable Silence

Thought provoking, questioning and inventive, ‘The Unreasonable Silence’ has all that I ask for in my music. A well constructed and intelligent concept brought to reality by a gifted musician with incomparable support from some incredible guests. It makes you really think about what you have heard and, above all, is a peerless, outstanding and incomparable listening experience that you will not forget any time soon.

Iamthemorning – Lighthouse

‘Lighthouse’ is an amazing musical journey from the first note to the last. It is bewitching and beguiling and removes you from your everyday life to a place of wonder. Darkly captivating, it is not all sweetness and light but is a musical legacy that iamthemorning can build on and the ‘Lighthouse’ can light the way. These two exceptional artists have now moved into the major leagues and it is well deserved, album of the year? why not!

Tilt – Hinterland

A superb album by a cast of very accomplished musicians. Brilliant vocals, burning guitar solos, a thunderous rhythm section and songwriting of the highest quality combine to deliver one kick ass release that I keep returning to again and again. By the way, three of these guys are better known as Fish’s backing band but, oh my god, have they risen well above that soubriquet now….

So, there you have it, a small selection of our own, very subjective, opinions on what has been the best music of a highly impressive first six months of 2016. You may agree, you may not but, one thing that everything agrees on is that the music just keeps getting better, and long may it continue!!

Review – Tilt – Hinterland – by Emma Roebuck

Bob Dylan had The Band, Fish (he of many great albums with and without Marillion) has TILT. Like The Band, they have broken free from the cover of the piscatory one and now have their own well formed sense of identity.

TILT are Robin Boult, David Stewart, Steve Vantsis, the core of Fish’s touring band right now, with Paul Humphreys on guitars and PJ Dourley on vocals, featuring guest appearances from It Bites’ John Beck and John Mitchell (of band and Projects too many to mention) to back this solid product. Mitchell also mixed the album.

Vantsis and Dourley are the main songwriters here, with Humphreys credited on two tracks. One thing is certain, this is NOT a Fish album minus a piscatorial element (no more Fish puns I promise).

It is going to be argued that this is not Prog by some but I will disagree in the strongest terms. 3 of the 8 tracks come in at over 8 minutes and none under 4 minutes. Sonically this is a very dense album typified by’ No Superman’ which reminds me of something that Soundgarden would be proud of but with far more layers and texture to separate them from a ‘grunge-like’ song to something far more up to date and of the present

P J Dourley’s voice is a dream throughout the album, at times it is sullen and yet can soar, expressing the lyrics and meaning of the songs to use his voice as an additional musical instrument as well as a singer. On ‘Growing Colder’ he shares the music with just the voice and a piano without loss of emotional content and delivery. the social and emotional isolation of the song is reflected in his voice extremely well indeed.

‘Bloodline’, the current single, has an astounding guitar solo in it from John Mitchell that feels like a vampire suffering depression and with rage issues in a good way. It’s a straight ahead rocker and one I intend using next Hallowe’en but far more subtle and textured than any regular rock track.

‘Hinterland’, the title track of the album, is a thorough, out and out, stab at prog metal with a great degree of success. It’s accessible and has all the elements you would expect without sounding contrived.

Although not a declared concept album by the band it appears to be an album of loss, grief and cynicism of the human condition. ‘_Assembly’ and ‘Disassembly_’ bookend the album and they seem to be a treatise on the futility of war, a rage against the seekers of power through religion. It shows how prog this album is by relying on keyboards and soundscapes to illustrate the setting and the tone.

Musically this is very tight indeed and I imagine it would transfer to the live stage very well. The album overall is very accessible and good on the ear but there is nothing of the traditional “Pastoral Prog” to this album but if you like your music in the Dream Theater, Anubis style, or Spocks Beard, Transatlantic in their heavier moments, then you have a new item for your shopping list.

If you want Prog for a brave new world then this is for you and, in a year of standout albums, so far this is one that I believe will stand the test of repeats. It will be in my top 10 of 2016 and its only June.

Released 30th June 2016

Buy ‘Hinterland’ on CD from Burning Shed

Buy ‘Hinterland on CD from The Merch Desk

Buy ‘Hinterland’ on CD from Just For Kicks (Mainland Europe)

Buy ‘Hinterland’ on download from bandcamp

Review – Elaine Samuels & Kindred Spirit -Phoenix Rising by Emma Roebuck

I will be honest, Kindred Spirit and Elaine Samuels are new names to my ears so, when this landed into my inbox, I had no expectations or preconceived ideas as to what I was going to hear. I rarely read the promotional material before I hear the music. As ever, the first listening is in the dark late night/early morning to get the feel and impact of the 12 tracks and the flow of the album.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Folk based aspect of the progressive music scene. When done well it can be outstanding but when it is done poorly it feels too inward, regressive and inaccessible to my ears. I will start by saying this album is not in the latter category and is very close to the former.

It feels odd that I review the Album shortly after the sad passing of Dave Swarbrick, fiddler supreme, a player whose style is obviously an influence on Gavin Jones, the violin player on the album. The Violin is the primary lead instrument on this album and it is used well and with power and skill. On It’s not too late it counterpoints Elaine’s voice superbly, giving strength to the mystic quality of the lyrics that Jon Anderson would be proud to produce.

The Cover version of Horse with no name blends directly into Drunken Landlady and it feels like Stéphane Grappelli had joined a jam session with a very Jazz feel with a Celtic Flute vs. Violin battle going on. This is where ex Judas Priest Drummer Les Binks shows his skills driving the song from behind the beat. Bizarrely I am reminded of the Horslips’ ‘Book of Invasions’ here, but it works very well.

Feed the Fire is a very prog rock driven song, with the emphasis on ‘Rock’, a heavily distorted bass and guitar combine cleverly with some fine soloing from Flute, Violin and Guitar.

I am not sure whether Kindred Spirit, as a track, is another of those songs that reflect the journey of the music or the journey with a fellow musical traveller given form but it opens the album well.

Children of the Stars has some beautiful Sax playing in it and is a truly great piece of music with great harmonies and structure. I have a small suggestion for the next album – more Sax please!

The title Track The Phoenix is obviously a deeply personal lyric of loss and renewal reflecting her own personal back story but, then, I get the feeling all of her lyrics come from that place inside her where we all hold our pain and seek catharsis.

These songs have been written by Elaine over a long period of time from the start of the century up to 2015. The main themes I detect are about renewal and celebration preceded by pain and toil. It’s not a concept as such but, like many song writers, I know the muse comes from a certain place in this case.

The inevitable comparisons can be drawn and this where I refer to the promotional notes provided by Stephen Lambe. If you like Renaissance, Curved Air, Solstice, Touchstone (in their softer moments), Big Big Train and, obviously, Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention then you should definitely check it out!

Re-released 3rd May 2016.

buy ‘Phoenix Rising’ Direct from the band

Review – Steve Thorne – Island Of The Imbeciles – by Emma Roebuck

Steve Thorne’s 5^th solo album ‘The Island of Imbeciles’ is rumoured to be his last solo project. Hopefully this is not true as he continues to write tight, prescient songs with a great ear and eye for the moment. There is still a timeless element to the music but the timeliness of the subject matter places it very much in the now.

Who has he got guesting on this one? none other than Tony Levin, Nick D’Virgilo and James McLaren, with spots from his old chums in Jadis and even Robin ‘Cosmograf’ Armstrong but, according to his interview recently in Prog mag, instrument-wise, he pretty much plays the majority of the stuff on the Album himself.

I often talk about the craft of writing music and songs and Steve has brilliantly crafted the whole album, 50 minutes of music that flies past in way too quick a time for my liking. I wanted more much more music, in a really good way. All the songs are very easy on the ear, full of melody, variation and different themes.

The musical ability shines through but does not swamp the album. Guitar and keyboard breaks blend section to section, fitting beautifully into the song. A fine example is Don’t Fear Tomorrow, a message to the anxious and the worriers of this world, or someone carving out their life after tragedy.

The title track, Island of Imbeciles, is an overtly vicious attack on corruption and current state of politics, it is keyboard driven and lyrically potent, delivering a message of cynicism and disgust.

My personal favourite, They are Flesh, is a direct attack on the privileged class and their ‘so called right’ to such privilege. It’s pretty much an acoustic number in an almost old-school ‘protest folk style’ but with much more sophistication.

The 10 tracks on this album cover such a wide range of topics, from loss of love (and the terror to commit to someone again) to big political stuff about the planets resources and man’s general inhumanity to man.

He draws from all sorts of areas musically but it is still a coherent album that connects from beginning to end.

I look forward to the ‘Salamander Project’ which appears to be his new project with the likes of John Beck, Steve can draw talent to his projects but that embellishes what he does and it’s not a place he hides behind.

As ever I will make recommendations for those who know nothing of his music or his pedigree.

I hear a direct connection with the Likes of Steven Wilson (particularly Blackfield), Talk Talk (Spirit of Eden), Divine Comedy, Big Big Train and oldsters like Pink Floyd. If you are a fan of the song and lyrically interesting melodic music go for it.

Released 1st April 2016

Order ‘Island Of The Imbeciles’ from White Knight Records

Review Scarlet INside – THirty RiVers to CRoss – by Emma Roebuck

Scarlet INside is, essentially, Kevin Kennie plus others occasionally helping out with music creation and drum consultancy, in the form of Drew Mckinlay and Jerry Good. Perhaps Kevin can best explain what that entails but it certainly works.

Self described as “a rock band, an acoustic act, and soundscape composition. We express a love of experimentation, using a variety of styles including world beats and rhythms, prog rock, beats and industrial crunches,minimalist lines, blues, jazz and a variety of different instruments synths all topped off with unusual lyrics and dark themes and screaming rock lead breaks”

This is the 8^th album from them as an outfit and they are one of a growing group of acts who are self financing with a soundcloud/bandcamp presence. I have been aware of them through mutual contacts on social media and I listened to an earlier single and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is not really commercial in the sense of the ‘melody and song’ school of thought in the progressive music genre, yet neither is it dissonance or does it grate on the ear. Let’s get the comparisons out of the way first. This Motherwell born musician draws his influence from all sorts of areas musically from the industrial to straight rock, to old school prog. Musically this album feels like the by product of Fripp, Gabriel, Mclaughlin, Byrne, Hammill, and Page along with many others in a melee of musical combinations. Imagine all these converging in one head and the outcome of 2 years in the studio. Having said that, this is Kennie’s own product to the core despite you being able to isolate those influences.

Nothing here is predictable or formulaic; there are several pieces of epic proportions, The Twisted BRaid of Chance, in parts, smacks of an insight into Kevin’s mind and attitude to life or his life’s journey to this point. It comes in at over 20 minutes and explores the dark side of fate and happenstance. She SHould HAve Died HEreafter, is a Shakespearean epic of the Hamlet/Macbeth tradition which uses the space between the music as effectively as the notes themselves.

The cap-lock lettering runs through the whole thing and was as a result of a broken keyboard and the habit stuck. Each note and line is considered and considered again before it gets onto the music, matching lyrical content with the music very well. PLease Let me Be ASleep describes the torture of the insomniac to the absolute, it chimes with me so well as a frequent flyer on that very same aeroplane.

There is nothing happy in this album but there is plenty to nourish the soul of any music lover. If you are a fan of dark brooding music and like to hear someone taking musical risks then this is £5 well spent.

Released 1st April 2016.

Buy ‘THirty Rivers to CRoss’ from bandcamp

Review – Napier’s Bones – Hell and High Water – by Emma Roebuck

Gordon Midgely and Nathan Tillet, two musicians that found each other by chance, separated by a few hundred miles from Yorkshire to Plymouth, managing to create music together via the wonders of modern technology and the interweb. Another of these types who inhabit the no label world and do it for the love and wanting the world to hear their music.

This is the third album under the designation Napier’s Bones (a mathematical calculating tool). Both these guys have an obsession rooted in myth and fantasy, both modern and ancient.

Musically very accessible but still very complex in structure, this album is split into two very different parts. Interestingly, one suite is set in Buckfastleigh’s Holy Trinity Church and is a cautionary tale of modern technology and celebrity wandering into a supernatural nightmare for the sake of ‘light entertainment’.

3 tracks combine to tell the tale of a slip into madness, or actual Hell, all for the delight of a television audience. Musically it is full of massive keyboards and excellent guitar soloing with no detriment to the themes or the songs. Classic Prog is in the DNA of this album, in fact, it is in all of their albums. Melody and song is important to these guys as well as great technical ability.

Part 2, if you can call it that, is another suite based on the origins of Lake Semerwater in the dales of Yorkshire. There is a tale of a hermit, in actuality a Saint on his travels, seeking food and replenishment who is scorned by an entire village save one herdsman’s family. The flood as punishment and cleansing, here, is a very real theme. All save the herdsman’s family were flooded and perished.

An old tale told in four parts musically reflecting the story from the viewpoint of a minstrel in the days of Yore. Opening with Mallerstang Morning, a very folkie feeling song reflecting the minstrel’s trade and an optimistic morning. Leading into No Room at the Inn, the rejection and pleading for a chance to perform and deliver news from afar for a bed and a meal. The comical intro moves into a much sinister threatening tone using a mellotron choir and dissonant tones as the piece progresses.

The punishment and conclusion, Rain Down, musically depicts the storm with huge organ synth and guitar building the tension as the storm breaks and the rain falls to punish the tormentors. Finally A Wake In Yordale, the calm following the destruction and aftermath as the minstrel wanders off into the distance.

For all the doom and gloom this is entertaining and there is not a dull moment in the album. If you are a fan of tale telling and have Camel, Jethro Tull or Big Big Train in your collection then this album should be yours and you can get it for free or pay what you think it’s worth.

Released 18th March 2016.

Get ‘Hell and High Water’ via bandcamp

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