Tag: Martin Hutchinson

Review Round Up – Ghost Of The Machine, Dominic Sanderson, Human Pyramids, Michael Woodman & Dim Gray

Life has been a bit up and down recently and I have really struggled to keep Progradar up and running but we are still here, a not inconsiderable thanks has to go to John Wenlock-Smith for keeping the reviews running while I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus!

Anyway, 2025 started with some fantastic promos being sent so here are just a few of them, you’ll see why I think 2025 is going to be another stellar year for the music we all love!

Ghost Of The Machine – ‘Empires Must Fall’

‘Empires Must Fall’ is the hotly anticipated second album from Yorkshire-based progressive rock band Ghost Of The Machine, releasing on 7 March 2025 through ProgRock.com’s Essentials label.

Empires Must Fall maintains Ghost Of The Machine’s trademark anthemic hooks and beefy melodic rock production (once again courtesy of Leeds producer Bob Cooper) and it also explores “denser and darker arrangements that”—singer Bramald promises—will “scratch that ‘prog’ itch while striking a careful balance between shorter, more accessible songs and those epic-length pieces that we’re known for.”

The new album tells a continuation of the story that started with the ‘Scissors’ suite on the previous album. Bramald adds, “Our first record concluded with the tyrannical Puppet King being vanquished by his final victim… she slew him with a pair of scissors! So, we wondered what the consequences of that violent but liberating final act would be. We started with a simple question: what is true justice? Is the newly crowned Empress of the Light succeeding at being a benevolent ruler, or is she becoming a tyrant herself? Can she right all the wrongs that she herself had suffered? And what will it take to finally break the cycle of violence and coercion?”

God, these guys just keep getting better! There’s a confidence about Ghost Of The Machine that oozes from every track on this complete monster of an album. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the band had been together for decades, not just a handful of years. Powerful guitars and a wonderfully fluid rhythm section add to the elegant keyboards and Charlie Bramald’s superb, distinctive vocals to deliver a real tour de force of hard rock tinged progressive rock.

Keepers Of The Light opens the album with an energetic bravado that enthuses the listener and then The Days That Never Were adds some classic hard rock vibes to the album. The two epics, Panopticon and Fall Through Time, take this impressive band to yet another level. The former is a brooding monster of a track that ebbs and flows with a quiet assurance and maturity and speaks of a group of musicians on an ever upwards trajectory and working in an almost symbiotic relationship. The latter is a true progressive masterpiece that wouldn’t be amiss on a Genesis album. The haunting brilliance of The One is a highlight and the album closes with After The War, a modern progressive take on Dire Straits‘ Brothers In Arms to my ears.

‘Empires Must Fall’ is Ghost Of The Machine oozing class, skill and confidence to deliver a truly majestic musical experience that lingers long after the last note has ended.

Released 7th March, 2025.

Order the album here:

https://ghostofthemachineofficial.com/store

Dominic Sanderson – ‘Blazing Revelations‘

Dominic Sanderson is a 25-year-old Liverpool-based solo artist from Wakefield. He places his foot firmly in the progressive rock field, with current influences being Van der Graaf, King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Caravan. Having made his debut in 2020 with the ‘Discarded Memories’ EP (featured on the sampler CD of Prog Magazine #116), Sanderson released his first full-length album, ‘Impermanence’, in 2022.

‘Blazing Revelations’ was completed between January and November 2024. The album was recorded and mixed independently by Joshua Joyner in an abandoned radio station. With the snatches of time available to Sanderson and the band members, what with commitments to careers, families and social activities, ‘Blazing Revelations’ was a labour of love, slowly chipped at when time allowed. The mastering was completed by Jon Astley (The Who) at Close To The Edge Studios.

Once again, Dominic Sanderson has created something truly progressive. I was a big fan of ‘Impermanence’ and I think he has taken his skill set to another level. A masterful collection of songs that inspire and surprise at every turn. There’s touches of Canterbury, swathes of symphonic and, over all, a supreme confidence in the composition and delivery on every track of this superb release.

Dominic is obviously not one to rest on his laurels and ‘Blazing Revelations’ continues his quest to expand the progressive genre with thoughtful, intelligent and complex creations like the acid edged majesty of From The Weeping Cradle with it’s complex rhythms and the wistful, Canterbury stylings of Faithless Folly, a convoluted, labyrinthine piece of music that takes you on an other worldly adventure. Add in the acid folk leanings of A Rite Of Wrongs and we see Sanderson take an enjoyable trip into the wider sonic world.

The stand out track is the near seventeen minute journey into the unknown that is Lullaby For Broken Dream. There’s something utterly compelling about this song as it opens up like an Edgar Allan Poe story set to music with discordant jazz sections that really test his fellow musicians and edgy, contemporary prog that makes for an complex and intriguing listening experience. An utterly worthwhile expedition into the creative mind of one of British progressive rock’s rising stars. Crimson-esque guitars and swathes of 70’s keyboards abound on this stunning piece of music that will leave you breathless in admiration.

With ‘Blazing Revelations’, Sanderson has redefined what it is to be truly progressive in the modern musical world and I for one am eminently thankful that there are musicians out there who are still creating works of art like this.

Released 28th February, 2025.

Order from bandcamp here:

https://dominicsanderson.bandcamp.com/album/blazing-revelations

Human Pyramids – ‘Thank You’

Human Pyramids is a Cinematic, Orchestral Supergroup from Glasgow, Scotland.

Led by Composer/Producer Paul Russell, the new album features musicians from Axes, Suicide Bid, Scottish Ballet and Modern Studies.

Their 4th album ‘Thank You’ was recorded all over the UK and Europe. Luscious strings, rousing horns, shimmering guitars and bubbling synths. The album expands upon their trademark euphoric sound from the first 3 records which have soundtracked countless TV Shows, Documentaries and Films. The album was mastered by Alan Douches (Sufjan Stevens / Animal Collective) in New York State.

I’m a huge fan of Paul and Human Pyramids, the uplifting music is wonderful to listen to and transcends all the crap in modern life. With ‘Thank You’ Paul has carried on with his fantastic formula, delivering an experience that is sonically beautiful and joyously mesmerising.

Take strings, brass, amazing percussion and funky guitar and add in a touch of utter joy and you get something that will leave a permanent smile on your face. Listen to the audaciously wonderful Full Bloom, the staccato feather like innocence of Scattering Sunlight and the wholesome delight of Glow and tell me that I’m wrong!

This world that we live in can be a daunting and scary place so take some time out of your busy schedule and let Human Pyramids whisk you away to a world of musical wonder and delight!

Released 17th January, 2025.

Order from Banquet records here:

https://www.banquetrecords.com/human-pyramids/thank-you/TMT004

Michael Woodman – ‘Hiss Of Today’

Thumpermonkey’s guitarist/vocalist Michael Woodman returns with his first full-length solo album, slated for release on 26/04/2025.  ‘Hiss of Today’ entangles restless analogue-synth entities with lo-fi motorik percussion; part 60s baroque chamber pop, part Vangelis, part Thelemic ritual viewed through a broken kaleidoscope. Label owner and Gong frontman Kavus Torabi (whom Woodman toured with after the release of his debut EP, ‘Psithurism’) also gifts his unmistakable spectral psychedelia to the single, Lychgate. The album’s inspiration comes from an uncanny discovery: William Robert Woodman, one of the founding members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, not only shared Michael’s surname but also died on the same date as Michael’s birthday. ‘Hiss of Today’ is equal parts nostalgic hauntology, tales of cursed ZX Spectrum tapes, and hallucinated 8-bit lore – expanded upon through a pre-release text adventure that fans can access from February 2025.

Photo credit Ashley Jones.

I was one of the first to hear ‘Psithurism‘ and was intrigued by Michael’s complex and intriguing music and he has returned with a full length release that improves on the promise of that EP to deliver a thought provoking and beguiling collection of songs that captivates the listener with its compelling stories impressive musicianship. Haunting and moody on tracks like The Wandering Nerve, the musical equivalent of scratching your finger nails down a blackboard and bombastic and theatrical on my personal favourite, The Button, a track that harks back to 90’s hard rock band Incubus to my ears. It is a journey through a feverish but calculating mind and one that produces something daringly different.

There’s nothing else quite like ‘Hiss Of Today’, with touches of Gong and Cardiacs in places, mingling with the cerebral style prog of Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson, Michael Woodman has created a kaleidoscope of musical magnificence.

Released April 26th, 2025.

Order from bandcamp here:

https://michaelwoodman.bandcamp.com/album/hiss-of-today

Dim Gray – ‘Shards’

Dim Gray are a Norwegian band known for their cinematic, atmospheric sound that fuses rock, folk, and chamber pop. Following acclaimed debut, ‘Flown’, and the expansive, evocative soundscapes of second album, ‘Firmament’, Dim Gray are set to release their third studio album, Shards, on February 28th, 2025 on Grim Day Records. 

Formed by Håkon Høiberg (guitars, vocals), Tom Ian Klungland (drums), Oskar Holldorff (vocals, keys) and former member Robin Kirknes (bass), the band added new members Kristian Kvaksrud (bass) and Milad Amouzegar (guitar, keys) in 2023. The band have established a strong live presence, as per their recent live EP, and have captivated audiences while supporting renowned acts like Marillion and Big Big Train.
 
Oskar adds, “Seven of the songs on Shards are about change, upheaval, severance; something shattering to pieces. Although most of these songs are sad or dramatic, some have a tinge of hopefulness to them, as sometimes the pieces of something shattered can be rearranged in different and better ways. These seven songs are bookended by two songs that deal with the opposite; a constant stasis, an unending struggle of two opposing kinds that are reflections of our personalities.”
 
With the breadth and ambition of the Shards album, Dim Gray are making good on not only what has come before but also setting their sights on, despite their name, a very bright future.

I’ve been on the Dim Gray journey since the start and this Norwegian band just get better and better with every album they release.

They have a very distinctive sound and this has coalesced into a more easily accessible and open set of songs on ‘Shards’. From the very first note of Defiance you are drawn into a musical cornucopia of wonder and delight. Jingling guitars, haunting piano and the distinctive, fluent vocals are hallmarks of this wonderful band’s very unique sound. The soaring choruses and dynamic strings add yet another dimension to the music and this can be heard to fantastic effect on the delightful Myopia.

Dim Gray are described as ‘evoking a blend of Radiohead’s experimental edge and Fleet Foxes’ pastoral warmth’ but, to my ears anyway, their sound has evolved to be very like the much loved Danish band, Mew, who are sadly playing their last two shows this year before disbanding. With driving, energetic songs like Murals with its superb folk style guitar, Dim Gray can forge a new path for themselves and create their own niche. The warmth and heartfelt passion of Feathers and Mooneater create a stylish juxtaposition with the wonderful Scandi pop/prog of the vibrant first single from the album, Peril, like A-ha brought bang up to date for present times, it’s uplifting, energetic and just brilliant!

Mesmerising and ethereal, Little One and Shards From a Broken Crown are perfect musical gems like atmospheric, euphonic ripples in a sonic lake but the best is saved until last with the ten minute odyssey that is Attakulla. A brooding opening gives way to Dim Gray at their magical best. Gorgeous harmonies and simply superb musicianship create an atmosphere of utter wonder that transcends mere mortality and finishes this musical creation on an incredible high.

‘Shards’ is a band operating on a higher plain. Widescreen cinematic music full of heart and soul, Dim Gray have given us the highlight of 2025 so far and it will take something quite remarkable to top it.

Released 28th February, 2025.

Order the album here:

https://linktr.ee/dimgraymusic

Progradar’s Best of 2024!

2024, well the second half, has been a tough year for me and I took my eye off the reviewing ball from August onwards due to changes in my life. It doesn’t mean that I haven’t been listening to amazing music though!

As my friend John Wenlock-Smith has already said, 2024 was an amazing year for music, progressive rock in particular, and here are the highlights for me. They are not in any order, just the albums that I have enjoyed listening to!

2025 will see me attempt to revive my reviewing mojo and it may mean a change of format so watch this space! In the meantime, enjoy my selection of some gems from last year…

Emerald City Council – ‘Motion Carries’

Emerald City Council have entered the progressive rock scene with a massive bang. ‘Motion Carries’ is a superb album, utterly immersive and uplifting with incredible musicianship, soaring melodies and a real sense of fun. This is music that touches the mind and lifts the soul and I haven’t stopped smiling yet. Trust me, you need this album in your life!

Albion – ‘Lakesongs of Elbid’

With ‘Lakesongs Of Elbid’, Albion have created an immersive, almost hypnotic collection of songs that is like listening to the stories of old, sung by travelling bards as they travelled the lands. Allow yourself to be drawn into its embrace and you will enjoy seventy minutes of wonder and music that will not only take your breath away but your heart and mind too…

Big Big Train – ‘The Likes Of Us’

What an emotional rollercoaster, I have spent the last four weeks listening to ‘The Likes Of Us’ at every opportunity. In the best tradition of Big Big Train albums of the past, it is not merely a collection of songs, it is a musical masterpiece that becomes part of your life and, for me, that means this album stands tall with the likes of ‘The Underfall Yard’ and English Electric’ 1 & 2. I know it is early in the year but it is going to take something incredibly special to topple this off the top of album of the year list and, for a long time fan of the band, that fills me with joy and makes me very happy indeed!

Cosmograf – ‘Live At The 1865 (Official Bootleg)’

A new Cosmograf studio album is on the way but, ever one to give back to his audience, Robin has sated the craving for new music by releasing what I am sure will become a seminal live album in the progressive rock scene. Close your eyes and you could almost be there, basking in the glorious music and that is what makes ‘Live At The 1865’ an essential purchase.

Jo Beth Young – ‘Broken Spells’

After four years Jo Beth Young has returned with an immaculately created and conceived album of pure wonder and musical genius. A piece of music of, and for, the ages and possibly the best album that Kate Bush never released.

HFMC – ‘Eternal Snapshots’

Music is written to connect with people, to move you on an emotional, spiritual and intellectual level. If it is done right then it leaves you in a much better place than when you listened to the first note and, with ‘Eternal Snapshots’, Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion have delivered one of the most superlative musical events of the year so far.

Blue Rose Code – ‘Bright Circumstance’

Music can reflect life and accompany us on our very personal journeys and we should be honoured that Ross Wilson has invited us to join him on his own poignant and introspective pilgrimage through his faith. What he has given us is one of the most intense and intimate records released this year, with faith and devotion as its central themes. ‘Bright Circumstance’ is an utterly captivating triumph and should propel Blue Rose Code onto further and better things, it really doesn’t get any better than this.

Amarok – ‘Hope’

An utterly stunning collection of songs that bears Amarok’s impressive hallmarks throughout, ‘Hope’ is one of those albums that hits you at a base level in a totally emotive way. It is music for the mind and the soul and in a world collapsing around our very feet, we all need some of that, don’t we?

Age Of Distraction – ‘A Game Of Whispers’

2024 has already been a bumper year for superb releases and Age of Distraction have just added another fine album to the mix. ‘A Game Of Whispers’ is a collection of mighty fine songs that define the contemporary progressive rock and melodic metal genre and is a dramatic and profound listen from beginning to end. My recommendation is you just go out and buy it!

The Tangent For One – ‘To Follow Polaris’

‘To Follow Polaris’ is intended to be thought of as a regular Tangent album – but not as the future of the band. It’s everyone’s intention to make the FOURTEENTH album as The Tangent. For Five. However, taken in isolation, what you have is a wonderfully inventive and amazingly performed collection of songs that stay true to the core of Andy and the band’s beliefs. Witty and acerbic throughout but with some moments of pure musical bliss, it is yet another highlight in this storied musician’s stellar career.

Nordic Giants – ‘Origins’

‘Origins’ is a wondrous journey through all that is great about Nordic Giants. A collection of songs that have been fine tuned from the original to deliver an almost spiritual and addictive listening experience and one that will not just appeal to long term fans of this utterly compelling band but also to those lucky enough to be discovering them for the very first time.

Gallowstreet – ‘A Trip Worth making’

With ‘A Trip Worth Making’, Gallowstreet have leaped straight into my musical affections,. It is such an infectious, upbeat and addictive experience that you forget just how technically impressive these musicians are because you are just enjoying the joyful brilliance that they bring to each of these compositions, the energy just free flowing and imbuing in you a fabulous joie de vivre.

Nine Stones Close – ‘Diurnal’

‘Diurnal’ has to be one of the most imposing and impressive releases I’ve heard this year. Nine Stones Close have returned with a new line-up and firing on all cylinders and have created what, to me, is their finest album yet. A wonderfully direct, dynamic and energetic listen from beginning to end and one that will be on many best of the year lists come December 2024, I highly recommend it.

Airbag – ‘The Century Of The Self’

‘Century of the Self’ is a mesmerising and involving odyssey that elevates you to a musical nirvana that not many artists can create. Airbag are one of those bands that just seem to get better with age and this new release just might be their best album yet, and that’s saying something!

Returned To The Earth – ‘Stalagmite Steeple’

Robin Peachey and Returned To The Earth may not be well known to most people out there but, with the utterly magnificent, transcendental brilliance of ‘Stalagmite Steeple’ they deserve to be up there in the higher pantheon of progressive rock. You will not hear many better albums of any genre this year and I implore you to seek it out and add it to your own music collection, you will never ever regret doing so!

Orion – ‘The Lightbringers’

The best music can take you on a wondrous, fantastical journey where, for a short while, you can forget about the trials and tribulations of this planet that we inhabit and with his latest superb Orion album, ‘The Lightbringers’, Ben Jones does just that. It is a highlight of another fantastic musical year and one that I feel will be on many people’s end of year lists and it deserves to be.

Long Earth – ‘An Ordinary Life’

All great albums are the product of an intensive creative process and, in ‘An Ordinary Life’, Long Earth have given us the highly impressive fruits of their artistic labours. A wonderfully immersive musical journey that will have you coming back for more, it is a highlight of what is becoming an extraordinarily outstanding year for new music.

Meer – ‘Wheels Within Wheels’

I have to say that repeated listens to this album have allowed me to appreciate it more fully and I can certainly appreciate the crafting that has gone into making the album sound as good as it does here. ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ is a most worthy album and one that will hopefully win Meer many new fans.

Frost* – ‘Life In The Wires’

I’ll let my good friend Kevin Thompson, who reviewed the album for Progradar, give his conclusion as I couldn’t agree more!

“Milliontown is one of the most successful prog rock albums of the last 20 years and rightly held in high regard, lauded by fans and critics alike. Life In The Wires may not surpass it but damn! it runs it close. One of the best concept albums I’ve heard for sometime and one of the best albums of the year so far.”

Nick Fletcher – ‘A Longing For Home’

Not just one of the best instrumental albums of 2024 but on of THE best albums full stop! With his classical music background and undoubted skill on the electric guitar, Nick Fletcher has to be one the greatest living guitarists, he’s also a fellow Yorkshireman so what more could you ask for! Joking apart, Nick is one of the finest musicians this country has produced in recent years so do yourselves a favour and check this album out!

John Greenwood – ‘The Boy’

John describes this album as, “A vicariously autobiographical concept album describing the life, ambition, sacrifices and ultimate regret of the eponymous Boy. The album is a single piece, with 6 parts punctuated by narrated snippets of the story by actor, Mark Addy.”

To me, it is just stunning, a beautiful piece of work and even better than John’s previous release, ‘Dark Blue’ in my opinion. It’s more of a story than just a musical concept which makes it utterly engrossing, touching, sentimental and one of the best albums of the year.

So, there you have it, 2024 in twenty-one albums. There are lost more wonderful releases out there and I will have missed some but, within this selection, you have some of the best music you could ever wish to here.

Look out 2025, I am coming for you refreshed and ready to review!

Review – Ceiling Spirits – The Bloodwren

Intense, complex, cataclysmic and burning sounds churn through close to an hour of swirling, progressive composition as the Ceiling Spirits project – led by enigmatic Milwaukee musician, Mario Quadracci – brings musical friends together, including The National’s Brian Devendorf and Augustines’ Eric Sanderson.

Unmistakeably, unapologetically and indefinably rich in orchestration, creativity and borderless scope, Quadracci’s tone of instrumental post/progressive-rock fell initially from the table of influences such as Pink Floyd and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Prioritising vision over conventional format, a full-length album of five songs advocates for a slowed down listening experience far beyond conformity.

Ceiling Spirits first began as an experiment in live film scoring where Quadracci would perform solo, utilising extensive looping, effects and non-traditional guitar techniques to create dense atmospheric soundscapes behind self-produced films pieced together from found footage. The project expanded to include other musicians, including a string ensemble to flesh out the material born from the live shows but decidedly more compositionally constrained to suit an LP. The Ceiling Spirits’ debut album was recorded in London and Ireland, produced by Gareth Jones, whose credits include work on Depeche Mode and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds albums, and mixed at Abbey Road.

With that build up from the PR information, it sounds like this is going to be a very ‘busy’ album with lots going on and that can sometimes lead to a rather detached musical experience, one that is full of disharmony and discord and one that is rather incongruous but, worry not dear reader as what Mario Quadracci delivers with his Ceiling Spirits project is a rather wonderful, visceral encounter and one that makes you think and question. It is not an easy listen in places, in fact in can be very dark, but everything here has a place and is there for a reason.

‘The Bloodwren’ is five tracks of compelling, intensive music that hypnotises, fascinates and mesmerises the listener. This album is like a soundtrack to a dark, psychological thriller that gets under your skin and leaves you wanting more, even if that is going to take you to some very dark places indeed! The quality of musicianship on show is quite remarkable, the use of strings to engender a wide cornucopia of emotions is a work of genius, they alternately pluck at your heartstrings and then leave you a nervous wreck of anticipation. My favourite, Platonic Forms, the second longest track at nearly fourteen minutes, is an utterly enthralling musical tour-de-force that ebbs and flows with deliciously dark nuances and has a stark, irresistible beauty deep at its core.

The album opens with the haunting complexities of the brilliant single release Falter, an orchestral, electronic symphonic delight that is full of a dramatic tension and suspense that leaves your aural senses on high alert. With Mario having quickly learned to read music after stepping onto the path of technical music education, every note of Ceiling Spirits’ sounds is painstakingly rehearsed on paper, written between both city (more kinetic, rhythmic work) and rural (expansive, harmonic sounds) locations, before entering the studio. When it comes to the title track, The Bloodwren, you can hear this perfection in every note and every musical passage, it is all endlessly fascinating and flawlessly composed and performed. As complex emotionally as it is musically, this is a piece of modern classical music with wonderfully complex electronic symphonic overtones and a deep sense of passion, empathy and and overriding grace to its feel.

The short, hyper intensive and profound A Slide is an off kilter experiment in noise pollution that strips your senses raw and the album closes with the sublime, uncomfortable Oscillopia in Oblivion, a piece of music that asks questions of the listener that they may be unable or unwilling to answer. This stark, pared back number is full of feedback and is more noise than music. It pervades the atmosphere and your very soul in quite a disturbing manner, leaving hints of a future that you may not wish to face.

‘The Bloodwren’ is an experimental and highly adventurous journey into music that is dark and disturbing at times but which also has a purity at its heart. The wonderfully capacious soundscapes created by Ceiling Spirits are proof that man is forever creative, whichever direction that takes us in.

Released digitally on 12th April, 2024, order here:

The Bloodwren | Ceiling Spirits (bandcamp.com)

Released 14th June, 2024 on vinyl, order here:

Ceiling Spirits THE BLOODWREN (tmstor.es)

Review – The Vicious Head Society – Extinction Level Event – by Martin Hutchinson

You’ve got to love a good ‘balls out’ Prog-Metal album, one that comes flying at you like a monumental behemoth and knocks you into tomorrow.

Irish guitar vistuoso Graham Keane’s project, The Vicious Head Society, did just that with 2017’s debut release ‘Abject Tomorrow’ and, after much soul searching and a difficult gestation, he returns with ‘Extinction Level Event’, an absolute leviathan of a release, full of music of maturity and a primeval brilliance.

This collection of nine epic tracks takes me back to the anticipation of new albums by Dream Theater and Haken in their early days and shows just how far Graham has come in four years.

Nathan Maxx returns on vocals. Graham adds that “his voice was the perfect fit for this more modern sound. He was able to deliver versatile and very emotive vocals for every song.” Likewise Klemen Markelj is back on drums along with Pat Byrne of Hedfuzy on bass. Nahuel Ramos is also back to offer some keyboard solos and there are guest appearances from Australian virtuoso Chris Brooks and violinist Shelley Weiss. In addition, Graham wanted to have a dedicated growler for this album and after hearing Andy Ennis’ work with Overoth, he reached out and asked him to jump on board.

Graham discusses his new album, “In very basic terms, Extinction Level Event is an album about the end of the world. This is a concept that has been explored in various other forms of media but on this album, I wanted to explore personal stories about how people might react to knowing their demise is imminent.”

“It tells the stories of 7 different people facing the end, how they process the event, what meaning or impact their lives have had. It asks what they cherish, what grudges or ill will they hold on to. Will they face the end with dignity? Essentially, the album asks the same question of us, the listener. Grief and loss are never far away… are we willing to carry bitterness, anger and resentment to our death or are we willing to let go? Conversely, are there people in our lives that are deserving of forgiveness?”

‘Extinction Level Event’ is most definitely a prog-metal album for modern times, taking all that was great about the genre in the early nineties and noughties and bringing it bang up to date with scalpel sharp guitar and potent vocals. The energetic and compelling rhythm section drives the album along, giving it an almost widescreen and visceral feel and scope.

It’s well known that I’m not generally a fan of growling, ‘cookie monster’, vocals but they work on this album and I actually like them, look, I’ve never said that before! When I mentioned this to Graham he told me that, “I only use them as part of a story telling device and, writing a song about a serial killer requires it!”

Each track is a perfectly crafted piece of music where every note and every word has its place but Graham never fails to let loose with some utterly amazing guitar work and Nahuel’s keyboards give everything a coat of pure class.

The album contains two superbly immersive instrumentals that give a bit of tangential musical exploration to the album but, generally, it is as in your face as you could ever want from a prog-metal release. Of the other tracks, it is difficult to pick favourites as they are all superb but, if you pressed me, I’d have to go with title track, and opener, Extinction Level Event, the sublime On a Silver Thread and Hymn of Creation, an utterly perfect way to close out the record.

The best music is always a journey that envelops the listener, gathers them up and takes them on a hell for leather adventure of the mind and soul and this album is no different. Graham’s songwriting abilities are top notch and he has gathered a stellar set of musicians around him to make his vision a reality, they are surely a creative force to be reckoned with.

‘Extinction Level Event’ is shaping up to possibly be the best prog metal album of the last few years at least, I honestly don’t think I’ve had a prog metal album hit me so hard since Haken’s ‘The Mountain’. It is a rare occurrence to get an album nowadays with not one track on it that I don’t love but Graham and the rest of The Vicious Head Society have absolutely nailed it with this release.

Released 28th May, 2021

Order direct from the artist here:

Home | The Vicious Head Society (bigcartel.com)

Review – Ana Patan – Spice, Gold and Tales Untold – by Martin Hutchinson

“Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.” ― Frank Zappa

I know I’m not the only person who spends a large proportion of their time awake listening to music, music while I run or while I work or just for relaxation. It is true, music decorates our lives and makes the mundane acceptable and often accompanies us on the highest highs and lowest lows that life can give you.

The first time I listened to Ana Patan’s superb album ‘Spice, Gold and Tales Untold’ I felt that immediate connection that only wonderful music can give you. This is one of those releases that can take away the worries of a testing day and put you in a much calmer state of mind and we have all needed that over the last year!

Ana Patan

In her own words,

“I’m an independent German musician, of Romanian descent, living in Sweden for the moment. I’ve been travelling and making music in most corners of the planet, having had the chance to meet, and jam with, some really amazing musicians (where most of my experience comes from). At some point in 2009 my career nearly ended from a bad case of tendonitis, which woke me up to the necessity of making this album, if ever able to play music again. This motivated me to get well, and put all my finances, creativity, time and energy into making this record.

The drums have been put down by Zoltan Csörsz, most of the bass tracks by Jonas Hellborg, and Devin Townsend loved the stuff and also wanted to contribute! Strangely enough, he was in a bass-playing phase back then, so he showed up in the studio and did his part quite amazingly! I happened to play the guitar because I couldn’t find anyone who wouldn’t overplay – I had to do my best, whatever that might be for now… same with the vocals!”

Ana describes the album as organic, honest and uncompromising, recorded all analog on 2 inch tape in a simple formula (bass-drums-guitar, plus vocals). I have to say I was really intrigued.

The album is a superb mix of musical styles with basic, soulful music embellished by hints of the orient and a touch of Eastern European promise on many of the impressive songs. The bare yet intricate music is complemented superbly by Ana’s earnest vocals, sometimes fragile and at other times loud and proud. To my ears there is a touch of early Alanis Morissette to her voice but with a velvet smooth timbre.

The pared back musical arrangements on tracks like sultry opener Undeciphered and the soulful Trivialize Love have a real jazz lounge feel to them, a real feel of less is more and Ana’s beautifully flowing guitar adds even more class.

One of the stand out tracks for me is the wonderfully bluesy General Conspiracy, a song that just oozes cool sophistication. The guitar playing just makes you want to sway in time with the music and the solo is just superb.

Ana’s take on elegant world music infuses The Human with an almost southern African feel, a really enlightening piece of music that pairs really well with the smooth-jazz attributes of Pure and Plain, an ultimately uplifting track that makes your soul sing.

This incredibly eclectic mixture of musical tastes and experiences continues with Soarele Meu. Written in Ana’s native Romanian it has a really playful vibe and runs along with an impish glee and one where she seems at her most carefree. 21st Century Citizen is a proper blues-rock track and perhaps the most straightforward song on the album with seductive vocals and a staccato, edgy guitar tone and is a song that brooks no argument.

The darkly delicious tones of Ana’s voice and the refined notes emanating from her guitar give Hot Hot a truly graceful and chic quality that just leaves you utterly calm and relaxed before the folky How Could We Live Before breaks the spell with its upbeat tempo and foot-tapping drumbeat and things are brought to a close with Colors on Hormones, another uncomplicated jazz inspired piece of music that showcases this young women’s incredible array of talents.

‘Spice, Gold and Tales Untold’ is collection of culturally diverse songs that transcends the current trend to try and pigeon hole musicians. Wearing her many influences proudly on her sleeve Ana Patan has just allowed the music and her excellent vocals to tell her many intriguing and involving stories and this has allowed them to breathe and come to life quite spectacularly. An album that has surprised me in its simple brilliance and one that, if you let it, will enrich your life in a myriad of ways.

Released 10th February, 2021

Order the album from bandcamp here:

Spice, Gold and Tales Untold | Ana Patan (bandcamp.com)



Review – League Of Lights – Dreamers Don’t Come Down – by Martin Hutchinson

League Of Lights are an electronic prog-pop duo comprised of Farrah and Richard West. Their third and most accomplished album to date, ‘Dreamers Don’t Come Down’ is an outstanding collection of songs that is redolent in places of early ’80s synth pioneers like John Foxx, as well as ’00s exponents of the genre such as Ladytron.

I was a big fan of the previous release, which was my first exposure to the duo, so was expecting big things from the new album and, as it turns out, I wasn’t to be disappointed…

Describing their modus operandi for the album, Richard explains that “we wanted it to be more piano-driven than our previous release and deliberately utilised a smaller pallet of sounds. We had just recorded the song ‘Modern Living’ [issued as a single in January] and that helped to define how our new material would sound – more open than before with less synths and more space for Farrah’s voice to really lift off. It’s as much about the space as it is about the notes.”

The majority of the album was written and recorded during the 2020 spring/summer lockdown, with Farrah stating that “it is about the past, the present and the future; about taking the best from all that you have been through, the pressures of modern life and keeping your dreams alive in dark times.”

It is well known that I was a child of the 80’s and always loved the electronic sound of the new romantic bands and their like. Album opener Modern Living feels like a clever amalgam of Pet Shop Boys channelling their inner early Spandau Ballet (before they went all pop ballad!). What is evident from the start is how much Farrah’s incredible voice adds to the songs and gives League Of Lights something different and unique, a powerful start to the album.

Twenty Twenty One is just beautiful, Farrah’s sublime, ethereal like vocal blends sympathetically with Richard’s almost orchestral instrumentation arrangement. A calm and reflective piece of music that is jewel like in its composition and arrangement, I love it! This gem is followed by the up-tempo delights of Ghosts, I was never a club goer in the 80’s or 90’s (in fact never, full stop!) but the brilliant chorus on this track could have come straight from the dance floor of an iconic bar in Ibiza, it’s a nigh on perfect dance track.

I Still Remember with its wistful, nostalgic feel of hazy, lazy days is another heavenly song with Farrah’s plaintive, dreamlike vocal overlaying the exquisite musical backing. A fast paced, driving, energetic piece of music, Persephone has an urgent feel to the vocals and backing music, a proper nod to classic 80’s electronic pop music that leaves a knowing smile on my face.

Dreamers brings things back down to earth with its measured tempo and mesmerising vocals, an introspective and contemplative song that brings your heart rate right down and leaves in a thoughtful frame of mind. Another brilliant piece of pop music writing, With You has that thing which is a rarity in chart music nowadays, a truly catchy chorus that has you singing along with the upbeat tempo and shimmering melody.

Lines In The Sand is a pared back, reflective song with a cultured and measured feel to the music and mesmeric vocals that are quite hypnotic in effect. The first time I heard the track, I stopped what I was doing and just let its soothing tones wash over me. The Collector sees us getting glammed up, glad rags on and heading off to the club again (metaphorically, obviously in my case!). Another fine, up-tempo track with a killer chorus that this duo just seem to be able to create at will.

Among an album full of brilliant 80’s electro-pop inspired tracks, it’s hard to pick a favourite but, for me, it has to be the moving, melancholy and utterly spellbinding North of The Sun, which, if you are as big a fan of the 80’s as I am, is just over four minutes of near musical perfection. Taking the music widescreen and increasingly dynamic, it’s just a superb song that leads into the album’s final track Echoes of a Dream which is exactly that, a dreamy recap of the last thirty seven minutes. Light of touch and mood, it closes proceedings just about perfectly.

Not only a nod to the past but also a completely relevant piece of music in these present times, ‘Dreamers Don’t Come Down’ is a perfectly crafted collection of pop and electronica infused songs that really hit home. Key to the album is Farrah’s sublime vocal which, added to Richard’s brilliant musicianship, has created something quite wonderful and mesmeric. It is most definitely League of Lights most accomplished release yet and one that is lighting up 2021 for this reviewer at least.

Released 12th March, 2021.

Order direct from the artist here:

Dreamers Don’t Come Down (burningshed.com)

Review – Glass Hammer – A Matter Of Time – Volume 1 – by Martin Hutchinson

“The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind.” – Kiran Desai.

‘A Matter Of Time – Volume 1’ sees Glass Hammer founders Steve Babb and Fred Schendel reimagining the past as they pick their favourite songs from the band’s nineties catalog; reimagining and re-recording those songs from the ground up, totally updating them for the here and now.

These new recordings feature GH regular Aaron Raulston (drums) and guest appearances by Hannah Pryor (vocals), Reese Boyd (guitar – Lliusion & Song Of The Dunadan), Walter Moore (vocals: The Mayor Of Longview, Heaven – vocals & guitar: On To Evermore, Junkyard Angels), and Dave Bainbridge (guitar: Heaven).

If you’re a long time fan of this most ‘Prog’ of US progressive rock bands or a newcomer to their involving and dynamic music then you are in for an absolute treat.

I first got into Glass Hammer with 2010’s ‘If’ but the band is the epitome of prog rock longevity having released their first studio album, ‘Journey of the Dunadan’, in 1993. Suffice to say that Steve and Fred have an embarrassment of riches to choose from when it comes to their extensive back catalogue.

All of the tracks (barring Domain Walls) are taken from the band’s first three studio releases, the aforementioned ‘Journey of the Dunadan’, ‘Perelandra’ and ‘On to Evermore’, and deliver statuesque soundscapes across which the precise guitars, keyboards and vocals can weave their intricate stories of heroic deeds and the triumph of good over evil.

Opener Lliusion (‘Perelandra’) is a case in point, a fine piece of music, intense in flavour and rich in musicality, that immediately draws the listener into the tale that is laid before them. With the soaring vocals, stylish bass, majestic keyboards and charismatic guitars, I’m hooked after the first track!

Shadows Of The Past, Something’s Coming and Song Of The Dunadan form a three song suite that open ‘Journey of the Dunadan’, a concept album based on the story of Aragorn from Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’. The first track of the trio is literally a music score, containing all the pomp, circumstance and majesty that anyone could really need. This blends seamlessly into the sprightly second piece that has a hint of early Yes to it. Flourishing keyboards, urgent vocals and a powerful, insistent rhythm section drive the track along at breakneck speed before it ebbs and flows like a mystical river. We are truly in the realm of traditional 70’s progressive rock here but Steve and Fred have given it a gleaming new coat and it is wondrous to behold. The closing part of the triumvirate opens with an engaging piano line before becoming something altogether more regal and imposing, once again the rhythm section of Aaron’s drums and Steve’s bass give a solid canvas onto which the captivating tale can be painted in the listener’s mind. The highlight of the whole section has to be the brilliant interplay between Fred and Steve as they weave bass and keyboard lines ever more intricately into the track before Reese’s guitar gets to join the party, inspired!

Steve Babb Glass Hammer bassist

‘The Return of the King’ (‘Journey of the Dunadan’) is yet another superb track that opens full of instrumental wonder and just holds your attention as it takes you on an enthralling musical journey through the world of Middle Earth. As instrumentals go it is up there with some of the very best and special note must be given to Fred Schendel whose keyboards skills are certainly well on show throughout all of its near seven minute running time.

Domain Walls, taken from 1997’s ‘Live And Revived’ has an utterly carefree feel to it, like the band were just jamming, which, in essence, they were! Another instrumental but, this time, a hard edge, down and dirty, funky as hell one that really gets under your skin and I absolutely love it! Felix the Cat (‘Perelandra’) brings this instrumental section to a close and lives up to its name, graceful and mischievous just like any cat I know. It bounds and leaps along with Fred’s keys again at the core, artfully aided and abetted by Steve’s cool sounding bass.

The next three tracks take us ‘On to Evermore’, the band’s third studio release. The Mayor Of Longview is instantly recognisable as a Glass Hammer track and flows serenely, letting the music flow naturally, with Walter Moore’s dulcet vocal delivering a perfectly crafted storyline. Wistful and contemplative at times yet with an impishness just under the surface that always threatens to break out. On To Evermore is a song imbued with a graceful, stately grace, almost taking you back to an era of Knights, swords and sorcery. It holds itself with composure and class with Walter’s vocals again being key to the feel of the song. Junkyard Angel is a calm and collected gem of a song. The plaintive and thoughtful vocals are a perfect fit with the dreamy, ethereal music and the juxtaposition of Fred’s strident keyboard solo is a stroke of genius, a brilliant track.

The album closes with the yearning and reflective Heaven (the track that also closes out ‘Perelandra’). I love the feeling of understated strength that pervades the whole track, a slow burning intensity that is always there waiting to pour out and pour out it does when Dave Bainbridge’s guitar is allowed free rein. What a way to bring this excellent collection of songs to an end.

With A Matter Of Time – Volume 1′ Steve and Fred have given us a fantastic reimagining of some already sublime early Glass Hammer tracks. This release is full of superb songwriting and accomplished musicianship that has been artfully updated to fit perfectly into a modern world.

Released December 14th, 2020

Available exclusively from the band’s website here:

Glass Hammer official website

Review – Echoes and Signals – Mercurial – by Martin Hutchinson

Echoes and Signals are a progressive rock band from Tula, Russia, originally started by Fedor Kivokurtsev and Alexey Zaytsev as an instrumental project drawing inspiration from progressive rock and post/math rock genres.

After two conceptual EPs, they released their first full length album, ‘V’, in 2014. Fedor and Alexey followed this up with ‘Monodrama’ in 2017 and April 2021 will see the release of their third album, and the first to feature vocals on each track, ‘Mercurial’. Leo Margarit (Pain of Salvation) features on the album as the guest drummer.

‘Mercurial’ is a journey. A journey through the dark and chaotic space where everything is unstable like mercury by itself.

There’s a metaphorical version of the album’s narrative but Fedor shared this more ‘grounded’ version with me,

“So the story behind this album is based on my personal experience of going through psychotherapy or if to be exact, Jungian analysis. In general it’s based on the dark period of my life that started at the beginning of my 30s. It could be called a mid-age crisis from some angles, but it was followed by a lot of different and often unpredictable dreams , filled with rich symbols, and this path led me to discovering connections between those mythological symbols, alchemy and my own symptoms. So I started writing this music two years ago, just following the inner compass and those dreams, later the psychotherapy started and it helped a lot in different ways. 

There’s an archetypical scenario called ‘the dark sea journey’ or ‘nigredo’ in alchemical terms, the good example is Jonah story from the Bible, meaning that this kind of journey should occur anyway and it serves some purpose.”

I’ve been a long time fan of Echoes and Signals since the early days and have watched their progress with a lot of interest, seeing them improve and mature over the years and each successive release and, I know it’s not the norm to come to the conclusion first but, with ‘Mercurial’, I really feel they have hit their creative zenith.

THIS DARKNESS CALLS
AND COLD WIND BLOWS
I HEAR A SONG OF SIRENS
IT SOUNDS SO BEAUTIFUL

A fine collection of seven dark and often brutal tracks but songs that have a stark beauty at their core. The addition of Fedor’s cultured vocals really adds class and ambience to the already mighty impressive music. Mixing the pensive, sombre, thoughtful progressive rock of bands like early Porcupine Tree and Riverside with the hard rock sensibilities of bands like Queensrÿche and Caligula’s Horse and then throwing in something that sounds a bit like a more serious version of Foo Fighters, the album ebbs and flows deliciously.

Leo Margarit’s fine drums are an excellent foil for Alexey’s sophisticated bass and lay the perfect foundation for Fedor’s dynamic guitar playing, able to switch from aggressive to calm and collected in the blink of an eye.

The sophisticated brutality of tracks like the opening trio of Darkness, Tower and Broken Machine is an amazing assault on the senses and leaves the listener open mouthed with incredulity, simply blown asunder by the sheer power and vitality of the music. These songs seem to have a life and vivacity of their own, monolithic and primeval at their core.

CHILD, YOU’RE LOST IN TRANSITION

NOW TIME TO MAKE THINGS REAL

The haunting, melancholic grace of Lost In Transition is rooted in the amazing vocals, halting and heartfelt, backed by the urgent but delicate instrumentation, before a majestic force takes over, imbuing the track with more than a hint of menace. In my opinion, this is one of the best songs that Echoes and Signals have ever written. Chaos is a shimmering, eerie piece of music that nags at your thoughts and leaves a slightly disturbing sensation in your gut. A wonderfully mysterious and enigmatic track where Alexey’s keyboards create the disturbing mood that segues straight into Mirror, a sparse and halting song that reminds me of ‘Empire’ era Queensrÿche, simple but utterly satisfying in its composition and delivery.

Running in circles
We all start to pray Lord
Over and over
Again

The album closes with the wistful feeling Dust, another thought provoking song that opens softly with Fedor’s melancholic vocal being matched by the deliberate drums, bass and sinuous guitar. The music turns more widescreen and imposing with towering guitars, thunderous drums and a much more anguished vocal before entering into a musical tug-of-war with that initial place of calm reflection.

‘Mercurial’ trades some of the bands signature post-rock sensibilities for a darker journey into the kind of prog-metal embraced by the likes of Tool and this new direction is one that I feel suits them perfectly. The addition of vocals to every track is a brave change and one that elevates them to another level and opens them to a wider audience. Echoes and Signals have returned triumphant and with an album that hits the bullseye in every way!

Released April 9th, 2021

Order the album from bandcamp here:

Mercurial | Echoes and Signals (bandcamp.com)

Review – Cosmograf – Rattrapante – by Martin Hutchinson

I was talking to Robin Armstrong, the man behind Cosmograf, about how lockdown has really affected my writing. Barring a handful of reviews, my creative juices had dried up, I still loved listening to and appreciating the new music that was out there but I really found it hard to put my feelings into words.

Maybe it was happy coincidence, who knows, but the announcement of lockdown easing and a light at the end of the tunnel has seemed to get my mojo working again and it just happens to have occurred at the same time as Robin is about to release the latest instalment in the history of Cosmograf, happy days eh!?

Cosmograf was formed in 2008 when Robin produced his first home demo album, followed by the release of ‘End of Ecclesia‘ in 2009. The sound is rooted in 70’s classic rock with many contemporary influences from rock, progressive rock and metal. There is always a particular emphasis on concepts and atmospheric production leading to comparisons with artists such as Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson.

“‘Rattrapante’ is Cosmograf’s eighth album and is a collection of 5 songs about our interaction with time; we measure it, but yet waste it more, it defines our existence and forms our memories. Some seek to beat it by being the first or the fastest and some can appear to outlive time itself through their achievements…“

You may not know this but Robin is a rather fine expert in mechanical watches and goes on to say, “The idea for the album was inspired from from my work with mechanical watches. Rattrapante is a French word deriving from ‘rattraper’ meaning ‘to catch up or recapture. A Rattrapante chronograph can simultaneously time 2 events such a lap split time and a final race time, it was the perfect metaphor for our own interaction with time.“

The press release speaks of comparisons with the likes of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree but, in my opinion, Robin moved past those a very long time ago and, when I hear a new Cosmograf album, I think of it as being Cosmograf immediately. Like a lot of my favourite musicians and bands, as soon as you’ve heard the first few notes, you can recognise it is them. This is most definitely the case here as the slow burning intro to In 1985 builds into a powerful crescendo guided by Robin’s compellingly dominant guitar and Kyle’s intense drums. Robin’s vocals are as good as ever and give a feeling of melancholy nostalgia to this potent and commanding song. The magic here is the feeling that you are in 1985 and yet the music is very modern in its delivery and textures, drawing you deeper and deeper into the narrative, the sign of a brilliant storyteller and songwriter at the height of his powers. As the track comes to a close, like a live recording, I can’t help but smile and give a nod to a master.

Well, if you thought that was good, then you are in for another fantastic treat as title track Rattrapante hoves into view like rock leviathan, all primal and monolithic at its core. The edgy and agitated keyboards in the background give a chaotic nervousness to proceedings and Robin’s deliciously dark and impish guitar work adds a real sense of mischievousness to proceedings. This track flies along as if caught in a maelstrom and leaves you breathless. I’m only two tracks in and yet I am really loving this album already, it has an immediacy that grabs but is full of hidden depths like the wondrously fluid and hyperactive keyboards and guitar solo that corse through the centre of the track like liquid fire.

The brilliant Chrissy Mostyn of The Blackheart Orchestra joins Robin on the airy, ethereal joys of I Stick With You, a mythical tale of a man who is growing older, but seemingly has been cursed with immortality. He is somehow trapped in time and unable to connect to his loving partner that he will outlive. A wistfully moody track with its roots in shades of darkness and light but one that really strikes a chord deep in your soul.

Memories Lie is a classic Cosmograf track, intelligent songwriting, note perfect musicianship and an insightful storyline that makes you think while you enjoy the velvety smooth music. While there is no such thing as a bad album by the band, Robin seems to get better and better with age and his music is maturing like a fine red wine, in fact you could do worse to pour yourself a glass while listening to this exquisite song in a darkened room, oblivious to the world around you. Special note must be made of the stunningly bewitching guitar solo that actually made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!

Some cliches are actually 100% correct and, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. ‘Rattrapante’ closes with Time Will Flow, another absorbing journey into the complex and wonderfully creative psyche of Mr Armstrong. I think Pink Floyd, Steven Wilson et al would be very happy indeed to put their names to this song, nearly thirteen minutes of progressive tinged rock of sublime perfection. A track that ebbs and flows with a fantastic voice over from Tommy McNally whose dulcet tones, full of a gorgeous, lilting Scottish brogue, fit perfectly. Guitar, keyboards and drums create a synergy of sound that creates a world in between your ears and Robin’s halting vocal performance is perfect.

There is no such thing as the perfect album as musicians are forever craving to create something more impressive than before but, every now and then, we should just stop and step off this ever evolving world and just enjoy the moment and what we have in front of us. At this moment in time there is nothing I would rather listen to than this incredible new album from Cosmograf, will Robin’s latest pièce de résistance still be up there at the end of the year? Most probably but, here and now, it just does not get any better than this!

Released 26th March 2021 (CD, vinyl will be later).

Order direct from Gravity Dream Music here:

Rattrapante CD (Pre-Order) – Gravity Dream Music

Rattrapante Vinyl (Pre-Order) – Gravity Dream Music

Review – Rise – Strangers – by Progradar

“Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.” ― Alphonse de Lamartine

I love that quote and it expresses perfectly how I feel about music, music has been my saviour in times of need and my champion in times of triumph. An ethereal miracle that salves the soul and inspires the heart and the latest album by the Sussex-based (UK) singer/songwriter RISE (previously Talitha Rise) is the pure definition of ‘the literature of the heart.’

RISE’s (aka Jo Beth Young) new musical journey weaves together intimate and cinematic stories marrying reverberations from the past with the struggles of the present day.

Exploring themes of love, loss, rebirth and transformation, RISE says: “David Gray once wrote a line that has stuck with me – “and when we meet again, we will be strangers”. That, in a nutshell, is the idea behind this album. This album traverses the challenge of the personal ‘abyss’ and the emergence from the bleakness of loss and separation. This gives way to hope, wisdom and the taking of responsibility.

Each location adds another layer of meaning and context to the stories within each song. I wanted these songs to be a conversation with the land, the place, the history that I was in at the time but it is intertwined with some of my own intense personal experiences.”

‘Strangers‘ is a collection of 9 songs that explore human nature, relationships and the harsh realities of life but Jo Beth’s amazing vocals imbue everything with a dark and painful beauty and sepia tinged loneliness and despair.

These songs are more like stories, pieces of music that bring the characters to life and you are kept hanging on every note and every word, the inevitability and bittersweetness of change is apparent throughout.

Opening track Dark Cloud lays the foundations and sets the sombre atmosphere from the first stark note. There is a feel of a soul laid bare and a heart that has been broken time and time again and this runs throughout this phenomenal piece of music, through the classical tinged wonder of Temples and the harsh realities of title track Strangers, which speaks of a husband returning from war so changed that he is now unrecognisable. This is music that is utterly enigmatic, captivating and yet, in places, full of foreboding.

The simple, pared back allure of Cry Back Moon, the drama of Burnt Offerings and the mournful grace of the elegant Rabbit Eyes show a songwriter at one with her craft, weaving mesmerising stories that draw the listener in and when you have a voice as stunning as Jo Beth’s, it is an instrument in its own right and one which imbues every song with an aura of mystique.

The first track released from ‘Strangers’ was the wonderful Radio Silence and on the album it returns like an old friend, perhaps a little world weary and disheveled but a friend who you are happy to spend endless hours with trading nostalgic stories of a brighter past. Skysailing has that contemplative feel of a warm breeze on a hazy summers day, a thoughtful, slightly melancholy song that leaves traces in your memory long after it has finished.

The album closes with the utterly beguiling dark folk brilliance of The Old Sewing Woman’s Song, the story of a life lived unfulfilled and one which is told at Jo Beth’s enthralling best. Nine minutes of musical perfection that harks back to the old days of bards and storytellers as they regaled their audiences with tales of legend, often dark and forever fascinating.

Music truly is the literature of the heart when it comes to releases like ‘Strangers’, this album is truly a work of musical art created by one of the most avant-garde folk songwriters currently alive. Each track has layers of texture that are almost primeval in nature, each is a living and breathing entity that will take each listener on their own personal journey. I suggest you get your hands on a copy and see where this incredible record takes you.

Released 18/10/19.

Strangers Pre-order and Video on Indieogo https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/r-i-s-e-strangers/