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Reviews

Mike Johnson — The Gardens of Loss
(Cuneiform Rune 521, 2026, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-02-18

The Gardens of Loss Cover art

With Mike Johnson’s solo debut, fans of avant progressive rock have a lot to celebrate. Johnson is, of course, the driving force behind all those wonderful Thinking Plague albums, and The Gardens of Loss has many qualities in common with those, starting with Elaine di Falco’s vocals. Johnson’s compositional sense is entirely intact, only expanded with more diverse instrumentation. The personnel features many musicians who have appeared with Thinking Plague, including Mark Harris, Bill Pohl, Kimara Sajn, and Dave Willey, along with others for a total of 18 guests to make up what is essentially a chamber orchestra with rhythm section. From the eerie and ethereal parts to the angular electric parts, it’s a non-stop stream of unconventional ideas, warped rock, and sophisticated orchestration. While the music is intelligent and uncompromising, it’s never harsh or noisy — unless you’re stuck in the 1850s, I suppose. When I heard that Mike Johnson would be releasing a solo album, my initial reaction was that there was virtually no chance that it would be anything other than great, and I’m happy that I was right. The Gardens of Loss is surely going to stand as one of the best albums of 2026.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Morgan Ågren, Elaine Di Falco, Dave Willey, Simon Steensland, Bill Pohl, Mike Johnson

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-gardens-of-loss

 

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