The King Biscuit archives are vast commodity of lost recordings of live bands in action, as they were: warts and all. One of the many missing chronicles in live music history is the early period of...
» Read moreI'm not sure how this fits in in the overall scheme. It's one of those albums that makes you feel maybe you're just not hip enough for this yet. You know, if I give myself a couple of...
» Read moreThe first CD release for this Christian progressive band (stop cringing) is part of Rick Wakeman's venture on his new Hope label located on the Isle of Man. These residents from uptown...
» Read moreAnyone who doesn't recognize this name is definitely sticking too hard to certain genres, as Alan Stivell is a legend — and as deserving of praise as any other individual musician I could...
» Read moreThis is a serene, sometimes melancholy album of predominantly instrumental pieces. Pascal Gaigne alternates between piano, accordion, synth, and some brief acoustic guitar. He is joined on various...
» Read moreHmmm? A new release from Area? Yep. Fariselli, Capiozzo return with bassist Paolo dalla Porta for one of the strangest releases in a long time. Tic & Tac this is not, but it has a...
» Read moreReleased virtually in parallel with the magnificent Parigi-Lisbona towards the end of last year, this double-live bootleg-quality set gives an even more impressive account of the Area...
» Read moreFrance hasn't exactly been renowned as a breeding ground for solo electronic artists. I can call to mind only a small handful who have surfaced over the years. So this album by the one-man...
» Read moreSolo artist extraordinaire (due in no small part to the huge volume of work generated in almost 30 years), Bill Nelson's latest collage is a splash of modern sophisticated pop, sampled amusing...
» Read moreTry tackling a review for a project like this and inevitably you end up with blank pages and a headache brought on by acute frustration. Whenever I listen to music of a very personal, experimental...
» Read moreCaravan finally takes the plunge into Unplugged Greatest Hits territory, but with mixed results. New versions of ancient tracks are really no better or worse than their two decade-old predecessors,...
» Read moreBelieve it or not, Channel Light Vessel is a superstar ambient group. Personnel breakdown includes Dream Academy alumni Kate St. John, Bill Nelson, Laraaji (Ambient 3: Day of Radiance),...
» Read moreAtlanta power trio Cobweb Strange is led by singer / songwriter and bassist Wade Summerlin. Together with Jonathan Burke and Derik Rinehart, they've shaped forty-five minutes of guitar-based...
» Read moreCreedle is a band that has come a long way. Their debut recording in the early 90s (Half Man, Half Pie) established them as an alternative punk band with a serious musical outlook....
» Read moreIt's been a few seasons since Cro Magnon's debut CD Zapp! This long-awaited follow-up picks up where the first left off, but adds a bit more variety and electricity to the mix. The...
» Read moreLike dark? Here's dark. Anyone remember a Mexican mid-80s group called Nazca? They had a couple of very Stravinsky influenced chamber-rock albums and then disappeared nearly without trace....
» Read moreGuitarist / bandleader Nick Didkovsky's latest Dr. Nerve offering is something of a live retrospective of the band's various musical personalities. While many of the tracks on Every...
» Read moreThree years after their debut A Blueprint of the World hit the streets, Enchant is back. Wounded is a much more somber and mellow record than Blueprint, and shows the...
» Read moreErratica is essentially the solo project of multi-instrumentalist David O'Neil, one third of San Jose trio Industrial Soup. Much of the madness of that band's Flagrant Display of...
» Read moreOne wouldn't think that music this trippy could come from the USA in the 90s; indeed, the references in Escapade's music go back to the experimental Krautrock of the earliest 70s —...
» Read moreSo who is this Fred guy, anyway? One glance at the cover and one can see the long list of French jazz-rock session men who worked on this release (most of whom are unknown to this writer...),...
» Read moreMy first impression of this Russian trio's single, long improvisation (nearly thirty-five minutes) was that this was some vile attempt to do an Irish jig, using recorders and ocarina to begin...
» Read more60s jazz icon Gary Windo was a member of both the US and UK jazz scenes. This compilation of the tenor sax player's activities, produced by noted Canterbury musicologist Mike King, is a loving...
» Read more1986: a transitional year when two frustrated but previously successful English guitarists decided they would pool their talents and start a new project. The focus for this group would be on two...
» Read moreAfter an almost seven-year hiatus since Paradise of Replica (After Dinner's last, and only second full studio release), songstress and presumptive After Dinner leader, Haco resurfaces,...
» Read moreAfter a minute or so of chanting, wind-sounds, and church bells, the mighty Hammond organ casts its spell, followed by dual guitars, drums, and bass, marching onward into the title track (named...
» Read moreAs evidenced by the unusual (for Musea) catalog number, this release is not part of the primary offering (FGBG) series from Musea. When you hear it, you'll know why. This aptly-titled release...
» Read moreQuirky Jane Siberry's eighth album is her first on her new label and a poignant introspective delving into the past via songs she wrote at age 16. This really is only her second completely solo...
» Read moreOn paper, a project such as this one would likely scare off the majority of Exposé readers — an entire CD of nine lengthy and involved free-form pieces. The problem of where...
» Read moreLedesma may be known by some already for his recent duet recording with Alquimia called Dead Tongues, and as a member of Nirgal Vallis during the 80s. Now he's back with an opus that,...
» Read moreKenso has been a fixture of the Japanese progressive rock scene since the 70s, and in the midst of numerous changes in style, they have always stayed true (more or less) to the high standards of...
» Read morePeace and tranquillity are yours for the asking when you spin this CD, the third by Levi Chen, an accomplished performer on electric guitar and guzheng (here called "Chinese harp")....
» Read moreMusea seems to be releasing a number of concept albums lately. Up and Down, their latest and Luc Marianni’s sixth album, is a bit unusual in that it is exactly 60 minutes long....
» Read moreMemory Overflow is a demo from Malcolm Humes, who plays guitars, synth, loops, etc. The disc contains some very rough mixes from the catalog of his recordings throughout an 11-year period...
» Read moreBelle Antique have really come full circle now, with this release — a solo keyboard work from Hosokawa, a native Japanese composer. The album consists roughly of six solo piano pieces,...
» Read moreAs one of the several Japanese symphonic rock groups of worthy note, its good to see that Midas have released a second album, as their Beyond the Clear Air was one of the better in a genre...
» Read moreIt's always hard to write objectively about a band which has won over my heart, fully and completely. Such is the case with moe. For those of you who have read Expose #11, you already know from...
» Read moreThis simple cassette recording is an accurate live representation of a tight five-piece unit from the San Francisco Bay Area playing at the Cactus Club last year in July. Stretching out in a...
» Read moreThis 1996 CD release from Cuban ensemble Perfume de Mujer is a compilation of their two albums L’Ultima Cena and Aquarium. Ten participants are credited here though most of...
» Read moreHere's a real surprise. Fans of Crimson's harder edge as well as folks like Kong and Buckethead will want to take note. This Austrian five-piece of drums, bass, cello, accordion, and guitar...
» Read moreCanterbury guitar god Phil Miller's eighth post-National Health album is another notch in the tree for the player as composer. Phil seems to be on a sideways trend as he gets older to downplay...
» Read moreWhile the material on Quarkspace's CD release (see review in issue #11) has more of a song focus, these...
» Read moreI've never heard of this fine musician before now, but if I had one bit of advice to give him I'd say, "Call up Manfred Eicher, pronto!" This release would fit sparklingly well on...
» Read moreIt is with great pleasure that I announce Renaissance live at the Royal Albert Hall with Orchestra. Recorded live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on October 14, 1977, this is a far better...
» Read moreShadowland is basically a collaboration side-project for Pendragon keyboardist Clive Nolan and guitarist Karl Groom. It seems that the neo-prog onslaught has tapered down a bit over the last year,...
» Read moreThis overlooked project is simply two talented guitarists playing together with engaging rhythms and somber effects units. There are four pieces loosely connected by some vague, linear continuity....
» Read moreThe Los Angeles ProgFests have proven their worth to the attendees and now they seem to be yielding rewards for the performers as well. While there was no ProgFest last year, 1996 turned out to be...
» Read moreAfter Steve Hackett left Genesis in 1977, he continued to create imaginative music while his cohorts gradually faded into a massive commercial success. With the Genesis of old long gone, Steve...
» Read moreOther Worlds in a Small Room is the only second duo project by half of Japan (later Rain Tree Crow) and also a few side projects with Mick Karn (Seed). In addition, Barbieri is...
» Read moreFree jazz is little more than an afterthought in the consciousness of the jazz world today, so it is refreshing as well as a bit intriguing to see a gutsy new release in this genre, from a major...
» Read moreIs this Magical Mystery Tour Vol. II? Kindergarten is a brilliant concept album of intense psychedelic pop, loaded with Mellotrons, great vocal harmonies, song-to-song musical...
» Read moreWhat a pleasant surprise I had the day when I found this treasure in my mail box! Thistle is the latest release of mysterious-cosmic-eerie female vocal-electronic music from Ventricle. Up...
» Read moreTrembling Strain may well lose whatever fans they have gained, or else recruit lots of new ones by virtue of this, their third album in less than a year and a half. In this short time the ensemble...
» Read moreLike an artist's sketchbook; that is, in essence, what Transformations presents itself as. Most of the titles were written for small groupings of winds, piano, etc., but are rendered...
» Read moreAs the title implies, what we have here are eleven tracks of smoking hot instrumental guitar rock. The list of featured performers reads like a who's who of Czech guitarists — some...
» Read moreWell, well, well, I was as unprepared for this omnibus CD as one could be. Apart from Iva Bittová, Dunaj, and Už Jsme Doma, little other Czech rock music of a creative nature seemed to hit...
» Read moreReaders may recall the deluge of Japanese symphonic rock bands flourishing in the mid-80s. It would seem the last of their like has been seen. Enter the 90s, and Maboroshi No Sekai. The brainchild...
» Read moreFor those of you not able to attend the festival in Los Angeles in November 1995, here is your chance to experience the highlights of Progfest ‘95. Opening the festival and this 2CD set is...
» Read moreWell, it's finally here. This 2CD package was definitely worth the wait, even that two of the featured bands (Solaris and Spock's Beard) have already released their entire Progfest...
» Read moreThe Mexican Luna Negra label has released two discs as an overview of the Cuban prog scene, under the moniker Variaciones en la Cuerda, Una Vision del Rock en Cuba, Vols. 1 and 2....
» Read moreBelgian composer Vidna Obmana has been on the Fourth World electronic scene for quite a few years now, using electronics, percussion, tape loops, and processing to produce music with a rich, dark,...
» Read moreVolgyessi Szomor Fanni is the female singer for Hungarian band You and I, whose excellent eponymous release was
Combining elements of several types of rock into one package, Wappa Gappa touches on just about everything. Vocalist Tamami Yamamoto is a mezzo with a really smooth voice, and she typically sings...
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2021-01-18
Asia Minor Third Album on the Way –
On January 29, AMS records will be releasing the long-awaited third album by classic Turkish-French band Asia Minor. Released last year in Japan, this will be the widespread debut of Points of Libration. The album features original members Setrak Bakirel (vocals, guitar) and Eril Tekeli (flute, guitar). »
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2020-12-09
Harold Budd RIP –
Harold Budd, one of pre-eminent American composers of avant-garde and minimalism, has died of complications from the coronavirus. Budd came to prominence in the 70s, championed by Brian Eno on his Obscure Records label, with music that blended academic minimalism with electric jazz and electronic music. Much of Budd's best known work was done in collaboration with other artists, including Eno, Daniel Lanois, Robin Guthrie, Andy Partridge, John Foxx, Jah Wobble, and many others. »
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2020-11-20
25 Views of Worthing Finally Gets Released –
A while ago, we wrote about the discovery of a "long lost" Canterbury-style gem by a band called 25 Views of Worthing. And now we're pleased to find out that Wind Waker Records has released their music on an LP. »
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2020-10-14
Audion Is Back in Business –
Our esteemed colleague Alan Freeman has restarted Audion Magazine after a seven year hiatus. The new incarnation is available online on their Bandcamp site. Audion's history goes back to 1984, and included 58 issues up to 2013. Issue #59 is available now, and #60 is in the works. »
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2020-10-06
Romantic Warriors IV – Krautrock (Part 2) Is in the Works –
Zeitgeist Media, the people who have brought us the great series of documentary films chronicling the history of progressive rock, are working on the second installment of their examination of German music. Krautrock 2 will focus on artists from Münich such as Guru Guru, Amon Düül II, Xhol Caravan, Kraan, Witthüser & Westrupp, and Popol Vuh. »
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Omnia Opera - Omnia Opera – From the first few power chords at the beginning of "Space Bastard" it becomes fairly obvious that this British six-piece have Hawkwind as one of their major influences, yet they seem to be capable of... (1994) » Read more
Soft Machine - Third – For those not familiar with Soft Machine, this is probably the best place to start; this marks the major turning point in the band's career, a shift from a more song-oriented style, through a phase of... (1994) » Read more
Pattern Is Movement - The (Im)Possibility of Longing & Stowaway – In spite of their obvious resemblance to progressive rock, this Philadelphia band has gone the “math rock” route, and are apparently getting away with it. More power to them –... (2007) » Read more
Germán Bringas - El Salto – Bringas is a Mexican multi-instrumentalist operating along the experimental / jazz / new world music axis. El Salto is the latest of several albums, and is a solo project in the truest sense, as... (1997) » Read more
Moe! Staiano - The Lateness of Yearly Presentations & Two Forms of Multitudes – Some may be familiar with Moe! (not to be confused with moe.) as the waste percussionist in Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Readers who find SGM a little too happy-go-lucky and accessible, or those simply... (2003) » Read more