The three artists listed above are only the tip of the iceberg; collaborators on this project include Richard Barbieri (Porcupine Tree), Roger Eno, No-Man, Hector Zazou, and many more. The reason...
» Read moreMusea’s next entrant into the world of New Age music is this release by Japanese keyboard player Toshiyuki Fujita. This one slots squarely into the space between Yanni, Kitaro, and Rick...
» Read moreDom F. Scab is Spain’s answer for Tangerine Dream fans who wish they still sounded like they did in 1985 or 1986, right when they transitioned from Johannes Schmoelling to Paul Haslinger. His...
» Read moreWhile they are relatively unknown in most of the world, Frágil must be quite popular in their homeland of Peru. Case in point: this live reunion CD from a concert in 1999, recorded with a...
» Read moreItalian three-piece Garlic recorded this album live in the studio over three days with no overdubs. The songs are all instrumental guitar, bass, and drums with interesting electronic processing...
» Read moreHemisphere serves up another slab of dark shadowy theatrical ambience. Labeled “A Psychedelic Deep Ambient Soundtrack,” it is, I believe, all seeing light of day on CD for the first...
» Read moreSinger/songwriter Hereward Kaye is something of a mystery even in his homeland, the UK. The artist has crafted thirteen pieces somewhat reminiscent of Elton John's renaissance era with a style...
» Read moreSinger/songwriter Ross Marlow’s conventional set of pieces with cohort James Sidlo (DreamLand) is called Honey Barbara. Together with drummer Lisa Kuehl and various guest artists, this trio...
» Read moreLa Tempesta opens with a bit of an attitude, with an in-your-face rocker that almost manages to betray their distant past as a metal band while not really being a metal song. Forming in...
» Read moreProgressive rock fans seem to be split into two distinct camps when it comes to this kind of prog. IZZ operate in the same general area as Spock’s Beard – a rather poppish modern take...
» Read moreIt’s probably stating the obvious to say that fans of Charming Hostess and (to some degree) Sleepytime Gorilla Museum are likely to enjoy this release as well. Eisenberg is one of the...
» Read moreWhat is remarkable in this last set of two live rarities from guitarist and vocalist John Martyn is that the two performances continue to show an expanding range within different periods of the...
» Read moreI’m not going to get into any generalizations about whether Italian bands can be any good at psychedelia – certainly examples can be found at all levels of quality. This release from...
» Read moreWhen this CD first started spinning in my player I thought there had been some mistake. I was expecting to hear La Maschera di Cera, the new project by Finisterre’s Fabio Zuffanti; this,...
» Read moreGuarnere is a singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist operating in areas between classic and progressive rock. Playing most of the instruments himself, he brings in other players on bass, lead...
» Read moreMichelle Young’s sophomore effort, Marked for Madness, evinces several subtle changes from 1996’s Song of the Siren (reviewed in Exposé #14). On that...
» Read moreSummarizing Head's career of singles and one off recordings is actually a great career retrospective opportunity. Opening the track is Head's sensitive piece, "Say It Ain't So,...
» Read moreMurray Head is one of those few mid-60s singer/songwriters who seems at home on the silver screen as much as in a recording studio. In a career that has spanned almost four decades, it's clear...
» Read more1987 was another year of soul searching for the artist as he linked with ex-Gong guitarist Steve Hillage to produce a series of electronic pop songs with an electronic slant. "Lana...
» Read moreQuotes on the back cover from Banco, PFM, Arti & Mestieri, Balletto di Bronzo, and John Wetton may seem gratuitous at first, but there’s a reason for it: Nodo Gordiano is a hot new band...
» Read moreDis’ some heavy stuff, man. Pentagram is basically the duo of Joe Hasselvander (all instruments) and Bobby Liebling (all vocals), churning out a heavy, fuzzed-out,...
» Read moreWith Phish on a hiatus, and Dave Matthews and Widespread Panic pursuing more commercial directions, who will be the next hot group for “jam-band” fans? It might just be this young band...
» Read moreThe history of Renaissance is much too convoluted to go into in a review, but it’s safe to say that these two albums were the end of the “classic” period of the...
» Read moreBritain’s Robert Andrews plays guitar and bass for Land of Yrx and Aerie, bands with whom he’s released over a dozen albums. An Amnesty for Bonny Things on Sunny Days is his...
» Read moreRon Boots has firmly established himself as a force in electronic music. His latest release is, as always, accessible top-notch electronic music. The title track gradually unfolds over the...
» Read moreCovering the Jimi Hendrix catalogue requires skill as well as thought about which arrangements to interpret and which ones not to disturb. Stevie Ray Vaughn’s cover of “Voodoo Chile -...
» Read moreFour Athens natives + one collectively channel their improvisational demons with this two disc set on the independent Solponticello label. Saxophonist Dave Rempis (on loan from Vandermark 5) runs...
» Read moreNot really a sequel, but certainly a long time coming. Anyone recall the Earthstone album Seed? At the time it was receiving some good reviews, actually people were raving about it; I know...
» Read moreThere is ambient, and then there is ambient. This is true ambient, for fans of completely tuneless, minimalist drones and occasional other sounds electronic. For example, after a couple of minutes,...
» Read moreStorm at Sunrise’s debut was a faithful, if slightly amusing, Southern-bred retread of the classic 70s rock sound of Deep Purple, ZZ Top, and Kansas. But even with Black Oak Arkansas veteran...
» Read moreComedy troupes recording albums for the rock and roll audience stem from such acts as the Firesign Theater and England's Monty Python (with Eric Idle and John Cleese). Voiceprint has been keen...
» Read moreThe Muffins were one of those seminal East Coast US groups who started life entrenched in one style (Canterbury / ReR influenced rock jazz) before migrating into a variant style (experimental free...
» Read moreMany bands from the 70s and 80s that reform do so for strictly financial reasons. They might hit the concert circuit to cash in, and the results can range from pleasantly nostalgic to downright...
» Read moreThe Muffins are back! Really?! Yes, after 17 years of dead silence, they are back from the grave. I’m curious what changes will have taken place. Only few bands are capable of recreating that...
» Read moreTone Ghost Ether is an improvisational ensemble collaboration between Kit Watkins, John Tlusty, and Brad Allen. Their music is all performed in real time with no overdubs, capturing the magic of...
» Read moreTony Levin’s newest release is a true band effort, the direct result of touring after his previous CD, Waters of Eden (
This disc does what all great compilations do, it makes you hunger for more from each artist presented. A globally diverse cross-section of talent is assembled, beginning with one of my current...
» Read moreThis is quite a mixed bag of generally psychedelic bands from all around the world. It starts off with Cosmic Gardeners doing a nice sitar-accented tune and borderline irritating vocals. A track by...
» Read moreThe UK’s Voiceprint label has done well to carve a niche as a purveyor of lost archival recordings both from Canterbury artists (Soft Machine) and 80s alternative bands (the Alarm, All About...
» Read moreThough some of the source material dates back as far as 1976, this is a very forward-looking release, much of it recorded new in 2002. There are very beat-oriented energetic affairs, like the very...
» Read moreThere is a wonderful variety of material on this, the second of such compilations that Periferic has released spotlighting the prog world in Hungary. The CD gets off to a promising start with a...
» Read moreA band named “Vulgar Unicorn”? Sounds like it must be some sort of fantasy-driven throwback to the days when songs about wizards could actually crack the Top 100. But not so. I...
» Read moreGiven the limitations of the synthesizers available in 1968, the choice of Bach as a focus for Wendy Carlos’s pioneering recordings makes perfect sense: the instruments could play only one...
» Read moreWhat has been rumored to be the greatest Zappa tribute band has come to CD in the form of the Zappatistas: a group led by guitarist John Etheridge and keyboardist Steve Lodder. The group was formed...
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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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2020-09-09
Simeon Coxe RIP –
Simeon Coxe, best known for his experimental electronics in the band Silver Apples, has died at the age of 82. The band's 1968 debut album set the stage for both German electronic music and experimental punk music a decade later. Coxe died on September 8 from pulmonary fibrosis. »
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Už Jsme Doma - Pohádky Ze Zapotrebí – It's a pretty rare event when I can honestly compare a CD reviewed in this magazine to both Devo and Madness, so I'm going to make the most of it here. The Devo comparisons are actually quite... (1996) » Read more
Soft Heap - Soft Heap – Another splinter project of the Soft Machine / National Health ilk, Soft Heap was described as the "living evolution of the Softs" going forward into the present day (even though Gowen only... (1996) » Read more
Echolyn - The End Is Beautiful – I don’t anticipate the releases of many bands as much as Echolyn, and for good reason. For fifteen years they have been evolving continuously, working current musical and lyrics ideas into a... (2006) » Read more
Various Artists - Ambience Is Where You Find It – Perhaps that is true, but I can't say I found it anywhere here; neither of the old variety nor the new. Four names appear on this compilation, none of which I know: Urban Ambience, Emile... (1997) » Read more
Various Artists - Soupsongs Live: The Music of Robert Wyatt – The label has chosen to list this disc under “Various Artists” but that’s an inaccuracy. All the tracks are in fact by the same band: a rhythm section of Liam Genocky and Steve Lamb... (2001) » Read more