Whatever else they may have done in their recording career, Germany’s Agitation Free loved a good long jam. For their farewell bow, they played a concert in November of 1974 with a...
» Read moreIf you name your band “Ars Nova” you have to be: a) Serious Artists; b) Sarcastic reactionaries; c) Into psychedelic drugs; or d) Japanese. It’s Latin, for goodness sake, and...
» Read moreIn this Florida duo, Erin Welton covers vocal and keyboard duties, Scott Ferrell covers everything else, and they both have a hand in composing the tunes. This is by far the prettiest music I have...
» Read moreFor this outing, San Francisco Bay Area guitarist Barry Cleveland has enlisted a troop of comrades in his effort to bridge the gulf between western musical idioms and those beyond these shores....
» Read moreIn some respects, Djam Karet can be viewed as a band with a split personality. Sometimes they are a tightly rehearsed unit performing composed music; sometimes they are purveyors of ambient...
» Read moreThis is one of the more bizarre and intriguing things I’ve heard in quite a while. It’s set up as a kind of audio movie with a story about a woman who can talk to animals who has taken...
» Read moreAfter hearing the name Motorpsycho for a few years, I was pretty curious to actually hear the band. I did not expect an album of such variety, that combines intensity and subtlety and a wide range...
» Read moreFor me, Remember the Future has always been the Nektar album. It was the first one I heard, and the others have seemed like variations on its format (disregarding the later...
» Read moreHere we are adrift in a sea of melancholy. Or maybe a better metaphor would be floating in orbit. There are lots of nice textures and rich sounds on this recording, the Denver band’s second,...
» Read moreSince its founding in the early 90s, Outrageous Cherry has been working on their own method of updating 60s psychedelia for a later generation. Matthew Smith’s songwriting often captures the...
» Read moreIt’s been entirely too long since this Swedish band’s 1998 debut. Since that time, the band has formed their own label and started singing in English. Their basic sound is intact,...
» Read moreAlthough the American guitarist has a couple previous releases, this is his first in a trio configuration, in this case with violinist Ricardo Ochoa (who also contributes theremin to some of the...
» Read moreJapanese pianist Satoko Fujii is one busy lady – she appears on three of these four releases. Illusion Suite finds her in the standard piano trio setting, though the result is...
» Read moreSleepytime Gorilla Museum's entire character is represented well by the opening track "A Hymn to the Morning Star." The song opens ominously with a growling dog then transforms into...
» Read moreGhosts was the first Strawbs record I ever heard, and I seem to remember liking it immensely from the first play; the band quickly became one of my favorites, a position they’ve held...
» Read moreThe first eponymous album Finnish band Tasavallan Presidentti recorded was a cross between folk, blues, and jazz-rock with pop influences. A really diverse album with an immaculate rendition of the...
» Read moreOne of the best parts of picking up modern reissues of obscurities from the 60s is that so many of them have interesting liner notes detailing the near-misses and might-have-beens of that distant...
» Read moreThe Muffin Men are a UK based act that is heavily versed in the fine art of being a Frank Zappa tribute band that features old Mothers vocalist Jimmy Carl Black. Baker's Dozen serves as a...
» Read moreI suppose any time a band that has been around as long as the Muffins puts out a new album, there’s going to be some disagreement among fans about its merits. Whether they changed too much or...
» Read moreIt’s generally not a good sign when a band’s best material is written by other bands. The Shiver is a case in point. This Swiss band’s forte was covering British blues-rock, but...
» Read moreThe incarnations of Genesis P-Orridge continue to manifest in many different and sometimes compelling ways. Two of the composer’s spoken word series are reissued here by Voiceprint in part to...
» Read moreThis is a collection of songs that originate in the Jämtland province of Sweden, most of them traditional, some more recent but in a traditional style. The trio of singer Emma Härdelin,...
» Read moreOne of the fundamental limitations of mining and other industries that rely upon non-renewable resources is that those resources will eventually run out. You would think the same rule would apply...
» Read moreAfter many years as a quartet, Väsen returned to their original trio configuration for last year’s Trio (
This band from Cologne selected their name to set themselves apart from bands that sounded “sweet” and forged a decidedly unconventional course with their music. After roughly a year of...
» Read moreThe German band Virus is mainly known in progressive rock circles for their 1971 debut album Revelation. By the time they recorded this live radio concert in 1973, they had abandoned...
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2021-02-14
SoundQuest Fest 2021 –
SoundQuest Fest, first experienced as a live festival in Tucson Arizona in 2010 was created by ambient music pioneer Steve Roach. This 2021 event will unite a worldwide gathering of artists and audience members together for a 3-day online event unique in the realm of ambient music. From March 26-28th a continuous flow of streamed performances, audio-video wonder worlds and deep immersion zones will burn bright on Roach’s YouTube channel. »
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2021-02-10
Chick Corea RIP –
The sad news has reached us that Chick Corea has Returned to Forever, so to speak. The innovative keyboardist and composer died on February 9 at the age of 79. With a career that spanned from the 60s until shortly before his death, Corea touched many listeners with the incredible variety of music he produced in his lifetime. »
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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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Trio Fattoruso - Trio Fattoruso – It makes perfect sense that Uruguay would not be just another blip on the radar of finesse jazz and rock players. Brothers Jorge and Hugo Fattoruso have been playing various Latin and jazz styles for... (2006) » Read more
Ten Ton Tide - Ten Ton Tide – Their logo looks like the Gentle Giant guy got a hair transplant and was so happy that he shaved his beard. Pretty cool! At any rate, Ten Ton Tide's album is an interesting combination of... (1996) » Read more
Triakel - Sånger från 63°N (Songs from 63°N) – This is a collection of songs that originate in the Jämtland province of Sweden, most of them traditional, some more recent but in a traditional style. The trio of singer Emma Härdelin,... (2005) » Read more
Aton's - Klein & Wagner – Aton's is led by vocalist / guitarist / keyboardist Pietro Ratto, who is also the sole songwriter for the band. For the most part, the compositions are more interesting rhythmically than... (1997) » Read more
Roman Stolyar - Missa Apocryph – This release in no way fits the standard mold of Electroshock music (though they’ve been breaking that mode a lot lately, so maybe we should stop remarking on it!), being essentially a prog-rock... (2011) » Read more