Exposé Online » Reviews of releases for 2005

Ars Nova - Sunshine and Shadows

A few issues back I reviewed the reissue of Ars Nova’s 1968 first album. Here we have their second and last...

The Pineapple Thief - 10 Stories Down

I have been following Pineapple Thief for a few releases, and 10 Stories Down is another offering of alternative-prog fusion. The good news is that Bruce Soord and company still have a...

James LaBrie - Elements of Persuasion

James LaBrie should be well known to Exposé readers by now, either as the vocalist for prog-metal icons Dream Theatre or through his participation in various Magna Carta...

Stormy Six - Macchina Maccheronica, Al Volo & Un Concerto

One hears the term Rock in Opposition quite often in music today. Many current bands are labeled with an "RIO" style. The Italian group Stormy Six is the basis for this style termed...

Djam Karet - Recollection Harvest

I have a dilemma about this CD. The band claims it’s actually two albums: the relatively heavy Recollection Harvest and the mellower Indian Summer. On one hand, this...

Cabezas de Cera - Fractal Sónico

Magic Pie - Motions of Desire, Circus of Life & The Suffering Joy

Following on Karisma’s release of King for a Day in 2015, the label has gone to Magic Pie’s back catalog and re-released the first three albums. In 2005 they put out...

Graham Collier - Workpoints

Keith Tippett and ian Carr may be better known, but they were far from the only active jazz practitioners in Britain in the late 60s and early 70s. Bassist Graham Collier was another part of this...

Soft Machine Legacy - Live in Zaandaam

Moving forward from the Softworks lineup that included Allan Holdsworth, 2005 brought the opportunity to that icon with guitarist John Etheridge for a newer, more vital incarnation with distinct...

Ajalon - On the Threshold of Eternity

Randy George (who may be more widely known due to his recent work with Neal Morse) is the leader of Seattle-based Ajalon. Vocalist Will Henderson is also an important focal point for this...

Unitopia - More Than a Dream

More Than a Dream is probably the best of the recent Unicorn Digital releases, and that is saying a lot! Unitopia hails from Down Under and they independently released More Than a...

Curved Air - Live 1990

Curved Air was always one of the most talented bands that was unable to realize the financial rewards for leading the crest of the 70s progressive wave. This was due in part to the massive hype by...

Various Artists - Back against the Wall

Billy Sherwood has certainly found a comfortable niche to show his knowledge and appreciation of classic 70s rock. Gathering an all-star cast to re-create the second most well known Pink Floyd...

Malicorne - L'Extraordinaire Tour de France d'Adélard Rousseau, En Public & Le Bestiare

France's rich folk culture, much of it from the Breton (Brittany) province, has provided listeners with a seemingly unknown but vast treasure trove of incredible progressive Celtic music. This...

Fast 'n' Bulbous - Pork Chop Blue around the Rind

Led by former Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas (Doc at the Radar Station, Ice Cream for Crow) and saxophonist / arranger Phillip Johnston (NYC downtown scene regular), Fast...

Gert Emmens - When Darkness Falls upon This Earth

One shouldn’t take a title like this too literally when it concerns Gert Emmens. The only darkness that is evoked on this album are the dark coloured synth textures in the beginning of...

Klaus Wiese - Sabiha Sabiya

Klaus Wiese played tambura on two classic Popol Vuh albums, Hosianna Mantra and Seligpreisung. He's far lesser known and should be much wider known for being an early...

Caveman Shoestore - Super Sale

Caveman Shoestore is back and ready to take on the modern indie rock and roll jungle. The basic trio structure is intact driven by Elaine Falco’s obtuse songwriting and lead vocal, Fred...

Koenjihyakkei - Angherr Shisspa

It’s been amusing to read the attempts of reviewers in the alternative / independent press to write about this album. They find the music so strange that they have difficulty describing it,...

IZZ - My River Flows

You have to hand it to IZZ, five years of hard work is increasingly paying off in terms of recognition. Their third proper studio release, My River Flows, continues their trend of melding...

Steve Thorne - Emotional Creatures, Part One

There is not much information available on Steve Thorne. Apparently he has been quietly writing songs and performing for years in the UK as a solo artist and a founding member of Colony Earth and...

Spock's Beard - Gluttons for Punishment - Live in '05

These two CDs capture Spock’s Beard on their 2005 Octane European tour. Disk one is almost entirely taken from that record, while disk two pulls from past albums Feel Euphoria,...

Klaus Schulze - Audentity & Angst

Audentity features Klaus plus Michael Shrieve (the original drummer with Santana) on percussion, Rainer Bloss (sounds and glockenspeil), and Wolfgang Tiebold (cello). The sound is clean,...

Klaus Schulze - Body Love

Body Love is my all time favorite Klaus Schulze release and also the album that introduced me to Klaus’ music nearly 30 years ago. From its very first notes, Body Love takes...

SBB - Live in Theatre 2005 & New Century

They began life as the Silesian Blues Band in 1971, and shortly after became the backing band for Polish superstar Czeslaw Niemen, returning as simply SBB in 1974 to ultimately become one of the...

SBB - Live in Theatre 2005 & New Century

They began life as the Silesian Blues Band in 1971, and shortly after became the backing band for Polish superstar Czeslaw Niemen, returning as simply SBB in 1974 to ultimately become one of the...

Kate Bush - Aerial

As listeners and consumers of music, we generally have contact with artists only through their work, and are only aware of their lives outside music as they present it in their recordings (unless...

Steve Roach - New Life Dreaming

This is one of the “new” discs in the four-disc Dreamtime box set, that also includes Possible Planet and the remastered Dreamtime Return (all reviewed...

Steve Roach - Dreamtime Return

The myths and legends of the Australian Aborigines provided the inspiration for this expansive opus that is generally touted as Roach’s first masterpiece. Here it is presented again in 24-bit...

Spaced Out - Live in 2000

Anyone familiar with this hotshot Canadian fusion quartet (and shouldn’t all Exposé readers be?) knows that they are above all a musicians’ band – one of those...

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...

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull & Five Others

“You hear three notes and you know it’s Herb Alpert,” remarked Miles Davis in a 1989 interview. That isn’t at all surprising considering Herb Alpert and the Tijuana...

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull & Five Others

“You hear three notes and you know it’s Herb Alpert,” remarked Miles Davis in a 1989 interview. That isn’t at all surprising considering Herb Alpert and the Tijuana...

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull & Five Others

“You hear three notes and you know it’s Herb Alpert,” remarked Miles Davis in a 1989 interview. That isn’t at all surprising considering Herb Alpert and the Tijuana...

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull & Five Others

“You hear three notes and you know it’s Herb Alpert,” remarked Miles Davis in a 1989 interview. That isn’t at all surprising considering Herb Alpert and the Tijuana...

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull & Five Others

“You hear three notes and you know it’s Herb Alpert,” remarked Miles Davis in a 1989 interview. That isn’t at all surprising considering Herb Alpert and the Tijuana...

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull & Five Others

“You hear three notes and you know it’s Herb Alpert,” remarked Miles Davis in a 1989 interview. That isn’t at all surprising considering Herb Alpert and the Tijuana...

Bruford - Feels Good to Me

I still remember when this album came out. For my teenage self, it probably faced the highest expectations of any new release ever. I fell in love with Bill Bruford’s drumming with Yes and...

Panzerballett - Panzerballett

In my mind I picture the dancing of tanks — the cover art helps. But the only dance I can imagine is a slow, clumsy, brutish affair, most unlike the quick, dextrous, sophisticated music I...

Green Milk from the Planet Orange - He's Crying "Look" & City Calls Revolution

This Japanese trio really does seem to hail from another planet. While there are echoes of psychedelic German jams from the 70s and alternative noise acts of the 80s, the mixture is thoroughly...

Various Artists - Kinections: The ProgDay Support CD

Anyone acquainted with the North Carolina-based ProgDay festival knows full well the challenges this annual event has confronted in years past, having faced its imminent demise more than once. And...

The Muffins with Marshall Allen & Knoel Scott - Loveletter #2 "The Ra Sessions"

What does one get when The Muffins mix it up with two great sax players (Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott) from Sun Ra’s Arkestra? That’s right, not two – but four sax players, plus...

Ruins - Vrresto

Vrresto is classic Ruins as we’ve come to know them over the last eight or so releases, a high intensity power duo of drums, bass and operatic vocals that is often compared to Magma...

Strawbs - Live at NEARfest & Hugh's Room

Strawbs line-ups have undergone quite a few changes in recent years. Having never seen Brian Willoughby, I was happy to view his guitar stylings since they are substantially different from Dave...

Strawbs - Deep Cuts & Heartbreak Hill

I don't think even the most rabid Strawbs fan (maybe not me, but I'm close, so I should know) would say these two albums represent the band's peak. That being said, there are still some...

John Wetton - Akoustika I & II - Live in Amerika / Return to Amerika

John Wetton, bassist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and a singer way better than most left this world on January 31st of 2017. What he has left behind in a long, varied, and amazing career is...

Mastermind - Broken

The cover says this is a CD single / EP, but the total playing time is 44 minutes – hell, that’s longer than the full length In-a-gadda-da-vida LP, so what gives? As it turns...

Klaatu - Solology

Canadian trio Klaatu was primarily a studio outfit, their only live performances coming in the early 80s toward the tail end of their five album run. So the highlight of Solology is the...

Alon - The Artist Manifesto: Document 1

Alon is the musical project by the enigmatic Pennsylvanian Marc A. Gallo, who does not appear to have been active musically since this CD EP was released in 2005. The Artist Manifesto: Document...

Hatfield and the North - Hatwise Choice & Hattitude: Archive Recordings 1973-1975

The two studio albums released by Hatfield and the North sit firmly in my mind as two of the highlights not just of the Canterbury scene, but of all music recorded in the 70s. They embody so many...

Cluster & Eno - Cluster & Eno

It’s really hard to understand what this music meant at the time it was recorded. Intellectually we can recall that ambient music was in its infancy, with the term only coined (by Mr. Eno)...

Jenny Scheinman - Twelve Songs

Violinist and composer Jenny Scheinman’s latest CD is a trip down memory lane to the deep bayous of the South, emphasizing lazy 30s jazz. She has enlisted a small ensemble to forge her vision...

Riverside - Voices in My Head

This disk is meant to be a stopgap to fill time between this Polish band’s widely hailed 2004 debut Out of Myself and their latest full-length release

Soft Hearted Scientists - Uncanny Tales from the Everyday Undergrowth (Expanded Edition)

There is something endearing about the Soft Hearted Scientists, be it their name, their label name, their vocal harmonies, their whimsical songs, their catchy melodies, etc. I’ve been a fan...

Soft Bounds - Live at Triton 2004

Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper have been involved in so many projects together all it takes is for an alternate rhythm section to assemble under the two musical compatriots and a new project is born....

Pip Pyle's Equip' Out - Up!

Recorded in fall 1991, the second release from Pip Pyle’s pet project has only recently seen the light of day on the US import market. On the occasion of Pip’s recent trip to the US and...

Chicago - Chicago at Carnegie Hall

In a previous tier I highlighted the fourth disc of At Carnegie Hall because as good as the actual live album is, the liner notes explain that they really wanted to pick the fourth disc...

Phil Manzanera - 50 Minutes Later

Guitarist Phil Manzanera has struck upon the renaissance era of his star-crossed musical career. Together with close longtime friends such as Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt, Manzanera continues to push...

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...

King Crimson - Thrak

First, to answer the biggest question: What do I get if I buy this album that I don't already have on Vrooom? Not much really. You get the 'single' "Dinosaur." You...

Erik Hinds - Reign in Blood

On the first few plays through, I didn’t even realize what I was listening to, but I was certainly enjoying it at its face value. Here Hinds plays solo h’arpeggione, an acoustic...

Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture

For 15 years Pendragon has been a fixture on the English progressive scene. They've got solid support from a devoted European fan base, consistent albums, and a refined sound. They've got...

Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture

Unlike Marillion, Pendragon have had to slog it out arduously throughout their career in order to achieve their level of success. The latest offering is an ambitious project to say the least. And...

Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture

Pendragon's new release, The Masquerade Overture, further proves that this band is one of the better proponents of neo-progressive rock. Not because of any great originality, but...

Chicago - Chicago at Carnegie Hall (Bonus Material)

McLatchey's Second Tier

I'm not sure why over the years it took me a really long time to return to Chicago but I can tell you when I did and that's when the 4CD reissue...

Roine Stolt - Wall Street Voodoo

Roine Stolt has certainly been a prolific musician the last several years. The Kaipa, Flower Kings, and Transatlantic guitarist / vocalist has released what seems like a couple of albums per year...

Quikion & Lithuma Qnombus - Live

The three members of Quikion join with the two-man rhythm section Lithuma Qnombus for this 72 minute live set from March 2005 in Tokyo’s Manda-La2. Playing acoustic and electric guitars,...

K2 - The Book of the Dead

Imagine Progrock Records’ Shawn Gordon’s surprise when he heard from K2 bassist Ken Jaquess that not only Allan Holdsworth but the late Shaun Guerin had agreed to play on his big time...

Gong - Flying Teapot

McLatchey's Second Tier

One of the most unfortunate things about the CD issues of Gong's first entry in the Radio Gnome Trilogy is that because of the legal...

Various Artists - Music for Films III

The All Saints label began as a veritable home for the electronic, ambient inclined artist who needed a new vehicle to deliver a powerful message. Music for Films III is a sampler of these...

Kit Watkins - World Fiction

This may be one of Kit Watkins’ most sensual efforts to date. The creative foundation for most of the album’s 12 tracks is a percussion and synth track or groove that Watkins then solos...

Magma - Mythes et Légendes 1

Not to be confused with their 1985 CD with the exact same title, this DVD is the first of four that are being compiled from the shows that took place at Le Triton from May 10th to June 4th 2005....

Focus and Friends - Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon

It was in August 1997 that we learned about the reunion of Focus, with original members Thijs van Leer and Hans Cleuver, and bassist Bert Ruiter who played with them from Focus 3 onward,...

Arti e Mestieri - First Live in Japan

The modern incarnation of Arti e Mestieri has not seen much documentation on CD, so it is nice to see this release covering a recent concert in Japan. The two main components of the group are still...

Drama - Stigmata of Change

Seven years has passed since this French band’s last release, Flying over the 21st Century. Lineup changes include new vocalist Yvon Lucas, who suits the material well, even if...

GAM - Eiszeit

The name GAM is an acronym of the member’s first names Günter Schickert (guitar, vocals, trumpet), Axel Struck (guitars, vocals), and Michael Leske (drums, percussion). Eiszeit,...

Kraan - Wiederhören, Flyday, Nachtfahrt, Live 88, Dancing in the Shade & Live 2001

Recently Revisited Records, a division of InsideOut Music, has been reissuing a number of German bands from the past: Klaus Schulze, Amon Düül II, and Kraan. To date, they have released...

Kraan - Wiederhören, Flyday, Nachtfahrt, Live 88, Dancing in the Shade & Live 2001

Recently Revisited Records, a division of InsideOut Music, has been reissuing a number of German bands from the past: Klaus Schulze, Amon Düül II, and Kraan. To date, they have released...

Kraan - Wiederhören, Flyday, Nachtfahrt, Live 88, Dancing in the Shade & Live 2001

Recently Revisited Records, a division of InsideOut Music, has been reissuing a number of German bands from the past: Klaus Schulze, Amon Düül II, and Kraan. To date, they have released...

Kraan - Wiederhören, Flyday, Nachtfahrt, Live 88, Dancing in the Shade & Live 2001

Recently Revisited Records, a division of InsideOut Music, has been reissuing a number of German bands from the past: Klaus Schulze, Amon Düül II, and Kraan. To date, they have released...

Kraan - Wiederhören, Flyday, Nachtfahrt, Live 88, Dancing in the Shade & Live 2001

Recently Revisited Records, a division of InsideOut Music, has been reissuing a number of German bands from the past: Klaus Schulze, Amon Düül II, and Kraan. To date, they have released...

Funkadelic - Early album reissues

Funkadelic’s self-titled debut album from 1970 shows the band in search of a style. There are still remnants of the 60s soul of their background, essentially expanding a kind of...

Funkadelic - Early album reissues

Funkadelic’s self-titled debut album from 1970 shows the band in search of a style. There are still remnants of the 60s soul of their background, essentially expanding a kind of...

Funkadelic - Early album reissues

Funkadelic’s self-titled debut album from 1970 shows the band in search of a style. There are still remnants of the 60s soul of their background, essentially expanding a kind of...

Funkadelic - Early album reissues

Funkadelic’s self-titled debut album from 1970 shows the band in search of a style. There are still remnants of the 60s soul of their background, essentially expanding a kind of...

Funkadelic - Early album reissues

Funkadelic’s self-titled debut album from 1970 shows the band in search of a style. There are still remnants of the 60s soul of their background, essentially expanding a kind of...

Funkadelic - Early album reissues

Funkadelic’s self-titled debut album from 1970 shows the band in search of a style. There are still remnants of the 60s soul of their background, essentially expanding a kind of...

Spiral Realms - Solar Wind

I am bummed that my dislike of Nik Turner caused me to miss these guys. The master of Space Violin, ex-Hawkwind player Simon House brought his band, Spiral Realms, to the Great American Music Hall....

Here Are the Facts You Requested - Felt & Testing Ground Live

Somewhere back in the late 90s, after seeing them open for the Mike Keneally Band, we reviewed this San Jose band’s earlier release, Shocks and Struts, which proved them to be a...

Mad Juana - Acoustic Voodoo

I was going to say, “Here’s one out of left field” but that’s unfair. Mad Juana comes from somewhere outside the ballpark entirely, from some dark, candle-lit back-alley...

Stencil Forest - The Abyss

Stencil Forest is another example of “band makes an album that goes nowhere, disbands, then reforms years later to try it again.” The core of the 1983 lineup has returned — Frank...

Shining - In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster

Hardcore devilry in psychotronic mode hanging about with the schizophrenic crowd. This is a rutilated ruby of the avant-progressive slant. Anyone into Cuneiform and Recommended Records catalogues...

Seti - Life Signs

The atmospheric opening suggests we’re no longer on the earth, but somewhere in space. Life Signs is the debut album from a neoprog rock band from Chile. It’s the familiar set...

Sonic Pulsar - Out of Place

Sonic Pulsar inhabits a rather small category: Portuguese prog bands. The group (now on hiatus) centers on talented singer / songwriter / guitarist Hugo Flores (who also covers keyboards and drum...

Project Creation - Floating World

Project Creation is the brain child of multi-instrumentalist and composer Hugo Flores, who has built a minor progressive rock masterpiece on par with the best of Queensrÿche, Fates Warning,...

Ubi Maior - Nostos

Prog metal is a genre which has grown as many arms as an octopus – or more. Italy especially is famous for many bands in this genre. Not that Ubi Maior is a pure prog metal band – no,...

Trigon - Emergent

This amazing psychedelic rock dynamo from Germany (now a trio of guitars, bass, and drums – by brothers Rainer and Stefan Lange, and Tihomir Lozanovski respectively, with former keyboardist...

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 –...

Ossi Duri - X & L'Ultimo dei Miei Cani

Ten years after his death – that’s what this “X” marks – one sees little decline in the interest in and dedication towards the music of Frank Zappa. The...

Tim Morse - Transformation

Tim Morse is the author of Yesstories, a compilation of interviews from Yes band members past and present. One might therefore expect his debut CD to have Yes’s stamp on it, though...

Rob Levit - Touch the Spirit

When this one arrived in my mailbox, I was not thrilled. “Oh, joy,” I thought, “a whole CD of New Age acoustic guitar.” I finally gave it a chance, and was pleasantly...

King Eider - Somateria spectabilis

Two guys, Waalkens and Gerritse from the Netherlands, with help from Pomp on drums and Huigen and Holdtman as occasional vocalists, form King Eider. Somateria Spectabilis (named for a...

Steve Roach - Dreamtime Return

McLatchey's Second Tier

This was Roach's first landmark release, at the time he was at the forefront of what was considered "New Age music." Albums like Quiet...

Aidan Baker - Songs of Flowers and Skin

Amid the bulk of BLR releases, to which such adjectives as “noisy,” “chaotic” and “abrasive” are regularly applied, it’s easy to forget that there’s...

Grateful Dead - Fillmore West 1969

McLatchey's Second Tier

OK, here's one of the few items I'll be covering that I don't actually own a copy of. Some years back when the Grateful Dead vault keepers...

Grateful Dead - Fillmore West 1969

McLatchey's Second Tier

OK, here's one of the few items I'll be covering that I don't actually own a copy of. Some years back when the Grateful Dead vault keepers...

Xhol Caravan - Talking to My Soul

On the heels of releasing Electrip in the summer of 1969, the public TV station SWF offered to produce a show dedicated to Xhol Caravan, an offer they couldn’t refuse. So in 1970 SWF...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Reissues, Part 3

Revisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Reissues, Part 3

Revisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Reissues, Part 3

Revisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Reissues, Part 3

Revisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Reissues, Part 3

Revisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Reissues, Part 3

Revisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Reissues, Part 3

Revisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...

Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht, Dune, Dziękuję Poland, Miditerranean Pads, Sequenced? & Crime of Suspense

Revisited Records continues reissuing the Klaus Schulze back catalog. The past twelve months have seen seven more albums released with another batch due Fall 2006. Revisited is holding true to the...

Edward Ka-Spel - Laugh China Doll

Laugh China Doll was Edward Ka-Spel’s first solo release, recorded in 1984. This first release was a limited issue of 2000 LPs on the In-Phaze label that quickly disappeared,...

Murat Ses - Automaton 2

Automaton2 is Murat Ses’ fourth solo release. For those of you not familiar with Murat and his work, Murat is a Turkish electronic musician living in Austria. He spent some time...

Jim Gilmour - Great Escape

Jim Gilmour is well known to Saga fans as the long-time keyboard player of the group. His compositional skills as well as his nimble keyboard playing have been crucial keys to the band’s...

Falter Bramnk - Minimal Romance

This is a tough one, not least for its diversity despite the numerous Robert Wyatt references in this review. Frenchman Frank Lambert has a knack for constructing a challenging set of tracks,...

Exsimio - Carbono 14

It’s been over six years since Exsimio’s eponymous debut, but all is well, and their sophomore effort certainly offers the evidence. The Chilean quartet (g/g/b/d) has taken it a couple...

Espers - Espers, The Weed Tree & Espers II

Beautiful music delving into mantric excesses in protracted light is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Percolating effluvial melodies encroach upon sensibilities of newfound mellifluousness setting...

Saga - Network

Saga just keeps on trucking. Network is like their 947th studio album or something. What’s amazing about Saga is that unlike most bands fortunate enough to have 30-year music...

Saga - The Chapters Live

This is the live album Saga fans have dreamed about. It was only a matter of time before Saga did the obvious – release a live collection of all The Chapters. Saga released two songs on each...

Nicolas Figeroa - Ko

In his opening move, “El Principio,” Figueroa lets the listener know in no uncertain terms, amid a complex web of multilayered interlocking guitar parts supported by percolating bass...

Greg Segal - A Play of Light and Shadow, The Old Familiar Place & Tales of Today

With his own studio and plenty of time on hand to play and experiment, all kinds of things can be committed to tape (or whatever medium), some fully arranged, some more like embryonic fragmentary...

Greg Segal - A Play of Light and Shadow, The Old Familiar Place & Tales of Today

With his own studio and plenty of time on hand to play and experiment, all kinds of things can be committed to tape (or whatever medium), some fully arranged, some more like embryonic fragmentary...

The Fellowship - In Elven Lands

It is no surprise that Yes vocalist Jon Anderson would finally contribute to a musical project surrounding the highly profitable Lord of the Rings books and films. What is surprising is...

The Fareed Haque Group - Cosmic Hug

Fareed Haque needs no introduction in the closely knit circle of jam bands circling North America. His main band, Garaj Mahal, is a touring fixture at nearly any jam based festival organized in the...

Aziola Cry - Ellipsis

Math rock lives! Ellipsis is the debut release from Aziola Cry – a three-piece all-instrumental band from Chicago consisting of drums, guitar, and Chapman Stick. While many bands...

Tara Vanflower - My Little Fire-Filled Heart

Gothic preponderance in echoplex upon hallucinating a mystically morose escapade. Imagine being buried alive, serpent in one hand and a rainbow in the other, with corrugated air swishing through...

Tuner - Totem

Tuner is the two-man power group featuring Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson) and Marcus Reuter (Centrozoon). Mastelotto is at home playing modern electric percussion while Reuter is better known as a...

Syn - Syndestructable

For those of you not up on your British psychedelia, Syn was the band who opened for the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Marquee Club in 1967. The band’s first CD of completely new songs is...

Scarlet Thread - Valheista Kaunein

A couple years back Sami Hiltunen, one of the band’s guitarists sent us a pre-release of this, the band’s second album; at that time they had no regular bassist (bass duties shared...

NIMBY - Songs for Adults

Starting with their premise that most music is designed for teenagers, Songs for Adults on the surface seems to be an irreverent and playful stomp through the perplexities of middle age,...

Nethers - In Fields We Will Lie

Perfectly compartmentalized component parts lean up against the bulwark of fortunate, and insidiously assiduous, sinuous manna. This is one of the few bands this year I could only have discovered...

Magenta - The Gathering

Magenta’s first live DVD was filmed in their native Wales in 2005 following the tour for the Seven album. Material from the Home album is previewed, though the set is mostly...

Lands End - The Lower Depths

Remember Lands End? They were part of the 90s West Coast prog revival, though it’s been eight years since their last release, Natural Selection. Now they’re back with a...

Richard Bone - Saiyuji

Named after an ancient Singaporean Buddhist temple, Saiyuji is a collection of Asian-tinted electronic music. The songs are definitely serene and calm, and most follow a similar structural...

Agent Cooper - Beginner's Mind

Agent Cooper is a four-man band who hail from Atlanta who self produced their first independent release of ten neo-prog tracks that infuse varying styles of music from Arabic to metal and melodic...

Steve Walsh - Shadowman

After 30-some-odd years in the music business (if they’re lucky enough to last that long), most artists have fallen into a comfort zone and their new albums no longer offer any surprises. For...

J. Arif Verner - From a Distant Horizon

The image on the front of the CD booklet illustrates the music herein perfectly: a well-traveled dirt path near a fence follows into the distance through dense fog, fading into pastel colors as it...

Various Artists - Summoning of the Muse - A Tribute to Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance have had a profound impact upon musicians around the world, with a fame that has grown steadily since Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard issued their first album in 1984. Newly...

Hans Fjellestad - Moog

The life of Dr. Robert Moog had always been based on electronic discovery. In the course of his pursuit of engineering analysis, the North Carolina resident amassed a thirty-five-year resume...

Various Artists - Kaleidoscope - Musicians of Door County

This diverse collection spotlights the work of a number of recording artists from Door County, Wisconsin; the eleven pieces herein are clearly inspired by the natural beauty and serenity of their...

Under the Sun - Schematism - On Stage with Under the Sun

Under the Sun has been AWOL since the band debuted in 2000 with mixing work done by long time Rush associate Terry Brown on Magna Carta. The band also had some name confusion with the Nova Scotia...

Pak - Motel

Stack rib rack shack shakes a hook a lox, Pak burns with nervy verve enough to crackle their dense skein right out in the open, amidst solar flares. A stalwart trio with brio, knowing full well how...

Receptor Sight - Cycles and Connections

Besides the eight track titles, the CD packaging contains like, zero information. Recall from their earlier disc Undogmamind (reviewed in issue 27), Receptor Sight is an experimental duo...

Phaesis - Puzzle

Phaesis from France is no new band, in fact they can celebrate their 25th anniversary in a few years time, since the band was founded in 1982. This is their fifth release to be precise. They seem...

Oz Noy - Ha!

Oz Noy is another new guitarist to Exposé readers as he has lately been operating in a support role backing trumpeter Chris Botti (B.L.U.E.), as well as vocalists such as Toni...

Nicholas D'Amato's Royal Society - Nullius in Verba

Bassist Nicholas D’Amato took the title of his Royal Society’s debut album Nullius in Verba (Latin for “On the words of no one”) from the adopted motto of The Royal...

MusicAEnchiriadiS - Music for Nikola Tesla

Industrial electronics bearing a modern classical edge for a dark millennium with trip-hop at its heels. Synthetic landscapes give way as the tone is propulsively jettisoned to a danceable future....

Dug Pinnick - Emotional Animal

Dug Pinnick is the voice and bass presence of King’s X. His last two solo recordings under the Poundhound moniker were outlets from the artist’s main gig with his power trio and these...

Marissa Nadler - Ballads of Living and Dying & The Saga of Mayflower May

The voice is crystalline and exhilaratingly haunting, a crisp and refreshing elixir. Her muse is resolute, hewn from emotion, fashioned from a steadfast rock that never falters. Melancholy is a...

Mediæval Bæbes - Mirabilis

Collecting eight women into a chorus to perform English folk classics and traditional music is nothing new. What the Mediæval Bæbes do differently however is based on their capable...

Stevan Tickmayer - Repetitive Selective Removal of One Protecting Group

I know what you’re saying, why is this perennial commercial panderer back in the pages of Exposé? For those who think Tickmayer’s work in the Science Group is too...

Swåp - Du Da

Swåp, you might recall, is the foursome of two Swedes – Carina Normansson (fiddle, vocals) and Ola Bläckström (fiddle) – and two Brits – Karen Tween (accordion)...

DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid & Dave Lombardo - Drums of Death

DJ Spooky (Paul Miller) and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo are the core of this oddly compelling recording. Together with bassist Jack Dangers, this cleverly arranged fusion of samples and hard rock...

Mask - Heavy Petal

The members of this duo should be familiar to all Exposé readers, although this latest project is quite a surprise. Cellist, synthesist, and composer Marvin Ayres has released...

Knitting by Twilight - Someone to Break the Silence

This liner notes describe this album as “Selections from the forthcoming Knitting by Twilight album, An Evening out of Town together with exclusive tracks.” Since the album...

Various Artists - Analogy, Volume 1

Listeners who doubt the fact that the majority of music which is made with analog synthesizers sounds mysterious and fathomed, should listen to this album. Several musicians from the Dutch EM-forum...

Interpose+ - Interpose+

Another co-release by Poseidon Records in Japan and Musea in France, Interpose+ is a five-piece with Yes-like instrumentation (although the vocalist is female — no jokes please). Their sound...

Elton Dean / Sophia Domancich - Sea of Infinity & Avant

Two of the late Elton Dean’s last sessions as leader and co-leader have been championed by Hux records in the UK. Sea of Infinity captures him again leading an out session careening...

Crimson Jazz Trio - King Crimson Songbook Volume One

Veteran session drummer Ian Wallace leads a capable international trio with this first volume of King Crimson classics done up for modern piano-based ensemble. The key to the dizzying success of...

After the Fall - Knowledge

Based on this album, After the Fall could give all those neo and symphonic prog groups from the Low Countries a run for their money. The Connecticut-based quartet of Ken Archer (keys, vocals), Mark...

Jon Anderson - Tour of the Universe

Since the last full Yes tour in 2004 Jon Anderson has taken it upon himself to spend some time shoring up his solo career endeavors. Tour of the Universe consists of his appearance at the...

La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux - Le Combat Occulté

This French avant-garde troupe has been around for a while, and though I’ve seen the name around for ages, this odds-n-sods collection is the first I’ve really heard of their strange...

Crowther / Franklin / Marsh - Amherst Dislodged

Here’s an album by the British trio of Tim Crowther (guitar, guitar synth), Steve Franklin (keyboards), and Tony Marsh (drums). Everything here is improvised, with nine tracks tending towards...

Fern Knight - Blithewold

Adrift in a general flowery provenance, Fern Knight flies its meticulously winsome banner. Heralding the lost folksy souls from that magical acquiescence of nature that flowed effervescently in the...

Rutherford - Mapping out Chaos

With a constant stream of me-too independently produced new releases coming in, all demanding time to be heard and reviewed, it is indeed refreshing when one among them has something genuinely...

Amarok - Gouevia 2005

This set was recorded live at the Gouveia Art Rock festival in Portugal (yes, it's spelled wrong on the CD cover), and it finds Amarok in fine form. They play some of the most memorable tunes...

Brian Eno - Another Day on Earth

Brian Eno’s first set of new songs is a welcome follow-on to his collaboration with John Cale, Which Way Up. The opening cut, “This,” begins the subdued eleven song set...

Fear Falls Burning - He Spoke in Dead Tongues

Fear Falls Burning is a new project from the versatile Belgian composer Vidna Obmana (Dirk Serries). For this album he doesn’t touch his synths, instead he plugs his guitar and processes the...

Stephen Parsick - Hollenengel

Stephen Parsick, the other half of the well known (in EM-circles) German formation Ramp has made an album that immediately floats into dark realms. Travelling side by side with Vangelis, dark...

Nerv - Ragam

Since Discus first unleashed itself on the world in ’99, it seems like there’s a limitless number of Indonesian prog rock bands coming out in their wake, and this six-piece...

William Parker Quartet - Sound Unity

Upright bass icon William Parker has the consistent ability to surround himself with talent, purpose, and purity of vision. Together with drummer Hamid Drake (also one of the stable of the Thirsty...

Sky Cries Mary - Here and Now - Live 2005

For those of you familiar with this Seattle band, you will remember that they disbanded after their 1999 release Seeds to pursue different musical ideas. For example, their female vocalist...

Halloween, Alaska - Halloween, Alaska

I try to maintain a certain openness about the various musical genres, feeling that quality is a factor only marginally related to style, so I’m happy to find something good where it’s...

Halloween, Alaska - Too Tall to Hide

It hasn’t been that long since this Minneapolis band put out their debut (reviewed in #32), and here they come with the follow-up less than a year later. Far from merely avoiding the dreaded...

Quartet Noir - Lugano

Saxophonist Urs Leimgruber has an extensive recorded history stretching back to his involvement in the free jazz group Om in 1974. Quartet Noir is his collaboration with past co-conspirators...

King Crimson - Thrak

While the earlier release Vrooom was essentially a rehearsal of material destined for this album, it was also a far more condensed unit of what would be the most important tracks on the...

Canned Heat / John Lee Hooker - Hooker 'n' Heat, Historical Figures, Ancient Heads, & The New Age

If you don't dig the blues and you don't boogie, skip this review. Canned Heat's stock in trade was merging classic blues with rock, and in the late 60s nobody did it better, due in...

Canned Heat / John Lee Hooker - Hooker 'n' Heat, Historical Figures, Ancient Heads, & The New Age

If you don't dig the blues and you don't boogie, skip this review. Canned Heat's stock in trade was merging classic blues with rock, and in the late 60s nobody did it better, due in...

Gongzilla - Live in Concert and the East Village Studio

Bon Lozaga and Hansford Rowe have done a respectable job keeping their fusion offshoot of Gong alive and well and true to their vision. The bottom line is that the group serves up hot jazz-rock,...

Terry Bozzio / Metropole Orkest - Chamber Works

We know him as Zappa’s drummer in the Baby Snakes era, as the man who put the USA into UK, as an essential part of the brilliant 80s video pop combo Missing Persons, and as the man...

Nekropolis 23 - Tidal Shift

Recorded in April 2004 at a studio space in Munich, these ten psychedelic jam tracks show the band at the peak of their intensity, working in a true improvisational spirit. Led by bassist Peter...

Talisma - Chromium

This instrumental trio from Québec specializes in the kind of complex, tightly arranged music that some people love and others can’t tolerate. I suppose there must be a third group...

Taylor's Free Universe - Family Shot & Oyster's Apprentice

The very prolific guitarist Robin Taylor hits us with new offerings from two of his ensembles. Taylor’s Free Universe is Taylor’s improv outfit, featuring Pierre Tassone on processed...

Taylor's Free Universe - Family Shot & Oyster's Apprentice

The very prolific guitarist Robin Taylor hits us with new offerings from two of his ensembles. Taylor’s Free Universe is Taylor’s improv outfit, featuring Pierre Tassone on processed...

Eric Glick Rieman / Lesli Dalaba / Stuart Dempster - Lung Tree

Although its presence on Recommended tells you something, all three of these musicians are likely little-known outside improvising circles. Rieman is the main force behind Lung Tree, as...

Randone - Nuvole di Ieri, Ricordi & Hybla Act 1

Oddly enough, for their first release on Electromantic, Randone was a trio: Nicola Randone on vocals and guitar (who had previously released material under his full name); Marco Crispi on lead...

Niacin - Organik

Niacin is back! For those yet to discover this band, especially those of you with a fondness for the sound of the mighty Hammond B-3, waste no time. As with past efforts, this collection revolves...

Ozone Player - Frozen Paint on Boiling Canvas

What an opener for an album! I’m talking about “The Sprawl.” Fine sounds, imaginative sequencing, nimble-fingered playing, stunning composition. Ozone Player is a composer from...

The Underground Railroad - The Origin of Consciousness

I found the Underground Railroad’s debut CD to be an uneven affair. Some parts were very good, others less interesting, and in general, the band seemed to be in search of a direction. With...

Venegoni & Co. - Rumore Rosso

Arti e Mestieri's original guitarist, Gigi Venegoni put his own band together and released two albums in '77 and '79, both on the Cramps Label. The first of these was Rumore...

The Optic Nerve - Penelope Tuesday / Here to Stay

The Optic Nerve were a little known band spawned from the 80s New York garage scene who eschewed the synthesized music surrounding them. They were enamoured with the jangling guitar motifs of The...

Venegoni & Co. - Rumore Rosso

Although this band was led by a guitarist, Luigi Venegoni of Arti & Mestieri, it is far from a guitarist showoff exercise, but a very balanced group effort. Keyboards, handled by Ludovico...

Admiral Ted Brinkley (semi-ret.) - Directs the Verrugoso Vista Junior Junior College Grads of ‘77

Here’s something that came right in out of left field; the artist, title, liner notes and everything else about this disc appear to be some kind of prank – except for the music, that...

David Myers - Plays Genesis

I'm amazed at the degree of involvement a person can have with a narrowly focused music interest and the length of time it can be maintained. David Meyers' relationship with Genesis'...

Tod Dockstader / David Lee Myers - Bijou

Tod Dockstader is one of the grand old men of electro-acoustic music, and on Bijou he is teamed with David Lee Myers, who performs on “feedback machines.” From the cover to the...

Funkadelic - Standing on the Verge of Getting It On

McLatchey's Second Tier

Funkadelic-Parliament-P-Funk have a lot of great albums but Standing on the Verge of Getting It On is the tops for me. I'd probably only...

Adrian Belew and Man on Fire - Habitat

Vocalist, composer and keyboardist Jeff Hodges is the main man behind the trio Man on Fire. Subject matter for the twelve tracks focuses on the concerns of the occupants of one city block and how...

Mangala Vallis - Lycanthrope

From the opening rip of “Watcher of the Skies,” Mangala Vallis is here to tell you they are back and have been listening to their favorite prog albums again. With all the classic sounds...

Magus - Lucid Dreamer

Lucid Dreamer is a compilation of tracks from the 1997 album Traveller and the follow-up Highway 375 EP, remastered for the fuller sound that Magus guru Andrew Robinson...

Maestoso - Fiddling Meanly

Woolly Wolstenholme’s phase two of his master plan to return to active duty culminated in this live document from the 2004 UK “tour.” Material ranged from old Barclay James...

Little King - Virus Divine

A rock power-trio from the Southern US, Little King acquit themselves well on debut release Virus Divine. Vocalist Ryan Rosoff, who writes the lyrics, sounds a bit like Daniel...

Like Wendy - Endgame

This is the first Like Wendy release to feature new member Mark-Jeroen Heek who has joined fellow Dutchman and founder Bert Heinen as co-composer and instrumentalist (the liner notes equally credit...

Jerome Langlois - Molignak

Those looking for melodically colorful transcendental rock with a strong orchestral twist may find something very special and unique in Molignak, the first solo album by...

John Lakveet - Proportions

John Lakveet is a composer who likes to build his albums around themes. This time he has envisioned the strange and fascinating world of fractals. The melodies Lakveet uses in his tracks are not so...

Kvazar - A Giant's Lullaby

This Norwegian band’s second album is solid symphonic rock with plenty of engaging twists. “Flight of Shamash” opens with a dreamy sequence, evocative of flight. A chant-like...

Jeff Sherman - Gauguin

Jeff Sherman’s role in the resurgence of Northwest band Glass has been nothing short of surprising. First by bringing the band back together from obscurity (the trio has now released two...

Daniel J - Losing Time

Daniel J (Jakubovic) is the lead guitarist of gigging New York based metal quartet Against the Wall. The young fret-bender adopts a mode of self-reliance in the course of thirteen tracks of prog...

King's X - Ogre Tones

The career of King’s X has been characterized by consistent riffing in standard rock and roll format. Ogre Tones meets the needs of their zealous fan base by emphasizing crafted...

Tempustry - Le Voyage du Temps

This album is American musician Allen Brunelle’s first solo album and finds him exploring his passion for classic analog synthesizer music, à la Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre,...

Adachi Kyodai - Xianshi

Sort of like Guitar Craft gone wild, these two exceptional sibling guitarists Source K and Ryusuke that make up Adachi Kyodai offer some high-intensity listening as they intertwine their strings...

Jackie-O Motherfucker - Flags of the Sacred Harp

Bucolic tenderness within the gauze of vocalese residing in the realm between wakefulness and sleep. This is the next sound of Morpheus. Jackie-O Motherfucker is a portable temple of unexpurgated...

Sadhappy - Outerspaces

Sadhappy hasn’t been heard around these parts for quite some time. Work on the group’s second CD stalled while searching for a replacement to Paul Hinklin, who became ill and...

Steve Roach - Possible Planet

Steve Roach in his EM always worked with the benefits of both analog and digital worlds. For this album he not only concentrated on analog, he directed his ideas solely to a new brand of mighty...

Ring of Myth - Weeds

Ring of Myth is not the only band charting a course that combines old-school progressive with elements of metal and fusion, but their take on it is interesting enough to catch my attention....

Procosmian Fannyfiddlers - Father Dog

Superb synthesis, amazing amalgam, and cheeky chiding are the tools of their flowing trade. Within a context of variegated progressive rock, Procosmian Fannyfiddlers are a bastion of wide-reaching...

Anthony Phillips - Field Day

Four years in the making, Field Day marks Phillips’ return to acoustic guitar work after years of producing library and television work, mostly at the keyboard. The concept is...

Nouvelles Lectures Cosmopolites - Friesengeist, Part 1

As soon as I submerge the opening of the first track “Ballade” of Part 1 I’m hooked. It’s this wistful folk mood of accordion, piano, and vocal melody which touches...

Michael Manring - Soliloquy

Michael Manring is simply one of the best bassists playing today. You should have heard about him from his many contributions to new age recordings in the 80s to fusion workouts with Attention...

Bert Lams - Nascent: Bach Preludes on the Steel String Guitar

Bert Lams has been a personal advocate of the Bach repertoire. By using Guitar Craft tuning and emphasizing steel (rather than nylon or gut strings) he has established himself as a clear...

Ilitch - Rainy House

The latest release by Ilitch (a limited edition of 250) collects material recorded from the late 70s right up through the present, although many of the older pieces were tweaked, modified and...

If Thousands - I Have Nothing

This ambient duo has now produced six discs since their unusual entry into the ambient music world when this classically trained vocalist/guitarist and punk bassist dropped their known instruments...

Louisa John-Krol & Oöphoi - Alabaster & I Hear the Water Dreaming

Australian singer Louisa John Krol has been releasing music for about ten years, although these mark the first time she has been reviewed in these pages. Alabaster is her 2003 solo release...

Larry Kucharz - Ambient Green Washes

This is the latest in Kucharz’ Ambient Washes series (following Ambient Blue Washes and Ambient Red Washes, reviewed in issues 27 and 29 respectively), and presents a series...

Hurdy-Gurdy - Prototyp

As medieval instruments go, the hurdy-gurdy is uniquely positioned to be effective in a modern setting. Its gritty droning sound fits in well with drums and electronics, a fact that has been...

Steve Howe - Homebrew 3

This is the third edition in Steve Howe¹s collection of archival demo recordings. With this disk the Yes guitarist has pulled together pieces spanning some twenty years, beginning with the...

House of Not - The Walkabout Parts 1 & 2

The brainchild of Brian Erikson (vocals and lyrics), House of Not appears to be some sort of concept project, with Lou Roppoli and Ken O’Gorman providing guitars and a host of guests on other...

Horace X - Strategy

When last I heard from Horace X, back in 2003 with Sackbutt, I found their eclectic mishmash of influences both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, they didn’t really sound like...

Tom Heasley - Desert Tryptich

On his previous recordings Where the Earth Meets the Sky and On the Sensations of Tone (reviewed in #23 and #26 respectively), Heasley’s floating ambient epics were created...

Harv - Polka Raggioso

It’s been a few years since we last heard from the “cute Swedish boys” of Harv — don’t blame me, that’s how they’re marketed. With Töst in...

Geordie Haley’s Every Time Band - The Green Suite and Other Stories

Formerly of Fredericton’s tiny music scene, jazz guitarist Geordie Haley now takes up residence in Toronto with the Every Time Band. The line-up is rounded out with vocals, drums, bass, sax,...

John Hackett - Velvet Afternoon & Checking out of London

John Hackett has long been in the extended shadow of his brother Steve, who has seen high profile both in and out of Genesis. The flautist has finally stepped out on his own in both duet and full...

Genesis for Two Grand Pianos - Volume 2

Norwegian duo Yngve Guddal and Roger T. Matte have returned with another collection of old Genesis songs rearranged for two pianos. All their performances were made on Steinway Model D Grand Pianos...

Groundtruther - Longitude

The second installment of Charlie Hunter’s project with drummer Bobby Previte includes New York sampling wizard DJ Logic in the rotating performer chair for a set of twelve sonic groove...

Manuel Göttsching - Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau & E2-E4 Live

As 2005 neared its end, Manuel Göttsching released three new CDs: Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau and E2-E4 Live. Die Mulde is a composition Manuel recorded...

Manuel Göttsching - Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau & E2-E4 Live

As 2005 neared its end, Manuel Göttsching released three new CDs: Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau and E2-E4 Live. Die Mulde is a composition Manuel recorded...

Manuel Göttsching - Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau & E2-E4 Live

As 2005 neared its end, Manuel Göttsching released three new CDs: Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau and E2-E4 Live. Die Mulde is a composition Manuel recorded...

Flamborough Head - Tales of Imperfection

Flamborough Head’s latest offering is about one woman’s physical imperfection, and the loneliness and isolation she experiences as a result of it. Lyrically it’s direct and to the...

FireMonkey - Puzzlebox of Antipop

This is essentially a one-man project operating in the same general realm as Bill Nelson: pop songs with elements of prog and avant thrown in. Lyle Holdahl is the man behind the monkey, covering...

Frogg Café - Fortunate Observer of Time

Frogg Café is one of those bands with influences you can probably spot, but whom you’d be hard pressed to describe. Their new one takes its cues from lots of places: classic...

Paul Ellis - Silent Conversations

Ellis was a bit tired of doing all things alone each time, so for his fourth solo album, he looked for outside sources and found them in friends and acquaintances. In fact he was so enthusiastic...

Christian Decamps - Mes Vers Solitaires

This region-free NTCS DVD presents the former Ange frontman in a 1993 solo show, performing spoken-word pieces, sketches, and songs. I’m a pretty big Ange fan, and can easily enjoy music in...

Dean de Benedictis - Salvaging the Past

De Benedictis, as the title points out, not only refers to the legacy, but even reinvents the past on this album. The stunning opener, “The Tech Atonement of Bilagana,” unearths a...

Kyle Dawkins - Walls Became the World

Compared to Dawkins’ debut Conesauga (reviewed in issue #28), this is a far more explorative and experimental outing for the guitarist, banjoist, composer, and founding member of the...

Pippo d'Ambrosio - Arte Senza Volto

Sometimes it’s so much more difficult to try and describe a piece of music than it is to just hear it and accept it without analysis and words. Case in point: a disc that is so diverse and...

David Cross - Closer Than Skin

Ex-King Crimson violinist David Cross is back again with a confident follow-up to his acclaimed Exiles CD. Cross and writing partner, bassist Mick Paul, continue to refine their...

Create - From Earth to Mars

Why is it, that outside the realm of EM-admirers, few people, even people who do like EM, don’t like Klaus Schulze’s music? The answer lies in its static structure, where other artists...

Crazy World - Crazy World

What happens when you take the best of Finland’s rock stars of today and yesteryear, put them all together in one supergroup, and have them write and perform a bunch of songs in the style of...

Cousins and Conrad - High Seas

The old Strawbs troubadour is back on High Seas, collaborating with guitarist/keyboardist Conny Conrad. Eleven tracks totaling fifty-some minutes, with Cousins singing over backing guitar,...

CocoRosie - La Maison de Mon Rêve & Noah's Ark

With childlike glee, these sisters embrace one's ear with aural tincture. Romanced beautifully by tiny fragmentary conscious nests, we become ensconced within the folds of their rapturous...

Cerebus Effect - Acts of Deception

This American band works in a complex stream of fusion-oriented prog with a few avant touches. The playing of all participants is stellar, and the compositions show a lot of imagination. The...

Carptree - Man Made Machine

It’s a fine art to write big, powerful music without sounding either pompous or foolish, and this Swedish duo pulls it off well. The result is a little like a heavily orchestrated mid-70s...

Calomito - Inaudito

Older people will surely remember Rock in Oppossition, an informal gathering of avant-rock groups initiated by Henry Cow in the early Seventies. They were from several European countries,...

Henry Brant - Collection 3

With many of the great modernist composers now quite advanced in age, it seems incredible that some people predating the movement might still be creating new works. The venerable Henry Brant (b....

Tomas Bodin - I Am

For his fourth solo effort, Flower Kings keyboard player Tomas Bodin takes a more autobiographical approach, using theatrically conceptual albums like Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Pain...

Caroleen Beatty - You're Only as Pretty as You Feel

Some may recall Beatty from her association with Doug Hilsinger (both from the band Waycross), who created an excellent cover album of Brian Eno’s Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy...

DésAccordes (Erik Baron) - In C

Erik Baron is a French bassist we’ve heard from before (his excellent Cordayades CD from a few years ago was favorably reviewed in issue #29), but this time out his primary role is...

David Bagsby - Syllogisms

“I don’t think, therefore I am not.” Bagsby has long been a master of unpredictability and eccentric works that fit squarely into no categories, and his latest,...

Dwight Ashley & Tim Story - Standing + Falling

Tim Story has released a volume of minimalist, ambient, and electronic works going back to his early 80s albums on the Eurock label – In Another Country being a standout, later...

Arc and Sender - Arc and Sender

Arc and Sender is a noisy little trio from Maryland that spans the genres of indie/alternative rock with experimental lo-fi grunge. This means the trio can hammer away for hours on brutal chords,...

Jane Anfinson - Precious Details

Violinist Jane Anfinson is the answer for those wanting to mix the grrrl-power sensibilities of Alanis Morissette with the experimentalism of Laurie Anderson and the artful electric violin work of...

Anane - The Evolution Ethnic

Anane is an Indonesian band that mixes traditional indigenous themes with modern western musical styles. Most of the songs are based upon traditional songs of the Gayonese people from the island of...

Thirteen of Everything - Welcome, Humans

I got the Thirteen of Everything demo back in 2002, so this one has been a long time in coming. A quartet out of Texas with guitars, keyboards, basses, and drums, Thirteen of Everything have sonic...

Bobby Beausoleil - Dreamways of the Mystic

This aptly titled sprawling two-plus-hour mystical voyage around the world and into deep space was a full eight years in the making; there are 26 tracks in all, but the music rarely breaks –...

Flyin' Ryan Brothers - Blue Marble

The Ryan brothers, Jimmy and Johnny, have been a fixture of the Chicago music scene since the 70s when they were members of competing local bands. In recent years the two have joined forces to...

Wigwam - Some Several Moons

Jim Pembroke and Wigwam were one of those acts who occupied a welcome place between rock and progressive music in Finland. Pembroke’s songwriting style is an easy match to much of...

Univers Zéro - Live

I remember back in the day when I first heard Univers Zéro’s debut LP, I just scratched my head in bewilderment; what were these guys doing? It wasn’t until after hearing a...

Various Artists - Psychedelic Underground 11 - 15

Beginning with its first year of operations, Garden of Delights has released a yearly limited edition Psychedelic Underground sampler containing the best track from each of their 9...

Ars Nova - Chrysalis

Between - And the Waters Opened

[Parts of this review specifically relate to the 1995 reissue on Germanofon. -ed.]

The Germany-based sextet is probably most well known as representing the baby steps of...

Frigg - Oasis (Keidas)

Germinale - Scogli di Sabbia

Michael Angelo Batio - Hands without Shadows

Klaus Schulze - Picture Music

McLatchey's Top Tier #22

OK now for the deep dive into 70s German electronic music. When I was 16 or 17, some friends and I did radio shows at our high school radio station. One of...

Negative Trip - Parasite Psychotic

Pallas - The Dreams of Men

Menayeri - Futura Historia

Stella Maris - To the Promised Land

Hamadryad - Safe in Conformity

Roger Eno - Fragile (Music)

Kampec Dolores - Earth Mother Sky Father

Faithful Breath - Fading Beauty

Faithful Breath, who later became a German heavy metal band in the 80s, began as a symphonic progressive band releasing two LPs in the 70s: Fading Beauty and Back on My Hill....

Da Capo - Da Capo

Da Capo were a German band from Fürth in mid-Franconia who released one LP in 1972 that became one of the most sought-after German rock records. They recorded their seven-track album in two days...

Umphrey's McGee - Wrapped around Chicago

Barbez - Insignificance

Unto Ashes - Grave Blessings

Robert Walter - Super Heavy Organ

Willowglass - Willowglass

Albert Marcoeur - L Apostrophe

Anekdoten - A Time of Day

Alpha Wave Movement - Beyond Silence

Russell Allen's Atomic Soul - Russell Allen's Atomic Soul

Andreas Akwara - Synthetic Horizon

Adrian Belew - Side Two

Might Could - All Intertwined

Leger de Main - The Concept of Our Reality (10th Anniversary Edition)

[Note: This review was written of the original release.]

Here is an album worth getting excited about. Leger de Main, based in Ohio is simply a trio, brothers Brett and Chris Rodler...

The Viola Crayola - Music: Breathing of Statues

Scott Amendola Band - Believe

Fuchsia - Fuchsia, Mahagonny & Other Gems (1975-1978)

Eroc - Eroc 1, 2 & 3

After 30 years Eroc’s solo albums are now available on CD and finally finding their way to the US in 2007. Eroc remastered them from the original tapes, added bonus material, and included liner...

Eroc - Eroc 1, 2 & 3

After 30 years Eroc’s solo albums are now available on CD and finally finding their way to the US in 2007. Eroc remastered them from the original tapes, added bonus material, and included liner...

Eroc - Eroc 1, 2 & 3

After 30 years Eroc’s solo albums are now available on CD and finally finding their way to the US in 2007. Eroc remastered them from the original tapes, added bonus material, and included liner...

Legendary Pink Dots - A Dream Is a Dream Is a Dream

This LPD DVD release is the earliest known live concert footage of the band, recorded live at De Vrije Vloer in Utrecht, Holland on January 21, 1987. At that time the LPDs were a six-piece band...

Cold Fairyland & Lin Di - Ten Days in Magic Land, Bride in Legend, 2005 Live & Seeds on the Ground

One of the first musical things I discovered after moving to Beijing was this band from Shanghai. Their Chinese name (Lengku Xianjing) is taken from the Chinese title of a book by Japanese writer...

Spirit - Son of Spirit / Farther Along & Future Games / Spirit of 84

After Spirit’s first four classic albums, the band entered a period of fluctuating personnel, style, and success. The double-LP Spirit of ‘76 had marked the revitalization of the band...

Grosskopf, Baltes, Heilhecker - Sunya Beat - The Jelenia Gora Sessions

First Band from Outer Space - We're Only in It for the Spacerock

Can anyone hazard a guess as to the type of music on this CD? And the first two don’t count. What a blatant name for a band and their debut release! In actuality, this Swedish band is quite good....

Cyndee Lee Rule - UFOsmosis

Cyndee Lee Rule is a new force in the Space Rock arena. She has played with the Philly band Scattered Planets for several years and will appear on Systems Theory’s new CD later in 2006....

Chardeau - Hors Portée Highlight/Instrumental

Jean-Jacques Chardeau is a new name to me. He is a French vocalist and keyboardist who assembled an impressive line up of musicians on these two CDs that were recorded together: violinist Jerry...

Edward Ka-Spel - A Long Red Ladder to the Moon

A Long Red Ladder to the Moon is the latest in a long string of EKS solo releases. Considering Edward’s cassette, EP, LP, and CD output since 1984, this is something like number 30 and...

The Silverman - Nature of Illusion

The Silverman (aka Phil Knight) is The Legendary Pink Dots’ keyboardist. Phil has participated in several side projects over the years such as Mimir and Tear Garden. In 2003 Phil started...

Klaus Schulze - Moonlake

Moonlake is the latest Klaus Schulze release of new music, and a welcome breath of fresh air it is! The title is not a reference to the classic Schulze of Moondawn or “Crystal...

Secret Saucer - Element 115

October Equus - October Equus

October Equus - October Equus

Copernicus - L’Étérnité Immédiate

Drums & Tuba - Battles Olé

Martin Gordon - The Joy of More Hogwash

Daevid Allen Trio - Live 1963

The Smell of Incense - A Curious Miscellany

Jaga Jazzist - What We Must & Spydeberg Sessions

The Decemberists - Picaresque

Shrimp Boat - Speckly

Keef Hartley Band - The Time Is Near & Overdog

Upon his split from his high profile job with John Mayall, drummer Keef Hartley had his sights set on making his own group in the English blues rock boom. Both of these recordings are from 1970...

Keef Hartley Band - The Time Is Near & Overdog

Upon his split from his high profile job with John Mayall, drummer Keef Hartley had his sights set on making his own group in the English blues rock boom. Both of these recordings are from 1970...

The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute

Machine and the Synergetic Nuts - Leap Second Neutral

KBB - Live 2004

Ptôse - Ignobles Limaces + Night of the Reptiles

Roger Powell - Cosmic Furnace

Hiromi - Spiral

Claudia Quintet - Semi-formal

Wendy Carlos - Rediscovering Lost Scores Volume One & Two

Wendy Carlos - Rediscovering Lost Scores Volume One & Two

Adrian Belew - Side One

Meat Beat Manifesto - At the Center

Frameshift - An Absence of Empathy

Scenes - Call Us Now at the Number You Provide

Walter Hill - Popjazz

The Gentry - Sweet Gossip TV

Royal Hunt - Paper Blood

Kurgans Bane - Camouflaged in Static

The Grand Trick - The Decadent Session

Robert Schroeder - Brainchips (Vocal Version)

Embrase - Dreamworld

Art Rock Circus - A Passage to Clear & Tell a Vision

Distant Dream - A New Beginning

Turning Point - Matador

East of Eden - Graffito

Barry Schrader - Beyond

Matt Steckler - Persiflage

Electropolis - Electropolis

Symphorce - Godspeed

Enya - Amarantine

David Pack - The Secret of Movin' On

Glass Hammer - The Inconsolable Secret

Make a Rising - Rip through the Hawk Black Night

Sigur Rós - Takk

Brainstorm - Liquid Monster

Ain Soph - Five Evolved from Nine

Ain Soph - Marine Menagerie & Five Evolved from Nine

Ricochet - Zarah - A Teartown Story

NoVox - NoVox

Mojow and the Vibration Army - Undivided

Bruce Main - Layers

Thomas Kugler - Lilith: The Rock Opera

Nick Kizirnis - Into the Loud

The Greaseballs - Tombstone Wax

Electrelane - Rock It to the Moon, The Power Out, & Axes

Calhoun - Native Lands

The Bass Gang - Evasioni, Fughe & La Contrabbassatta

Abiogenesi - Io sono il vampiro

Steve Howe's Remedy - Live

The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark, Blueberry Boat, Rehearsing My Choir, EP, & Bitter Tea

The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark, Blueberry Boat, Rehearsing My Choir, EP, & Bitter Tea

Dirty Projectors - The Getty Address

Akron/Family & Angels of Light + Meek Warrior

Lambert and Nuttycombe - At Home

John Surman - Way Back When

Phideaux - Fiendish, Ghost Story, Chupacabras, 313, & The Great Leap

Haakon Ellingsen - Bounty

Trygve Seim - Sangam