New and Updated

Updated 31st October:

Circuline (USA): Circulive::Majestik (Inner Nova IN201702, Blu-ray plus CD, with digipak 2017)
Progressive
Natalie Brown (joint lead vocals)
This live set is beautifully filmed and recorded; it demonstrates Circuline to be a fine musician and frontpeople Billy Spillane and Natalie Brown to have a particularly pleasant demeanour (with Spillane also proving himself a talented mimic). However, the music here is above-average neoprogressive that’s satisfying enough in its own right, but derivative of everyone and everything. GRADE: C+.
Circuline (USA): New View (Inner Nova IN20201, Blu-ray plus DVD and CD, with digipak 2017)
Progressive
Natalie Brown (joint lead vocals, percussion)
A second successive live Blu-ray is an unusual move, but like their first this is a good-to-great gig by a fair-to-quite good band. Whilst that might sound like I’m damning Circuline with faint praise, there are some outstanding moments here, particularly the virtuosic keyboard duet and the exciting percussion interlude. As such this is every inch a B– show whilst the band’s material remains solidly in the C+ category. GRADE: B–.
Circuline (USA): CORE (Inner Nova IN202401,CD, with digipak and booklet, 2024)
Progressive
Natalie Brown (joint lead vocals)
Circuline felt like they were pushing a few boundaries during the show filmed as New Views; here in the studio, they’re playing it safe. As such, this is a pleasant and mellifluous collection of mid-length, mid-paced songs with some nice chunky riffing but very little that really catches the ear. GRADE: C+.

Updated 25th October:

Ciolkowska (Russian Federation): Avtomak Proshlogo (No label 730, CD, 2018)
Progressive/Psychedelic
Alesya Izlesa (ukelele)
Recorded live in the studio, this is a thoroughly satisfying set with both a high level of variety (including some unexpected diversions into modern jazz) and plenty of dynamism. If it has a failing, it occasionally feels a bit inconsequential, but there are still plenty of moments that grab the attention. GRADE: B–.
Ciolkowska (Russian Federation): Psikhodeliya (No label 740, CD, 2020)
Progressive/Psychedelic
Alesya Izlesa (ukelele)
This is both more song-based and more structured than the band’s usual work, with an intricate and slightly folky sound. The results are consistently enjoyable but lack the heft of the band’s best outings – and at just over 27 minutes the feeling of a slight lack of substance persists. GRADE: C+.

Circuline (USA): Return (Inner Nova IN201501, CD, with digipak, 2015)
Progressive
Natalie Brown (joint lead vocals)
Alternating songs and instrumentals averaging five minutes apiece, this isn’t the most ambitious album in the world. Nonetheless the instrumentals are quite inventive, with lots of interesting moments, though the songs (whilst pleasant) are mired in neoprogressive clichés, with that typically American hard-riffing style occasionally breaking the mellow mood. GRADE: C+.
Circuline (USA): Counterpoint (Inner Nova IN201601, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2016)
Progressive/Metal
Natalie Brown (joint lead vocals)
Following their slightly tentative debut, Circuline really find their feet here: this is a powerful set of metal-edged prog, packed witjh surprising twists and turns and quite a bit of invention. However, there are two problems. The first is that the songs themselves life afterthoughts, without anything much in the way of memorable hooks or riffs. The second, which persists from their debut, is the odd foible of having male and female singers who are virtually indistinguishable from one another. GRADE: C+.

Family Times Band (USA): Family Times Band (Casey RSR 602, 1976)
Folk/Rock
Amy Leitzke (bass, backing vocals), Jen Leitzke (keyboards, backing vocals)
The opening ‘Sitting By The Ocean’ and ‘She’s Gone’ are absolutely killer late sixties or early seventies-style folk/rock with a warm, sincere mood and subtle psychedelic edges. Thereafter a slightly loungier sensibility creeps in, alongside a few soft rock moves, meaning that another reviewer’s comparison to Seventh Dawn is apt, though this is decidedly superior. Diversions along the way include the fuzzy pop of 'Cause You Know’, which hints towards the Velvet Underground”s ‘What Goes On’. As such, my grade is more an average than a summation: for the most part, this is charming low-key stuff with the down-home charm typical of the best private pressings, but a few songs are truly special. GRADE: C+.

Jodi (USA): There’s Only One You (JLG, CD, 1999)
Singer/Songwriter/Rock
Jodi Griffith (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
Blending singer/songwriter and AOR influences in a most unusual way, complete with a faintly low budget recording, this is nearly as quirky as its borderline-‘real people’ cover implies. It’s also rather charming and highly distinctive, with the oddness quotient heightened by the fact that a leather-lunged male singer fronts nearly half the songs. Griffith went on to release at least one further album, which I have not encountered. GRADE: C+.

Winter Tree (USA): Guardians (No label, CD, with digipak, 2012)
Progressive
Deb Bond (keyboards, backing vocals)
This is less folky than its predecessor, though it retains some of its singer/songwriter edges. On the downside, their new, mildly more rocking approach lays bare the neoprogressive stylings underpinning their music, so whilst this has a fuller sound it’s also less consistent. GRADE: C+.

Updated 18th October:

Bobbie Dazzle (UK): Fandabidozi (Rise Above, CD, 2024)
Rock/Metal
Siân Greenaway
The seventies reference in the title is no accident – Alunah vocalist Siân Greenway’s pseudonymous solo project is a homage to seventies hard rock and most of it would function well as an alternate soundtrack to ‘Life On Mars’. Shot through with a strong pop sensibility, this is distinctly different from Alunah, though the riffs are as crunchy as the hooks are catchy. So whilst some might find it slight there’s surprising substance beneath Fandabidozi’s glossy exterior. GRADE: B–.

Ciolkowska (Russian Federation): Zhivata Akustika Festival “SIL VI” (No label 716, CD, 2015)
Progressive/Psychedelic/Folk
Alesya Izlesa
This live set from an acoustic festival, recorded in a former Lutheran church, is rather folkier and sparser than their debut EP, although drums (and more, surprisingly, what sounds like electric guitars) are used throughout. The results are mellow, melodic and frequently quite sepulchral, with plenty of diverting moments. GRADE: B–.
Ciolkowska (Russian Federation): Pistolet Budushchego (RAIG R091, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2015)
Progressive/Psychedelic
Alesya Izlesa (ukelele)
Decidedly more dynamic and confident than their first two releases, this offers a procession of fiery mainly instrumental grooves that are frequently downright stunning. Once again there are occasional inconsistencies but when this is great (which is most of the time) it’s as striking and memorable as its colourful cover, depicting a man cycling on an alien planet with a gigantic golden gun in the background. GRADE: B.
Ciolkowska (Russian Federation): Nash Otvert Zvozdam 2012 (No label, download, 2016)
Progressive/Psychedelic
Alesya Izlesa
According to the group’s Bandcamp page, this download is ‘lo-fi’ and consists of ‘rehearsal space jam-sessions’. The sound quality is actually pretty good, but it’s obvious that this isn’t finished product – whereas the music on Pistolet Buduschego was muscular and soared, this is rather spindly and meanders, although it’s all diverting enough. GRADE: C+.
Ciolkowska (Russian Federation): Tsiolkovskaya Pokazala Svoye Listo (Vechnaya 16.08.16) (No label 716, CD, 2016)
Progressive/Psychedelic
Alesya Izlesa
This is considerably more assertive than its predecessor, without recaputing the heights of Pistolet Budushchego. Like a lot of albums mixed structured compositions with jamming, it’s a bit ponderous in parts, but typically for Cioklowska it also contains some fine passages that seize the attention. GRADE: B–.

Goat (Sweden): Goat (Rocket Recordings LAUNCH353, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2024)
Psychedelic
Three things in life appear certain: death, taxes and a very-good-to-great Goat album each year. Without wishing to damn it with faint praise, this one falls into the ‘very good’ category as it doesn’t push forward musically, reprising familiar themes from their repertoire, though it does it with energy and aplomb. In fact, the biggest surprise Goat could deliver at this point would be a mediocre-to-poor LP, but thankfully I can’t foresee that happening. GRADE: B–.

Grand Sbam (France): Vaisseau Monde Live (No label, download, 2014)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Jessica Martin Maresco (joint lead vocals), Marie Nachury (joint lead vocals), Mélissa Acchiardi (percussion)
France has a remarkable heritage when it comes to jazzy avant-prog, and I can hear echoes of everyone from Magma to Super Freego, Les I and Shub-Niggurath here. However, in many ways this RIO-zeuhl hybrid sounds Japanese, embodying the wildness ot Koenjihyakkei and Bondage Fruit to frequently breathtaking effect. GRADE: B–.
Grand Sbam (France): Vaisseau Monde (Dur Et Doux DD-037, CD, with digipak, 2019)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Jessica Martin Maresco (joint lead vocals), Marie Nachury (joint lead vocals), Mélissa Acchiardi (percussion)
This crazy Franco-Japanese brand of bombastic zeuhl is startling, dynamic, invigorating and constantly surprising. It could also sound like a random collection of slightly self-conscious weirdnesses to someone not in the mood or tuned to its aesthetic, but fortunately I am in both cases. GRADE: B–.
Grand Sbam (France): Furvent (Dur Et Doux DD-039, CD, with digipak, 2020)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Jessica Martin Maresco (joint lead vocals), Marie Nachury (joint lead vocals), Anne Quillier (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
This is perhaps a touch more restrained than their earlier works, running the gamut from Magma themselves to Eider Stellaire, Eskaton and (at is most eccentric) modern stylists like Rhùn. The greater restraint is no bad thing, with the album effectively substituting elegance for energy, though they have no difficulty in offering fiery climaxes and startling diversions whenever required. The result is a contemporary zeuhl classic. GRADE: B–.

Winter Tree (USA): The Winter Tree (No label, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2011)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Deb Bond (keyboards)
Despite the name, the Winter Tree don’t sound anything like Renaissance, instead serving as the vehicle for singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Laitres. Adapting many of his lyrics from poetry, he offers a procession of gentle, introspective folky songs and livelier instrumentals that create a lovely, if slightly low-budget, tapestry of music. As a footnote, the Winter Tree had previously issued a number of albums as a one-man band, with Laitres joined by various guests. GRADE: C+.

Updated 11th October:

Alunah (UK): Fever Dream (Heavy Psych Sounds HPS314, CD, with digipak, 2024)
Metal
Siän Greenaway (lead vocals, flute)
With Fever Dream, Alunah continue to evolve – albeit slowly. Gradually leaving their original doom style in the dust, this has more of a stoner feel, with a few gothic hints and references to everyone imaginable, including a few flute passages that suggest a burgeoning interest in Jethro Tull. As often with Alunah, this is more-or-less on the cusp of a C+ and a B– but a number of fine moments (including the short instrumental ‘Celesetial’) get it over the line. GRADE: B–.

Anchoress (UK): Versions / EP4 (No label, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, autographed photo and ribbon, 2024)
Folk/Progressive
Catherine Anne Davies
This fourth covers EP features lovely versions of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ (a radical diversion from the original) and Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ (a song I loved in its original version) plus takes on Suede and Smiths numbers with which I was previously unfamiliar. It was subsequently reissued on vinyl as Versions: Encore, with two bonus tracks from previous EPs. GRADE: C+.

Astrometrics (Finland): Paradroid (No label, download, 2024)
Progressive
Irene Prix (lead vocals, guitar, recorder)
By Astrometrics’ standards, this four-track, 18-minute EP is a gargantuan release, even a magnum opus – but then they had five years to come up with it. Musically, it offers their usual pleasant mixture of sympho-prog and space-rock, with Irene Prix’s heavily fuzzed guitars and the humorous science-fiction lyrics occasionally bringing to mind the British outfit Stormclouds. GRADE: C+.

Ciolkowska (Russian Federation): Vysote Derev’yev (No label, download, 2014)
Progressive/Psychedelic
Alesya Izlesa (guitar, ukelele)
Russian instrumental space-rock bands aren’t exactly uncommon, but when did you last encounter one using ukelele as a lead instrument? But that’s not all that sets them apart, as these lengthy jams are decidedly above average: occasionally ponderous (though that comes with the territory) but filled with interesting moments that just about get this over the line to a B–. GRADE: B–.

Lady June (UK): Lady June (No label, cassette, 1982?)
Folk/Rock
June Campbell-Cramer (lead vocals)
With Mother Gong’s Harry Williamson producing and providing much of the accompaniment, this three-track EP reminds me of both Mother Gong and the more melodic end of the Poison Girls (mainly due to Campbell-Cramer’s resemblance to Vi Subversa when she sings rather than speaks). As such, this is a nice little curio but at nine minutes isn’t what you’d call a substantial artistic statement. GRADE: C+.
Lady June (UK): Bananas (Street Copys, cassette, 1985?)
Folk/Rock
June Campbell-Cramer (lead vocals)
Another odd little EP (this one comprising four songs and one spoken-word piece totalling 12 minutes) offers a fairly high level of variety, with guitarist Gerry Fitzgerald’s accompaniments ranging from folk to avant-gardism. Once again, it’s a charming addendum to Lady June;s Linguistic Leprosy, but utterly inconsequential at the same time. GRADE: C+.

Lowen (UK): Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran (Church Road/Lay Bare Recordings CRR228V/LBR058, CD, with minisleeve, 2024)
Metal
Nina Saeidi (lead vocals, shruti box)
When I reviewed Lowen’s debut, I noted that it promised ‘hints of potential greatness to come’. That greatness is not realised here: whilst their mixture of metal and Middle Eastern scales is both interesting and distinctive, the level of variety is remarkably low and the whole thing, though commendably intense, is rather relentless, without the stürm und drang that sets the best metal apart. Perhaps, as I noted when reviewing their EP, a ‘classic could [still] be waiting in the wings’, but I’m starting to doubt it. GRADE: C+.

Updated 4th October:

Astrometrics (Finland): Life On Earth (No label, download, 2016)
Pop/Rock/Progressive
Irene Prix (lead vocals, guitar)
Far less eccentric than their debut (and even shorter, at three songs in 10½ minutes), this offers pleasant symphonic pop with some charming instrumental textures. It also invites a review as short as the EP, as I can’t really find anything more to say. GRADE: C+.
Astrometrics (Finland): Into Hyperspace (No label, download, 2018)
Progressive
Irene Prix (lead vocals, guitar)
The band’s third release (I can’t really call these short EPs albums) drops the pop edges of its predecessor to offer four mellow and lovely but not particularly exploratory symphonic rock songs. Amusingly, the lyrics of ‘A Brief History Of The Calculus’ really do live up to the title. GRADE: C+.
Astrometrics (Finland): Phantasmal Forces (No label, download, 2019)
Progressive
Irene Prix (lead vocals, guitar)
With two songs totalling less than eight minutes, this isn’t even an EP – more of a download single. It is, however, thoroughly charming, offering lovely pop-edged symphonic rock with lyrics as humorous and unpretentious as the song titles (‘Gandalf Was A Fifth Level Magic User’ and ‘I Dream Of A Genie In A Light Brown Box’) imply. GRADE: C+.

Lesoir (Holland): Push Back The Horizon (V2, CD, 2024)
Rock/Progressive
Maartje Messen (lead vocals, piano, flute), Eleën Bartholomeus (guitar, backing vocals)
They may be pushing back the horizon but they’re not pushing any boundaries – not the way they did with Babel, which somehow managed to elevate a none-more-C+ band into the rarified heights of a B–. Or as the record company blurb puts it, the album ‘is characterised by traditional song structures, catchy hooks and a groovy rhythm section, with the punch of prog this five-piece is known for’. As such, this returns them to their familiar style and grade, though it’s decidedly above average for them, with the opening title track and the instrumental ‘Aeon’ mildly impressing and the whole thing combining Floydian ambience with some more modern progressive metal stylings. GRADE: C+.

Magick Brother & Mystic Sister (Spain): Magick Brother And Mystic Sister (Sound Effect/John Colby Set SERC084/JCS027, CD, with digipak, 2020)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Eva Muntada (principal vocals, keyboards)
Despite the Gong reference in the band name, this sounds nothing like them – instead, with itrs funky rhythms, ethereal vocals and airy flute it sounds more like a cross between Stereolab and the lightest end of Brainticket. That’s very much intended as a compliment, though don’t expect anything remotely as challenging as Brainticket’s eponymous masterpiece. Do expect a superb recording and plenty of variety, adding up to a fine and fully satisfying debut. GRADE: B–.
Magick Brother & Mystic Sister (Spain): Tarot Part I (Sound Effect SER100, CD, with digipak, 2024)
Psychedelic/Folk/Rock
Eva Muntada (principal vocals, keyboards)
Whilst equally as good as their first, this is much folkier and displays a rather different set of influences. The obvious reference points are mid-seventies Popol Vuh (especially on ‘The Empress’) and to a lesser extent Paul Kantner’s Blows Against The Empire, once again with a few hints of laid-back Brainticket, but this references anything and everything trippy and folky from the seventies – and does it with aplomb. GRADE: B–.

Updated 27th September:

Flamborough Head (Holland): Jumping The Milestone (Oskar 1136 CD, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2022)
Progressive
Margriet Boomsma (lead vocals, flute, recorder)
Jumping The Milestone isn’t a huge jump forward for Flamborough Head, as it offers everything you’d expect from a Flamborough Head LP: a succession of beautiful, wistful folky sympho-prog pieces averaging around around nine minutes apiece. But whilst it doesn’t break any new ground, it is a milestone for them as their first B–. Why? Simply because everything comes together here, with some of the most beautiful melodies they’ve written, making the relative lack of experimentation and variety almost irrelevant. GRADE: B–.

Greenseeker (USA): Greenseeker (No label, cassette, 2020)
Metal/Progressive
Lauren Hatch (lead vocals, keyboards), Selina Cleary (bass)
Greenseeker’s brand of sludgy stoner rock is given distinction by Lauren Hatch’s spacy keyboards, which add a welcome progressive dimension; her slightly tuneless Patti Smith-like vocals also help to give them distinctiveness. At half an hour, this isn’t the most substantial debut, and there’s nothing here you won’t have heard before, but these five songs certainly succeed in holding the attention. GRADE: B–.

M Foster (UK): Rose And The Ring/Peter Pan (Deroy DER 107, no sleeve, 1974)
Folk
This school project album consists of two song suites with (primary school) choral vocals, narration and simple piano backing, making it a curio more than anything else. This is a marginal case for inclusion, as it’s impossible to tell, given the children’s ages, whether the vocals are male or mixed male and female. The handwritten labels of my copy credit it to ‘M Foster’, the composer (and presumably the music teacher) whilst a copy on Discogs credits it to the ‘Arnold Junior Choir’. GRADE: C.

Öxxö Xööx (France): + (The Opening Of The Hypercube) (Lïnï Music 004ÖX24/1, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2024)
Progressive/Metal/Avant-Garde
Laure Le Prunenec (occasional vocals)
The Magma influence that the endless umlauts imply starts to show through here, though once again this is ultimately a cross between doomy seventies prog and modern progressive metal styles. Richly textured, assertive and muscular, their music continues to impress even though they have a tendency to deploy the same tricks in slightly different combinations. GRADE: B–.

Updated 20th September:

Astrometrics (Finland): Engage! (No label, download, 2015)
Rock/Progressive
Irene Prix (lead vocals, guitar)
This EP isn’t as eccentric as the song titles (‘Take Us To The Nearest Starbase’, ‘Ram It Up Their Snout’ and ‘Get Ready For The Apocalypse’) imply, but it still blends influences in a fairly odd way. The overarching style of the first couple of cuts is eccentric pop/rock, but they throw in lots of proggy touches, some electronically treated vocals and even occasional reggae rhythms. They seem to take things more seriously on the excellent ‘Apocalpyse’, which bears a striking resemblance to early seventies Earth & Fire, with Irene Prix sometimes a dead ringer for Jerney Kaagman. GRADE: C+.

Dear Janes (UK/IUSA): No Skin (Transatlantic TRA CD 107, CD, 1996)
Folk/Rock
Ginny Clee (joint lead vocals, guitar), Barbara Marsh (joint lead vocals, guitar)
This feels more self-consciously modern than their first, incorporating some alternative rock moves (including nods towards Alanis Morrissette, of all people, on several tracks) and world music elements. But at heart it’s good old-fashioned folk/rock, making the Transatlantic label a most appropriate spiritual home. Oddly, the American and international release on Geffen had a slightly different running order. GRADE: C+.
Dear Janes (UK/USA): Skirt (Sore Thumb STR-CD1, CD, with digipak, 2002)
Folk/Rock
Ginny Clee, Barbara Marsh
Backing musicians on the duo’s final album include BJ Cole, Ian McLagan and Billy Bragg, indicating the Dear Janes’ stature despite their low commercial profile. That stature is deserved – without the contemporary references of its predecessor, this is a lovely collection of mellow songs, with the sparse acoustic and electric arrangements once again working very well. GRADE: C+.

Pure Reason Revolution (UK): Coming Up To Consciousness (InsideOut Music IOM710, CD plus DVD, with digipak and booklet, 2024)
Progressive
Writing Pure Reason Revolution reviews is starting to feel like ‘Groundhog Day’, as most of comments from Eupnea and Above Cirrus remain. This makes it (just) over the line to B– as it’s atmospheric, Floydian and occasionally quite dynamic, not to mention heartfelt (unsurprisingly, since it’s a concept album about the death of Jon Courtney’s beloved dog). But their material isn’t as memorable as their sound, leaving The Dark Third and ‘Silent Genesis’ as landmark works I can’t imagine the band emulating any time soon. GRADE: B–.

Updated 13th September:

Bent Knee (USA): Twenty Pills Without Water (No label, CD, 2024)
Pop/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Courtney Swain, Jessica Kion
This is slightly more rock-oriented than its oddball predecessor, but equally unpredictable: witness the country-meets-pure-avant-gardism of ‘Cowboy’. At heart there’s still a strong pop sensibility here, so whilst this is consistently interesting those longing for the RIO of their earlier work may find some of these pills hard to swallow. GRADE: C+.

Citadel (USA): The Citadel Of Cynosure And Other Tales (Whitman Enterprises WE12-CD-ITY, CD, 1990)
Progressive
Kiki Whitman (joint lead vocals, guitar, bass)
On the back cover they look like refugees from mid-eighties Heart or a hair metal band, but this is actually progressive rock with a science fiction concept (‘this extremely innovative piece is set in the Zion galaxy and deals with the sorrows of a peaceful nomadic race, the Dreemurz, at the hands of the ruthless Affrage Pirates’). Musically it shows a heavy influence from Yes with some late seventies Renaissance touches, with the whole thing shot through with a very American pomp-rock sensibility and some AOR and hard rock edges. Ultimately, it’s defining feature is probably its oddness and the amateurish edge to both the music and the packaging: despite dense arrangements and some virtuosic musicianship, this borders on a ‘real people’ experience at times and feels odd through and through. GRADE: C+.
Citadel (USA): Vintage Vinyls (No label Enterprises WE07VVCD, CD, with book and poster booklet, 2007, recorded 1978?-1985?)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Kiki Whitman (occasional vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards)
I’m unclear as to whether these songs were dubbed from vinyl or surface noise was dubbed onto the master tapes; the latter makes no sense, but as I noted in my review of The Citadel Of Cynosure Citadel are eccentric through and through. The provenance of this material is also difficult to determine, despite the lavish packaging including an oversized book, but I suspect it precedes the studio set and the cover implies it was taken from a variety of multi-artist compilations issued during the eighties. Musically it’s straighter (and hence less odd) than The Citadel…, blending AOR, metal, folk/rock and prog influences in ways that are still quite strange. The band also have a few downloads available on Bandcamp, which appear to be much more recent (though again provenance is hard to determine) whilst their site depicts a couple of live albums which may or may not actually exist (and are not available for sale). GRADE: C+.

Dear Janes (UK/USA): Sometimes I (Castle Communications TDJ CD 201, CD, UK, 1994)
Singer/Songwriter
Ginny Clee (joint lead vocals, guitar), Barbara Marsh (joint lead vocals, guitar)
Accompanied by their own acoustic guitars and some sparse (but effective) interjections from guest musicians, this duo of singer/songwriter deliver a pleasant set of contemporary folk songs. Often intricate, always heartfelt and never overbearing, their mellow music is unfailingly charming and admirably unassuming. GRADE: C+.

Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass & Inga Rumpf (West Germany): Hip Walk (Polydor 2371 704, 1976)
Jazz/Funk/Rock
Inga Rumpf (lead vocals)
The funky big band jazz here is unfailingly pleasant and relaxing, but for those (like me who prefer their jazz/rock experimental and challenging it functions mainly as high quality background music.Despite her star billing, Rumpf sings on only two of the nine tracks, with the remainder being instrumental. GRADE: C+.

Théorie Des Cordes (France): 4U-9525 (Matziz, download, 2023)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Stéphanie Artaud (piano)
This is a varied enough set, ranging from mellow piano-based music to assertive guitar and some almost ambient moments. But in sharp contrast to the startling Singes Éléctriques, whilst there’s plenty to enjoy here there isn’t much that truly surprises. GRADE: C+.

Naomi Yang (USA): Never Be A Punching Bag For Nobody (No label, download, 2023)
Progressive/Ambient
This soundtrack to Yang’s own film about a boxing gym and her childhood offers 36 minutes ot delicate, atmospheric and haunting keyboard-based music. Whilst it could at a push be described as mildly trippy, it’s a world away from her work as half of Damon & Naomi (let alone in Magic Hour) andf seems to exist, soothe and then disappear without ever really grabbing the attention. GRADE: C+.

Updated 6th September:

Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Shapeshifter Revox No. 2 Violin (No label, cassette, no artwork, 1997?)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson
Maureen Anderson’s tuneless vocals may prove a stumbling block for many listeners, but the music from this 45-minute rehearsal is highly creative and imaginative and supremely trippy. Giving a B– to something like this might appear an exercise in generosity, particularly given the basic recording and odd stereo separation, but if you don’t mind your music raw and home-made this is certainly worth seeking out. GRADE: B–.
Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Unwrapping The Familiar (Ultima Thule UTSS CD2/3, CD, 1997)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson (lead vocals, flute)
Once again Anderson reminds me of Nico here, and her semi-spoken vocals could divide opinion sharply. Musically this is on firmer ground, contajning some excellent psychedelic improvisations with plenty of sitar. GRADE: C+.
Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Shapeshifter Session 12/11/97 (No label, cassette, no artwork, 1997)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson
Another Shapeshifter practice session, with some wild and varied jamming and Ms Anderson’s trademark semi-spoken vocals; some more excellent music interspersed with some more rambling and diffuse moments; another release averaging a C+ though I’m extremely fond of this sort of thing. GRADE: C+.

Updated 30th August:

Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Oxjam 4/97 (No label, cassette, no artwork, 1997)
Garage/Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson
Once again there’s some excellent jamming here and once again the sound quality is above that of a bootleg but (perhaps not surprisingly) slightly below that of a professional live recording. As such, this is once again a C+ though that probably understates the amount of enjoyment many listeners could get from it. GRADE: C+.
Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Shapeshifter Practice 20/4/97 (No label, cassette, no artwork, 1997)
Garage/Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson
This is the rawest of the Shapeshifter tapes, complete with false starts and between-songs dialogue. It’s also utterly brilliant if you like this kind of thing. I do like this kind of thing. GRADE: B–.
Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Live At The Shed (Remixes) (No label, cassette, 1997)
Garage/Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson (lead vocals, flute)
Unlike the last few Shapeshifter cassettes, this one has artwork; however, it’s only an EP, with three tracks totalling 17 minutes. Musically, it’s solid enough but never quite scales the heights of the 20th April practice session. GRADE: C+.

Updated 23rd August:

Mountain Dew (Holland): After The First Gallon (Stoof MU 7443, 1978)
Folk/Country
Kootje Schilders (lead vocals)
The attractive black-and-white cover, depicting a country cabin in the States with an alcohol still outside, sums up the music perfectly. This is pleasant but unexceptional contemporary folk with simple acoustic arrangements, strongly oriented towards the New World and giving few, if any, hints of its Dutch origins. Whilst likeable enough, it contains lots and lots of banjo – not an instrument I particularly like. GRADE: C.

PAWN (Germany): The Gift Of Awareness (No label, CD, with digipak and booklets, 2014)
Progressive/Metal
Lisa-Marie Rothe (joint lead vocals)
Richly melodic, with symphonic textures contrasting with crunchy riffing, this album’s sumptuous sound belies the fact that it was created by a multi-instrumentalist and a drummer plus guests. With tracks of up to 26 minutes, there’s also a fair level of ambition, though a few neoprogressive elements remain, causing the album to fall short of a B– factoring in the lack of truly memorable songs or genuinely startling moments. GRADE: C+.

Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Godseye (Oblong 23, cassette, 1995)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson (lead vocals, flute)
This poetry-plus-music set wears its influences on its sleeve: a healthy dose of Mother Gong and a smaller amount of Lady June. The backing is folkier than either whilst equally spacy, with the extensive use of didgeridoo clearly rooting it in the nineties, adding up to a charming period piece. The only questions are whether this would have worked better with sung rather than spoken vocals and whether longer instrumental passages would have raised it to the next level. GRADE: C+.
Shapeshifter (UK/South Africa): Live Shed Winter 96 & Live Royal Mail Sat 29th March 1997 (No label, cassette, no artwork, 1997)
Garage/Psychedelic/Progressive
Maureen Anderson
This live set is considerably wilder than its studio counterpart and all the better for it, with Anderson sometimes singing in a tuneless style that vaguely brings to mind Nico. The 1997 set on the B-side is the stronger of the two, with some powerful and inventive jamming, and would probably merit a B– but the 1996 performance is also certainly worth hearing. GRADE: C+.

Betty Vittori & Eugenio Catina (Italy): Mediterranean View (Panastudio Productions CDJ 1035-2, CD, 1999)
Folk/Rock
Betty Vittori (lead vocals)
This short album (eight songs in 32¼ minutes) by a duo of a singer and multi-instrumentalist is beautiful, tasteful and atmospheric. Its jazzy acoustic arrangements – simultaneously sparse and intricate – are refined and exceptionally well-judged. As such, this may be too delicate and lacking in rough edges for some ears, but it’s the kind of album that’s perfect for some moods and circumstances (such as a day listening to knotty experimental metal or avant-prog). As a footnote, Betty Vittori issued several other albums which I have never encountered. GRADE: C+.

ZIO (UK): Truewaves (Posh & Rock ZIOCD002, CD, 2023)
Progressive
Heather Findlay (joint lead vocals), Magda (occasional vocals), Miranda (occasional vocals)
Whilst in broadly the same vein as their first, this plays down the metal elements and emphasises the melodic, Beatles-esque elements underpinning the band’s music. As such, this is another pleasant set, though at 36½ minutes and ten songs this isn’t what you’d call an ambitious set. GRADE: C+.
ZIO (UK): Elibomevil (Posh & Rock ZIOCD003, double CD, 2024)
Progressive/Metal
Heather Findlay (joint lead vocals), Hayley Griffiths (joint lead vocals)
Despite the presence of a drum solo and a couple of stage announcements, this live album doesn’t have much live ambience. Musically it’s as slick as their studio sets, for both better and worse, with a fairly high level of musical diversity – from riff-driven prog-metal to melodic ballads – but a more limited level of excitement. GRADE: C+.

Updated 16th August:

iNFiNiEN (USA): How To Accept (No label INFN01, CD, 2006)
Progressive/Jazz/Rock
Chrissie Loftus (lead vocals, keyboards)
The debut by iNFiNiEN (silly capitalisation theirs) offers densely arranged jazzy prog with lots of Eastern musical references, assertive playing and a fine recording. However, accomplished as it is, it lacks the one thing that would have taken it to the next level – songs as memorable as the performances are authoritative. GRADE: C+.
iNFiNiEN (USA): iNFiNiEN (No label, CD, 2009)
Progressive/Jazz/Rock
Chrissie Loftus (lead vocals, keyboards)
The jazz and Arabic elements are even more prominent here, but with its slightly sharp girlish vocals and knotty dense riffing, this is quintessentially American, bringing to mind District 97, early Bent Knee and Finneus Gauge. How much you like this will depend on how much you like that style of prog – although Bent Knee and Finneus Gauge have both released albums I rated B-, it’s not a favourite of mine and though this contains some fine and inventive material it’s still a strong C+. GRADE: C+.
iNFiNiEN (USA): Light At The Endless Tunnel (No label, CD, 2016)
Progressive/Jazz/Rock
Chrissie Loftus (lead vocals, keyboards, percussion)
iNFiNiEN’s first album in seven years is as varied, inventive and creative as their earlier work. Once again, it’s very American, sometimes sounding like District 97 without the metal elements, though at times I can hear the same influences that inspired Rosalie Cunningham. As such, this is a good album by any standard. But without any individually outstanding songs, it still isn’t a truly great one. GRADE: C+.
iNFiNiEN (USA): Live At Beardfest (No label, CD, 2019)
Progressive/Jazz/Rock
Chrissie Loftus (lead vocals, keyboards)
The live setting clearly suits iNFiNiEN (whose name becomes more irritating to type every time): this is a lively, dynamic and exploratory set, and after the first few songs I was ready to give it a B–. But ultimately, whether live or studio, their all-American sound just isn’t as compelling as their all-cylinders-firing performances. GRADE: C+.
iNFiNiEN (USA): Beyond The Veil (iNFiNiEN iNF-005, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2022)
Progressive/Jazz/Rock
Chrissie Loftus (lead vocals, keyboards)
Cutting back on the chunky riffing, this sounds more European than their earlier work, with some slight but definite Canterbury references. I find it musically articulate, reasonably inventive and broadly satisfying. However, I also find it generally unmemorable, which is my biggest problem with iNFiNiEN’s music. GRADE: C+.

Noh Kitty (USA): El (No label, download, 2024)
Progressive/Avant-Garde
With Noh Kitty’s second album, their distinctive style becomes somewhat easier to explain. Their gentle brand of RIO – with perversely melodic yet off-key vocals – is set to three basic styles of backing: folky strumming, fuzzy electronica (again recalling recent Bent Knee) and hard rock, with the acoustic guitars swapped for electrics. As such, a cynic could describe it as formulaic, and with entirely short songs it’s again a touch tentative, but the level of variety remains impressively high and they continue to be much more than the sum of their influences. GRADE: B–.

Updated 9th August:

Faveravola (Italy): La Contea Dei Cento Castagni (Locanda Del Vento LDV 001, CD, 2006)
Progressive
Tiziana Carraro (occasional vocals)
This is a marginal case for review, as guest Tiziana Carraro duets on only two of the songs, but the music is so lovely that it deserves mention anyway. This is richly symphonic folky rock with a slight mediaeval edge – generally song-based and not that varied or exploratory, but so hauntingly melodic and richly textured that it’s a genuine delight. GRADE: B–.
Faveravola (Italy): Castrum Zumellarum (Locanda Del Vento LDV 024, CD, 2024)
Progressive
Bianca Luca (occasional vocals)
The band’s much delayed second album has even less in the way of female vocals (Bianca Luna sings most of one cut and adds some wordless vocals on another) but is even better than their debut: equally rich and ornate and folky but much more dynamic and rocking in parts, adding up to a fine LP. GRADE: B–.

Phaedra (Italy): Ptah (No label PHM01, CD, with poster booklet, 2010)
Progressive
Elisabetta Wolf (violin)
The music here, delivered as a more-or-less-continuous suite, is richly symphonic, charmingly folky and unpretentious, and beautifully arranged, with extensive use of violin and flute. However, there are a couple of problems. The first is a faint neoprogressive tinge that occasionally appears like the proverbial ghost at the feast. The second, which is more fundamental, is that the vocals are not always well integrated with the music, compounded by the decision to force singer Claudio Granatiero to perform at the top of his range, sometimes with less than pleasant results. GRADE: C+.
Phaedra (Italy): Norn (Ma.Ra.Cash MRC127, CD, 2024)
Progressive
Catia Borgogno (joint lead vocals)
Phaedra’s third album (their second being recorded by an all-male line-up) fixes all the issues from Ptah, with different vocalists and a more adventurous, mildly jazzy style occasionally fringing RIO and Canterbury. With tracks of up to 23 minutes, it’s commendably ambitious too – and yet it's still a C+. Why? Simply because the melodies are so dull: on this evidence, the band wouldn’t recognise a hook if they walked into Hooks ’R’ Us during a massive hook sale. GRADE: C+.

Updated 2nd August:

Pour (USA): Body Of Water (No label, download, 2024)
Blues/Rock/Metal/Avant-Garde
Jessica Stark
From the colourful artwork, I expected this to be progressive rock of some kind. In fact, it’s odd, fuzzy, lo-fi (though perversely well recorded) bluesy hard rock with all kinds of odd diversions. A radical cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘No Quarter’ gives a strong clue as to their main influence, but for the most part this is off-kilter and quirky and eccentric in a way that Zep rarely were. GRADE: C+.

Revolutionary Army Of The Infant Jesus (UK): The Dream We Carry (Nine x Nine NXN028CD, 2024)
Folk
A new album from Revolutionary Army Of The Infant Jesus is always a welcome surprise and The Dream We Carry doesn’t disappoint – it’s every bit as delicate and eerie and mysterious as one would hope. However, it’s also less experimental than the band’s early work, so whilst frequently stunning isn’t exactly ‘revolutionary’. GRADE: B–.

Sirius Void (France): Sirius Void (No label, download, 2018)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Jeanne Carrion (joint lead vocals, guitar, Theremin)
From the band name I’d have sworn this must be space-rock but it’s actually a mixture of early seventies-style hard rock (with a rich Deep Purple-esque keyboard sound) and prog. From the musical style I’d have sworn that the band must be American but they’re actually French and this three-track 18-minute EP is intriguing enough that I wish it had been a full album. GRADE: C+.
Sirius Void (France): Sirius Void II (No label, download, 2019)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Jeanne Carrion (joint lead vocals, guitar, Theremin)
This is much more varied than their debut, ranging from Latin-esque and jazzy moments to a wild psychedelic-tinged rocker to close. Considering it offers just four tracks in 23½ minutes, it’s a remarkable little set covering numerous facets of modern prog and it’s beautifully recorded to boot, making it all the sadder that the band’s career didn’t continue. GRADE: B–.

TRK Project (Poland): Odyssey 9999 (Lynx Music LM231CDDG, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2023)
Progressive
Ania Batko (joint lead vocals)
Unlike previous Ryszard Kramarski albums, this uses four pairs of guest vocalists, each taking two songs apiece. Like previous Ryszard Kramarski albums, it offers pleasant, mellow and undemanding symphonic neoprog with the emphasis on melody and texture. GRADE: C+.

Updated 26th July:

Cumberlands (USA): Live (No label DRP 9867, 1978)
Country/Lounge
Betty Thom (occasional vocals, tambourine)
Forget any notions of ‘real people’ hillbilly weirdness: this live country and bluegrass album is superbly performed and quite magnificently recorded. As such, my grade blends my disinterest in the genre itself with my admiration for the band and their musicianship. GRADE: C.

Foster Sisters (UK): No Tears In Heaven (PMA MP 003, 1991)
Reggae/Lounge/’Real People’
Pearl Foster, Millie Foster
Housed in a flimsy, amateurish cover that makes this look more like a seventies African LP than something pressed in the UK in the early nineties, this gospel album promised all kinds of dislocating weirdness. In fact, it’s rather more professional than I expected, offering loungy reggae tunes with competent if simplistic backing. The results are nice enough, and pretty odd in their own way, but I can’t imagine myself playing this regularly. As a footnote, the sisters had released another LP Never Alone two years previously. GRADE: C.

Mirror System (UK/France): N-Port (A-Wave AAWCD018, CD, with digipak, 2015)
Dance/Psychedelic
Miquette Giraudy
This set by System 7’s (supposedly) ambient alter egos is at the spacier end of Hillage and Giraudy’s repertoire – and all the better for it. In fact, this is a rather pleasing way to spend an hour and a quarter; at least, until you realise that these were the people behind You and Fish Rising and make a mental comparison. GRADE: C+.

Prowlers (Italy): Orchidea (Ma.Ra.Cash MRC 045 CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2024)
Cristina Lucchini (joint lead vocals), Laura Mombrini (joint lead vocals), Anna Cavalli (occasional vocals), Agnis (occasional vocals)
This is, of necessity, a rather vague review as Orchidea is a rather vague album. It offers a mellow, beautifully-crafted mixture of symphonic and Rock Progressivo Italiano styles across a selection of tracks rather from three to 20 minutes. It’s consistently satisfying without being particularly memorable. Most notably, it’s clearly strong enough for a B– without having the distinctiveness I’d generally expect in a B– album. GRADE: B–.

Syndone (Italy): Eros & Thanatos (Falling FAD-021, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2016)
Progressive
Marta Caldara (keyboards, vibraphone)
Syndone’s sixth album (and first with a female member) offers an odd (but very pleasing) grab-bag of Italian and European prog styles. There’s everything here from dynamic King Crimson-like rock to rich symphonic passages to a couple of numbers with vocoder which vaguely hint towards Queen, with the album never really settling into any particular style yet always remaining consistently interesting. GRADE: B–.
Syndone (Italy): Mysoginia (Ma.Ra.Cash MRC074, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2018)
Progressive
Marta Caldara (percussion)
Even more so than its predecessor, Mysoginia is a quirky and sometimes perplexing album. One clearly can’t classify Syndone as anything other than prog, with plenty of tempo changes and unexpected diversions, but their style is broadly song-based and they have a clear fondness for epic ballads – very Italian, very sensual and very close to crossing over into MOR. Nonetheless their music is inventive and intriguing and whilst borrowing from plenty of other bands, they achieve that rarity for a modern prog outfit – they ultimately sound only like themselves. GRADE: B–.
Syndone (Italy): Kāma Sūtra (Ma.Ra.Cash MRC102, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2021)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Marta Caldara (percussion)
The slight Queen influence I noted on Eros & Thanatos becomes much more obvious here: Kāma Sūtra mixes seventies-style heavy pomp-rock, ethnic elements, prominent strings and lugubrious ballads to decidedly unusual effect. Whether this bizarre pot-pourri works is debatable; what is unarguable is that parts of the album work very well while others don’t, making this rather difficult to grade. GRADE: C+.
Syndone (Italy): DirtyThirty 1992-2022 (Ma.Ra.Cash MRC125, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2022)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Marta Caldara (keyboards, percussion)
As the subtitle makes clear, this comprises re-recordings and reworkings of songs from across Syndone’s 30-year career. The operative word there is ‘songs’ and as such, this contains some fine instrumental breaks but is still a C+ as Syndone – like many modern prog bands – are better composers than they are songwriters and this is often too bombastic or whimsical or lugubrious for its own good. GRADE: C+.

Updated 19th July:

Rosalie Cunningham (UK): Live At Acapela (Machine Elf, CD, with digipak, 2023)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
With plenty of crunchy riffing, this live album moves Cunningham’s music closer to hard rock, with her influences remaining firmly rooted in the early seventies. The resulting set offers a broad range of moods and textures and builds on the success of her second album, confirming her as one of the better pracitioners of modern retro-rock. GRADE: B–.

Lost Vision Of The Chandoo Priest (Italy): The Lost Vision Of The Chandoo Priest (AMS AMS 319 CD, some autographed, with digipak and booklet, 2022)
Progressive
Francesca Zanetta (guitar, bass, keyboatds)
Quite different from Zanetta’s previous projects, this is a duo of multi-instrumentalists offering a serious of short instrumental vignettes averaging four minutes apiece. The music here is lively, dynamid and vacied, hence the B– grade, but the format means they never really stretch out and there are moments when you’ll think you’re listening to a 1970s library music LP. GRADE: B–.

Marsyas (Czechoslovakia): Jen Tak (Supraphon 1113 3485 H, 1984)
Folk/Rock
Zuzana Michnová (joint lead vocals, cowbell)
Whilst much of this offers the band’s usual folk/rock – charming, engaging and listenable but notably lacking the indefinable X-factor that would have made it a B– – they also try their hand at some bouncy pop. This isn’t as charming or engaging or listenable and lacks the very definable something to reach even C+. GRADE: C+.
Zuzana Michnová & Marsyas (Czechoslovakia): V Přítmí (Supraphon 11 0173-1 311 H, 1989)
Pop/Rock
Zuzana Michnová (principal vocals)
In a radical change of direction, the final Marsyas studio album delivers a glossy mix of high-tech eighties pop and AOR, with a few mildly progressive edges. This could have worked had the songs, riffs and hooks been memorable, but for the most part they’re irritating and the overall effect is slightly obnoxious. On the single ‘Velkomësto’, they sound uncannily like Catherine Lara circa La Rockeuse De Diamants. GRADE: C.