New and Updated

Updated 19th December:

Ruby Dawn (UK): Beyond Tomorrow (Progressive Gears PGR-CD0037, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2023)
Progressive
Carola Baer (lead vocals, keyboards)
Ruby Dawn’s brand of symphonic rock is pleasing enough, with chunky arrangements featuring atmospheric keyboards and assertive lead guitar. They also manage some intermittently memorable hooks and have a decent grasp of dynamics. But ultimately this is like a lot of borderline-prog modern albums inasmuch as nothing much really happens. GRADE: C+.
Ruby Dawn (UK): Live At The Steam Museum (No label, download, 2023)
Progressive
Carola Baer
This live album is a significant step up from its studio counterpart – the settings are starker, the music is more dramatic, and Carola Baer’s superb singing is given more prominence. They still lack the material that would give them the momentum to make it all the way to B–, but when I’m in the mood for beautifully recorded mellow melodrama this will do nicely. GRADE: C+.
Ruby Dawn (UK): Beyond Tomorrow (No label, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2024)
Progressive
Carola Baer (lead vocals, keyboards)
Once again the level of drama is high and the recording is beautiful, adding distinction to what would otherwise be a merely solid symphonic rock album. Thus if you’re looking for adventurousness and experimentation, this probably isn’t the album for you, but if you value emotion and intensity you could certainly do a great deal worse. GRADE: C+.

Seven Steps To The Green Door (Germany): The? Truth (Progressive Promotion PPR CD 118, CD, with digipak, 2024)
Progressive/Metal
Anne Trautmann (joint lead vocals), Jana-Christina Pöche (joint lead vocals), Amielie Hofmann (joint lead vocals), Elisabeth Markstein (joint lead vocals), Annemarie Schmidt (joint lead vocals), Carolin Koss (joint lead vocals)
Like many rock opera projects, this tends to subordinate the music – a mixture of pomp-rock and prog-metal – to the lyrics and the lyrics to the story. Nonetheless, the music here is varied and interesting, covering a wide range of territory, although one could never describe it as revelatory. The album was also released as part of a 3CD compilation of the entire trilogy in a book sleeve autographed by the band and containing download codes for 24-bit and instrumental versions of The? Truth. GRADE: C+.

Updated 12th December:

Crippled Black Phoenix (UK): The Wolf Changes Its For But Not Its Nature/Horrific Honorifics Number Two (Season Of Mist SOM 818B, double CD, with digibook, 2024)
Progressive/Metal
Belinda Kordic (principal vocals)
The first disc comprises re-recordings of material from across Crippled Black Phoenix’s 20-year career, and if they can recycle their songs I’ll recycle an earlier review: CBP appear incapable of releasing poor or even mediocre music. This is stunning stuff: by turns riff-driven and crushing, atmospheric and Floydian, and eerie and unsettling. The second offers a set of covers, the most suprising choice being Laura Branigan’s ‘Self Control’. Whilst not quite as striking as the first disc, this is also pretty impressive in its own right, adding up to one of the best (and most substantial) albums of the year. GRADE: B–.

Krobak (Ukraine): Little Victories (Mals MALS 399, CD, with digipak and insert, Russian Federation, 2013)
Progressive
Asya Makarova (bass), Natasha Pirogova (drums)
After several releases as the one-man project of Igor Sidorenko, Krobak added a female rhythm section for Little Victories. The result is actually a large victory, as this is a superb album of elegant instrumental progressive rock led by virtuosic violin , with the results being both wintry and fiery. Admittedly there’s not a great deal of variety across the tracks (though there often is within them) but with music this good who cares? GRADE: B–.
Krobak (Ukraine): Nightbound (Starpoint, CD, with digipak, 2016)
Progressive
Asya Makarova (bass), Natasha Pirogova (drums)
This is decidedly more varied than their last, despite the broadly similar approach, and once they demonstrate an effective grasp of dynamics over the four lengthy tracks. The results are powerful, dramatic, haunting and atmospheric by turns, with the whole thing having a somewhat dark and sombre mood. GRADE: B–.

Professor Tip Top (Norway): Are You Empirical? (No label, CD, 2012)
Psychedelic
Mette Soele Zachau Mathiesen (occasional vocals, drums)
Unusually for a 21st-century retro-psych album, this sounds distinctly eighties rather than sixties, so it could be described as a pastiche of a pastiche. As pastiches (even pastiches of pastiches) go, it’s a very good one nonetheless, and might just about have qualified for a B– if it were a little more consistent and a touch more substantial. GRADE: C+.
Professor Tip Top (Norway): Aoum (No label, CD, 2012)
Psychedelic
Sonja Otto (occasional vocals, organ), Mette Soele Zachau Mathiesen (drums)
Like their debut, this is close but not quite there – a pleasant and mellow collection of eighties-inspired psychedelic numbers that sometimes hint towards excellence but generally don’t. Nonetheless, again like their debut, this is pleasant and engaging stuff throughout and ends on a high with the majestic ‘All Through The Night’. GRADE: C+.
Professor Tip Top (Norway): Tomorrow Is Delayed (Apollon ARP031CD, CD, 2020)
Progressive
Sonja Otto (lead vocals, keyboards)
After several albums with all-male line-up, Professor Tip Top changed direction completely, abandoning their psychedelic roots for a melodic symphonic rock sound. Dominated by Sonja Otto’s gentle vocals and lush keyboards, Tomorrow Is Delayed is a mellow and charming, if not exactly adventurous set, that’s a world apart from their first couple of LPs. GRADE: C+.
Professor Tip Top (Norway): Tomorrow Is Delayed (Apollon ARP051CD, CD, 2020)
Progressive
Sonja Otto (lead vocals, keyboards)
This is somewhat more adventurous and progressive than its predecessor, which works to its advantage; they even embrace elements of space-rock on the Hawkwind-lite of ‘Past Forever’. However, for the most part this is mellow, inoffensive stuff that drifts by pleasantly without making any significant impression. GRADE: C+.

Tristwch Y Fenywod (UK): Tristch Y Fenywod (Night School LSSN096, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2024)
Folk/Psychedelic/Avant-Garde
Gwretsien Ferch Lisbeth (lead vocals, harp), Sidni Sarffwraig (bass), Leila Lygad (drums)
Everything comes together for the trio on their studio album: this is genuinely remarkably stuff that becomes increasingly unsettling as the album progresses. The decision to combine harp, new wave-influenced electric bass (which sometimes makes you think you’re listening a gothic post-punk LP) and electronic percussion pays dividends in terms of creating a unique sound, and whilst parts of this could repel as many listeners as they attract it’s certainly one of the landmark albums of 2024. GRADE: B–.

Updated 5th December:

Gian Castello (Italy): Taliesin (Black Widow BWRCD 027-2, CD, 1999)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Anna Manusso (occasional vocals, violin)
Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Castello demonstrates considerable talent here, carefully layering voices and acoustic instrumentation to create an ornate tapestry of sound. Drawing on traditional sources, his songs are both delicate and haunting, creating an album of remarkable tranquility and fragility. GRADE: B–.

Chifonnie (France): La Chifonnie (Hexagone 883008, 1977)
Folk
Dianne Holmes Brown (percussion, concertina, vielle, backing vocals)
La Chifonnie’s music could be compared to an unplugged Malicorne, and like that band they offer a fair level of variety – everything from acapella pieces to beautiful acoustic passages to the full-blown folk/rock of ‘Gironfla’, with Malicorne’s Hugues de Courson on bass. The use of female as well as male lead vocals would have given it even more variety and a further boost; as it is, it’s just about on the cusp of a C+ and a B. GRADE: C+.
Chifonnie (France): Au-Dessus Du Pont (Hexagone 883022, 19778)
Folk
Dianne Holmes Brown (piano, darbouka, concertina, vielle, backing vocals)
Their second and final album moves their sound slightly closer to folk/rock, with greater use of drums and percussion, though it’s broadly in the same vein as their first. Once again, this is varied, intricate and effectively; it just lacks the relentless invention that made Malicorne so impressive (and once again both male and female vocals would have helped). GRADE: C+.

Gorgone (France): Barminam (No label GORG001/1, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2024)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Caroline Indjein (principal vocals), Laura Guarrato (occasional vocals)
No prizes for guessing that these modern Magma alumni play zeuhl, in this case crossed with fusion, jazz/funk (in the positive sense of that term) and even hard rock elements to create some nimble and propulsive music. However, Magma’s conceptual grandiosity is entirely absent, but that’s both a minus and a significant plus – who needs blatant Magma copyists when Magma themselves remain active? GRADE: B–.

Iraklis (Greece): Se Allous Kosmous (EMI 2J 153 70256/257, double, 1976)
Progressive
This ambitious project by Iraklis Triantafyllidis and a huge cast of collaborators offers sophisticated symphonic progressive rock, with short tracks stitched together to create a varied and vivid concept album. Whilst there’s nothing exactly cutting edge here, the blend of differing rock, pop and folk styles is consistently pleasing, despite an unwelcome diversion into rock ’n’ roll on ‘Tha Rthei Vrohi’. In fact, it might be no exaggeration to describe this as one of the most important Greek prog albums from the seventies. As a footnote, the bulk of the vocals are male but female singers front a couple of cuts. GRADE: B–.
Iraklis (Greece): I Stigmi (Polýavlos SPR 302, with insert and stickers, 1984)
Pop/Rock/Progressive
Quite different from the ambitious Se Allous Kosmous, this mostly consists of rather undistinguished high-tech pop: very eighties, somewhat new wave-influenced, occasionally with reggae rhythms. The 10-minute closer adds some progressive diversions and just about lifts this from a C to a C+. As a footnote, one of the eight songs has female vocals. GRADE: C+.

Magick Brother & Mystic Sister (Spain): Tarot Part II (Sound Effect SER120, CD, with digipak, Greece, 2024)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Eva Muntado (principal vocals, keyboards)
Even more so than on previous albums, it’s fun to play ‘spot the influence’ here: a fair bit of Brainticket, some Gong (for the first time), a bit of Popol Vuh, a few hints of Emtidi, even a brief quotation from Hawkwind. With the music being even more impressionistic than their first two, most of this drifts by in a trippy haze, but with influences as good as those interpreted as well as this how could the album be anything less than great? GRADE: B–.

Thunderbirds With Heather & Harvey (Singapore): My Lonely Heart (Philips 883.552 PY, 1968)
Pop
Heather Batchen (joint lead vocals)
The cover may be wonderfully psychedelic, but the music is pretty square sixties pop, with overbearing string arrangements on several songs. Meanwhile, the material mostly comprises covers (including familiar fare such as ‘Puppet On A String’ and ‘Silence Is Golden’) plus a couple of originals, including one by Heather Batchen. GRADE: C.
Heather-Harvey & The Thunderbirds (Singapore): Birthday (PP Sound PSY 112 275, 1970)
Pop
Heather Batchen
Although still slightly MOR in parts, this is by the superior of their two albums, with a more rocking sound, a fair bit of fuzz guitar and a nice garage edge. Consisting entirely of covers, this isn’t the most groundbreaking album, but some of the reinterpretations are fairly radical so at its best this is one of the most charming exotic beat albums you’re likely to hear. GRADE: C+.

Robert Reed With Les Penning & Angharad Brinn (UK): Sanctuary | Covered (Tigermoth TMRCD0824, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2024)
Progressive/Folk/Rock
Angharad Brinn (lead vocals)
A somewhat different instalment in the Sanctuary series, this sees Reed reinterpreting music he loves – from ‘Chi Mai’ to ‘Telstar’, ‘Scarborough Fair’, the ’Dr Who’ theme, ‘Willow’s Song’ and inevitably a segment from ‘Tubular Bells’. Mixing short instrumentals with a few songs, this is a touch fragmented and a mite inconsequential but never less than charming. And what do Reed’s reinventions of such disparate material sound like? Mike Oldfield, of course. GRADE: C+.

Various (Greece): I Pop Stin Athína – Zontanoí Sto K‎ýttaro (Zodiac SYZP 89023, LP plus 7", 1971)
Rock/Progressive
Stella Gadedi & Bourmpoulia, Despina Glezou
This compilation of supposedly live tracks (though the audience sounds overdubbed to me) features two excellent garage pop numbers from former Nostradmos member Despina Glezou. Meanwhile, Stella Gadedi & Boumpoulia offer nearly ten minutes of experimental prog, led by Gadedi’s occasional wordless vocals and eloquent flute playing. Among the non-female acts, Damon & Phidias deliver two pleasant contemporary folk songs and Exadaktylos offer a jazzy prog jam with spoken vocals (very vague reference points might include Catapilla and a sort of Greek version of Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes) and a straighter bluesy number. Finally, the best-known act here, Socrates Drank The Conium, provide a ten-minute blues jam covered in stinging fuzz guitar. GRADE: B–.
See also Despina Glezou, Nostradamos

Updated 28th November:

Rosalie Cunningham (UK): To Shoot Another Day (Esoteric Antenna EANTCD1111, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2024)
Rock
Rosalie Cunningham (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion)
I noted in my review of Cunningham’s last studio album that ‘when she’s good she’s good’. She’s intermittently good here : the album takes flight in the middle with the dynamic instrumental ‘The Smut Peddler’, the atmospheric ‘Denim Eyes’ with its intense coda and the glam rock-inspired ‘Spook Racket’. Elsewhere this has the crunchy riffs and enjoyable early seventies ambience one would expect from a Rosalie Cunningham LP, but I find the material mostly unmemorable. GRADE: C+.

Fervent Mind (Norway): Tranquilize (Kaarisma KAR169, 2019)
Progressive
Live Sollid Schulerud (lead vocals, synthesiser, electronics)
Fervent Mind’s style of prog is thoroughly modern, drawing on indie and hard rock influences and prioritising atmosphere over bombast. There’s also a fair smattering of Floyd in their sound, particularly during the occasional extended instrumental sections, and at times this resembles twenty-first century prog pioneers such as Anathema or Pure Reason Revolution. The only missing ingredient is truly killer songs – Ms Schulerud’s material is consistently good, but whilst I could imagine myself enjoying this album at any time I can’t imagine playing any of its numbers frequently. GRADE: C+.

Grateful Dead (USA): Friend Of The Devils (Rhino R2 726291, 19HDCD, with gatefold minisleeves, booklet, shaker drum and box, 2024, recorded 1978)
Rock/Psychedelic
Donna Godchaux (occasional vocals)
Showcasing seven concerts from April 1978, this set highlights an era of the Dead that’s often overlooked in favour of the more illustrious 1977. The first show from 6th April is consistently good, with some fine jamming during ‘The Other One’, but it’s also remarkably laid-back (even by the Dead’s usual standards) and somewhat lacking in fire and intensity (B–). Similarly, the concert from the 7th has no obvious low points but never exactly commands one’s attention (also a B–). Things step up significantly with the show from the 8th, on which the band is firing on all cylinders, creating a bit of a May 8th 1977 vibe, though the 15-minute ‘Rhythm Devils’ interlude is a tad dull (a solid B). The set from the 10th also contains numerous fine moments but once again a boring ‘Rhythm Devils’ and a slightly lethargic mood overall (a very strong B–). The show from the 11th is also close to a B but doesn’t quite make it (and for once ‘Rhythm Devils’, despite lasting a staggering 21 minutes isn’t to blame, as it’s quite dynamic): it’s consistently good-to-very-good but truly transcendant moments are pretty rare. The concert from the 12th was also a standalone release from dead.net, indicating that they thought it the pick of the bunch; to my ears it’s consistently pretty good, notwithstanding nearly 26(!) mind-numbing minutes of ‘Rhythm Devils’, but not a patch on the show from the 8th (B–). Likewise, the show from the 14th is consistently good, with another very long and dull ‘Rhythm Devils’, but never really feels like top-tier Dead (yet another B–). The final concert from the 14th is the other obvious winner: no truly exceptional moments but it’s consistently impressive, and ‘Rhythm Devils’ is shorter (a mere 14½ minutes!) and less dull than usual (B). Overall this is a pleasant enough set, but when comparing it to previous Dead boxes it has fewer highpoints and a touch less consistency, indicating that they’re beginning to struggle for top-tier shows having released so many over the last couple of decades. GRADE: B–.

i Häxa (UK): i Häxa (Pelagic PEL 256-V, quintuple one-sided 12”, some on clear vinyl, with booklet, sticker and box, Germany, 2024)
Folk/Industrial/Psychedelic/Avant-Garde
Rebecca Need-Menear (lead vocals)
This mixture of dark folk, electronica and industrial elements – all gothic and haunting and über-pretentious – reminds me of the sort of thing that often appears on the Reverb Worship label. This has greater scope, not to mention what sounds like a larger recording budget, with the whole thing resembling a film soundtrack (which it apparently was) and ranging from moments of symphonic beauty to pure cacophony. Drenched in echo and effects, the album resembles some sort of mutant hybrid of Kate Bush, Nico, Nurse With Wound and Current 93 and is fascinating, adventurous and unsettling. As a footnote, the album was also released on double LP and CD, but only the boxed set edition (limited to 500 copies) includes the bonus fifth disc with an additional nine minutes of music. GRADE: B–.

Updated 21st November:

Pierre Henry & Urban Sax (France): Paradise Lost (Philips 6313 293, 1982)
Avant-Garde
Annie Chambon (joint lead vocals), Evelyne Hamon (joint lead vocals), Catherine Mazauric (joint lead vocals), Manuele Miailhe (joint lead vocals), Géraldine André (saxophone), Sabine Breuillot (saxophone), Sabine Jounneau (saxophone), Hélène Nougaret (saxophone)
The addition of Pierre Henry’s electronics isn’t the only change here – with four discrete tracks per side, this is a significant alteration to Urban Sax’s modus operandi. The music is different too, being much more lively, with staccato saxophones punctuated by electronic burbles and warbles. Once again, it’s interesting and creative stuff – and once again I definitely have to be in the mood for it. GRADE: C+.
Urban Sax (France): Fraction Sur Le Temps (Celluloid CEL 6788, 1985)
Avant-Garde/Classical
Catherine Mazauric (joint lead vocals), Valéry Btesh (joint lead vocals), Diane Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Deborah Kagan (joint lead vocals), Marie-Laure de Beausacq (joint lead vocals), Joëlle Papineau (joint lead vocals), Dominique Hamen (joint lead vocals), Beatriz Sterne de Fonteneu (joint lead vocals), Joëlle Saladin (joint lead vocals), Maryvonne Ssosse (joint lead vocals), Martine Desoille (joint lead vocals), Elisabeth Zimine (joint lead vocals), Elisabeth Miailhe (joint lead vocals), Liliane Vaquero (joint lead vocals), Véronique Kone (joint lead vocals), Galeta Streiter (joint lead vocals),Ann Ballester (keyboards), Mireille Bauer (percussion), Sabine Jouanneau (saxophone), Hélène Nougaret (saxophone), Marlène Aufray (saxophone), Patricia Guigui (saxophone), Sophie Zaznini (violin)
Returning to the format of their first two albums, Urban Sax take a quantum leap here. With a choir, keyboards, strings and a battery of percussionists bringing their music to life, this is their magnum opus: a startling and unsettling epic bridging jazz and modern classical music, with nods towards everyone from Magma to Ligeti. Although credited in six parts, this is a single suite of music that constantly unfolds, ebbs and mutates, going through numerous fascinating diversions, showcasing more variety than their three previous works put together. As a footnote, the list of musicians is equally impressive, including Valéry Btesh from Tangerine, Ann Ballester of Édition Spéciale and Gong’s Mireille Bauer. GRADE: B.
Urban Sax (France): Spiral (EPM Musique FDC 1125, CD, 1991)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classical
Cora Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Diane Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Laetitia Frenod (joint lead vocals), Julie Gay (joint lead vocals), Cécile Mestre (joint lead vocals), Armelle Orieux (joint lead vocals), Amanda Rabin (joint lead vocals), Marie-Béatrice Rosset (joint lead vocals), Toussy Thalassa (joint lead vocals), Barbara Weber (joint lead vocals), Susan Allen (saxophone), Guenola François (saxophone), Coralie Druelle (saxophone), Evelyne Guyon-Canedo (saxophone), Marion Monnet (saxophone)
Seemingly compiling extracts from a larger work (we get parts five to 12, but not one to four, despite the whole thing clocking in only 47 minutes), this is the logical follow-up to Fraction Sur Le Temps. Without the strings, the feel of the music is perhaps slightly jazzier than the band’s earlier work, but Urban Sax once again display a remarkable range of influences including a fair dash of Ligeti. The only questions that remain are why we didn’t get the complete work and whether this would have worked better as a continuous suite. Actually, the latter isn’t really a question, as I’m convinced it would, but there’s still enough good (and challenging) stuff here to merit a B. GRADE: B.
Urban Sax (France): Live In Tokyo – Mirage De Son (No label, VHS, with insert, VHS, 1991)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classic al
Cora Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Laetitia Frenod (joint lead vocals), Jenny Godula (joint lead vocals), Domonique Martinelli (joint lead vocals), Armelle Orieux (joint lead vocals), Edwige Chandelier (joint lead vocals), Toussy Thalassa (joint lead vocals), Barbara Weber (joint lead vocals), Anita Roussel (vibraphone). Susan Allen (saxophone), Coralie Druelle (saxophone), Evelyne Guyon-Canedo (saxophone), Marion Monnet (saxophone), Sarah Isacco (saxophone), Karine Weider (saxophone), Carole Sauvanet (saxophone)
Anyone expecting a conventional concert video – or even a conventional concert – is in for a surprise, as Urban Sax’s staging is as radical as their music. With an army of saxophonists wearing masks, musicians in weird costumes and dancers, interspersed with effects and offstage footage, this is a surreal experience more akin to modern ballet than any notion of rock. All I could ask is that it had been filmed in high definition and reissued on DVD; as it is, it still works surprisingly well in lovely fuzzy VHS. GRADE: B–.
Urban Sax (France): To The Chosen Few (Cezame SAM 002, with book, 1993)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classical
Diane Dupuis, Susan Allen, Annie Sabas, Sarah Isacco, Damienne Perrachon, Karine Weider, Claire Dixmiez, Coralie Druelle, Evelyne Guyon-Canedo, Marion Monnet, Hélène Nougaret, Cora Dupuis, Laetitia Frenod, Anne Warin, Julie Gay, Cécile Maestre, Armelle Orieux, Amanda Rabin, Marie-Béatrice Rosset, Catherine Jallet, Isabelle Delecourt, Jeannette Kuhn, Brigitte Renaud, Christine Dugas, Toussy Thalassa, Barbara Weber, Tatiana Rossi, Nasusicaa Pasaris, Pascale Battus, Anita Rossel, Yolande Padillat, Mireille Pic, Emmanuelle Rayon
Packaged with a huge A4 book about the band, this consists mainly of re-recordings of material from earlier in their career. Thus, whilst this again contains some superb music, it feels like the band is treading water – and it also feels somewhat fragmentary. GRADE: B–.
Urban Sax (France): À Jakarta (Cézame Argile AWA 95002, CD, with minisleeve and book, 1995)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classical
Jeanette Kuhn (joint lead vocals), Christine Dugas (joint lead vocals), Tiphaine Fauchois (joint lead vocals), Hélène Vitorge (joint lead vocals), Sabine Carty (joint lead vocals), Nathalie Fagour (joint lead vocals), Flore Boixel (joint lead vocals), Annelise Troadec (joint lead vocals), Véronique Miath (joint lead vocals), Coralie Druelle (saxophone), Karine Weider (saxophone), Sarah Isacco (saxophone)
Issued as the accompaniment to a book of photos, this 18-minute EP commemorates the band performing a new work ‘Paduan Suara’ in Indonesia. With lots of familiar Urban Sax motifs plus clanging tuned percussion drawing on traditional Indonesian music, it’s a fascinating small-scale work and a fascinating addition to their discography, even if I find the intermittent (and enthusiastic) audience noise slightly distracting. GRADE: B–.

Updated 14th November:

Giant Walker (UK): All In Good Time (No label, with insert, 2020)
Metal/Progressive
Steff Fish (lead vocals)
An obvious reference point would be District 97, although Giant Walker feel distinctly British, perhaps due to the slight post-punk influence underpinning some of their material. Otherwise both bands are operating in the same hinterland between riff-driven heavy rock and prog, with a song-based style spiced up with a few tricksy tempos and some atmospheric moments. My grade of C+ may be a little mean, as Giant Walker are very good at what they do, with a powerhouse vocalist in Steff Fish, but it’s notable how much the two most obvious changes of pace (‘Past The Peak’ and the piano coda to, er, ‘Coda’) lift the LP. It’s also notable that whilst their songs are consistently good, this lacks the couple of killer cuts that could have made it a B–. GRADE: C+.
Giant Walker (UK): Live At Anarchy (No label, download, 2023)
Metal/Progressive
Steff Fish (lead vocals)
I’m not immediately sure how this live set differs from its studio counterpart: there’s no audience noise or live ambience, the band never jam or stretch out, and it offers the same nine songs in a slightly diferent sequence. Without undertaking a back-to-back comparison, this feels somewhat harder and more dynamic than the studio set, which is certainly to the band’s advantage. In fact, despite my slight reservations about their material this wins through on sheer heft – and once again the vocals and guitars are superb. GRADE: B–.
Giant Walker (UK): Silhouettes (Church Road, blue and black splatter vinyl, with insert, 2024)
Metal/Progressive
Steff Fish (lead vocals)
The riffs here are pretty persuasive too, emphasising that Giant Walker are a metal (or perhaps more accurately, very very very hard rock) band with slight progressive influences rather than the other way round. Once again, I’m torn as to a grade – they’re clearly extremely good at what they do, but what they do is somewhat unambitious. GRADE: C+.

Meisenfloo (West Germany): Meisenfloo (Lagua 60723, 1972)
Folk
Chris Sarmstorff
With all-original material and backing from acoustic guitars and hand and tuned percussion, this lovely, mournful folk album is both atmospheric and mildly trippy. It’s also one of the rarest German LPs, regularly selling for well into four figures; even the very limited reissue fetches £100+. There are no detailed musician credits, so it’s not clear what Chris Sarmstorff contributes, but nearly all the vocals (including 100% of the leads) are male. GRADE: C+.

Siddhartha (West Germany): Weltschmerz (No label Z 33 007, 1975)
Progressive
Gabi Rossmanith (occasional vocals)
Gabi Rossmanith, who sings the opening ‘Looking In The Past’, sounds just like Renate Knaup and there are hints of early Amon Düül II here in the rawness of the playing and recording. However, Siddhartha have a much more keyboard-based style, with clear classical influences, Add in frequent atmospheric Pink Floyd-like moments and even some brief folky and funky references (plus a bit of oom-pah tuba) to their mainly instrumental music and the end result is odd, intriguing and very, very teutonic. GRADE: B–.

Updated 7th November:

Negra Linea (France): 13 Visions (Gazul GA 8674.AR, CD, with digipak, 2004)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Alexandra Prat (principal vocals)
This unusual little album – if ‘little’ is the right word for a set running for 51 minutes – offers a varied series of jazzy, funky vignettes, drawing on everything from trip-hop (frequently) to soul (intermittently) and free-jazz (occasionally). The result is an almost dreamlike series of diversions, though like most dreams it’s questionable whether this really goes anywhere. GRADE: C+.

Octavia Sperati (Norway): Winter Enclosure (Candlelight CANDLE110CD, CD, with digipak, UK, 2005)
Metal
Silje Wergeland (lead vocals), Bodil Myklebust (guitar), Gyri S Losnegaard (guitar), Trine C Johansen (bass), Tone Midtgaard (keyboards)
This all-female band’s gothic-tinged metal is consistently good and consistently enjoyable, with a nice acoustic interlude in the middle. However, as that description suggests it isn’t even intermittently brilliant. GRADE: C+.
Octavia Sperati (Norway): Grace Submerged (Candlelight CANDLE188CD, CD, UK, 2007)
Metal
Silje Wergeland (lead vocals), Bodil Myklebust (guitar), Gyri S Losnegaard (guitar), Trine C Johansen (bass), Tone Midtgaard (keyboards)
This is more confident, atmospheric and varied than their first; in particular Trine Johansen’s bass work is often downright superb. But intermittently impressive as it is, this kind of metal lives or dies on its songs and the material isn’t as impressive as the execution. GRADE: C+.
See also the Gathering

Presence (Italy): Them (Black Widow BWRCD 272-2, CD, 2024)
Progressive/Metal
Sophya Baccini (lead vocals)
The cover of a spooky street filled with ravens was clearly intended to introduce a mood of foreboding, but it really wasn’t necessary. I was already filled with a sense of dread about reviewing this, as I found the band’s last effort insufferable; had it not been for the bonus disc, I would have rated it as an E or even E–. Was my daming judgement really warranted or did I listen to it on a particularly bad day? The truth is that I’ve never had the courage to go back and find out. In any case, I made it to the end of Them with no difficulty: here Presence could be regarded as a sort of contemporary Antonius Rex and this contains some great moments. The problem is that they’re clumsily thrown together, so this isn’t a great album, and the seventy-minute running time makes it obvious that they simply deploy the same tricks (wild and inappropriate tempo changes, synth stabs, atmospheric keyboard interludes) repeatedly. At half the length, and with the duller bits removed, this could have been Presence’s first-ever C+. GRADE: C.

Rocket Moth (UK): Mesolow (No label RM-CD001, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2013)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Hannah Stobart (lead vocals)
Whilst not entirely removed from Ms Stobart’s former band the Wishing Tree, this is far more dynamic, alternating delicate folk/rock songs with hard rockers and forays into more atmospheric and ethnic territory. In fact, this is likely to delight Mostly Autumn fans from start to finish, and the beautiful psychedelic artwork is another significant plus. GRADE: C+.

Urban Sax (France): Urban Sax (Cobra COB 37004, 1977)
Avant-Garde
Géraldine André (saxophone)
One might expect an album entirely recorded with saxophones (or so the cover says – I can hear what sound like voices, keyboards and percussion here) to be jazzy, but this is more in the vein of pure French experimentalism such as Musica Elettronica Viva’s The Sound Pool. Thankfully it’s nowhere near as cacophonous, offering two slowly unfolding hypnotic, sonorous pieces that gradually build and build in intensity. These kinds of albums are always the hardest to grade: this is bold, highly creative and extremely innovative, and makes for a fascinating change of pace when I’m in the mood for it, which suggests a B–. However, how often would I actually be in the mood for it? GRADE: C+.
Urban Sax (France): Urban Sax 2 (Cobra COB 37017, 1978)
Avant-Garde
Chantal Des Horts (joint lead vocals), Evelyne Hamon (joint lead vocals), Liliana Vaquero (joint lead vocals), Marie-Claire Haoussine (joint lead vocals), Julie Zimine (joint lead vocals), Catherine Mazauric (joint lead vocals), Anna Losskry (joint lead vocals), Géraldine André (saxophone), Françoise Dupety (saxophone), Danièle Dumas (saxophone)
With added cymbals and chanting, this follows the same format as its predecessor (and indeed the tracks are credited as ‘Urban Sax (part three)’ and ‘Urban Sax (part four)’. My comments thus remain unaltered: this is bold, creative and weird stuff that I admire but can’t imagine playing frequently. GRADE: C+.

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+.

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+.

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–.

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:

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+.

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–.