RICHARD FALK's REVIEWS
New and Updated
Updated 19th February:
Big Big Train (UK/USA/Sweden/Italy): Woodcut (InsideOut 19802977912, CD plus Blu-ray, with book sleeve, 2026)
Progressive
Clare Lindley (occasional vocals, guitar, violin)
Widely touted as Big Big Train’s first full-blown concept album, this has many of the pastoral hallmarks of their earlier work, but also contains some fine passages filled with rock energy. Whilst their vision may remain too understated for some, this rewards close listening and is another impressive addition to their already substantial discography. GRADE: B–.
Codex Serafini (UK): God’s Spit (No label, download, 2023)
Progressive/New Wave
This is the Codex Serafini I like: raw, anarchic and spontaneous, without a dance beat in sight. Whether this live album, like the lesser studio EP that preceded it, adds much to the impression created by Serpents Of Enceladus is a different question, but given how much I like their eighties-festival-psych-on-steroids sound it may well be the wrong question. GRADE: B–.
Codex Serafini (UK): The Imprecation Of Anima (Riot Season REPOSELP125, with insert and download card, 2023)
Progressive/Psychedelic/Jazz/Metal
Both more restrained and more foreboding than their earlier work, this utilises saxophone in a much jazzier way and reminds me more than anything of an updated Catapilla with modern metal edges. This time round, their uncredited vocalist even sounds like Anna Meek on Changes, making one wonder whether this was directly influenced by Catapilla rather than merely resembling them. GRADE: B–.
Codex Serafini (UK): Invisible Landscape Reimagined (Ceremonial Laptop, download, 2024)
Dance/Progressive/New Wave
This feels slightly better than their last remix album, possibly because the source material felt slightly worse. But I still can’t imagine myself ever wanting to play it a second time. GRADE: C.
Codex Serafini (UK): Mother, Give Your Children Sanity (Echoldelick/Riot Season ECHODELICK156/REPOSELP156, green vinyl, with insert and download card, 2025)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic/Jazz
Emphasising the metal and tribal elements in the band’s sound, this tones down the Catapilla edges from The Imprecation Of Anima, though they still remain in the prominent saxophone. The six tracks here are less distinctive here that the four behemoths on that album, but there’s still enough interesting material here to merit a tentative B–. GRADE: B–.
Grateful Dead (USA): Dave’s Picks Volume 57 (Rhino R2 728562, triple HDCD, with digipak and booklet, 2026, recorded 1978)
Rock/Psychedelic
Donna Godchaux (occasional vocals)
Aside from a ragged ‘Sunrise’ in the first sent and an indolent and overlong ‘He’s Gone’ in the second, the main show from 1 February 1978 is an impressive instalment of Dead, confirming that there’s still outstanding material in the vaults. The album also includes the final number from the first set and the entire second set from the night before – this is also top-notch, with a laid-back ’77-rather-than-’78 vibe. GRADE: B.
Iamthemorning, Mariana Semkina & Gleb Kolyadin (Russian Federation): Live At St Matthias (No label, Blu-ray plus triple CD, with digibook and slipcase, UK, 2026)
Progressive
Mariana Semkina (lead vocals, guitar)
This expansive concert document includes video and audio records of solo performances by Mariana Semkina and Gleb Kolyadin as well as Iamthemorning itself. Semkina largely performs material from her recent album Sirin, whilst Kolyadin offers some beautiful and virtuosic solo piano. Both sets are impressive, but when they come together as Iamthemorning and add some rock stürm und drag their full – and considerable – potential is revealed. Bonus material includes a tour of Semkina’s house and some footage in which they answer questions fans sent in. GRADE: B–.
Twist (West Germany): World, It’s No Miracle Baby! (Stono 89, cassette, with printed plastic inlay, 1989)
Psychedelic/Pop/Garage
Bela Ha (occasional vocals, guitar, synthesiser)
Repp and Bela Ha’s final album as the Twist (and first as the Cosmic Gardeners, as it was released under both guises) is broadly business as usual – nice, enjoyable, rather inconsequential lo-fi garage-rock and punky psych. GRADE: C+
Updated 12th February:
Codex Serafini (UK): Serpents Of Enceladus (Ceremonial Laptop/Halfmeltedbrain CLHMB001, cassette, 2020)
Progressive/New Wave
How best to describe Codex Serafini’s sui generis mashup of styles? Hawkwind crossed with X-Ray Spec might come closest, except they don’t sound all that much like either band. Amon Düül II with Chris Karrer wailing away on saxophone and Poly Styrene on vocals, perhaps? Maybe Omnia Opera at their most freeform blended with Crass? Or perhaps an updated early seventies Yoko Ono? Then again, the slight trip-hop elements don’t resemble any of those artists, though I could imagine Ono using them. Whatever, this is fascinating stuff: two 14½-minute jams that are wild and spaced-out to the maximum, never really going anywhere but taking you on a fascinating trip filled with twists and turns. GRADE: B–.
Codex Serafini (UK): Twisting The Serpents Of Enceladus (Ceremonial Laptop, download, 2020)
Dance/Progressive/New Wave
Goat released the only mediocre albums of their stellar career when they let dance producers mess with their work, and Codex Serafini fall down the same rabbit hole here. Bringing the faint trip-hop influence I noted previously to the fore, the remixers cover most of these pieces with intrusive electronic beats and clanks, twist and distort the original music, and completely destroy everything that made Serpents so special. GRADE: C.
Codex Serafini (UK): Invisible Landscape (Ceremonial Laptop/Halfmeltedbrain CLHMB001, cassette, 2020)
Progressive/New Wave
Whilst continuing the style of Serpents…, this 19-minute EP doesn’t really add much to it. Sure, I like their spacy cacophony and admire their freeform wildness, but equally there’s only so far they can plough this particular furrow. GRADE: C+.
Fishheads (UK): Songs From The Fishheads (Fruits De Mer crustacean 95, blue 7” plus CD, with minisleeve and air freshener, 2021)
Psychedelic/Pop/Progressive
Jacqueline Bourne (occasional vocals), Holly Bowler (occasional vocals)
This single features rather good versions of ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ and ‘Let’s Get Together’ performed by members of the extended Honey Pot family. The bonus CD, meanwhile, features the two songs from the single, an alternate mix of ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ and the 40-minute ‘We All Get Together In A Pleasant Valley Somewhere’, which is not, as I had expected, some kind of megamix but an electronic near-instrumental by Marc Swordfish of Astralasia borrowing a few elements from the songs. An alternate version of the release comprised a lathe-cut clear single with mono mixes of the two songs, a CD single with the same contents, and a bonus CD EP The Fishhead Ancestors, running for around 25 minutes, which I have not heard. GRADE: C+.
Niebiesko-Czarni (Poland): Live ’68 (Wydawnictwo 21 21 009, CD, 2001, recorded 1968)
Beat
Ada Rusowicz (joint lead vocals)
This archive release has excellent sound quality and a diverse track listing, with the covers including ‘Land Of 1000 Dances’ (twice, for some reason), ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’, ‘Respect’, ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ and a fuzz-drenched ‘Purple Haze’. Needless to say, the latter is my favourite by some margin. GRADE: C+.
Plantoid (UK): Flare (Bella Union BELLA1968V, with inner and booklet, 2026)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Chloë Spence
Chloë Spence’s naïve, girlish, ethereal vocals are a mixed blessing here: she adds distinctiveness to the band’s sound, but there’s too much of her and the effect eventually becomes wearing (not to mention homogenising). The additional of a male singer to counterbalance her would bring the band’s music on in leaps and bounds, as would more instrumental sections – the extended coda to the closing 7½-minute ‘Daisy Chains’ single-handedly lifts this from a more-interesting-than-average C+ to a just-about-B–. As such, this isn’t necessarily the follow-up to the quirky but likeable Terrapath too which I was hoping, but’s it’s solid enough in own right and definitely more interesting than average. Whether I’d go alone with the hype sticker’s claim that it’s ‘mad, gorgeous & fiercly [sic] original” is another matter GRADE: B–.
Renaissance (UK): In Gratitude – Farewell Tour 2024 (Symphonic Rock Recordings SRR-000-07, double CD, with digipak, 2025)
Progressive
Annie Haslam (lead vocals)
Years ago, I mildly upset an eBay seller by making a low offer on a Renaissance transcription disc he had for sale. ‘I think it’s worth a lot more than that,’ he responded. I answered that whilst it might be as rare as hen’s teeth, my price had to reflect its utility to me: I already had numerous Renaissance live albums and they nearly all featured the same songs. ‘You’ve got a point,’ he said. Broadly speaking, this is another such album, even if I didn’t expect versions of ‘A Songs For All Seasons’ and ‘One Thousand Roses’. The material is, of course, impeccable and the performances are flawless if occasionally a touch too slick (did ‘Prologue’ really need added synthesisers?). The issue, once again, is usefulness, as this ‘Farewell Tour’ effort comes just three years their ‘50th Anniversary Tour’ release. As such, whilst most albums I’ve graded B rate as essential, this one is for completists only. GRADE: B.
Siena Root (Sweden): Made In Kuba (Perception 4,0004, double CD, with digipak, 2025)
Rock/Progressive
Zubaida Solid (lead vocals, keyboards)
This 85-minute live album features three songs over 10 minutes but is nowhere near as wild or exploratory as that might suggest. It’s also a little short on live ambience, though this is counterbalanced by excellent recording quality. Nonetheless, I’m very fond of Siena Root’s energetic brand of bluesy retro rock, so this is a solid B– even if I wish they’d rediscover the sense of adventure that motivated Different Realities. GRADE: B–.
Updated 5th February:
Anacrusa (Argentina): Anacrusa (Global 11.024, cassette, 1985)
Folk/Progressive
Susana Lago
Apart from the 15-minute closing track, this marks a return to the ethnic folk style of the band’s early work, with male and female vocals, acoustic guitars, hand percussion, flute and woodwind. However, the long number ‘Carnavalito Y Vidala’ is much more adventurous, borrowing from El Sacrificio’s cinematic style, and offers a remarkable end to an otherwise beautiful but conventional album. GRADE: B–.
Sarah Kernochan (USA): House Of Pain (RCA APL1-0343, 1974)
Singer/Songwriter
Sarah Kernochan (lead vocals, piano)
In the closing ‘Number One In The Country’, Kernochan describes herself as ‘someone who writes good songs’. She’s right: the material here is well assembled, beautifully arranged, excellently sung and pleasingly varied (from sedate piano-based ballads to funky, mildly jazzy rock to, unfortunately vaudeville on ‘Look What The Cat Dragged In’). But these sorts of albums were commonplace in the seventies and whilst this is above average, it would take great songs, not just good ones, to make this another Court And Spark. Is Sarah Kernochan someone who writes truly great songs? Not on this evidence. GRADE: C+.
Sarah Kernochan (USA): Beat Around The Bush (RCA CPL1-0671, with inner, 1974)
Singer/Songwriter
Sarah Kernochan (lead vocals, piano)
With titles like ‘Da-Dum’, ‘Ballad Of Weird Romeo’, ‘Can I Get On Top This Time?’, ‘Jelly Under Paraffin’ and ‘It’s Alright, It Won’t Bite’, Sarah Kernochan is certainly quirkier than than the typical singer/songwriter. Whether she’s better than the typical singer/songwriter is a different question, especially as she indulges her whimsical and vaudevillian tendencies more than on her debut. As such, the plus in my grade is mainly for the quality of the arrangements and the fine production, rather than the music per se. GRADE: C+.
Sarah Kernochan (USA): Decades Of Demos (No label, download, 2013)
Singer/Songwriter
The provenance of the material here isn’t indicated, but as the title suggests it clearly gathers diverse demos from diverse eras. Much of it is in a similar piano-based vein to her two seventies albums, albeit thankfully less arch, but there’s everything here from electric rock to electronic pop. As such, this is a touch inconsistent, but it’s arguably the best of her three releases. GRADE: C+.
Major Stars (USA): More Colors Of Sound (Drag City DC 963, 2025)
Garage/Psychedelic
Noell Dorsey (lead vocals), Kate Biggar (guitar)
When they’re on form, Major Stars deliver blistering guitar-led garage psych: not subtle or varied, but powerful and assertive and absorbing. They’re on form here, especially on the superb 10-minute closer ‘Not Alone’. GRADE: B–.
Whipped Cream (Sweden): And Other Delights (Radium 226.05, CD, 1991)
Psychedelic
Elisabeth Punzi (joint lead vocals, guitar)
Shoegaze Swedish-style: not that different from any other shoegaze you’ve ever heard but executed with aplomb and trippiness in spades. However, that’s only part of the story – Whipped Cream are far from one-trick ponies and throw in a fine semi-acoustic number (‘Silver 1’) and an excellent Beatles pastiche (‘Theodora Wine’), which are also supremely trippy. As a footnote, the CD version contains two short bonus tracks, both pretty good. GRADE: B–.
Whipped Cream (Sweden): Tune In The Century (Snap 3, CD, 1992)
Psychedelic
Elisabeth Punzi (joint lead vocals, guitar)
At its best (as on the haunting single ‘Observatory Crest’ and the majestic closer ‘Beyond The Sun’) this is delightful, but overall it doesn’t add much to the impression created by their first. As such, I’m torn regarding a grade: this is either a very strong C+ or a just-about-B– and I think I’ll go with the former. GRADE: C+.
Whipped Cream (Sweden): HorseMountain (Snap 14, CD, 1994)
Psychedelic
Elisabeth Punzi (joint lead vocals, guitar)
Whipped Cream’s swansong is considerably more varied than their first two, ranging from garagy, almost punky, stuff through to folky numbers and even managing to include a lengthy drum solo. The best numbers here are very good indeed, whilst I’d describe the remainder as merely good. GRADE: C+.
Updated 29th January:
Breathing Space (UK): Below The Radar Live (No label, DVDR, 2010)
Rock/Progressive
Olivia Sparnenn (lead vocals, guitar, percussion)
It took me more than a decade and a half to track down this DVD, even though I’ve owned the double CD version since new. As my grade of C– indicated, I wasn’t impressed with it: not because of poor musicianship or second-rate singing, but because it consisted of a procession of virtually indistinguishable (though perfectly pleasant) songs. I’ve rated this higher than the CD version as the visual element – whilst not exactly spectacular – makes this a lot less dull. But aside from their version of Mostly Autumn’s ‘Never The Rainbow’, the songs still all blur together. GRADE: C+.
Caren Coltrane Crusade (Poland): The Bell (Lynx Music LM 110 CD, 2015)
Progressive/Pop
Marzena Wrona (lead vocals, keyboards, electronics)
The obvious reference point here is Björk: not just in Marzena Wrona’s very similar vocals but expressed via the mainly electronic backing. This is clearly proggier than Björk, but how much you like this will depend largely on how much you like her work. I’m lukewarm about her work and this album. The band released a second album Potwór in 2019, which I have not heard. GRADE: C+.
Ebb (UK): The Mirror (Boudicca, CD, with book, 2025)
Progressive
It’s symphonic prog, Jim, but not as we know it. What sets Ebb’s music apart isn’t just their eccentricity – manifested partly through the effects and speech that link some of the songs – but their sheer vibrancy, which isn’t a term I’d immediately associate with the genre. Once again, Pink Floyd is their clearest influence, but they have a pop sensibility that only occasionally illuminated the post-Barrett Floyd and draw on hard rock and post-punk too, throwing a little of everything into a mix that manages to be alternatively anarchic and elegant. Floyd, for obvious reasons, wouldn’t have written a song about the frustrations of PMT either, even if they’d managed to get Clare Torry to sing it. GRADE: B–.
Karnataka (UK): Requiem For A Dream – Live In Zoetermeer (Immrama KTBR002, Blu-ray, 2025)
Progressive
Sertari (lead vocals)
Karnataka’s last DVD somehow inveigled me into giving it a B– even though they’re the ne plus ultra of C+ outfits. That was largely due to the energy of then-vocalist Hayley Jones; her replacement Sertari is only marginally less charismatic, but once again there’s a gulf between the staging, filming and performances (mostly worthy of a B–) and the material, which seems to become steadily more homogenous as the set progresses. GRADE: C+.
Loonypark (Poland): Sad Songs For The Upcoming Days (Lynx Music LM255CD, CD, 2025)
Rock/Progressive
Sabina Godula-Zając (lead vocals)
This is slightly (and I emphasise that word) different from most Loonypark albums inasmuch as it’s a touch less lush and symphonic, with hints of influences from alternative rock. Otherwise it’s business as usual – tracks averaging six minutes, rich swathes of keyboards, the odd Gilmour-esque guitar solo, all pleasant, all well-crafted, all rather disposable. GRADE: C+.
Luminare (Poland): Luminare (Lynx Music LM 236CD, CD, 2024)
Rock/Progressive
Martyna Węgrzyn (lead vocals, keyboards), Malgorzata Gołębiowską (violin)
There’s nothing over five minutes here, but this sits firmly within the progressive genre as the songs and instrumentals are assertive, atmospheric, gothic and melancholy. In many ways, this reflects the chilly Scandinavian sound of bands like White Willow, but it’s far less folky and more rock-oriented, with extensive use of violin and French horn as lead instruments adding distinction, and draws subtly on alternative rock, post-punk and metal. The results are far more interesting than your average C+ album: all this lacks is the one extended suite that would have taken it over the line to B–. GRADE: C+.
Noibla (Poland): Under No Illusions (Lynx Music LM237CD, CD, with digipak, 2025)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Mika Redhart (lead vocals), Katarzyna Sobkowicz-Malec (guitar)
The shortish songs here are powerful, riff-driven and atmospheric, with assertive musicianship and excellent recording quality. At their best – notably on ‘They Control’ – they’re genuinely impressive. But, whilst consistently listenable, much of this feels too generic to be genuinely memorable. GRADE: C+.
Oaksenham (Armenia): Conquest Of The Pacific (Muséa FGBG 4727.AR, CD, France, 2006)
Progressive
Anna Adamyan (keyboards)
The possibilities afforded by the studio give Oaksenham far more scope to explore: there’s everything here from mediaeval and classical elements (complete with violin, cello, flute and clarinet) to passages of hard rock. In fact, the whole thing is so varied that it sometimes sounds like a library music album – except that a library music album wouldn’t have tracks of up to nine minutes or be nearly so compelling. GRADE: B–.
Scarless (Poland): Arkana (Lynx Music LM258CD, CD, 2025)
Progressive
Anna Grzesik (lead vocals)
Listening to this immediately after Loonypark’s latest again emphasises both bands’ similarities and differences (and I don’t simply mean that Scarless sing in Polish). Whilst both groups are pretty mellow and firmly rooted in neoprogressive, Scarless are more assertive and more ambitious too – tracks of over 10 minutes with sudden tempo changes aren’t really Loonypark’s stock-in-trade. However, my opinion of Scarless remains unchanged: there are a few moments here that suggest they have a great album in them, but no more than on the debut despite this being 20 minutes longer, so they remain firmly rooted in neoprog. GRADE: C+.
Updated 22nd January:
Ebb (UK): Live At The 1865 (Boudicca, USB card, with lanyard, 2024)
Progressive
Erin Bennett (principal vocals, guitar), Kitty Biscuits (occasional vocals, percussion), Nikki Francis (keyboards, saxophone), Sun Dasi (synthesiser, samples), Anna Fraser (drums)
Kitty Biscuits’ mime and theatrics means that Ebb’s stage presentation reminds me of Babal’s (a high compliment) but their music is something else (also a compliment). Part-Pink Floyd, part-post punk, with a dash of Hawkwind and a generous dollop of anarchic energy, their sound is joyful, playful, energetic and heartfelt. As such, the 24-bit audio files prove they’re one of our finest modern prog bands, whilst the video content demonstrate them to be a force of nature. GRADE: B–.
Loonypark (Poland): Strange Thoughts (Lynx Music LM229CD, 2023)
Progressive
Sabina Godula-Zając (lead vocals)
Loonypark are the dictionary definition of a none-more-C+ band. I’ve mildly liked everything they’ve done, but they’ve never managed a single song – let alone an entire album – that made the leap from ‘not bad’ to ‘truly great’. Of course, none-more-C+ bands can surpass expectations: Kaipa released a B– LP before, as my stockbroker would say, reverting to the mean. Have Loonypark managed the same? No: whilst this is beautifully crafted, mellifluous and delightfully sung, it’s still mildly likeable and the sort of thing I’d always be happy to hear but would never go out of my way to hear. GRADE: C+.
Oaksenham (Armenia): Woden’s Eve Live (No label, CDR, 2002)
Progressive
Anna Adamyan (keyboards)
Although I expected this to be jazzy or experimental, it’s actually mainstream instrumental prog – not really symphonic, but straightforward and unpretentious, blending mild influences from classical music, jazz and hard rock. With plenty of dynamics and lots of twists and turns, this is an accomplished album, though destined to remain terminally obscure as only 50 copies were manufactured. GRADE: B–.
Scarless (Poland): Czekajac… (Lynx Music LM226CD, 2023)
Progressive
Gaba Latak (lead vocals)
It would be unfair to say that Lynx Music has a house sound – Hipgnosis and Sea-Vine, to name but two, are their own distinctive beasts – but this bears more than a passing resemblance to Albion and even more so Loonypark. There are two key differences from Loonypark: they sing in Polish and they’re somewhat more dynamic in terms of both tempo changes and solos. Please note carefully the word ‘somewhat’, though unlike Loonypark there are occasional moments here that make me think they might have a B– album in them. Again, please note the word ‘occasional’. GRADE: C+.
Updated 15th January:
Catch (USA): Caught Live At The Golden Hawk (Catch LAM-128, 1972)
Lounge/Rock/Soul
Kathy Turner (principal vocals)
Covers of ‘I Can’t Turn You Loose’, ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Sweet Soul Music’ plus a ‘Rock ’N’ Roll Medley’ might lead you to expect standard lounge fare, but this is considerably more rocking than most. It all peaks on an intense version of Grand Funk Railroad’s ‘Closer To Home’, though the band originals ‘Nitty Gritty’, ‘On My Own’ and ‘Keep On Truckin’’ are pretty dynamic too.. Kathy Turner later went on to the hard rock band Red Pony. GRADE: C+.
See also Red Pony
Ann Gaytan (Belgium): Fauve (No label, CDR, 2008)
Singer/Songwriter
Ann Gaytan (lead vocals)
Gaytan’s final album, recorded live, comprises her musical settings of poems by Marcel Moreau. Bringing her full cycle, it returns to the chanson style of her debut, with varied and effective chamber music settings. Her one diversion into rock works well too: ‘Rhythme’ lives up to its name and takes her sound close to that of modern-day Brigitte Fontaine. GRADE: C+.
Staffan Westerberg & Thomas Wiehe (Sweden): Met Örat Mot Jorden – Ett Musikalist Rymdäventyr (Silence SRS 4661, double, with inners, 1980)
Folk/Rock
Turid Lundqvist (joint lead vocals), Ellika Lindén (occasional vocals), Maj-Lis Granlund (occasional vocals)
This concept album – subtitled ‘A Musical Space Adventure’ – was presumably aimed at children, as the short, naïve folk songs (hinting vaguely towards the Incredible String Band, whilst being nowhere near as freeform – are interspersed with long passages of dialogue and sound effects. This means nothing to non-Swedish ears, of course, sometimes making the album heavy going, although the spacy effects heighten the trippiness quotient. Turid Lundqvist sings a number of the songs, whilst Ellika Lindén and Maj-Lis Granlund provide some of the dialogue. GRADE: C+.
See also Turid Lundqvist
Updated 8th January:
Azoth (Japan): The Awkward Age’s End (HOP HOP-001, CD, with obi, 2004)
Progressive
Junko Minobe (keyboards, violin, viola)
At times this is retro in the extreme, but not in the way you might imagine: far from sounding early seventies, the dense neoprog on offer sounds like something that could have come out on Made In Japan in the late eighties. Thankfully, there are also some neoclassical and borderline fusion passages thrown in, which work rather more successfully, plus a few sound effects and some moments of mild experimentation, adding up to a curate’s egg that’s quite tasty in parts. GRADE: C+.See also Cinderella Search
Susanne Lewis (USA): My Genessee (No label, download, 2023)
SingerSongwriter/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Ms Lewis’s first musical venture in many years is entirely solo – without backing musicians, she recorded everything herself using synthesisers and (largely programmed) percussion. That these diverting little vignettes don’t sound thin or unfinished as a result is to her credit and she covers a wide range of ground with aplomb – from borderline RIO to neoclassical to more conventional singer/songwriter fare. GRADE: B–.
tRKproject (Poland): Alice (Lynx Music LM260CDDG, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2025)
Progressive
Anita Batko (joint lead vocals), Dominia Niebudek (joint lead vocals)
This concept album based on ‘Alice In Wonderland’ emphasises Ryszard Kramarski’s gift for melody and arrangement: the ten songs are richly tuneful, with chunky riffs, stately tempos and some fine borderline-Floydian soloing. The album gets bonus points for not crossing over into rock opera (despite the use of several vocalists and one passage of dialogue) and for not being too bombastic, though it isn’t going to win any for originality or experimentation. GRADE: C+.
Updated 1st January:
Ann Gaytan (Belgium): Émoi (Carbon 7 C7-075, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2006)
Singer/Songwriter
Ann Gaytan (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming)
Once again, this is very, very Gallic: the uptempo numbers with borderline big beat backing remind me of Brigitte Fontaine and the orchestrated pieces solo Catherine Ribeiro. How far this was influenced by Fontaine and Ribeiro is debatable: a cynic might say that Gaytan brings a little, but only a little, of her own sensibilities (more classically-influenced, more sensual) to the mix, though it’s entirely possible that all three artists were influenced by the same sources. GRADE: C+.
Elisa Montaldo (Italy): Looking Back Moving Forward (No label, CDR, with digipak and booklet, 2025)
Singer/Songwriter/Progressive
Elisa Montaldo (lead vocals, keyboards, percussoin, mandolin, autoharp, flute, lyra, koshi carillon, effects)
Ms Montaldo’s second album 0f 2025 is a game of two halves. The first half consists of refined keyboard-based songs, with a certain Kate Bush ambience, and the second of semi-ambient keyboard-based music, which again vaguely resembles Kate Bush. Both are pleasant and well-crafted, with my preference going to the latter, though this occasionally becomes a little self-consciously atmospheric and I wish she hadn’t used fake vinyl crackle (an irritating and overdone device) on several pieces. GRADE: C+.
Numen (Spain): Crib Of Rarities (No label, download, 2023)
Progressive
Alba Hernández
Comprising re-recordings of material originally taped with a male vocalist, this benefits significantly from Alva Hernández’s gentle, melodic singing. Whether these versions are better or worse than the originals, I have no idea, but they certainly contain some lovely mellow moments; I just wish there were more of those instrumental breaks and a slightly greater sense of adventure. GRADE: C+.
Numen (Spain): The Outsider (No label, double CDR, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2025)
Progressive
Alba Hernández (principal vocals)
There’s no doubting Numen’s level of ambition here: this rock opera runs for more than 100 minutes and covers a wide range of musical territory. On the plus side, it avoids the bombast that tends to plague rock operas, as Alba Hernández sings almost everything and sensibly avoids performing in character. On the downside, though the band clearly put a great deal of work and thought into this, it never really captures my attention, functioning more as high-class background music. GRADE: C+.
Paatos (Sweden): Ligament (Timeloss TR001, CD, with digipak, 2025)
Progressive
Petronella Nettermalm (principal vocals, cello)
The Swedish atmospheric prog giants’ unexpected comeback after 13 years makes it feel as though they’ve never been away. That’s not to say they don’t deliver any surprises – the title track’s melange of alternative rock, trip-hop and post-punk is pretty startling – but they mostly stay on their familiar terrain, blending the more minimalistic and ambient style of their early work with some effective heavier numbers. GRADE: B–.
Updated 25th December:
Ann Gaytan (Belgium): Thank You Ferré (EPM Musique 993382, CD, 1994)
Chanson
Ann Gaytan (lead vocals, keyboards)
An album of Léo Ferré covers seems to be de rigueur for a certain kind of underground francophone singer: Catherine Lara and Béatrice Tekielski also issued similar ventures. This one is very well executed, with some suitably dramatic performances and tasteful instrumental settings implying light folky rock backing. If you love chansons, you should adore this. I’m lukewarm about chansons. GRADE: C+.
Mirage (USA): It’s Been A Pleasure (No label, download, 2017)
Jazz/Rock
Tessa Register (lead vocals)
Mirage’s spare, jazzy music is filled with rhythmic twists and turns, fringing both RIO and math-rock; however, it also has a light, breezy mood that reminds me – of all people – of Shakatak. It’s notable that the penultimate instrumental ‘Donuts’, the one moment when the music gets relatively intense notwithstanding the very Shakatak-like piano solo, is the best thing by some margin. It’s also notable that the whole thing totals just 24½ minutes, so they never really stretch out and the whole thing feels more like a collection of vignettes than a fully-fledged album. GRADE: C+.
Mirage (USA): Chimpanzee EP! (No label, download, 2021)
Jazz/Rock
Court Carnaby (lead vocals)
Making It’s Been A Pleasure seems like ‘War And Peace’ by comparison, this 8½-minute EP bookends two shortish songs with two sub-one minute instrumentals. Musically it’s in a similar vein to their earlier release, though perhaps a little more relaxed and ambient in mood. GRADE: C+.
We Are Space Horses (USA): Apologia (No label, download, 2023)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Gabbi Vanderhoof (bass)
This 38-minute song-suite is difficult to describe, other than to say that it’s all very spacy and frequently quite heavy. Yet, despite one moment that recalls Pink Floyd’s ‘One Of These Days’ it’s not what would immediately think of as space rock, notwithstanding the acid guitars and whooshing synthesisers, and despite being heavy (at one point recalling stoner acts such as Fireball Ministry) it’s not really metal either and opens in a folky vein. However, it is consistently engaging, surprising and inventive, making for a deeply impressive debut. GRADE: B–.
Updated 18th December:
At Sing-Three-Birds (Germany): Encourage (No label, LP plus CD, 2019)
Folk/Rock
Anja Wylezol (principal vocals, guitar, flute)
The odd band moniker conceals the semi-acoustic alter-egos of Krabat, here offering breezy folk/rock that reminds me of many a Canadian seventies outfit. The nine-minute Mellotron-adorned title track is nothing short of stunning and worth the price of admission alone; nothing else comes close to equalling it, but this is mellow and atmospheric enough throughout to cross the line from C+ to B–. GRADE: C+.
See also Krabat
Child Bearing Hips (USA): Child Bearing Hips (No label, cassette, 1988)
Blues/Rock
Ethel Ann Powell (lead vocals, bass, harmonica), Pam Barger (drums, backing vocals)
This sparse, swampy blues/rock and country/rock EP (a single-sided cassette with five songs totalling 15 minutes) isn’t that far removed from Ethel Ann Powell’s previous project as Elephant Patch. However, this mostly loses the forlorn dislocating sense of weirdness that made that album so fascinating, so it’s unlikely to have the same appeal for collectors of the weird and challenging. GRADE: C+.
See also Elephant Patch
Krabat (Germany): Just To Meet The Sun (Performance Studios, CD, 2016)
Progressive
Anja Wyzelol (principal vocals, guitar)
This is a clear improvement over the underwhelming Waiting For The Next Big Thing, partly because Koch is singing a lot less. However, despite plenty of fine moments, it still doesn’t recapture the heights of 22, as it balances a song-based style with more overt progressive elements, leaving it just on the wrong side of the divide between C+ and B–. GRADE: C+.
Sado Ensemble (Uzbekistan): Tashkent Legend (Melodiya C60 22343 000, USSR, 1985)
Pop/Progressive
Mila Rominidi (principal vocals)
The mixture of naïve Abba-style pop and symphonic keyboard diversions here reminds me of the American band Games. However, Sado Ensemble are much more eccentric, drawing significantly on Eastern European folk traditions, though this isn’t always to their favour. GRADE: C.
une Wallack (Canada): June Wallack (RCA KPL-0136, with inner, 1976)
Singer/Songwriter/Progressive
June Wallack (lead vocals, keyboards, flute)
Backed by the cream of the Quebecois underground, this singer/songwriter offers a varied set: everything from folky numbers to a Billie Holliday cover to the full-blown progressive rock of the eight-minute ‘Mirage’, seven-and-a-half minute ‘Déjà C’est L’Automne’ and instrumental ‘Amalgame’. The results are consistently interesting, though this lacks the couple of killer tunes that would have elevated it to the next level. GRADE: C+.
Will-O-The-Wisp (Greece): Will-O-The-Wisp (Action ACT 001, 1999)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic/Progressive
Sofia Rapti (occasional vocals), Dina Nassi (keyboards)
At its frequent best, this offers lovely, lush folk/rock with lots of progressive elements and a definite psychedelic edge (in keeping with the beautiful and trippy cover). A couple of songs have a more straightforward singer/songwriter feel and are less impressive, but for the most part this is a charming debut. GRADE: B–.
Will-O-The-Wisp (Greece): Second Sight (Action ACT 003, CD, with digipak and booklet,2000)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic/Progressive
Sofia Rapti (occasional vocals), Dina Nassi (keyboards)
Whilst broadly similar to their first, right down to opening and closing with instrumental people, I find this slightly less compelling, though it’s still effectively melancholy, mellifluous and trippy. GRADE: C+.
Will-O-The-Wisp (Greece): Ceremony Of Innocence (WOW 001, CD, with oversized gatefold minisleeve and postcard, 2004)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic/Progressive
Sofia Rapti (occasional vocals), Dina Nassi (keyboards)
This is perhaps a touch more robust and rocking than their first two: still with lots of folky references but with a more pronounced late sixties influence. It’s also consistently impressive, without any individually outstanding songs but with a warmth and richness that envelops you from the first note to the last. GRADE: B–.
Updated 11th December:
Babal (UK): Live At The Cellar 2nd August 1995 (Cellar Tapes CT009, CDR, with minisleeve, 2025)
Rock/Psychedelic
Karen Langley (lead vocals)
You have to hear some bands live to truly appreciate them. Babal are a band you have to see live to truly appreciate, as I discovered when watching one of their wonderful live DVDs. Bereft of visuals, this live set – comprising all but one track of Running In The Gutter – strikes me the same way as the original album: decent enough but not one of their best releases. GRADE: C+.
Ann Gaytan (Belgium): Babel (Orchidée Noire, with insert, 1987)
Rock/New Wave/Progressive
Opening with the eight-minute title track and closing with a dramatic instrumental, Gaytan’s much more interesting album takes her into much more rock-based realms. Although some might find the programmed drums and strongly eighties feel distracting, this is an interesting album placing her stylistically somewhere between Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes, Colette Magny, Béatrice Tékielski and contemporary Catherine Lara. GRADE: C+.
Prophets Of Zarquon (UK): Galleon Ascending (Otherworld Music, CDR, 2025)
Progressive/Folk/Rock
Roseanna (lead vocals)
Once again, the obvious reference point is early Karnataka (though the Prophets write much more memorable melodies), but this also reminds me of the folkier edge of Mostly Autumn (though the Prophets don’t equal Mostly Autumn at their peak). I’ve also concluded whose voice Roseanna’s recalls: fairly obvious, it’s Rachel Jones of Karnataka. GRADE: C+.
Updated 4th December:
Blackburn & Snow (USA): Something Good For Your Head (Big Beat CDWIKD 189, CD, UK, 1996, recorded 1965-1966)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic
Sherry Snow (joint lead vocals, percussion)
Blackburn & Snow’s recording career stretched to two singles on Verve, but this excellent retrospective compiles an unreleased album plus some extra bits and pieces. It’s a delightful period piece, capturing the West Coast scene as folk/rock transformed into psychedelia, with a joyous yet mystical mood and hints of everyone from Jefferson Airplane to the Mamas & The Papas. GRADE: C+.
Ann Gaytan (Belgium): Démesure (Chantel CHL 004, 1981)
Singer/Songwriter
Ann Gaytan (lead vocals, guitar)
This haunting singer/songwriter album, which has a typically Gallic sensuality, mostly features orchestral backing plus piano or acoustic guitar. However, a couple feature electric band backing, adding some very welcome variety, although this is overall a pretty sedate set. Framing it stylistically is difficult: it’s clearly rooted in the chanson tradition rather than any notion of pop or rock, but it could be seen as a more classically-influenced sidestep from some of Catherine Ribeiro’s solo work. GRADE: C+.
Ghostriders (USA): Sky West And Crooked (No label GR-1, 1981)
Rock
Jenny James
This obscure West Coast album has something of a late seventies Grateful Dead feel, though it’s musically a bit more robust, with hints of material like ‘Passenger’ from Terrapin Station or some of the harder-edged numbers on Go To Heaven. In particular, the vocals are strikingly Garcia-like, and the album was actually recorded at Mickey Hart’s ranch. As such, it’s pleasant enough, with a few excellent guitar jams, though with entirely short songs they never really stretch out or leave their comfort zone. The album was reissued the following year as The Ghostriders (Anthem ARLP 333) with completely different artwork. GRADE: C+.
Sandy Gurley & The San Francisco Bridge (USA): Sandy Gurley And The San Francisco Bridge (Tower ST 5135, 1968)
Pop/Rock
With a running time of 28½ minutes and only one original composition, this is perhaps a little slight. Nonetheless it’s very good, with Gurley’s powerful and versatile voice unifying disparate material and styles, with backing ranging from strings and horns to some stinging fuzz guitar. The closing ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ sees her accompanied by an uncredited Neighb’rhood Childr’n and it is possible that they perform on a number of other tracks. GRADE: C+.
Lowen (UK): The Legend Of Kay Kavus (No label, CD, 2025)
Spoken Word/Progressive
Nina Saeidi
Quite different from their other work, this features Nina Saeidi reciting an ancient text over minimalistic and spacy synthesiser backing. The results are rather interesting and mildly hypnotic, though it’s questionable how often one might want to hear something like this. GRADE: C+.
Maddy Prior & Forgotten Lands (UK): Fetlock Deep (No label, CD, 2025)
Folk/Rock
Maddy Prior (joint lead vocals), Rose Kemp (joint lead vocals)
Unlike Steeleye Span’s contemporaneous (and rather pedestrian) Conflict, this takes Maddy Prior back to the future. Daughter Rose Kemp’s edgier musical sensibility brings sparse accompaniment from harsh electric guitars and treated violin, making the whole thing feels like a punkier sidestep from early Steeleye circa Please To See The King. As such, this is one the most interesting albums mum Maddy has issued in years. GRADE: B–.
Seven-Headed Raven (UK): Between Coruscating Trees (Sparrowmask, CDR, with gatefold minisleeve, 2025)
Folk
Catherine Gerbrands (joint lead vocals, drums, saw), Liene Rudziša (joint lead vocals, kokle)
The presence of Miranda Sex Garden’s Katharine Blake and Circulus’s Will Summers gives a fair indication as to this trio’s style. No surprises for guessing that this is eerie, somewhat apocalyptic folk: quiet, sparse and mournful, with lots of neoclassical edges and a definite ‘Wicker Man’ vibe. It’s a style I love and this is by any measure an impressive example of the style. GRADE: B–.
Yun (South Korea): Möbius Strip (Si-Wan SRMK 0003, with foldout sleeve and booklet, 1996)
Progressive
Ma-Ri Seong (joint lead vocals)
A 40-minute suite by a multi-instrumentalist using a guest female vocalist? Can anyone say ‘Mike Oldfield’? Well, not really, as Jo Yun’s music, whilst not a million miles removed, is more minimalist and more overtly folky, with the emphasis on keyboards and not much in the way of guitar. Nonetheless, this is likely to delight Oldfield fans, or admirers of beautifully crafted instrumental music in general, especially with its magnificent cruciform oversized sleeve. GRADE: B–.
Updated 27th November:
Honey Pot Collective (UK): The Outskirts Of Your Mind – Live 2022-23 (No label, DVDR, with digipak, 2024)
Psychedelic
Jacqueline Bourne (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
Limited to 50 copies, this live DVD features seven songs by the Honey Pot, two by Crystal Jacqueline and four by Icarus Peel’s Acid Reign, all shot on mobile phones. The video and audio quality is rather better than that description might suggest, though none of this is of broadcast quality. Ultimately, this feels a touch superfluous as all three bands are pretty static onstage, though the music remains impressive. GRADE: B–,
Paradigma (Norway): Mare Veris (Head Not Found HNF 008, CD, 1995)
Metal
Cecilie Eidskrem (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
The band described their sound as ‘majestic doom’, which isn’t far off the mark, though this is perhaps more specifically majestic doomdeath, blending soprano female vocals with growls and clean male singing. However, their powerful sound isn’t matched by equally memorable compositions and some of the tempo changes are not handled particularly well. GRADE: C+.,
Sirens Of Titan (USA): Sirens Of Titan (SOT Recordings SOT 0001, CD, 2007)
Metal
Felicia Mitchell (lead vocals)
Betwixt hard rock and traditional metal, this has punchy riffs aplenty but little in the way of variety, so the results, whilst initially invigorating, soon become rather fatiguing. GRADE: C.
Updated 20th November:
Flaming Row (Germany): Keeper Of The Scriptures/Hüterin Der Schriften (No label, double CD, with gatefold minisleeve, book, booklet, insert and download cards, 2025)
Progressive/Metal
Josie Ann Mau (occasional vocals), Melanie Mau (occasional vocals), Sally Minnear (occasional vocals), Magali Luyten (occasional vocals), Natalie Brown (occasional vocals), Jelena Dobric (occasional vocals)
This is possibly Martin Schnella and Melanie Mau’s best work: a richly crafted rock opera blending folky and hard rocking sections to great effect and packed with twists and turns. That said, rock opera with faint neoprogressive edges is never going to figure among my favourite styles. The two discs, incidentally, feature the same album with English and German lyrics, whilst the downloads also offer an instrumental version and audiobook MP3s of the German novel on which this is based (included in the deluxe package) in both languages. GRADE: C+.
Pareidolon (Canada): The Beginning: Live At Shambhala Hall (No label, download, 2024, recorded 2016)
Progressive/Rock/Metal
Brittany Keller (lead vocals, keyboards), Ashley Pierce (guitar), Anna Katerina (keyboards)
This four-track, 23-minute EP captures Pareidolon’s first gig from 2016 in excellent sound quality. The progressive hard rock here is both pleasant and accomplished, indicating that they hit the ground running and with many of their ideas fully formed. GRADE: C+.
Pareidolon (Canada): The Unattainable Shore (No label, CD, 2025
Progressive
Brittany Keller (principal vocals), Ashley Pierce (guitar, backing vocals), Anna Katerina (keyboards, backing vocals)
Pareidolon’s first full-length set lacks nothing in ambition: this is a concept album running for more than an hour, including a 24-minute track and bolstered by a demo version of the 10-minute ‘Emotional Tides’ (which is rawer and more energetic than anything on the album proper). This is sophisticated symphonic prog that’s extremely well crafted, mellifluous and accomplished; however like a lot of sophisticated symphonic prog, it doesn’t have melodies and riffs that quite match its chops. GRADE: C+.
Poor Genetic Material (Germany): Pastoral (No label PGM CD 13, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2025)
Progressive
Pia Darmstaedter (flute)
‘Pastoral’ is the perfect descriptor for Poor Genetic Material’s understated, mellifluous brand of prog and the artwork matches the music equally perfectly. On their Bandcamp page, they describe this as an ‘album we’re extremely proud of’ and so they should be: when they call this ‘the emotionally most intense album we have ever made’ they’re not wrong. Yet it all remains so understated that it’s still a C+, though a superbly crafted C+. GRADE: C+.
Updated 13th November:
Emerald Dawn (UK): The Land, The Sea, The Air (Volume I) (World’s End WERCD6, 2025)
Progressive
Katrina Jane Stewart (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, flute)
I’ve rated everything the Emerald Dawn have produced so far, and this ecologically-themed concept album is no exception. On the plus side, it takes them into some interesting new areas: the jazz-fusion feel of the opening instrumental ‘Dancing With The Spirit’ is a bold departure, as is the prog-metal riffing of ‘Under Changing Skies’. That’s not to say the album is perfect: the doomy melody lines of ‘While Oceans Die’ feel a little self-conscious, there are some occasional neoprogressive tinges and the brash mastering is a tad unsympathetic, but there’s plenty to enjoy here. GRADE: B–.
Giöbia (Italy): X-Æon (Heavy Psych Sounds HPS363, CD, with digipak, 2025)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Melissa Crema (keyboards)
One track is titled ‘1976’, but this predominantly instrumental space-rock set sounds thoroughly modern in its execution. That said, it draws liberally on seventies sources, with more of a Krautrock feel than their earlier releases, taking them away from their more familiar Floyd stylings and adding further exciting textures to their impressive sonic palette. GRADE: B–.
Submarine Silence (Italy): Atonement Of A Former Painter Turned Artist (Ma.Ra.Cash MRCLP 048, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2025)
Progressive
Manuela Milanese (occasional vocals)
Whilst the slight neoprogressive edge and strong Genesis influence (never my favourite seventies prog band) initially made me think this might be a strong C+, I was ultimately won over by the band’s rich folky textures, clear passion for classic Rock Progressivo Italiano and sheer ambition in including a beautifully-crafted side-long suite. The superb artwork (especially on the LP, which has a gatefold sleeve and insert) didn’t hurt either. GRADE: B–.
Updated 6th November:
Amber Asylum (USA): Ruby Red (Prophecy Productions PRO 394 LU, CD, with book sleeve, Germany, 2025)
Progressive
Kris Force (joint lead vocals, synthesiser, violin, viola), Jackie Perez-Gratz (joint lead vocals, cello), Becky Hawk (joint lead vocals, drums, percussion), Fern Alberts (bass)
Back to being a band, Amber Asylum return with an album blending mid-length songs and instrumentals. It’s all effectively eerie and atmospheric, with the sparse string arrangements conveying a real sense of melancholy and doom, but I do find myself missing some of their more out-there excursions. GRADE: B–.
Goat (Sweden): Seu Sangue EP (Rocket Recordings LAUNCH304, cassette, with obi, UK, 2023)
Psychedelic/Dance
This stopgap set combines the new ‘Seu Sangue’ with dance remixes of songs from Oh Death to mixed effect. Whilst the quality of the underlying music remains stellar, ‘dance remixes’ aren’t really my thing, so on the basis that none of these versions improves on (or even equals) the original, I’d have to question the usefulness of this release. It’s certainly significant that the folky ‘Seu Sangue’ – the only track not to have been remixed – is the clear highpoint. GRADE: C+.
Goat & MC Yallah (Sweden/Kenya): Nimerudi (Rocket Recordings LAUNCH399, green or yellow vinyl, with download card, UK, 2025)
Psychedelic/Dance
In an odd sidestep for Goat, this 23-minute 12” EP contains five different mixes of their 2024 single ‘Nimerudi’, recorded with Kenyan female rapper MC Yallah. Needless to say, rap is not one of my preferred musical styles, but collaborating with an African hip-hop artists makes sense given with the band’s fixation on the continent’s music. As for the music results: by no means bad, but (surprise, surprise!) I would much have preferred this without the rapping and a couple of the remixes (notably the deconstruction by Good) are frankly tedious. As a footnote, the vinyl version contains ‘Seu Sangue’ as a bonus track. GRADE: C+.
Goat (Sweden): The Human Language ‘Goat’ Tape (Rocket Recordings LAUNCH424, cassette, UK, 2025)
Psychedelic/Dance
Yet another remix EP – this one consisting of eight tracks from Goat reworked by Human Language (whoever he/she/they may be). As Goat are increasingly recycling their music, I’ll recycle my reviews and once again note that the music here is decent but better before Human Language got his/her/their hands on it. GRADE: C+.
Litania (Italy/Serbia): Litania (Heavy Psych Sounds/Subsounds HPS369/SSR158LP, purple and black swirl vinyl, Italy, 2025)
Metal
Elisa De Munari (lead vocals, harmonium, sitar, dilruba)
Describing themselves as a ‘doom/Hindustan psych band’, Litania blend world music and metal influences in a similar way to Lowen – at least on paper. In practice, Litania’s music is harder-riffing, groovier, trippier and more majestic, giving them the edge for me. Whether their material equals their sound is debatable, but this is still hard-riffing, groovy, trippy and majestic enough to make it over the line to a B–. GRADE: B–.
Pic-Nic (Spain): Pic-Nic (HIspavox HHS 11-157, 1968)
Pop
Jeanette Dimech
This charming little pop album is an unassuming delight, with its feather-light textures, sweet harmonies and well-composed original material. In fact, this cam hold its own with the best folk/pop albums to emerge from the States and the finest Swingin’ London LPs of the era. GRADE: C+.
Updated 30th October:
Arteria (Mexico): Cuatro Visiones (Elbon 002, CD, 2011)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Mari Carmen Graue (violin)
The real revelation here is that the band is from Mexico: I tend to associate this kind of dissonant chamber music/RIO with French and Belgian outfits, and this immediately brings to mind Univers Zéro and some of Art Zoyd’s less electronic ventures. Entirely instrumental, the music prominently features electric guitar, anchoring it to rock rather than modern classical music, and there’s a high level of dynamism, but the presence of 10 discrete tracks makes the album a little fragmentary. Nonetheless, anyone liking Univers Zéro or the less electronic end of Art Zoyd, as I do, will find plenty to enjoy here. GRADE: B–.
Filigree (UK): Filigree (IBC Sound Recording Studios, acetate, 1973)
Folk
Christine Jeffrey, Patricia Spratt
This unreleased album is wide-ranging indeed, from an acapella ‘Yesterday’ to a beautiful version of ‘Banks Of The Lee’ that resembles Faraway Folk at their finest to an unusual (and very effective) garagy electric reading of ‘Meet On The Ledge’. However, whilst this is frequently quite lovely it’s not all good news: the band also have one foot in choral classical music (notably on ‘O Bone Jesu’) and another in the pure MOR and nostalgia camp (pun very much intended), as throwaway numbers like ‘Moonlight Medley’ and ‘Lida Rose’ indicate. An archive release, also self-titled (Bright Carvings BCLP012, with inserts, 2024) compiles the better tracks from the acetate with a few pieces from a live cassette. GRADE: B–See also Sunday Afternoons
Foehn (France): Faëria (Centre Loisirs & Culture CC 4610, 1985)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Anou Belliard (lead vocals)
The obvious reference point here is Cos, with Anou Belliard offering some very Pascale Son-like scatting, though there are slight references to the softest end of Magma and fusion and jazz/funk in general. Composed as the soundtrack to a modern ballet, this is both well-structured and beautifully recorded, but it doesn’t have quite the same carefree abandon as Cos or sense of adventure of Magma, and the prominent synthesisers sometimes get a bit cheesy.
GRADE: C+.
Hobbit House Collective (UK): The Hobbit House Collective (Regal Crabomophone winkle 45, CDR, with mini sleeve, 2022)
Psychedelic
Jacqueline Bourne
Bringing together various stakeholders from the Honey Pot/Crystal Jacqueline, this received broader release as a double single featuring superb covers of Led Zeppelin’s ‘The Battle Of Evermore’ and ‘Ramble On’, a heavy acid-rock jam based around Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ and one original jam ‘Wolfgang Does The Nurburgring’. However, a CDR adding five bonus alternative versions of the tracks was sold at a Honey Pot gig in London in January 2022. Whilst my grade may seem generous for what amounts to an odds-and-sods collection, this is perhaps the best album to emerge from this collective of musicians – which is saying quite something. GRADE: B.
Honey Pot (UK): The Secret (Billywitch B1004CD, CDR, with book sleeve, 2021)
Psychedelic
Jacqueline Bourne (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
A picture of Jefferson Airplane, a quote from Robert Crumb about the Grateful Dead and a still from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ indicate the Honey Pot’s secret: they take psychedelic inspiration from anything and everything, rather than slavishly adhering to any particular style. Of course, many modern bands play eclectic psychedelia, so the real issue is whether or not they have innate trippiness. The Honey Pot have it. GRADE: B–.
Honey Pot (UK): The Happiness Explosion (Billywitch B1020, double, 2024)
Psychedelic
Jacqueline Bourne (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
The Honey Pot’s first album in three years is quite the epic, offering 17 songs totalling nearly 83 minutes. However, don’t expect any kind of high-blown concept album, as I’m struggling to identify any overarching or collective identity. Nonetheless, as with everything this band has released, there’s plenty of good music on offer. GRADE: B–.
Honey Pot (UK): Live At The New Avalon Ballroom (Mega Dodo DODOLP38, purple vinyl, 2025)
Psychedelic
Jacqueline Bourne (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
Mixing old and new material, this live set is customarily excellent, boasting the winning combination of acid guitar and trebly organ – the building blocks of many favourite albums in my collection. GRADE: B–.
Softwire (UK): Amplitude (No label, download, 2024)
Rock
Softwire being Software (and essentially a ‘various artists’ project as much as a collective), this ranges from early seventies-style hard rock (quite a bit of hard rock, actually) to ballads, synth-pop and rap. As such, most listeners will have strong preferences between tracks, but overall this is as charming as usual and somehow just about manages to hang together. GRADE: C+.
Stormy Six (Italy/UK): Macchina Maccheronica (L’Orchestra OLPS 55009, with booklet, 1980)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Georgie Born (cello)
Some albums transcend language barriers whilst others don’t: the admittedly fascinating Macchina Maccheronica belongs in the second category. This Italian band pioneered Rock In Opposition during the seventies, issuing a string of albums (though this was the only one with Henry Cow alumna Georgie Born in the line-up), and here their sound blends Brechtian elements with Italian folk styles, chamber music, some circus-like elements and a few (fairly restrained) avant-rock edges. The end results are very interesting, but I suspect one would need some command of Italian to appreciate this to the full. GRADE: B–.
See also Lindsay Cooper, Feminist Improvising Group, Henry Cow, Officer!, Mike Westbrook Orchestra
Uffington Horse (USA): Enchantment (Sea Fire Productions SFP 0409, CD, with poster booklet, 2004)
Folk/Rock
Heather Alexander (lead vocals, guitar, violin)
This electric folk album features excellent original material by Heather Alexander and lively, if not particularly varied, arrangements. The relative narrowness of the band’s style becomes obvious over 14 songs and nearly 66 minutes, but there’s enough good stuff here to get it over the line to a B–. Ms Alexander made a number of solo albums, which I have not encountered. GRADE: B–.
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
