New and Updated

Updated 9th April:

Magenta (UK): Tarot (Tigermoth TMRCDM0326, double CD plus double DVD, with gatefold minisleeve, minisleeves, autographed tarot cards, envelope and tin, 2026)
Progressive
Christina Murphy (lead vocals)
This is easily Magenta’s best album since Metamorphosis and maybe their best of all time – Rob Reed wasn’t exaggerating when he described it as ‘the most coherent and consistent Magma album to date’. That’s partly because, as he also notes, he’s ‘a massive fan of Renaissance’ and this owes more to that band’s sound, which I love, than to Genesis, whom I don’t. I also suspect he has learned more than a few tricks from his solo career, which convinced me for the first time that he is legitimately talented. As an added bonus, this isn’t a direct pastiche of Renaissance, aside from some very Camp bass riffs but subtly references their style. That said, it’s still a C+ as Christina Murphy isn’t Annie Haslam and Reed isn’t Michael Dunford, though he is a better Mike Oldfield than Oldfield is these days. However, ultimately it’s the lack of truly memorable riffs and hooks that prevents a higher grade. Nonetheless, I rather like and slightly admire this, which is more than can be said for most of their previous work. In addition to the DVD with surround sound mixes included with all copies, the 1000-copies deluxe version includes a bonus CD with an outtake, some instrumental mixes and remixes of numbers from Songs From The Big Room plus a second DVD featuring nearly two hours of (pretty good) previously unreleased live-in-the-studio performances recorded in 2018 and 2025. GRADE: C+.

Mermaid Kiss (UK): The Mermaid Kiss Album (Flame flame20250cdUK, CD, 2003)
Folk/Rock
Evelyn Downing (lead vocals, guitar, flute, loops)
Mermaid Kiss supported Karnataka on at least one occasion and you can hear why – the haunting, ethereal music here often resembles Karnataka without the overt progressive edges. Like early-to-mid-period Karnataka, the music here is elegant, well-crafted and atmospheric, but also like Karnataka it’s a bit homogenous and unmemorable. GRADE: C+.
Mermaid Kiss (UK): Salt On Skin (No label MERM 02 CD, CD, 2006)
Folk/Rock
Kate Emerson (joint lead vocals) , Evelyn Downing (joint lead vocals, flute), Kate Belcher (joint lead vocals, flute)
Whilst in the same ethereal style as their first, this short (seven tracks in just under 30 minutes) second album is considerably more mature. Greater use of electric guitar and more pronounced rock elements deepen their sound significantly, though once again the lack of any rough edges or individually outstanding songs is notable. GRADE: C+.
Mermaid Kiss (UK): Etarlis (No label MERM 03 CD, CD, 2007)
Progressive
Evelyn Downing (principal vocals, flute), Kate Belcher (joint lead vocals,), Wendy Marks (recorder, oboe, cor anglais)
‘The songs on this album are inspired by a fantasy adventure, chronicling the journey of two friends into the disturbing and unpredictable land of Etarlis’ announce the sleeve notes. If that makes you expect full-blown prog, you’d be correct: this has an ambition and complexity missing from their first two, with the lengthy suite of music bolstered by rich orchestrations. With a few neoprogressive tinges, it still doesn’t quite make the leap to B– for me, despite the superb 10½-minute closer, but it’s a huge step forward from their rather tentative debut. GRADE: C+.

Updated 2nd April:

Nahla-esque (United Arab Emirates): Not Now (No label, download, 2025)
Metal
Nahla-esque aren’t the first band to cross Arabic music with metal, but being based in the UAE can lay claim to doing so more authentically than most. This is solid stuff – powerful, dynamic and assured – but the two songs total only 11 minutes, so it’s also a relatively modest statement of intent. GRADE: C+.

White Gloves & Party Manners (USA): A Whim-Wham To Wind The Sun Up (Deadline Recordings, CDR, 2013)
Industrial/Ambient
Sarada Holt (guitar, synthesiser, effects)
Using a variety of implements and devices, Ms Holt creates a series of soundscapes – some cacophonous and some tranquil – that are spacy and sepulchral and, well, mildly interesting. If that sounds like I’m damning her with faint praise, maybe I am: whilst I like this kind of stuff once in a while as a distraction from rock or folk, I’m not sure I could get sufficiently excited to award it anything higher than a C+. GRADE: C+.
See also Belladonna Bouquet, Sarada Holt, Tarantula Parlour

Updated 26th March:

Astralasia (UK): An Introduction To Astralasia (Fruits De Mer FDM XXXX, quadruple black CD, with gatefold minisleeve and inners, 2026)
Dance/Psychedelic
This gargantuan compilation of Astralasia and its offshoots runs for five hours and includes quite a number of rare and unreleased tracks. Musically, it’s all over the place, from spaced-out psychedelic improvisations (clearly a B–) through less interesting trance and ballads (in fair-to-middling C+ territory). Along the way, they even take in covers of ‘Johnny Remember Me’ and Brainticket’s, er, ‘Brainticket’ and ‘Places Of Light’. The good news is that the best numbers tend to be the longest – as good jams usually are. GRADE: B–.

Foxpockets (UK): The Coracle And The Albatross (Reverb Worship RW144, CDR, with minisleeve, 2011)
Folk
Katharine Simner, Jennifer Schamotta
This 25-minute EP offers traditional-sounding folk (though the songs appear to be originals) with all-acoustic arrangements. So far, so conventional, but there’s a faintly eerie edge to the band’s sound that makes this distinctive. We’re not exactly in ‘Wicker Man’ territory here, but this is intriguing enough I’d have rated it a B– if it had included one or two songs with unforgettable melodies or riffs. GRADE: C+.
Foxpockets (UK): Hope Can Make Feeble Ones Earnest And Brave/Live EP (Reverb Worship RW 253, CDR plus 3” CDR, with minisleeve and inserts, 2014)
Folk

Katharine Simner (lead vocals, spoons), Jennifer Schamotta (harp, pipe, backing vocals)
As with their first, this is both haunting and beautifully crafted, again with well-judged and sparse instrumentation, but their sound is a mite too traditional for me to love rather than like it. Nonetheless, at its best – as on ‘Mess Of Feathers’ and ‘Drag The Forest Down’ – this is delightful. The first 20 copies (of 60 in total) came with a bonus 3” disc featuring three lo-fi live songs totalling nine minutes. GRADE: C+.

Therion (Sweden/USA/Spain/Finland/Mexico): Con Orquesta (Napalm NPR1303DP, Blu-ray plus DVD and double CD, Austria, 2026)
Metal/Progressive
Lori Lewis (joint lead vocals), Rosalia Sairem (joint lead vocals)
Therion in concert with a full orchestra (conducted by James Cleverly’s doppelgänger, possibly seeking a new career outside politics) seems like a marriage made in heaven. However, though this was clearly a stunning gig, there are two problems. The first is the whole is so over-the-top as to be Spïnal Tap-esque, not helped by male singer Thomas Vikström dressing like Kenny Everett’s Sid Snot. The second is that the whole thing underlines Therion’s lack of artistic development since Vovin, with everything being almost indistinguishable. GRADE: B–.

Updated 19th March:

Corima (USA): Hunab Ku (Soleil Zeuhl 63, CD, France, 2026)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Andrea Calderón (principal vocals, violin)
Whether this is a landmark of avant-prog like Amaterasu is debatable. Whether it is a superb zeuhl album – a continuous suite of dynamic, powerful, constantly surprising music – is not. Executed with verve and delivered with power and fury, this is another remarkable addition to the zeuhl canon – and from the USA, of all places. GRADE: B–.

Deep Freeze Mice (UK): Luton Conversation: Rare Tracks From The Teenage Head In My Refrigerator Period (No label, download, 2013, recorded 1980-1981)

Sherree Lawrence
This grab-bag of oddities and offcuts, running for nearly an hour, is thoroughly enjoyable, ranging from live and rehearsal versions of familiar songs to a 20-minute ‘Guerrilla Recording’ at Leicester Polytechnic which sounds like the Grateful Dead’s ‘rhythm devils’. As such, my grade of C+ may be a bit mean, as there’s plenty of interest here. GRADE: C+.

Solstice (UK): Clann: The Stables Gathering (Wild Thyme WLTH007, double, orange vinyl, 2026)
Progressive
Jess Holland (principal vocals), Ebony Buckle (occasional vocals), Dyane Crutcher (occasional vocals), Jenny Newman (violin)
Solstice’s second post-Clann live album confused me: I originally thought this was a physical release of last year’s download. In fact, it’s a completely separate set, albeit with a strikingly similar track listing. That’s probably a metaphor for the music within, as whilst this is unfailingly pleasant it ultimately sounds like any other recent Solstice release. Oddly, the vinyl and CD versions have different track listings, with the former featuring two songs not on the latter and the latter one not on the former; the Bandcamp download version has everything, running for 90 minutes. GRADE: C+.

Updated 12th March:

Betty Çandre (France): À Vous… (FLVM 3068, 1985)
Folk/Rock
Nelly Badaud (lead vocals, flute), Betty Çandre (guitar)
I would classify this is as a singer/songwriter venture, but there’s a twist: Mme Çandre doesn’t sing anything, handing over the vocals to Nelly Badaud, who has a lovely ethereal voice. Musically it’s firmly in the folk/rock vein, with Çandre’s acoustic guitar unsurprisingly to the fore but also with a rhythm section, string synthesiser and flute adding a low-budget faintly symphonic edge, and occasional electric guitar leads. The whole thing is very French, very sensual and very light and uplifting, which just enough of a ‘real people’ edge to keep things interesting. GRADE: C+.

Life On Earth! (Sweden): Look!! There Is Life On Earth! (Subliminal Sounds SUBCD20, CD, 2007)
Psychedelic/Folk/Rock
Alexis Benson, Maria Berling, Mia Doi Todd
This Swedish collective effort, made up of luminaries from several other bands I love, recall the early seventies in the best possible way with this collection of folky excursions and trippy jams. The CD version adds two more ambient bonus tracks: one lasting a minute and the other a whopping 28½. GRADE: B–.
Life On Earth! (Sweden): A Space Water Loop (Subliminal Sounds SUBCD28, CD, 2008)
Psychedelic/Folk/Rock
Alexis Benson, Sarianna Cortes, Lisa Isaksson, Lisa Klevebrant
Like their first, this second and final instalment offers a varied grab-bag of trippy and folky sounds. As such, listeners may strongly prefer some songs to others, but ultimately this works more as a tapestry of different moods than a collection of individual pieces. GRADE: B–.
See also Kraig Grady, Hashish, Laike, Lisa & Piu, Lüüp, Me & My Kites, Our Solar System

Scarlet Lilac (West Germany): Scarlet Lilac (Marifon 296 037, 1981)
Pop/Rock
This power-pop album boasts catchy tunes, robust arrangements and an excellent production, with the emphasis as much on the rock as the pop side of the equation. How much appeal it will have to people raised on progressive or psychedelic rock may be a different matter, but I find this kind of stuff a welcome change of pace from more challenging music. GRADE: C+.

Wolvennest (Belgium): The Dark Path To The Light (Ván VÁN386, CD, with digipak and booklet, Germany, 2023)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic
Sharon Schievers
This is somewhat less gauzy than their last, which is a significant plus; I might even go further and call parts of it dynamic. But when all is said and done, this is spacy drone-rock, like most of their earlier work, and extremely good, also like most of their earlier work. GRADE: B–.
Wolvennest (Belgium): Procession (Consouling Sounds SOUL0223, CD, with digipak, 2025)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic
Sharon Schievers (principal vocals, Theremin)
In contrast to previous ventures, this features 11 tracks, most of which are relatively short. This format doesn’t particularly suit Wolvennest, as several of the pieces stop just as they’re get going, but there’s still – just – enough of interest to merit a B– here and at least they’re trying something different. GRADE: B–.

Updated 5th March:

Viv Akauldren (USA): Vivian’s Fountain (Resonance 19012-2, CD, 1990)
Psychedelic
Deb Agolli (drums, backing vocals)
This final outing is probably Viv Akauldren’s most well-rounded album, though I’ll Call You Sometime remains by far their most adventurous. But whilst I like their psych/garage/indie-rock crossover, it once again doesn’t make enough of an impression on me that I can award it anything higher than a C+. GRADE: C+.

Wolvennest (Belgium): Ritual MMXX (Ván VÁN331, CD, with digipak, 2021)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic
Sharon Schievers (principal vocals, synthesiser, Theremin)
Question: how do Wolvennest’s minimalistic space trips translate from the studio? Answer: on this evidence, remarkably well, as this live album is superb from start to finish. GRADE: B–.
Wolvennest (Belgium): Temple (Ván VÁN335, CD, with digipak, 2021)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic
Sharon Schievers (principal vocals, synthesiser, Theremin)
Different question: when is formless too formless and ambient too ambient? Answer: this one is much trickier, though my feeling is that Wolvennest may be starting to push their luck here. That’s not to say that this isn’t powerful, majestic, spacy and all the usual superlatives, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell their albums apart. GRADE: B–.

Updated 26th February:

Viv Akauldren (USA): Old Bags And Party Rags (Akashic, some on purple vinyl, with inserts and tattoo, 1985)
Rock/Psychedelic/New Wave
Deb Agolli (drums)
Driven by Deb Agolli’s metronomic drumming and bolstered by a superb recording, this is far from any conventional notion of an eighties psychedelic LP. The sparse yet dynamic music here, heavily influenced by the new wave, is propulsive and sometimes even funky, but it’s also notably less trippy than the band’s reputation as a stalwart of eighties psychedelia might suggest. GRADE: C+.
Viv Akauldren (USA): I’ll Call You Sometime (Akashic, LP plus 7”, with inner, 1987)
Garage/Psychedelic
Deb Agolli (drums, backing vocals)
The wild lo-fi psychedelia of the opening ‘Of’ makes clear that this is going to be nothing like their well-mannered first, and this is varied indeed, from the spooky psych-folk of ‘Along The Way’ (probably the best number) to two delicate instrumentals (‘The Maker Of The Sun And Moon’ and ‘Farrowbone’). Meanwhile, the bonus EP contains even more freeform material, providing an excellent complement to the album proper. Whilst rarely brilliant, this is certainly an interesting and varied set, and like the (very) vaguely comparable Crystalized Movements Viv Akauldren should be congratulated for keeping this kind of music alive during the dark days of the eighties. GRADE: C+.
Viv Akauldren (USA): Witness (Resonance 08904-1, 1989)
Garage/Psychedelic
Deb Agolli
This EP is far less adventurous than I’ll Call You Sometime but also more consistent, offering more-than-decent garage psych with the more precise playing and recording that characterised their debut. For sure, this isn’t going to shift your paradigms, but it passes the best part of 25 minutes pleasantly enough. GRADE: C+.

Wolvennest Featuring Der Blütharsch & The Infinite Church Of The Leading Hand (Belgium): WLVNNST (WéMè WeMe036, double, 2016)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic
Marthynna (joint lead vocals)
A freeform metal/space-rock crossover of this kind is bound to attract comparisons to Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, but whilst there are strong similarities there are also marked differences. Wolvennest’s music is even more unstructured, at times approaching drone-rock and at others near-ambient sounds, with lots of synthesisers and electronics adding psychedelic atmosphere. How much you like this may depend on your tolerance for purely experimental music, but to my ears there’s plenty to enjoy here. GRADE: B–.
Wolvennest (Belgium): Void (Ván VÁN248, CD, with digipak and poster, Germany, 2018)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic
Sharon Schievers (principal vocals, synthesiser, Theremin)
Once again, this is a hard one to grade: Wolvennest are clearly not a band with artistic development front of mind, and I suspect their albums are going to offer endless retreads of the formula established by their debut. Does such an approach really merit a B–? Then again, my grades are about musical satisfaction more than anything, and I find this sort of stuff thoroughly satisfying. In particular, the 17-minute closer ‘La Mort; is nothing short of stunning: an über-heavy space trip that doesn’t particularly take you anywhere but offers a thrilling ride. GRADE: B–.
Wolvennest (Belgium): Vortex (Ván VÁN274, CD, with digipak, Germany, 2019)
Metal/Progressive/Psychedelic
Sharon Schievers (principal vocals, synthesiser, Theremin)
At 21minutes, this is considerably shorter than their first two, but it also contains the best music I’ve heard from Wolvennest. This is truly majestic, minimalist stuff – an enveloping cauldron of sound lush with atmosphere and resplendent in its power. In fact, the song titles sum up the musical content perfectly: ‘Spirit of The Black Wolves Dogs And The Wild White Horses’, ‘Vortex’ and ‘The Storm’. GRADE: B–.

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

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:

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:

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.

June 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:

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 4th December:

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+.

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–.

New and Updated​​​​​​​​​​​​​

New and Updated