New and Updated

Updated 22nd October:

Gruppa 33 (Russian Federation): Ves’ Etot Mir (Male 001, CD, with digipak and poster, 2004)
Folk/Rock
This Russian folk/rock album is both refreshingly simple and perversely difficult to describe. Consisting entirely of short tracks, it has lush arrangements and mellow male and female vocals, some symphonic edges, metal riffs on a couple of cuts and even a slight AOR/soft rock sensibility here and there. Most importantly, it has some lovely songs and creates a tranquil and enveloping atmosphere, making it a pity that the band never recorded again. GRADE: B–.

Luc Marian’s Seltae Beat (France): Up And Down (Muséa FGBG 4185.AR, CD, 1996)
Rock/Progressive
Caroline Crozat (principal vocals)
From the somewhat strange concept – humans on an oil rig in 2160 battling hyper-intelligent whales – I expected something akin to a neoprog twist on Pink Floyd, but the Wall-like helicopter sound effects are as close as this gets. Instead, this is mainstream soft rock and light prog, interspersed with a few mellow instrumentals – well sung by Ange vocalist Caroline Crozat and nicely played and produced, but not exactly memorable or compelling. GRADE: C+.
See also Ange, Black And Blue, Kaharo

Luminos (UK): Seize The Day (Market Square Music MSMCD115, CD, 2003)
Rock/Progressive
Anni Meehan (joint lead vocals)
I’ve seen this album described as neoprogressive, but it has none of the clichés of the genre, partly because it has no keyboards whatsoever. Instead it’s robust rock and folk/rock, driven by some assertive guitar work that adds distinction to a solid set of songs. But whilst it’s appealing enough and beautifully produced to boot, it doesn’t have the brilliant material or the sense of derring-do to merit a B–. GRADE: C+.

Me (UK): Victims Of Testosterone EP (Pop God PGCD 28, CD, 1994)
Pop/Rock/Psychedelic
Bethan White
Offering four songs totalling 18 minutes, this falls somewhere between indie and psychedelic (with more overt acid-rock elements on the impressive opener ‘Troubled’). It’s rather a pleasant slice of nineties nostalgia, even if it’s not about to change your life. GRADE: C+.
Me (UK): Fecund Haunts (Pop God PGCD37, CD, 1995)
Pop/Rock/Psychedelic
Bethan White
This 64-minute album is far more expansive than the EP, taking in everything from baroque pop to dreamy indie to acapella pieces – all very impressionistic and often mildly trippy, and once again quintessentially nineties. GRADE: C+.

Persephone’s Dream (USA): Anomalous Propagation (Melodic Revolution MRRCD 22172, double CD, 2019)
Progressive
Heidi Engel (lead vocals), Laura Martin (keyboards, backing vocals)
Persephone’s Dream’s first album in nearly a decade does not lack ambition, with 80 minutes of music including the bonus track. Nor is it lacking in quality: this is solid, muscular progressive rock with a distinctly American feel. However, it does lack of variety and sense of adventure of Pan, so this time round they’re going to lack a B–. GRADE: C+.

Slogans (Italy): Photosynthesis (No label SL 001, 1984)
Progressive
Silvia Bizzotto (occasional vocals)
This mellow prog album has nothing over four-and-a-half minutes, but thankfully also few overt neoprogressive elements. The results are delicate, dainty and very Italian, but not exactly memorable. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Robert Gemo later formed the very different G/Emo. GRADE: C+.

Updated 15th October:

Fastilio (Italy): Fastilio (No label, cassette, 1993)
Jazz/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Margareth Kammerer (lead vocals, guitar), Flavia D’Angelantonio (bass). Filomena Forleo (piano), Olivia Bignardi (drums, clarinet), Daniela Cattivelli (saxophone), Silvia Fanti (accordion)
The live debut by this all-female RIO sextet offers a varied selection of slightly fragmentary improvisations demonstrating clear influences from Henry Cow and the Art Bears but with few obvious rock references. Instead they emphasise the free jazz, folk and neoclassical sides of the equation, creating an enjoyable set that might have attained a B– had it been a little more focused. GRADE: C+.

Ophelian (UK): Seasonal (Reverb Worship RW 096, CDR, with insert, 2009)
Metal/Psychedelic
Christina Lange (bass)
From the format – one piece of 12 minutes and another of 20 – I was expecting this to be crushing, sludgy funereal doom in a similar style to fellow female bassist Tanya Byrne’s various projects. Whilst the two jams are clearly rooted in doom, they’re nimble rather than overbearing and the guitar tone is thin rather than flanged to the ether, creating a retro seventies mood that also references the heavier end of acid-rock. Of course, listeners disliking free-form instrumental jams may argue that nothing of significance really happens here, but in return I’d argue that’s not really the point. GRADE: B–.
Ophelian (UK): Ghosts In The Garden (Wouldlands, double black CDR, with gatefold minisleeve and poster, 2010)
Metal/Psychedelic
Christina Lange (bass)
Ophelia’s debut delighted partly because it was concise; this sprawling behemoth runs for nearly two hours, with nine jams of between seven and 26½ minutes. The opening ‘Seasonal Afterthought’ is ominously mellow, with nothing much happening for 14½ minutes, but thankfully things pick up with the more overtly metallic ‘Highwayman’ and this higher standard is generally maintained. However, this does not alter the fact that two hours of this kind of thing is at least an hour and a quarter too much and pretty soon all the jams blend into one. GRADE: C+.
Ophelian (UK): Missing I Of Phelan Tree (Wouldlands WDLS #2, blue CDR, with gatefold minisleeve, poster and insert, 2011)
Metal/Psychedelic
Christina Lange
The jams here feel more powerful, elemental and effective than those in Ghosts In The Garden, though maybe that’s because this is half the length. As such, I’m torn as to a grade. Is there really as much artistry involved in executing a series of jams ranging from 57 seconds to 28 minutes as there is in beautifully crafting a set of poignant, heartfelt songs or structuring a progressive rock suite packed with twists and turns? However, that rhetorical question doesn’t really produce an answer, and I can only judge an album on what it does and this one does it very well indeed. GRADE: B–.

Updated 8th October:

Bobbie Dazzle (UK): Star Power (Rise Above, clear or sparkle blue vinyl, 2026)
Rock/Metal
Siân Greenaway (lead vocals, percussion, flute)
What sets Bobbie Dazzle’s retro-hard rock apart from, say, Blues Pills’s retro hard-rock? The much-touted glam influence is clearly a factor, but once again Ms Greenaway’s love of seventies pop as well as rock shines through, taking the music closer to Children Of The Sün. It certainly helps that can write consistently fine songs in both the pop and rock idioms. GRADE: B–.

Flowers Must Die (Sweden): Stormen Före Lugnet (Blommor BLOMMOR001. 2026, recorded 2017)
Psychedelic/Jazz
Lisa Ekelund (lead vocals, harmonium, percussion, violin, Theremin)
This 21-minute EP, containing two nine-year-old jams, is a game of two halves. ‘Dårskapens Anlete Virvlar I Dansen’ unexpectedly has strong free jazz influences, with saxophone leading a cacophonous performance hinting towards early seventies avant-gardists like Carla Bley. The far superior title track is in more familiar territory, being a sitar-led percussive groove that meanders hypnotically for 11½ delightful minutes. As such, I’m slightly torn as to a grade, as one number is a C+ and the other a B–, but I’ll err on the side of generosity. GRADE: B–.
Flowers Must Die (Sweden): Tystnad (Rocket Recordings LAUNCH448, with insert and download card, 2026)
Psychedelic/Jazz
Lisa Ekelund (principal vocals, harmonium, percussion, violin, Theremin)
The seven jams here range from five to nearly nine minutes and cover a wide range of ground. ‘Nåja’ has the free-jazz edges and cacophony of Dårskapens Anlete Virvlar I Dansen’. None of them is as psychedelic or expansive as ‘Stormen Före Lugnet’. And whilst none is exactly bad, I wouldn’t describe any of them as particularly compelling either. GRADE: C+.

Fluttr Effect (USA): Trithemis Festiva (Trojan Horse Multimedia Productions, CD, 2004)
Progressive/Metal
Kara Trott (lead vocals), Vessela Stovanova (marimba), Valerie Thompson (cello, backing vocals)
From the odd instrumentation – how bands have a dedicated cellist and marimba player – I expected this to be rather ambient, with either jazzy or neoclassical edges. In fact it’s closer to prog-metal, with heavy riffs and assertive lead guitar, though it often has a gauzy and impressionistic mood as well. The result is an album that’s quite difficult to grade, as nothing here is exactly unforgettable but it’s all interesting and very creative, sounding as though it might have been influenced by Amber Asylum and in turn influenced the interconnected Grayceon. GRADE: B–.
Fluttr Effect (USA): Marking Time (Trojan Horse Multimedia Productions, CD, 2006)
Progressive/Metal
Kara Trott (lead vocals), Vessela Stovanova (percussion, melodica), Valerie Thompson (cello, backing vocals)
This is somewhat less strange than their debut, though the clumsily handled tempo changes on the opening ‘Like This’ are pretty startling. Overall, this feels more American, with a slightly more mainstream progressive metal style, though it’s still very varied and distinctive in parts – though not quite enough to merit another B–. GRADE: C+.
Fluttr Effect (USA): Swallows And Sparrows (Trojan Horse Multimedia Productions, CD, with minisleeve, 2006)
Singer/Songwriter
Kara Trott (lead vocals), Vessela Stovanova (percussion), Valerie Thompson (cello)
Quite different from their earlier work, this 28-minute mini-album sees the band reduced to a trio of voice, percussion and cello – at least according to the credits, though a couple of songs are based around piano. The end results sit somewhere between singer/songwriter, ambient, folk and neoclassical, being haunting and beautiful, though without the surprises of the band’s earlier work. GRADE: C+.

Opel (UK): Ohm Spirits Castle (Future Wizards, download, 2024)
Folk/Psychedelic
Claire Colley (lead vocals, keyboards)
Blending styles from their earlier releases, this is essentially a homage to Krautfolk, whilst also referencing a number of modern wyrd-folk stylists. Like most of their earliest releases, it’s impressively trippy, minimalist and often quite weird stuff that for the most part impresses deeply. GRADE: B–.

Pure Reason Revolution (UK): Terrifying Angels (InsideOut/Sony IOM776/19958459252, CD, with digipak and booklet, Germany, 2026)
Annicke Shireen (occasional vocals)
What’s most interesting about Terrifying Angels is how the format shaped the music. Twenty years ago, Pure Reason Revolution – then unquestionably a band – debuted with a 56-minute set The Dark Third that was designed for CD. Here – now operating as Jon Courtney plus occasional minor contributors – they offer two short songs (taking them closer to prog-metal than ever been) and one long Floydian epic per side, clearly designed for vinyl. That’s not to say the music is uninteresting – this is about as good as their last, way better than their techno phase and not a patch on The Dark Third. As such, it’s both one of the better albums of the year and a slight anticlimax. GRADE: B–.

Updated 1st October:

Nepaal (Hungary): Black Batik !, II (Psychedelic Source, double, various vinyl colours, with insert, 2021)
Psychedelic
Kriszti Benus
These powerful, dynamic jams – stepping forward from Ash Ra Tempel, the Cosmic Jokers at al – are so powerful and dynamic that an hour and quarter of them is almost overwhelming. That’s not a criticism, as nobody is going to force you to listen to them in succession. But – like almost everything from the Psychedelic Source stable – they’re so good that you probably will anyway. GRADE: B–.

Pale Beneath The Moon (USA): Hologram (Reach For The Sky RFTS 070406, CD, 2004)
Singer/Songwriter/Pop
Rhonda Everitt (lead vocals, keyboards)
This was marketed as prog and compared to Kate Bush, which is why ended up buying it; in reality it’s a mixture of singer/songwriter and pop stylings, with a few slight trip-hop elements. In fairness, there is a resemblance to Bush, though it’s fairly superficial, but despite some interesting production touches this isn’t prog in any shape or form. The band followed this 26-minute EP with a 2007 album She Dangled It In Front Of Him Like A Cat Toy, which I haven’t heard. GRADE: C+.

Square Wild (UK): Otherling (No label, CDR, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, some autographed, 2026)
Progressive/Metal

Lucy Shevchuk (lead vocals, guitar, piano)
Otherling presents the other half of Square Wild’s debut (according to them, rather than me) album, with five of the ten songs appearing in identical versions on last year’s Astral Lodge Sessions. Following along with the lyric sheet and comparing Lucy Shevchuk’s diction, the punk influence underpinning their sound and attitude becomes much more obvious. This is less in evidence on the longer songs, where they really stretch out and jam – which, needless to say, are my favourites. GRADE: B–.

Updated 24th September:

Charming Hostess (USA): The Ginzburg Geography (Tzadik TZ 4039, CD, with digipak, booklet and obi, 2022)
Folk/Rock
Jewlia Eisenberg (joint lead vocals), Cynthia Taylor (joint lead vocals), Marika Hughes (joint lead vocals, cymbal, cello)
The late Jewlia Eisenberg’s final project, completed after her death, was a concept album based on the writings of World War 2 Italian Jewish antifascists Natalia and Leone Ginzburg. Somewhere in style between Slapp Happy and Schmetterlinge, this is occasionally a little whimsical for my tastes but the better half of it is an impressive tribute to Eisenberg’s considerable talent. GRADE: C+.

Guillotine Spring (UK): Eclosion (ElasticStage, with inner, 2024)
Folk/Rock
Maria O’ Donnell (lead vocals), Kirsteen Barlow (drums)
Maria O’ Donnell and Mat Fowler describe their post-Galley Beggar project as ‘psych-folk/rock’, but this isn’t what you’d expect from that label. In fact, it’s one of those albums that is easier to describe in terms of what it isn’t than what it is. Musically it has a bit of an occult rock feel, except that there are few occult references in the lyrics. Nor is it really folk/rock despite frequently being folky, and it isn’t exactly hard rock or metal either whilst having clear hard rock underpinnings. Finally, whilst it has lots of psychedelic touches (especially on the standout tracks ‘In Your Garden’ and ‘Whispers’ it isn’t really psychedelic either, and with entirely short-ish songs it certainly isn’t progressive. It’s all very atmospheric, carefully performed and beautifully recorded, but ultimately it’s never quite one or the other so it deserves a neither-one-thing-nor-the-other grade. GRADE: C+.
See also Galley Beggar

Orlando Rock Band (USA): Songs For Tibet (No label, CDR, 2004)
Psychedelic/Progressive/‘Incredibly Strange Music’
Layla Bennett Buck
There are only two ‘songs’ here: both are more like jams, and they total a little over 14 minutes. They are more lo-fi and wilder than anything the band has done before, not to mention even more amateurish. GRADE: C+.
Layla & The Orlando Rock Band (USA): The Spoonful Album Volume 2 – Between Life And Death (Dogstar Productions 060504, CDR, 2004)
Pop/‘Incredibly Strange Music’
Layla Bennett Buck
Unlike other Orlando Rock Band albums, this consists entirely of short songs, with Ms Buck trying out her pop smarts. The results are as odd as ever, with the whole thing having a loose, tentative feel, but less compelling than their usual fare. Once again, they recycle themes dating all the way back to their first album, showing themselves to be specialists in making a little go a very, very long way. GRADE: C.
Orlando Rock Band (USA): Long Lost Loves (No label BE10706d, CDR, 2006)
Psychedelic/Progressive/
Layla Bennett Buck (lead vocals, keyboards)
Good news: for their final album (though with an outfit as obscure as this, your guess is as good as mine) they’re back to mine. Other good news: this is more dynamic and less awkward than usual, adding up to possibly their best album. Not so good news: they’re still recycling exactly the same material, though I would have expected nothing less. GRADE: C+.

Sairie (UK): Beneath The Spreading Tree (No label, download, 2026)
Folk/Psychedelic
Emma Morton (principal vocals, autoharp)
Whilst the ‘Wicker Man’ soundtrack may be a lazy reference point for a certain kind of haunting, mildly trippy folk, it’s spot-on here: ‘The Breeze On The Mountain’ even lifts its riff directly from ‘Gently Johnny’. Or to put it another way, the band’s own description of their music as an ‘exploration of early seventies folk influences, blending otherworldly atmospherics with stripped-back arrangements’ is bang on the money, with the music hinting at everyone from Pentangle to Stone Angel. As such, this is a strong contender for my best album of 2026. GRADE: B–.

Stinking Lizaveta (USA): Cassandra, Prophet Of Doom (SRA, CD, 2026)
Metal
Cheshire Agusta (drums)
This 28-minute album contains some decent riffs and some pleasant more laid-back grooves – perhaps a little less jazzy than normal, but otherwise business as usual. Whether it contains anything I would need to hear repeatedly is a different matter entirely. GRADE: C+.

Updated 17th September:

Layla & The Orlando Rock Band (USA): Dance Of Life – Tribal Jam (No label, CDR, 2001)
Psychedelic/Progressive/‘Incredibly Strange Music’
Layla Bennett Buck (lead vocals, synthesiser), Sweet Christine (synthesiser, backing vocals)
What makes these trippy jams different from other trippy jams? The sheer amateurishness of the enterprise, which takes this firmly into ‘real people’ territory. It’s not just the often-subliminal vocals or the lack of a bass player; the inept, plodding drums (which are credited to ‘Stevie-Boy’ but sound programmed) are the icing on the cake, or maybe they’re the main ingredient in the cake. That they left all the between-songs chatter in, put the track breaks in the wrong places and spend virtually the entire album jamming around the same themes is the cherry on the icing. GRADE: C+.
Orlando Rock Band (USA): Secrets (No label, CDR, 2003)
Psychedelic/Progressive
Layla Bennett Buck (lead vocals, synthesiser), Sweet Christine (synthesiser, backing vocals)
What makes these trippy jams different from the trippy jams on their first album? Not much, actually: they even rework the same themes and songs. The results are slightly (note the qualifier) less weird than their debut, and after hearing the impressive 19-minute opener ‘You Steal’ I was preparing to award this a B–. That changed after I heard the other three numbers. GRADE: C+.
Orlando Rock Band (USA): Trips (No label, CDR, 2003)
Psychedelic/Progressive/‘Incredibly Strange Music’
Layla Bennett Buck (lead vocals, keyboards), Sweet Christine (synthesiser, backing vocals)
The Orlando Rock Band’s albums can’t really be categorised by form – they all seem to consist of lengthy jams, in this case more keyboard-based and dreamy than usual – but by their level of weirdness. This is odder than Secrets but not as weird as their debut, though I’m not entirely clear of the actual order in which they were issued. They do have some new material this time round, however, which makes me think this is their third. GRADE: C+.

Tenebra (Italy): Gen Nero (LSDIY 001, 2019)
Metal
Silvia Feninno (lead vocals)
Tenebra’s brand of stripped-down seventies-influenced hard rock and metal is dynamic, appealing and extremely well executed. But whilst there’s no obvious room for improvement within their chosen template, there’s also a limit to the grade I can give to music this relatively unambitious. GRADE: C+.
Tenebra (Italy): Moongazer (New Heavy Sounds NHSCD036, CD, 2022)
Metal
Silvia Feninno (lead vocals, tambourine)
The lovely cover might make you expect something progressive, but this is good old-fashioned retro rock like their debut. I’d emphasise the word ‘good’ in that description, as this is once again very well executed. But whilst it seems churlish to criticise an album from what it isn’t rather than what it is, I’m once again not convinced their chosen limitations make their music interesting enough to merit a B–. GRADE: C+.

Updated 10th September:

Crystal Teardrop (UK): Loves You More (Popclaw, download, 2026)
Psychedelic/Pop
Alexandra Rose (lead vocals, guitar, mandola)
In the accompany press release, my friend and ‘Galactic Ramble’ and ‘Endless Trip’ co-author Richard Morton Jack describes this as ‘an intoxicating brew of jangling guitars and electric sitar, swirling organ and tight grooves’ and he’s right on the money. Like their first, this is excellent retro garage pop drawing on both psychedelia and girl group influences, and if it resembles countless albums you’ve heard from the late sixties that’s actually a feature not a bug. GRADE: B–.

Nephila (Sweden): Huldra (Majestic Mountain, black and yellow splatter vinyl, 2026)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Josephine Asker (joint lead vocals), Stina Olsson (joint lead vocals)
Listening to both of Nephila’s albums in succession, it’s clear that in one sense Huldra is a step backwards – at least Nephila had a 9½-minute closing track. However, in every other regard it’s two steps forward, with a much more confident mood and a much stronger set of songs, resembling Mr Hellenrud’s former band in its poise and swagger. As such, this is a B–, though the gap between the band’s two albums is lesser than that distinction might suggest. GRADE: B–.

Updated 3rd September:

Red Pocket (USA): Thick (Tzadik TZ 7710, CD, with obi, 2004)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Jewlia Eisenberg (joint lead vocals, bass), Marika Hughes (joint lead vocals, cello)
Aided by a nimble drummer, this Charming Hostess offshoot offer a procession of well-crafted songs with lots of interesting diversions. However, as the descriptor “songs” makes clear, there are no extended jams or wild instrumental diversions here, and there’s only so much one can do with voices, bass, cello, drums and percussion (though the quite dissimilar Grayceon have made some fascinating albums with a similar instrumental palette). GRADE: C+.
See also 2 Foot Yard, Charming Hostess, Graham Connah’s Sour Note Seven, Famous Last Words, Jewlia Eisenberg, Jettison Slinky, Stellamara

Revelation (USA): Revelation (Emmaus REV-001, 1979)
Jazz/Funk
Erica Friday (principal vocals), Sheri Paglia (occasional vocals, keyboards)
This religious album isn’t folk-based, like most such ventures, but jazz/funk with lots of horns. It’s perfectly well executed for what it is, and if you like jazz/funk with lots of horns you could get something out of it. I do not like jazz/funk with lots of horns but I do like folk-based music, making the uncharacteristic and beautiful ‘What Was It Like?’ by far the album’s highlight. GRADE: C.

Transgress (Germany): No Place To Hide (GB 45, blue vinyl, with CD and inserts, 2003)
Psychedelic
Nina Tasaousidis (lead vocals)
This garage-rock album has a trebly sound, crunchy riffs, snotty vocals and plenty of attitude. What it doesn’t have is a memorable set of songs, and it’s actually the occasional ballads that work best, significantly lifting the rest of the album. The bonus CD features four bonus tracks totalling 11 minutes, making one wonder why they didn’t include the album proper, thus giving the listener the choice of hearing it in an analogue or digital format. GRADE: C+.

Updated 27th August:

Loermel (UK): Emanuel (No label, cassette, 1991)
Progressive
Vicky Horobin (lead vocals)
Across this three-song, 14-minute set, the deeply obscure neoprogressive outfit Loermel demonstrate a rather gauzy style that somewhat resembles a less theatrical Quasar or (to a much lesser extent) Solstice or Edge. There’s nothing here you’ll desperately need to hear, but this does add a further piece to the surprisingly significant jigsaw of female-fronted eighties prog outfits. GRADE: C+.

Monsoon Bassoon (UK): Redoubtable (Org organ 13, cassette, 1995)
Progressive
Sarah Measures (occasional vocals, flute, clarinet)
This early project by the prolific Kavus Torabi owes an obvious heavy debt to the Cardiacs, with the same post-new wave flavour, wonky riffs and quirky tempo changes. However, whilst Sarah Measures’s winds add a welcome RIO flavour, this doesn’t quite have the tunefulness or the sheer sense of fun of the Cardiacs at their finest. However, there’s enough good music here to make me wish this was longer than a four-track, 14-minute EP. GRADE: C+.

Pentagram (Holland): The First Piece (No label, cassette, 1989)
Progressive
M Elmont (lead vocals)
The band name might imply metal, but this five-song, 23-minute cassette offers characteristic eighties neoprogressive in a style similar to Arrakeen or Quasar. Whilst those comparisons don’t exactly represent the highest recommendation, this is pleasant stuff, with a good balance between chunky riffs and symphonic keyboards, and Pentagram were probably unlucky that The First Piece was also their last piece. GRADE: C+.

Updated 20th August:

Julie July Band (UK): Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (Aurora Folk JJB18CD1, CDR, 2018)
Folk/Rock
Julie July (lead vocals)
An album of Sandy Denny covers is a bold way for any band to open its career – her own interpretations of most of her songs were so effective as to leave little room for improvement, permitting radical reinterpretation as the only obvious option. Julie July Band’s tribute to her on the 40th anniversary of her death isn’t exactly radical, but they sensibly avoid the trap of offering note-for-note remakes. The result is a beautiful and delicate folk/rock album, though it would have been difficult to go wrong with this particular set of songs. Whether you’ll feel compelled to listen to these versions in preference to the originals is an entirely different matter, however. GRADE: B–.
Julie July Band (UK): Lady Of The First Light (Aurora Folk JJB19CD1, CDR, 2018)
Folk/Rock
Julie July (lead vocals)
Julie July Band’s first album of original songs provides the acid test: how do they fare when performing their own material, rather than that of one of Britain’s greatest singer/songwriters? Surprisingly well, is the answer: at its best, this builds on Denny’s legacy in a similar way to Mandy Morton’s Magic Lady. That said, a few songs drift dangerously close to the middle of the road, but for the most part this is lovely stuff – tasteful, heartfelt, delicate and beautifully recorded. GRADE: B–.
Julie July Band (UK): Wonderland (Thoroughbred Music TBRED9306, CDR, with digipak and booklet, 2022)
Folk/Rock
Julie July (lead vocals), Carol Lee Sampson (keyboards, backing vocals)
A detractor could accuse the July Julie Band of being formulaic: from album to album, they alternate stately folk/rockers with haunting melodies and a faint Fleetwood Mac or Eagles vibe with more delicate acoustic cuts. But it’s such a winning formula – write great songs, arrange them tastefully and perform them with both verve and sensitivity – that said detractor would quickly end up eating his or her own words. GRADE: B–.
Julie July Band (UK): Flight Of Fancy (Aurora Folk JJB24CD1, CD, 2024)
Folk/Rock
Julie July (lead vocals), Carol Lee Sampson (keyboards, backing vocals)
The musical palette is a lot broader here – overt country influences on the opening title track, the reggae rhythm of ‘Boho Woman’, the slight soul stylings of ‘Front Of Nowhere’ and ‘Stuck In A Bubble’. The problem is that none of these experiments work particularly well, and despite the album being charming elsewhere (especially the sublime, mildly psychedelic ‘All In Our Minds’) Flight Of Fancy suggests that sometimes two-trick ponies should concentrate on perfecting those tricks so they remain outstanding in their field. GRADE: C+.
Julie July Band (UK): Diamond Rainbows (No label, 2026)
Rock
Julie July (lead vocals), Carol Lee Sampson (keyboards, backing vocals)
Freed from the failed experiments of Flight Of Fancy, here Ms July and her crew indulge their passion for Fleetwood Mac to the full – this is sometimes so similar as to qualify for a pastiche. Don’t expect another Fleetwood Mac or Rumours, obviously. Do expect a consistently fine set of classic rock, with great hooks, arrangements and performances – all so unpretentious and understated that on a casual listen you might be tempted to underrate this. GRADE: B–.

Updated 13th August:

Anchoress (UK): As We Once Were (Last Night From Glasgow LNFG236, double CD, with digibook, 2026)
Singer/Songwriter/Rock/Progressive
Catherine Anne Davies
Davies’s first set of original material in five years continues to challenge the definition of ‘prog’ in the twenty-first century. It also raises the question of whether musical context can be as important as music here. There’s no doubt that this collection of songs is very good indeed, starting with the strutting rock (whatever the female equivalent of cock-rock is – vulva- or vagina-rock, perhaps?) of ‘Throw Over Your Man’. However, it’s the linking tracks and sound effects that place it within the broad prog canon, and to a significant extent within my sphere of interest. But whatever your angle on this, I strongly suspect you’ll be impressed by the sheer quality of her songs and her lush arrangements, irrespective of whether you find the experimental elements peripheral or fundamental to its success. The second disc, incidentally, consists of alternate mixes and demos and is also mostly excellent. GRADE: B–.

Floating Nest (Spain): Blow Off Steam (Astronomy Recording Music ARMCD022, CD, with digisleeve, 2026)
Progressive/Metal
Sara Gaspar (lead vocals, keyboards)
It would be easy to dismiss Floating Nest as the missing link between dense South American modern prog and District 97 – and that’s because, at least on a superficial level, they are. But there’s a rhythmic wildness here you won’t find in those influences: ‘Circus’, for instance, really does evoke a carnival atmosphere. As such, this is far more interesting than the typical modern ‘heavy prog’ album and is one of the best executions of the style I’ve heard, even if it’s never going to be my favourite genre. I just wish Sara Gaspar had sung in Spanish – her English pronunciation is good enough if you don’t follow along on the lyric sheet, but slightly jarring if you do. GRADE: B–.

Long Earth (UK/Holland): Towards The Sky (Bakeneko BN14, CD, UK, 2026)
Progressive
Maiike Siegerist (lead vocals)
After three albums with an all-male line-up, Scottish prog band Long Earth teamed up with Dutch singer/songwriter Maiike Siegerist; the results are akin to a less gauzy early Karnataka or eighties Renaissance in laid-back ballad mode. On the plus side, Siegerist has a pleasant and tranquil voice and the band compose and arrange tastefully, but as those comparisons suggest this is not exactly challenging music and their material never quite crosses the barrier between good and great. GRADE: C+.

Manic Vice (Spain): Sólo En Nuestra Cabeza (Astronomy Recording Music ARMCD025, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2026)
Progressive
Celia Martín Navas (occasional vocals, keyboards)
Very difficult to describe, this inventive and charming album blends all kinds of influences: I can hear some Canterbury touches, some moments recalling Édition Spéciale, bits of the Beatles and quite a lot of classic rock. From heavy riffing to fusion-like elements to a drum solo, if Manic View can purloin it and put it to good effect then they will. If only more modern prog bands had such eclectic tastes – and such effective chops. GRADE: B–.

Updated 6th August:

David Carroll & Friends (UK): Bold Reynold Free (Talking Elephant, CD, 2026)
Folk/Rock
Lucy Cooper (joint lead vocals)
A new David Carroll & Friends album is always a welcome event and a shoo-in for my end-of-year best albums list. After all, what’s not to like about a slightly more delicate twist on classic Fairport and Steeleye? This time round, Lucy Cooper gets a somewhat higher profile, which is no bad thing either. GRADE: B–.

Grand Slam (France): Janus (No label, CD, with digifile, 2026)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Jessica Martin Maresco (joint lead vocals), Pauline Laurendeau (joint lead vocals), Caroline Sentis (joint lead vocals), Agnès Potié (joint lead vocals), Louise Perret (joint lead vocals), Emilie Martin (contrabass), Lucie Leker (violin), Fany Fresard (violin), Dorothée Royez (viola), Ciélia Bobichon (clarinet), Nathalie Cornevin (harp)
Le Grand Sbam describe this as ‘a Chthulu opera’ (and, more bafflingly, ‘a philo-zoophic, zoopunk, ecofeminist album’) and it clearly moves them away from their Magma roots and towards a more manic take on early Art Zoyd. The results are, as ever, fascinating, particularly with lots of oriental elements, and at times more than a touch baffling. GRADE: B–.

Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal (UK): Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal (ORG Organ 007, cassette, 1994)
Rock/Progressive
Vanessa Best
Between their incarnations as Blue Apple Boy and Ultrasound, the band formerly known as Sleepy People were briefly Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal, issuing this 16-minute, three-song EP. The quirky, creative rock here is thoroughly enjoyable, lifted by Andrew Wood’s distinctive vocals, but this gives few hints of the brilliance Ultrasound would deliver on their debut double album. GRADE: C+.

Updated 30th July:

Argovia (Colombia/Venezuela): Distant Present (No label, CD, with digipak, Colombia, 2017)
Metal/Progressive
Ani Guillén (lead vocals, guitar, bass)
Dense metallic riffing, rich symphonic keyboards, melodic mid-paced songs averaging around five minutes. You know how typical Latin American prog sounds, right? Well, this sounds like that. GRADE: C+.
Argovia (Colombia/Venezuela): Who We Are (No label, CD, with digipak, Colombia, 2014)
Metal/Progressive
Ani Guillén
This mini-album (34½ minutes including both long and short versions of ‘Oceanborn’) is a slight step up from their first, with some solid riffs and melodies. But once again, they sound like countless other bands from the same broad area. GRADE: C+.
Argovia (Colombia/Venezuela): Primal Repetition (No label, CD, Colombia, 2015)
Metal/Progressive
Ani Guillén (principal vocals, guitar, percussion)
There’s no doubt that Argovia are well above average for what they do – their riffs, textures and even production outclass most other Latin American bands in the same vein. However, the problem remains that there are so many other Latin American bands in the same vein. GRADE: C+.

Elecampane (UK): Swings And Roundabouts (No label ODJ3, cassette, 1987)
Folk/Rock
Daphne Grant (joint lead vocals, recorder), Debbie Ellicott (joint lead vocals, guitar, percussion, mandolin, whistle)
At its best (the female-sung ‘With My Dog And Gun’, ‘Rambling Girls Of Pleasure’ and title track) this is superb folk/rock, with a haunting quality recalling Steeleye Span or Sandy Denny-fronted Fairport. The album can be quite experimental too, as on the doomy ‘The Vampire’, but a good third of this is a bit too whimsical for its own good, especially on the second side, which captures the music from their stage performance ‘Dr Elektron’s Travelling Fair’. GRADE: C+.

Updated 23rd July:

[No reviews this week due to other commitments.]

Updated 16th July:

In The Labyrinth (Sweden): Samas Antaral (Transubstans TRANS 152, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2018)
Folk/Progressive
Helena Selander (occasional vocals), Miriam Oldenburg (accordion)
Whilst the Tolkien-esque subject matter of this concept album is predictably slightly silly, there is little to criticise about the music here. This is superbly executed progressive folk: richly arranged, intricate and atmospheric, creating a remarkable suite (or, perhaps more accurately, tapestry) that ebbs and flows, always capturing one’s attention. GRADE: B–.
In The Labyrinth (Sweden): To Our Rescue (No label, download, 2023)
Folk/Rock/World Music/Progressive
Helena Selander (occasional vocals)
Lacking the conceptual unity of its predecessor, this feels more like a collection of disparate pieces and slightly less cohesive and consistent as a result. There’s still plenty of fine music here, of course, and this contains some of the most experimental sounds laid down by the band – it was a stroke of genius to combine an electric razor and a Hitler speech on the opening ‘Braun Raga’ (geddit?). GRADE: B–.
In The Labyrinth (Sweden): Worlds On Fire (No label, download, 2026
Folk/Rock/World Music/Progressive
Helena Selander
Compiling recordings made between the 1990s and the present day, this is another superb set from the always reliable In the Labyrinth. Sounding more assured than To Our Rescue, this delivers a remarkably cohesive suite of songs and instrumentals, with the best moments being nothing short of stunning. GRADE: B–.

Updated 9th July:

Across Tundras (USA): Loess – Löss (No label, CDR, with gatefold minisleeve and inserts, 2020)
Psychedelic/Metal
Abigail Lily O’ Hara (backing vocals)
The band bill themselves as Americana, so I expected this to be some kind of folk. In fact, it sits somewhere between heavy psychedelia, shoegaze and borderline metal, with walls of guitars and hesitant vocals. It’s a bit too impressionistic to merit a B–, but it’s also interesting in its slightly unusual melding of elements. GRADE: C+.

Exploring Birdsong (UK): Every House We Built (Long Branch 258322, double, green vinyl, 2026)
Singer/Songwriter/Pop/Progressive
Lynsey Ward
The evolution of musical terms can make them almost meaningless, with ‘prog’ being a case in point. Today it can apply to anyone from the Emily Francis Trio (seventies-style jazz-fusion) to Living In Shadows (a slightly more rocking Shakatak) to Exploring Birdsong (somewhat more difficult to define). Twenty years ago this would barely have been considered progressive, though it’s hard to see how it would have been classified. As usual there’s lots of piano, with a faint Kate Bush and a more distinct singer/songwriter influence, and as usual it also ebbs and flows in a dramatic and symphonic fashion, but this time round electronic and pop elements are more prominent. Art-pop, perhaps? Maybe so, but that doesn’t quite sum it up either. As to its musical merits: I suppose this occupies the same broad space as the Anchoress, but she does it with more verve so her albums get a B– whilst this is a C+. GRADE: C+.

Wandering Vagrant (Italy): Get Lost (No label, CDR, 2018)
Progressive/Metal
Francesca Trampolini (occasional vocals, keyboards)
This is definitely a progressive album with metal edges rather than the other way round and it’s rather good too, with Ms Trampolini’s symphonic and occasionally jazzy keyboards bouncing the hard-riffing songs to the next level. There’s also a fair level of variety, but there are two problems preventing this from crossing the line to very good. The first, common to many progressive bands, is a lack of killer songs and hooks. The second, common to many Italian progressive bands, is the slightly strained and sometimes heavily accented vocals – a different singer could do wonders for Wandering Vagrant. GRADE: C+.

Updated 2nd July:

Crystal Jacqueline & Friends (UK): Smoke Road (Billywitch B1022, CDR plus DVDR, with gatefold minisleeve, 2026)
Folk
Jacqueline Bourne (joint lead vocals, percussion)
This CD reissue of Smoke Road is notable for including a live DVD, featuring an evening of music and poetry by Jacqueline Bourne, Icarus Peel and David Greygoose. If that description and the intro caption ‘An evening of half-heard whispers and dusty dreams’ make you expect something a mite pretentious, you won’t be far wrong, though it’s all enjoyable enough. I do prefer Ms Bourne’s songs to Mr Greygoose’s poetry, though Mr Peel’s spacy guitar ties both together. In any case, the only number not written by any of them (‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’) is the best. My comments on the studio album remain unchanged. GRADE: C+.

Druidspear (UK): The MIller’s Tale (Live At The BBC) (No label, cassette, with insert, 1995)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic
Jayne Powell
This four-track, 18-minute EP effectively showcases Druidspear’s lively brand of festival-influenced folk/rock. Like many EPs, it perhaps feels a touch slight, but on the plus side it definitely leaves one wanting more. GRADE: C+.
Druidspear (UK): …Slow (Anew ANEW CD 1, CD, 1996)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic
Jayne Powell
Fully delivering on the promise of their live EP, this features superb festival folk/rock similar to a number of other nineties acts, but without the punky and space-rock edges often associated with the style. Dub reggae rhythms do appear here and there, but for the most part this offers a well-judged mixture of acoustic and electric instrumentation (including a fair bit of Bluehorses-like violin) to create a decidedly seventies-influenced sound. Overall it’s an excellent album that should have gained much more attention at the time and it’s a great pity that the band (which is apparently still active) never recorded again. GRADE: B–.

Lighthouse Keepers (Australia): Tales Of The Unexpected (Hot HOT 1011, with insert, 1984)
Rock
Juliet Ward (lead vocals, tambourine)
Refracting late sixties Californian folk/rock and pop through an indie prism, this is a charming little album that occasionally occupies similar territory to early Blondie. They don’t have Blondie’s knack for killer hooks and tunes, of course, but this is still an enjoyable and unassuming set. GRADE: C+.

Updated 25th June:

Alésia Cosmos (France): Live At Audiorama (Long 07, double CDR, with digipak, 2020)
Jazz/RockAvant-Garde
Marie-Berthe Servier (lead vocals)
Not an issue of a mid-eighties concert, as I had expected, nor a live reunion, this captures a series of spontaneous (thus “live”) improvisations recorded in late 2019. These move the band firmly towards free-jazz and are mildly interesting, making for offbeat background listening, but this sort of stuff isn’t exactly original and the music only really catches fire on the 10-minute closer ‘Last Funk’. GRADE: C+.

Annie Haslam (UK): Snowball (No label, CD, USA, 2009)
MOR
Annie Haslam (lead vocals)
Once again accompanied solely by Rave Tesar’s symphonic keyboards, Haslam delivers the second and final instalment of her Christmas project. As with her first, it’s relaxing, elegant and accomplished, even if – like all her solo albums – she doesn’t exactly sound like she’s stretching herself. GRADE: C+.

Paradox Twin (UK): The Importance Of Mr Bedlam (White Star WSCD9006, CD, with digipak, 2018)
Progressive
Kim Seviour (occasional vocals), Diane Fox (bass)
Whilst the Paradox Twin’s music is clearly rooted in neoprog, it’s also testament to the considerable talent of singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Danny Sorrell. At its best, this captures the atmospheric sound of Anathema, though this is rooted more in classic rock with far fewer Floyd touches. In addition to having a female bassist, the band used Touchstone member Kim Seviour as guest vocalist on a couple of cuts. GRADE: C+.
Paradox Twin (UK): Silence From Signals (White Star WSCD9015, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2021)
Progressive
Nicole Johnson (occasional vocals), Diane Fox (bass)
Once again, I’m reminded of Anathema without the greater variety or the longer spacy passages: I suspect that’s as much due to Sorrell’s similarly plaintive voice as to any direct influences. Whether you prefer this to Anathema will depend on your tastes – I miss Anathema’s greater expansiveness, but this is certainly more direct and focused. GRADE: C+.
Paradox Twin (UK): A Romance Of Many Dimensions (White Star WSCD9018, CD, with digipak, 2025)
Progressive/Metal
Sarah Bayley (joint lead vocals)
With a much heavier riffing style, this is their best and most confident to date – thoroughly modern atmospheric prog without artifice or gimmicky or ostentatious tempo changes. How highly it scores for originality may be a different matter, as once again I’m frequently reminded of a band I’ve already cited several times in the Paradox Twin’s reviews – but this time they actually equal their influence. GRADE: B–.

Updated 18th June:

Alunah (UK): Embers Of Belief (Heavy Psych Sounds HPS 393, black, red and blue splatter vinyl, 2026)
Metal
Daisy Savage (lead vocals)
This split album with all-male German band Samavayo sees Alunah – complete with new vocalist Daisy Savage – contributing two studio and two live songs. All are pretty straight mainstream metal with doom edges: nice enough but not particularly exciting. In contrast, Samavayo mix doom, progressive and ethnic elements – most likely due to vocalist and guitarist Behrang Alavi being Iranian – and their much more interesting compositions would merit a B–. GRADE: C+.

Blues Pills (Sweden): Lady In Gold – Live In Paris (Nuclear Blast 27361 40280, Blu-ray plus double CD, with digibook, 2017)
Rock/Metal
Elin Larsson (lead vocals, piano, percussion)
There’s no doubting that Blues Pills are a force of nature live – their performances are raw, dynamic and unrestrained, and this must have been an amazing concert to attend. So why is this only barely a B–? Compared to their retro-rock contemporaries, I find their material rather homogenous and a touch one-dimensional, to the point where the only song I recognised was ‘Devil Man’. GRADE: B–.
Blues Pills (Sweden): Birthday (BMG 964042062, CD, with digisleeve and booklet, 2024)
Rock/Metal
Elin Larsson (lead vocals)
Whilst Blues Pills have for years been at the forefront of the Swedish retro-rock revival, the sheer simplicity of the songs here – nothing over four minutes; mostly just voice, guitar, bass and drums – reminds me of a much heavier Shocking Blue. As to the quality of the songs: much better than Shocking Blue album tracks, but (hardly surprisingly) there’s nothing to rival ‘Send Me A Postcard’ or ‘Long And Lonely Road’ or ‘This America’ here. To me this is a C+ as I like a bit more complexity in my music and would have loved a couple of jams, but as snappy, poppy, dynamic seventies-styled hard rock goes, it’s hard to see how this could be improved upon. GRADE: C+.
Blues Pills (Sweden): Birthday Live (Pollinate Music/Throwdown Entertainment/BMG Rights Management, red vinyl, autographed, 2026)
Rock/Metal
Elin Larsson (lead vocals)
Since 90% of this is Birthday performed live, in order, I don’t have much to add to my last review. However, I will note that Elin Larsson’s voice always reminds me of Inga Rumpf’s in a live context and that whilst I have awarded this another C+ I wish more of Rumpf’s solo career had had this level of energy. GRADE: C+.

Living In Shadows (UK): Living In Shadows (Evening Play EPR3, CD, 2020)
Jazz/Rock
Zoë Gilby (lead vocals)
Living In Shadows’ jazzy songs are sophisticated, mellow, melodic, occasionally angular and mildly interesting – the kind of thing I’d always be happy to hear but would rarely consciously search out. To me this is a solid C+, but if you’re thrilled by the idea of a darker, slightly proggier Shakatak or the Emily Francis Trio with words I suspect it’d be a B–. Even then, I suspect it wouldn’t be a full B. GRADE: C+.
Living In Shadows (UK): Neon Burning (Lamplight Social LSRLP31, with inner, 2024)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Zoë Gilby (lead vocals)
This time round, the duo’s compositions are darker, knottier, more dissonant and more progressive, making for a much more absorbing album. On first hearing, I’d say their sound would require another leap forward to merit a B–, but my opinion could change – and unlike their debut, I can imagine wanting to listen again fairly soon. GRADE: C+.

Updated 11th June:

Ash Wing (UK): Ash Wing (No label, download, 2025)
Progressive
Siân Elson (lead vocals)
The band formerly known as the C Sides Project return with an album that falls into the ‘never knew they had it in them’ category. That’s not to say it’s flawless: it’s often mellow rather than memorable and occasionally brings to mind Magenta (hardly surprising, given that the group was founded by two former Magenta members, with Rob Reed providing the keyboards and the mixing). But this continuous suite of songs is frequently rather lovely and a damn sight better than anything Magenta have ever managed. GRADE: C+.

Kuunatic (Japan): Live At Lexington 9 September 2018 (No label, CDR. 2019)
Psychedelic
This early run-through of Kuunatic’s tribal psychedelia finds them fully-formed, delivering five songs in 31 minutes. Inventive, mantric and frequently quite weird, it’s all quintessentially Far Eastern and for the most part quite fascinating. GRADE: B–.

Marita Mejstam (Sweden): Glas (CBS 65770, 1973)
Pop/Rock
This sophisticated pop album – a bit folky, a mite proggy on the opening ‘Känner Mig Vild Och Lyrisk’ – mixes originals by singer/songwriter Anders F Rönnblom with a few covers. It’s not the kind of thing that is likely to form a cornerstone of anyone’s collection, but if you’re in the mood for high quality seventies pop you could do a damn sight worse. GRADE: C+.

Paatos (Sweden): Paatos Live In Budapest (No label, download, 2025)
Progressive
Petronella Nettermalm
Paatos’s majestic brand of modern prog – elegant, atmospheric, wintry, never ostentatious or ornate – works equally well on stage as in the studio. All I could wish is that there were more than 40 minutes of it. GRADE: B–.

Rhùn (France): Evil Erbez (Baboon Fish BFL 23, CD, with digipak, 2026)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Charlotte Pace (violin)
There’s little doubt that Rhùn are one of the finest modern zeuhl bands, adding real energy and invention to the template taken from Magma. This live album, recorded in 2024, features music that ebbs and flows, occasionally meanders, and frequently dazzles with its dynamism and sheer joie de vivre. GRADE: B–.

Updated 4th June:

I, The Weapon (Argentina): The Ivy (No label, cassette, with poster, postcards, badge, sticker and box, 2018)
Metal/Progressive
Sabrina S Acosta (occasional vocals, drums, percussion)
At its best, this sludgy doom album – which mixes harsh, clean and spoken vocals, the latter delivering poetry – builds up an impressive head of steam. At others it meanders somewhat, leaving me torn to a grade; however, the lack of truly memorable riffs makes it a C+. GRADE: C+.

Starofash (Norway): Sólblindi (No label, download, 2026)

Progressive/Classical

Heidi Solberg Tveitan

These three instrumentals, totalling 17 minutes, fall somewhere between a film soundtrack and a mini-symphony. Haunting, relaxing and beautifully crafted, they stand testament to Tveitan’s talent as a composer and musician, particularly given her very different background in extreme metal. GRADE: B–.

Updated 28th May::

Emily Francis Trio (UK): The Absent (No label, CD, 2015)
Jazz/Rock
Emily Francis (keyboards)
Ms Francis has been causing a stir in progressive rock circles, but this isn’t prog by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, track titles like ‘Hops ’n’ Scotch’ and ‘Winnebago’ tell their own story: this is good old-fashioned keyboard-led jazz-fusion with a mid-seventies American feel. If you love the theme from ‘Taxi’, you should pay your fare and hitch a ride immediately; for everyone else, this may be some of the classiest background music you’ve heard in quite some time. GRADE: C+.
Emily Francis Trio (UK): New Town (No label, download, 2016)
Jazz/Rock
Emily Francis (keyboards)
‘New Town’ maybe, but no new musical direction, as this 20-minute EP is essentially a continuation of The Absent. As such, my comments apply unchanged – this is sophisticated, mellow stuff that’s well composed, performed and recorded, with the results being eminently listenable but a little lacking in anything that grabs the attention. GRADE: C+.
Emily Francis Trio (UK): Luma (No label, CD, 2022)
Jazz/Rock
Emily Francis (keyboards)
This is definitely music not muzak due to its rock strength, but it specifically reminds me of library music. As such, without changing their basic style, the Trio seem to have shifted their influences slightly: whereas they previously sounded inspired by seventies Dave Grusin and Bob James, they now appear influenced by seventies de Wolfe or KPM releases. Indeed, if you end up getting slightly bored you can start making up your own liner notes (‘a pacy rock number with a driving rhythm’, ‘sophisticated piano music suggesting a hotel lobby’ and so on). GRADE: C+.
Emily Francis Trio (UK): Atomic (No label EFTCD-03, CDR, with minisleeve, 2024)
Jazz/Rock
Emily Francis (keyboards)
I’m assuming the title is intended ironically, as there’s nothing explosive about Emily Francis’s music: no incendiary musicianship or outbursts of manic energy. She’s even starting to recycle: ‘Don’t Forget To Feed The Orchid’ sounds like a retitled remake of an older number, which is pretty rich considering there’s only 21 minutes of music here (and that’s including two different versions of ‘Lydian Child’). (Alternatively, perhaps I’m wrong and all their pieces are starting to blur into one, though I’m not convinced that’s a compliment either.) As for the actual material? Once again the adjectives that spring to mind are ‘nice’, ‘pleasant’, ‘classy’ and ‘mellow’, which may or may not make this your cup of chamomile. GRADE: C+.
Emily Francis Trio (UK): Atomic Tour Live (No label EFTCD-04, double CD, with digipak, 2024)
Jazz/Rock
Emily Francis (keyboards)
I wasn’t expecting Angine de Poitrine levels of weirdness from the Trio’s live album, but one might as well be listening to their studio sets. That’s not necessarily a putdown: it’s testament to the quality of both the musicianship and recording, and in fairness they do extend some of the numbers, albeit in a careful and structured way. But where some live albums are a revelation, this one reinforces my opinions about them: they’re very good at what they do and I could imagine myself enjoying their music in most circumstances. But I can’t imagine myself actively seeking it out to play, so it’s still a C+. GRADE: C+.

Updated 21st May:

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