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Trip Lava - 2025 - Otherworlds

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(36:05; Trip Lava) Multi-instrumentalist Joel Lee may not be the most prolific artist out there, as it has taken him seven years to release the follow-up to ‘Ounds’, but given that took eight years from ‘Octaroid’ possibly that means he is getting faster? When one then realises his debut album was called ‘Oddball in the Corner Pocket’ one understands Lee has a somewhat unhealthy fascination with the letter ‘O’ (every song on the last album also started with that letter) – maybe I should introduce him to Matt Deacon of The Bob Lazar Story as he has an unhealthy fascination with foodstools, and they could write some wonderful odes together. This album is all Joel, and as there are elements of krautrock, Canterbury scene, psychedelia, space rock, RIO, avant garde and eclectic material all combined with various sound clips, one can understand why it takes so long to pull recordings together as if his brain is anything like this music then it is chaos, and all happening at the same time. Ye...
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Bakelit - 2025 - No Fear of Drowning

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(39:13; Fosfor Creation) Swedish band Bakelit are back with their second album, only a year after their debut, and given how much I enjoyed that one I was definitely looking forward to this one as well. Led by multi-instrumentalist Carl Westholm, who here provides vocals, bass, electric piano, organ, synthesizers and Theremin, I  always think of him for his albums with Carptree and Jupiter Society, although others will probably think of Avatarium and Candlemass – not many prog musicians can also claim fame within doom! He is again joined by  singers Öivin Tronstad and Cia Backman and guitarist Ulf Edelönn but there is a new drummer in the form of Jonas Källsbäck, best known from The Night Flight Orchestra and Gathering of Kings. There is a real darkness behind this, with Carl often happily playing dramatic deep and threatening chords as opposed to lightness and light. For the debut I said there were times when I was reminded of Clive Nolan, and that definitely comes through he...
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Auri - 2025 - III. Candles & Beginnings

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(55:26; Nuclear Blast) Right after completing Nightwish’s 2024 album ‘Yesterwynde’, the songwriting for the third chapter in Auri’s musical adventures started, with Troy Donockley writing in Yorkshire and Tuomas Holopainen and his wife, singer Johanna Kurkela, working their creative magic in Kitee, Finland. As soon as I started playing this the name of one band came straight to mind, and it stuck there the more I listened to this, and while many people will be coming to this album due to the Nightwish links, to fully understand this one needs to go back more than 40 years to when a young Troy was a key member of the incredible folk rock band Iona. They never gained the huge commercial acclaim they so richly deserved, but they left behind a rich legacy, and there is no doubt that Auri have taken huge swathes of that and combined it with some Nightwish tendencies to create something which is hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric, although at times it has a backbone of solid iron. Troy and...
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Dave Pegg - 1983 - The Cocktail Cowboy Goes It Alone

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(39:12; Talking Elephant [2025 Edition] ) On 4th August 1979, Fairport Convention played what was supposed to be their final gig, after which Dave Pegg was invited to stand in for John Glascock on Jethro Tull’s ‘Stormwatch’ tour, joining the band after Glascock died. He was an integral part of Tull for the next fifteen years, but he also managed to put aside some time to record his first solo album, which was released in 1983. I first saw Peggy when he played with Tull on the ‘Under Wraps’ tour before catching him in the reformed Fairport on their ‘Gladys’ Leap’ soiree, which is where I first purchased this (and still have o this day). Of course, this was back in the day of cassettes, so I put ‘Gladys’ Leap’ on one side, and this on the other, and consequently was an album I played a great deal. Mostly instrumental, with Peggy showing off his wonderful mandolin playing, it does also feature vocals, most notably on “Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow”. This was originally recorded by Tull d...
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Yak - 2025 - The Pink Man & the Bishop

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(54:00; Yak) After Martin Morgan read my review for the latest edition of Camel’s ‘The Snow Goose’ he felt inspired to get in touch and see if I would be interested in hearing his latest release, which I why I am now listening to the first Yak album in ten years, and the first where Martin played everything (apart from one of the bonus tracks which includes ex-bandmates Gary Bennett and Dave Speight). I must confess to not having previously come across Yak, as they were originally playing between 1982 and 1984, before Martin decided to resurrect the band in 2003. There have been a few albums since then, and I am obviously going to have to seek them out as this shows a great deal of promise. We will move rapidly past the drumming, as that is the one area where this album could be improved, and instead concentrate on some incredibly lush and wonderful keyboards which are combined with some wonderful guitar patches to create music which sounds as if it is coming to us straight from the Se...
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Transport Aerian - 2025 - Darkblue [Anniversary Edition]

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(40:49; Melodic Revolution Records) This album was originally released in 2015, and it features just Hamlet (vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, programming, drums, samples) with Rachel Bauer (spoken word, vocals). According to the label, this 10th Anniversary release has enhanced production, refined arrangements, and a deeper exploration of its themes, but given I have not heard the earlier release I cannot say what differences have been made. It is quite a strange album to listen to, as probably the biggest element is the use of atmospheric elements, and there are times when it is dark and gothic, others where it is far more in the listener’s face, which means that one needs to spend a great deal of time listening (preferably on headphones) to fully understand where Hamlet is coming from. There are some songs, such as “Sand Horizon”, where the majesty and depth is almost off the charts as Hamlet’s vocals combine with piano, reverb and not much else, to create something which is truly r...
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Tinn Parrow & Co [Laurence Bond Miller] - 2025 - My Gymnasium Museum

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(74:59; Cuneiform) Although the above band name will be new to many, I am sure there are plenty who will instead recognise Laurence Bond Miller (Sproton Layer, The 4th World Quartet, Empool, Destroy All Monsters, Nonfiction, The Empty Set, Larynx Zillion’s Novelty Shop, The Mister Laurence Experience, Exploded View, Laurence Miller and The Love Maniacs, etc.). He comes from a very musical family as one of his brothers is Roger Clark Miller (Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Dream Interpretations/Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble, The Anvil Orchestra, Mission of Burma, etc), while along with his identical twin Ben Miller (Destroy All Monsters, God Knows Who, Solo Multiphonic Guitar, Sensorium Saxophone Orchestra, etc) Laurence was on the Miller Twin’s ‘Early Compositions (1973-1976) which I have previously reviewed. Both brothers have joined with Laurence on this album, which has a fairly large cast, but Laurence shows his multi-instrumentalist talents by contributing vocals, clarinets (Bb, alto, ...
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