(48:10; Aether) Track list: 1. Sidus (Prelude) 1:12 2. Neptune 6:13 3. Magrathea 5:46 4. Saturn 4:26 5. Ephemeris 7:18 6. Pale Blue Dot 4:58 7. Amalthea 5:21 8. Sidus 12:56 Line-up: Andrea Serino - piano, keyboards Andrea Ferrari - guitars Andrea Grumelli - bass Teo Ravelli - drums, electronics Prolusion. Italian band Aether started out back in 2021, initially to help out bassist Andrea Grumelli with a project but following this the musicians decided to continue as a band unit. They released their debut album "Aether" last year, and just a year or so later the quartet is back with their second studio production. This second album is called "Trans-Neptunian Objects", and was self released by the band in the fall of 2024. Analysis. Many years ago I came across a song called 'Cosmic Jazz' by legendary UK band Wishbone Ash, and while Aether isn't a band that will ever be comparable to those legends the title of that song pretty much summarize the impressions

(43:04; Alberto Nemo / Claudio Milano / Niccolo Clemente) Track list: 1. Frattura Iniziale 6:53 2. Comparsa 13:18 3. Dissolvenza 18:53     4. Frattura Finale 4:00 Line-up: Niccolo Clemente - piano, electronics, vocals Claudio Milano - vocals Alberto Nemo - piano, vocals with: Borda - electronics      Prolusion. Italian composer and vocalist Claudio Milano have been quite the productive artist over the last couple o decades, with a number of solo albums, band projects and collaborations to his name during those years. Many of which I have been fortunate enough to get the chance to write about. 2024 is among his more productive years it would appear, where he has been a major part of three full length productions so far this year. The self-released production "Frattura Comparsa Dissolvenza" is the most recent of these, a collaboration between Milano and fellow Italian artists Nemo and Clemente which was released in the fall of 2024. Analysis. Whatever venture that Milano spearh

(39:38; Melodic Revolution Records) Track list: 1. Eva Prima Pandora 4:48 2. The Three Fates 3:44 3. Where Did Evil Come From 4:32 4. My Name Is Pandora 3:30 5. The Pipes of Pan 2:43 6. To Pandora 4:38 7. Origin Story 4:02 8. Do You Believe 3:43 9. Mythos 1:53 10. Lucky Day 2:55 11. Of Gods and Men 3:10 Line-up: Steve Bonino - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, programming with: Shimmer Johnson - vocals Erik Johnson - guitars C.C. White - vocals (via plug-in) Prolusion. US artist Steve Bonino has been an active player in the US music scene since the 1990s or thereabouts, with tenures in a number of bands and projects from what I understand. He ventured out as a solo artist back in 2012, and have seven studio albums to his name as of 2024. "Pandora" is the most recent of those albums, and was released through US label Melodic Revolution Records in the summer of 2022. Analysis. While it is abundantly clear that Bonino does know his way around quite a few parts of the progressive

(57:08; Melodic Revolution Records) I often think the music business is a cruel place, and how it discards those who should be feted and reveres those who are not creative at all. That is the case with Martin Springett, whose debut album, ‘The Gardening Club’ in 1983 never received anything like the acclaim it should have done at the time, and it wasn’t until the reissue in 2017 that many people (including me) became aware that Martin had a musical interest alongside his artistic one, with just two albums more since the first one. The reviews he achieved in 2017 lit a fire under Martin, and this is the sixth album since then. He has also developed two different sets of musicians to work with, one on the east coast of Canada and one on the west, and this album again finds Martin working with both on different songs. The vast majority of those involved have appeared on other albums with him, but a special mention should be made of new member Danie Friesen who provides both “normal” vocal

(41:15; Melodic Revolution Records) In 2022, the Captain released his fourth album, the absolutely amazing ‘Hidden Gems Chapter 3 - Mysterium Tremendum’ which I gave maximum marks to and declared it to be a “review killer” in that once it hit my player, I was unable to listen to anything else, greatly reducing my output for a time. It has taken longer than expected for Shaun to come back with his next album, because he and his family were the innocent victims of a road traffic accident where someone fleeing police drove into their car. It has taken eighteen very long months for everyone to work through the physical and mental injuries, which also had a huge impact on them in other ways as Shaun is a working musician as opposed to someone doing this as a hobby. Through these terrible times, the Captain still had the need to create music,  albeit in a very slow, laboured, and somewhat sedate ‘late-night fashion’. Musically this is a very different release to what we have come to expect f

(43:00; Phil Mercy) I was in contact with Phil Mercy recently, and I was asking what was happening with the wonderful Thieves’ Kitchen. Sadly, the band has been put on hold mostly due to Brexit and COVID – not easy to play together when the band is in Sweden and there is no longer any freedom of movement. Phil has been keeping busy by working on a new project, Blind Convergence, which is a combination of ambient electronica and improvised guitar. So far, he has released one album, with another recorded, and he asked if I would like to have a listen so here it is. The album is available in two versions, either as a continuous piece of music or with it broken down into individual tracks, but given it was recorded live and in one take it made more sense for me to play the continuous version. It was recorded on 22nd December 2022 and there are no overdubs, with minimal post-processing of the files. There are a few samples, all of which are credited, and the overall result is something whic