(34:09; Jay Matharu) Track list: 1. Atrophy 3:25 2. Bare 4:37 3. Cog 3:50 4. Deluge 4:14 5. Shruti 1:35 6. Chalo 3:55 7. Butterflies 5:14 8. Bittersweet 7:18 Line-up: Jay Matharu - guitars, keyboards Erik Brandell - saxophone Christine Lanusse - bass Jacob Johnson - drums  Prolusion. Sweden based artist Jay Matharu has a background as a band member in a number of different bands as a recording artist as well as a live musician, covering several types of music in his various roles in those settings. But he has also released two solo albums that explore music of a different character, where elements from jazz and progressive rock are notable elements. "Disillusion" is the second of those solo albums, and was self released in the summer of 2026. Analysis. As with many fine musicians releasing solo material, this latest solo creation by Jay Matharu is an instrumental affair. The dominant instruments are Matharu's guitar solo runs and the saxophone solo passages of Erik Brande...

(43:24; Luminol Records) Track list: 1. Oort Cloud 6:23 2. Vogon 4:53 3. Cinq Teintes, Quatre Cadres 8:44 4. La Melancolie Du Petit Prince 4:39 5. Panta Rei 8:02 6. Swerve 10:43 Line-up: Andrea Ferrari – guitars, keyboards Andrea Grumelli – bass Andrea Serino – keyboards Matteo Ravelli – drums, electronics  with: Claudio Milano - vocals Rosarita Crisafi - flute Prolusion. Italian band Aether started out back in 2023 from what I can tell, and have been a rather consistent band unit as far as creating material is concerned. They have released three studio productions as of 2026, with the album "III" released on Luminol Records in the spring of this year being the most recent of these. Analysis. It is the jazzrock variety of progressive rock that is the speciality of this band, and with a strong focus on the instrumental aspects of this tradition being the main focus at that. Rather than exploring a more clear cut variety of the form the band have opted for a more inclusive and ...

(172:37; Cuneiform Records) Cheer-Accident have been a mainstay of the Chicago independent scene for some four decades, formed by multi-instrumentalist Thymme Jones all the way back in 1981 and have always operated with a floating membership. On this, their 27th studio album, they have one list of the 15 who were involved, and then a separate list of what instruments were used, but no confirmation of who actually did what. However, we do know who played what on the two concerts which are included in the deluxe edition of this album, which somewhat amazingly are the first official live albums of their career even though they have performed hundreds of shows. The first was recorded in Chicago in 2022 with nine members, while that line-up reduced by two for the Chicago show the following year. I confess to coming to the band rather late in that I have only known them for the last 9 years, and I have certainly not heard all of the material during that period, and nothing at all prior to ‘P...

(80:00; Arnaud Quevedo) I have not previously come across Arnaud Quevedo, but he is a French musician who has been teaching music at the  Conservatoire since 2007 and has been performing under his own name since 2020. This live release from Arnaud Quevedo & Friends finds them performing in summer 2025 and features Quevedo (guitar, vocals, keyboards, alto sax) being joined by Noe Russeil (bass, vocals), Hortense Mailhos (drums), Julien Gomila (soprano & baritone saxophones) and Eloïse Baleynaud (lead vocals, keyboards). This is fusion which also contains some Crimson elements, and the band are very tight indeed, and can also be quite heavy at times, which makes for an interesting mix of styles and dynamics. The sax is an integral music as opposed to an afterthought, while the rhythm section certainly set the stage (the bass on this is stunning throughout) and Quevedo is a super guitarist. But, and it was fairly obvious there was a “but” coming, I am not a huge fan of Eloïse ...

(55:23; Moonjune Records) When one looks at the cover one comes away with certain concepts, such as we are looking at different facets of an artist with a fractured point of view stitching together ideas from different areas, yet always with a strong grip on his guitar, and in many ways that is exactly what we hear when we play the album. My first views were Steve Vai and Robert Fripp joined together in battle, with the referee being Frank Zappa, and having listened to this album a lot (by my standards) I still hold true to those beliefs, although musically it is even more fractured and far-reaching than that. Yes, there are undoubtedly some elements which are more Crimson than others, but instead of covering a “straightforward” Crimson track, Garone instead gives us his versions of Fripp’s “Erudite Eyes”, which can originally be found on the 1968 pre-King Crimson album, ‘The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles, and Fripp’, an album Garone grew up listening to. As with many of the songs ...

(43:16; Luminol Records) As one may ascertain from the title, Aether are back with their third album in fairly quick succession, continuing in the similar excellent vein established with their 2024 album, ‘Trans-Neptunian Objects’. It is again fully instrumental, apart from a recitative interlude by Claudio Milano (Nichelodeon) on “Vogon”, and was recorded live in the studio, with the songs themselves developed on themes discovered during rehearsals and improvisations undertaken during 2025. It is the same line-up as on the previous releases, namely Andrea Ferrari (guitars, keyboards), Andrea Grumelli (fretless bass), Andrea Serino (Fender Rhodes, keyboards) and Matteo Ravelli (drums, electronics) and somehow, they are seamlessly combining music from genres as diverse as ambient/New Age, symphonic, classical and jazz to create something which at times is delicate yet at others is incredibly powerful indeed. Depending on what track I am listening to I find myself moving more to the keyb...