(48:35; M&O Music) Track list: 1. Gaslighted 3:49 2. Eyed Wide Shut 7:29 3. Mind Blowing Signs 3:15 4. Until 3:41 5. Weird Boy 4:47 6. We All Shall Fall 4:47 7. Happiness Injunction 4:23 8. To My Old Man 4:40 9. Hello Stranger 5:30 10. Visions 6:14 Line-up: Aurelien Boileau - guitars Alexandre Pouzioux - guitars Yoann Roy - bass Frederic Lagorce - drums Jerome Kloeckner - vocals with: Mathieu Pascal - guitars Denis Cornardeau - guitars Christophe Ithurritze - keyboards Prolusion. French band Seven Eyed Crow was formed back in 2013, and emerged with their debut album "Dark Ways To The Sun" two years later. Since then the band have issued a further two albums as well as an EP. The album "Emerge" is their most recent studio production, and was released through French label M&O Music at the start of 2026. Analysis. It is a more broadly appealing and contemporary take on the progressive metal tradition we get on this latest album by Seven Eyed Crow. The majority ...

(43:21; NOS Records) Track list: 1. Introductio ad Hortum 1:41 2. Azadirachta Excelsa 4:06 3. Mandragora Caulescens 2:54 4. Aceranthus Sagittatus 1:02 5. 094 3:40 6. Michelia Aenea 3:56 7. The Garden 1:54 8. Flower no. 1 2:44 9. Flower no. 2 2:41 10. Flower no. 3 3:41 11. Clara Lunaris 4:22 12. Daphne Mezereum 2:32 13. Celtis Australis 2:39 14. Mellow 3:06 15. Pieris Japonica 2:23 Line-up: Andrea Rizzi  - drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, mandolin, viola Giuseppe Bitonte - guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals, piano, saxophone with: Wladimiro Rizzi - piano, keyboards, guitars Bruno Vergani - voice Stefano Piancastelli  - guitars Elio Di Menza - guitars Lorenzo Marcoleoni - clarinet Piergiorgio Mingolla - clarinet Luca Filpi - flute Andrea De Carlo - flute Francesco Lomagistro - timpani, glockenspiel Giacomo Campa - timpani Gabriele Briganti - cello Vincenzo Vitti - cello Irene Urgesi - violin Matteo Franze - saxophone Eryk Nowacki - sitar Prolusion. Italian twos...

(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 ...