(6:52, Vajra) It is very rare indeed for me to review singles these days, just because I don’t have the time, but when I saw that the latest release from progressive metal/art rock act Vajra was a new version of the Pink Floyd classic I knew I had to give it a try. The band have been around for quite a while, but do not appear to have been the most active on the release front and I do believe there has only been one album to date, and that was all the way back in 2012, but I certainly hope this track is going to change that as this is quite something. The line-up is Annamaria Pinna (vocals), Dave Sussman (guitar), Sahaj Ticotin (bass) and Jimmy DeMarco (drums) and the best way of describing their sound is as if Inkubus Sukkubus were combining atmospheric ethereal prog rock with their Gothic overtones, all wrapped up in Annamaria’s vocals, who is strangely similar to Candia. This is a powerful and emotive version of the original and is so different that in many ways it is difficult to c...

(40:45; I Sincopatici) Track list: 1. Uomini E Vermi 5:50 2. Dramma Sul Ponte 9:54 3. Il Morto Chiama 7:06 4. La Scalinata Di Odessa 8:54 5. Una Contro Tutte 9:01 Line-up: Francesca Badalini - piano, guitars Silvia Maffeis  - violin Andrea Grumelli  - bass Teo Ravelli - drums, electronics  Prolusion. Italian band I Sincopatici has been an active part of the Italian music landscape for a decade and a bit, primarily performing live sets of music to accompany classic era silent movies if I have understood matters correctly. In the fall of 2024 they released their debut album "Decimo Cerchio", and now in early 2026 they have self released the album "La Corazzata Potëmkin". Analysis. The music of this band is inspired by the silent movies they accompany, and while their first release revolved around the 1911 silent movie "L'Inferno", this new album celebrates and accompanies the 1925 silent movie "Battleship Potemkin". For this new album the band ...

(35:01; Ivan Jacquin) Track list: 1. Un Chemin 4:18 2. In the Air 6:57 3. On Revient 3:49 4. Derriere La Fenetre 7:15 5. Si 3:58 6. Un Prenom Un Visage 2:37 7. Autre Depart 6:07  Line-up: Ivan Jacquin - vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion with: Henri-Pierre Prudent - drums Trev Turley - bass Maria Barbieri - guitars Denis Codfert - drums Richard Lefranc - bass Amanda Lehmann - guitars, vocals Prolusion. French composer, vocalist and musician Ivan Jacquin has been active in the French music scene for more than 30 years, with guest appearances and tenures in a number of bands over the years as well as being a central part of several project constellations. In 2025 he further expanded his CV by recording a solo album, "Intimites", which was self released in the fall of 2025. Analysis. Jacquin is an artist that has been active in a number of different styles and types of music from what I can understand, with pop, jazz and metal all being genres he has explored to a lesser or ...

(42:51; Greydisc) This is the first collaboration between Kevin and drummer extraordinaire Paul Wertico who will always be celebrated for being a long-time member of the Pat Metheny Group with whom he won seven Grammy Awards. Here Kevin provides 30-string Contra-Baritone guitar, 30-string Double Contraguitar, 26-string Double Sub-Contraguitar, 24-string Double Sub-Contraguitar and Paul acoustic drums and  cymbals (featuring the Wertico Ride), prepared drumset and talking drum. Wertico has appeared on hundreds of recordings, is Associate Professor of Jazz & Contemporary Music Studies at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, and conducts drum clinics worldwide, as well as releasing numerous critically acclaimed recordings, and also authored the groundbreaking drum instructional book, ‘Turn The Beat Around’. On this collaboration he often brings a very busy approach, while Kevin is more laid back, and the two styles are very contrasting in nature. It works bes...

(28:45; Greydisc) This is the second album from Kevin Kastning (36-string Double Contraguitar, 16-string Subcontraguitar,  24-string Subcontraguitar, 26-string Contraguitar) and Bruno Råberg (Double bass), following on from 2024’s ‘Silent Dimensions’. Råberg is a Swedish musician who has been living in the States for more than 40 years and is a teacher at both the Berklee Global Jazz Institute and at Berklee College of Music and  has recorded 12 albums as band leader and another 30 as a sideman. What makes this such a fascinating release is not only the way the two musicians interact, but also that Bruno is pushing the boundaries of his instrument just as Kevin is with his. There may be staccato notes plucked very high on the neck which provide an almost percussive element, jazz-like melodic runs or even a bowed technique which provides a totally different backdrop for Kevin to play against. As on the last album, Kevin often sounds more as if he is performing on a  harp o...

(39:52; Greydisc) “But wait, there’s more!” (as they say on those annoying TV ads). Not content with releasing ‘Codex I’, we also get ‘Codex II’, released on the same date. Many of the pieces are connected to the first album, at least in title, and one wonders if Kevin had thought about releasing this as a double CD set instead of two separate albums, given one is 45 minutes in length and the other 40. There is also a separate argument of possibly cutting some material and releasing it as a single disc, but I am truly glad he did not as there is something very special here. The concept and approach are the same here as on ‘Codex I’, so much of the same commentary and descriptions still apply, but I discovered there is something “more” about this album. I must confess I am not sure if it is just falling under the spell of Kevin having always played this after listening yet again to the first one, or if this one is actually that bit more special, but when playing this time stands still, ...