(60:06; New House Music [2018 Edition] ) Between 1989 and 1996 three cassettes were released of live recordings from between 1974 and 1981, with the second of these then being reissued on CD in 2018 as a limited edition, with the other two currently still unavailable. Actually, I can’t find this for sale anywhere either, so it is possible this is no longer available either so if you spot any of them then grab them! This particular CD features track from 1974 to 1975, which means we get the original core line-up of Dave Newhouse (keyboards, woodwind, trumpet),  Billy Swann (electric bass), Tom Scott (woodwind, bell tree, yelling) and Michael Zentner (guitars, violin, piano) along with drummer Michael Bass and Scott Rafael who plays on four tracks with alto sax and violin. Their debut album would not be released until 1978, by which time only Dave, Billy and Tom would remain, so this is a great opportunity to hear what the band sounded like in the early days. I think a good word would be

(41:02; Hobart) What we have here is the final studio album by The Muffins, released in 2012 by Dave Newhouse (keyboards, baritone & tenor saxes, bass clarinet, accordion), Tom Scott (flute, soprano & alto saxophones, clarinet, alto clarinet, oboe, bassoon, keyboards, trumpet, vocals), Billy Swan (fretless bass, acoustic bass, acoustic & e-bow guitars) and Paul Sears (drums). The original live rhythm tracks were recorded in 2008, long before the release of the previous album, ‘Palindrome’, and we have on here just one fully live recording, ‘Going Softly’, which was recorded at ProgDay in 2010. No guests on this one, just the four Muffins demonstrating their musical prowess as they develop an album which is incredibly thoughtful and multi-layered. I have not heard all of their studio albums (something I do need to fix), but this album is far more laid-back and constructed than what I have come to expect from their live works. Given that three of the quartet are multi-instrum

(38:06; Hobart) In 2004 The Muffins released ‘Double Negative’ with the line-up of Dave Newhouse (organ, grand piano, soprano, baritone & tenor saxes, bass clarinet, percussion),  Tom Scott (flute, soprano & alto saxophones, clarinet, percussion), Billy Swan (bass, guitar, percussion) and Paul Sears (drums, guitar, trombone, percussion). They had some guest musicians involved on some of the tracks, including Knoel Scott (alto saxophone) and Marshall Allen (alto saxophone) and perhaps unsurprisingly, this led to a series of improvisations between the six, which were recorded and released in 2005 as a companion album to the original. Marshall Allen is of course famous for leading the reed section in The Sun Ra Arkestra from the time he joined in 1958 for more than 40 years, and is now leader of the Arkestra and is still playing (in his 90’s!) while Knoell is a mere whippersnapper having been born in 1956 and joining the Arkestra in 1979. The Muffins are a band built on improvisat

(43:22; Mother Black Cap) Norfolk-based prog band Mother Black Cap were formed back in 2004 by long-time friends, guitarist Martin Nico and keyboard player Bob Connell. Over the years there have been a few line-up changes, plus they broke up for a while, but are now back with their latest album which also features Andy 'Fizz' Bye (lead vocals, bass) and drummer Dave Dietrich (who has since been replaced by Martyn 'Mac' McCarthy. What make this such an intriguing album in that the guys are following one of the most criticised subgenres within the prog scene, Neo, and not only that but they are actually reaching more into the Eighties than the prog boom of the Nineties. I never understood why so many people had something against the genre, as in many ways I felt it made perfect sense as we moved away from the overblown nature of the Seventies and combined that with the independent ethic which came out of punk and then the indie and metal scenes. Sure, there was much more

(68:00; Blomljud Records) I have no idea what has been happening in the Moon Safari camp, but it has been ten years between albums, which is quite some wait given I gave ‘Himlabacken Vol. 1’ maximum marks. I note there has been a slight change in the line-up in that while Petter Sandström (lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar), Simon Åkesson (lead and backing vocals, piano, organ, Moog), Pontus Åkesson (lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitar), Sebastian Åkesson (backing vocals, assorted keys, percussion) and Johan Westerlund (lead and backing vocals, bass guitar) are still there, drummer Tobias Lundgren, who has been on all the other albums, is no longer involved and instead there is Mikael Israelsson (backing vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards, piano). Mind you, Mikael joined the band in 2015 so there is a still a long time between drinks, for whatever reason. The band has two lead singers in Simon Åkesson and Petter Sandström, but one of the really important aspe

(46:16; New House Music) According to Dave’s Bandcamp site this is the last album we will hear from Manna/Mirage, which is a real shame as this is possibly the most enjoyable to date. Dave Newhouse of course provides most of the instruments, and on a couple of tracks all of them, but he has also brought in old friends such as ex-Muffins bandmates Michael Bass and Michael Zentner, his Moon Men and Cloud Over Jupiter colleague Jerry King, along with the likes of Guy Seger from Univers Zero. Dave has been at the forefront of the Canterbury/Jazz/Avant Prog scene for more than 50 years now, and I have yet to come across any of his releases which are less than thoroughly enjoyable and that is again what we have here. Dave does not feel he is restricted by what anyone expect of him, and consequently he goes where the music takes him, so if he wants the guys to “play it like they're in a small band in a seedy club in Berlin in 1933”, as he requested for those involved with “Practicing Tong

(46:56; Mangeur de Reves) Bands shift and move over time, and that is important, but it is quite unusual for a band to switch quite so much between the debut and second albums, but that is exactly what has happened with Montreal based Mangeur de Rêves. If one was to play just the song “Vivre”, then it would be easy to say this album is a direct progression from the debut when they were very much folk-based progressive rock, with heavy emphasis on acoustic guitars, little or no percussion, and a strong emphasis on electric piano combined with wonderful vocals. Here we would be arguing the only real shift was to a different style of keyboards, but when one listens to the rest of the album, we have the strong impression that here is a band who used their debut as a starting off point and are now reaching in a very different direction indeed. It is the exact same line-up as the debut in Alex Cégé (lead vocals, guitars), Jean-Philippe Major (bass, vocals), Jici LG (guitars, bass, vocals), R

(75:00; Fruits de Mer Records) Everyone into music knows that Fruits de Mer are one of the most important labels around, and also, they put on amazing festivals every year where there are lots of goodies handed out, and many more to be won. 2023 saw The Nineteenth Dream of Dr. Sardonicus three-day festival in Cardigan, Wales, and one of the freebies last year was this CD which contains a total of 22 tracks from the band’s career to date, two of which were previously unreleased. It works through their albums in chronological order, and even contains six songs from their newest album which was only released the previous year. The band describe themselves as a mix of psychedelic Beatles, Byrds, Kinks, Chocolate Watch Band, 13th Floor Elevators, but in reality, this only tells part of the story as these guys are the living musical embodiment of a time which has long gone by. This is the perfect introduction in that it provides a large amount of music from across their first six albums, but

(48:03; Rock Indiana) The 2022 release saw another change in that the guys reduced the number of instruments being utilised, while everyone who performed on the previous release is listed as a full member, plus there is the addition of bassist Peter Morris. We get 14 originals from Stefan and Jeremy, and then they close the set with a stonking distorted wonderful cover of The Kinks’ “I Need You” which sounds as if it is coming to us straight from 1965 as opposed to appearing on an album nearly 60 years later. It fits nicely to end an album where the band are somewhat more direct and less complex than previously, with songs like “Be Myself” sounding as if it was recorded in 1967 as opposed to recently, both in style and sound. The Lemon Clocks continue to demonstrate they are a band out of time, but they continue to operate in three separate countries with the Atlantic between them, yet somehow, they always sound as if they are in the same studio, playing live and having fun. This is mu

(73:00; Rock Indiana) 2020 saw the release of the next album, with a slight change in that Stefan Johansson (drums, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Jeremy Morris (guitar, bass, drums, grand piano, mellotron, synthesizer, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, dulcimer, glockenspiel, E-Bow, percussion, vocals) played on all tracks while Óscar was just on four, plus Carlos Vigara (who is in The Seasongs with Óscar) and Dave Dietrich (who has played with Jeremy on multiple albums) were on two. A generous 19 songs on this release, with 16 co-written by Stefan and Jeremy, two by Jeremy and Óscar, and the final being a cover of “Crimson and Clover” by Tommy James & The Shondells where Jeremy has added some new musical parts to make it nearly fifteen minutes long and a true epic! Yet again we are in the world of psychedelic power pop, but there are some garage influences here and there (meant in the traditional sense of the genre, not the modern) which gives this some nice bite to cut through the sugar.

(52:44; Rock Indiana) Here we have the fourth album by The Lemon Clocks, but while Jeremy Morris and Stefan Johannson were still there, this was the first one since the passing of Todd Borsch, to whom this is dedicated. He has been replaced by Óscar Granero, and together the three multi-instrumentalists (with Jeremy on lead vocals) have produced yet another power pop psychedelic wonder. Given the album was recorded in Sweden, Spain, and the USA I presume they all worked in their own studios, yet this never sounds like a project but rather a full band recording in the same time and space. I reviewed the earlier albums a while back but have not played them for a while (such is the life of a reviewer, always looking forward and rarely back), so cannot say immediately if the change in personnel has had much impact but given that Jeremy and Stefan were always the primary songwriters, I don’t think there has been. 13 songs, all originals, here we have another release which fits well inside J

(52:26: Masters of Art) Although Judge Smith is probably fed up with every reviewer starting their piece by saying he was a founder member of VDGG it would be wrong of me to omit it, even though I have come to him through his recent releases, of which this may just be the best yet. According to the blurb, this album was recorded by “The Weird ‘O’s Novelty Quartet’, comprising the multi-instrumentalists O’ Henry (Ondioline), O’ Brian (Farfisa Organ), O’ Neill (Xylophone, Marimba & Vibraphone), and O’ Clare (Theremin & Percussion), together with their special guest, the irrepressible Mr McKilowatts, controversial exponent of ‘Neolithic Wild-Dance’ and notable for having been banned from folk-dance festivals on three continents.”. There is even a picture of each of these renowned musicians, but for some strange reason they are all taken from the rear, and they all look exactly like a certain Judge… 25 instrumentals, all with a sound which was already out of date by the mid Sixties

(74:00; Jam Records) Just a few months after his last release, Jeremy was back with his next album, this time featuring 30 tracks and different guests in Herb Eimerman ( Nerk Twins, Hot Mama Silver), Randy Massey (Hot Mama Silver), and Tim Boykin (Lolas) as well as long-time drummer Dave Dietrich. This a punchier release than the last one, driven more solidly from the back and with less keyboards. There are also many more guitar solos which moves this away from power pop and more into the melodic rock area although still with plenty of those elements. This also gives Jeremy enough room to indulge in one of his favourite pastimes, cover songs. The first on the album is “Do Ya”, a song I fell in love with when I first heard it on ELO’s ‘A New World Record’ (age warning – I bought that album, new, on 8-track cartridge). It was only in later years that I heard the original by The Move, and while this version is mostly looking to ELO for inspiration there are elements of the earlier song as

(40:59; Jam Records) This is a somewhat unusual album from Jeremy Morris, as while he often has guests involved, it is rare for him to take more of a back seat in the instrumentation stakes, but here he only provides vocals and guitars. The reason for this is that he has been joined by Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star, R.E.M.) who provides vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards and drums while also producing it. I almost expected Ken to have written the songs as well, but they are 100% Jeremy, even though this was his fourth album of the year! Until one puts the CD into the player one never knows what one is going to get from Jeremy given he is such a master of so many different styles, and this one is in his wonderful power pop/melodic rock style which has been heavily influenced by the likes of The Byrds, The Beatles (later period), Big Star, The Beach Boys, Barenaked Ladies and Badfinger (and many other bands of this style, who may or may not start with the letter “B”). This is music

(48:38; OOB Records) Here we have the third album by Dutch multi-instrumentalist Ruud Dielen, who has yet again provided all the instrumentation apart from the drums (Kike Paglia) and some vocals, although this time he has wisely brought in Frank van der Borg who provides vocals on one track and Celia van Onna who provides them on three. Given my major issue on ‘Zodiac’ were the vocals, this is something I definitely agree with. ProgArchives have determined this as being crossover prog, and given I was on the team when he was approved, I must concur, but this is crossover in the sense that he is crossing multiple genres and bringing them together as opposed to the defined crossover genre itself. By far the most important instrument here is Ruud’s wonderfully melodic guitar which can be very Gilmour-ish at times, while at others it is far more direct. This is an album where the music style can almost be defined by a decade, as this is loaded with the Seventies throughout with Ruud provi

(56:13; Cuneiform Records) Here we have the fourteenth studio album from American prog outfit French TV, who released their debut all the way back in 1984, but I am somewhat embarrassed to say this is the first time I have come across the group. With such a long history behind them it is no surprise there have been multiple line-ups, but bassist Mike Sary has been there since the beginning while this is the fourth album to feature both Katsumi Yoneda (guitars) and Patrick Strawser (keyboards) although in recent years they have had some issues with drummers, and this is the debut for Fenner Caster. They also have a few guests in Kenji Imai (flute), Warren Dale (saxophones) and Ludo Fabre (violin). Until last year I had not thought of Pat since the Nineties, when I reviewed an album by Volaré, but recently I have reviewed a few released under his own name or as part of a group, but it was still quite a surprise to see him here as well. Now, having not heard any of the band’s other materi

(93:46; Cuneiform Records) Ahleuchatistas (AH LOO CHA TEES TAS) were formed in 2002 by Shane Parish (guitar), Derek Poteat (bass), and Sean Dail (drums), and by the time of this recording they had already released three incredibly uncompromising and experimental albums.  For the curious the name comes from two words, "Ah-leu-cha" (a Charlie Parker song) and "Zapatistas" (a revolutionary movement which started in Mexico in 1994). Cuneiform Records owner Steve Feigenbaum was blown away when he saw them play a midweek gig at the end of 2004, and soon signed them for their third release. This live album captures them at two of their shows when they were arguably at their peak, gigging hard and bouncing ideas off each other with every performance being something to behold. Just listening to this makes me feel tired, what it is like to witness them in full flight must have been incredible, let alone actually performing at this level of intensity for any length of time. We

(40:56; Ma.Ra.Cash Records) I was not the only person to be someone stunned when Acqua Fragile returned in 2017 with the excellent ‘A New Chant’. Although they had recorded some albums in the Seventies, the departure of singer Bernado Lanzetti to PFM had been the death knell, and no-one thought that more than 40 years later that Bernard, along with bassist Franz Dondi and drummer Piero Canavera would record a new album with some guests. Fast forward a mere six years from the last album and the trio are now back with a full band, plus guests (including none other than David Jackson, surely one of the most active musicians in the scene). What strikes the listener immediately is not the power of the band, but the vocals of Lanzetti. He has lost none of his range, and in many ways is singing as well as ever, but he sounds every minute of his 75 years. Some singers somehow never seem to age at all (step forward Bob Catley for example), but others not so, and that is the case here in that he

(68:31; Progressive Promotion Records) Over the years I have found Arne Schäfer (lead & backing vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, bass, orchestrations) and Eberhard Graef (drums & percussion) to be a little hit and miss with some albums worth investigating, others somewhat in the middle, and others definitely ones to avoid. However, I did really enjoy the last two, so I had high hopes of this one, only to feel somewhat let down. Although they are rightly deemed to be crossover on PA, they have always had a high amount of neo in their style and have been seen as being somewhat at the forefront of the 90’s revival in their native Germany. I think the best word to describe this album is “bland”, as while there is nothing awfully dramatically wrong with it there is also little here to get excited about. I found I kept thinking of one of Clive Nolan’s many projects he used to undertake, with somewhat of a theatrical bent, but not delivered in anything like the same

(44:57; Zanov) It is strange to think that Pierre Salkazanov was one of the pioneers of electronic music in France, releasing three albums before stopping in 1983 because he was too busy. It took more than 30 years before he revisited the music he had been working on for his fourth album, but after he purchased an Arturia Origin synthesiser in 2014 he started playing again, and this is his fourth  work since then. I came across him with the release of his last album, ‘Chaos Islands’, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I was pleased when I came across this one, which was released towards the end of last year. This is music which has been heavily influenced by Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and Jean Michel Jarre and in some ways is quite dated because of that yet somehow also feels very modern. Unlike some performers working in this field there is always a sense of purpose and drive, and little of the meandering use of effects which some seem to rely on. This is not dance music, it is electronic

(50:51; White Knight Records) Although this is a band, and not a project, these guys have had some issue with continuity of line-up over the years, and this has continued through to their fourth album. After 2019’s excellent ‘A Tower of Clocks’ there was a mass departure, leaving singer Al Winter to bring together a brand-new group plus guests for 2021’s ‘Kites’, which for some strange reason I never heard. Now we are back with their most recent release, and this time apart from Al the only musicians retained are the rhythm section of Dave Close (bass) and Alan Wilson (drums) with new members in the shape of John Cook (guitars) and Leigh Perkins (keyboards, whistles, backing vocals) plus two guests contributing on one track each. Given the turmoil in the ranks one might expect the quality to suffer, but that is not the case as yet again we have a really enjoyable neo prog release which has a lot going for it the first time it is played, with hidden depths becoming apparent after repeat

(53:48; Lizard Records) The Latin title of this album can be translated to ‘Because They Don't Know What They Are Doing’ and it would be interesting to ask Ivan Rozmainsky (keyboards) who he is aiming that at, although one can surmise. It has been five years between studio albums, during which time the world has changed for musicians in Russia and Ukraine, but finally here we are back with their latest release. There has been a slight change in personnel since the last one, but Ruslan Kirillov (bass), Vladislav Korotkikh (low whistle, flutes), and Vladimir Semenov-Tyan-Shansky (acoustic & electric guitars) are still involved, while long-time drummer Philip Semenov has now been replaced by Evgeny Trefilov who also provides some keyboards. As is usual, we also have some guest musicians providing additional instrumentation, of which the most key is the trumpet of Alexey Gorshkov. I have been following the music of Roz Vitalis for well over a decade now, and there is no doubt they

(68:22: Ovrfwrd) Back with their fifth album in ten years, all with the same line-up, instrumental quartet Ovrwfrd continue to prove it is possible to be dynamic, exciting and engaging without a frontman. Playing a genre such as progressive rock is to scratch an itch, not to make money and become household names (sadly), and to cut back the possible listeners even further by forgoing the use of a singer clearly demonstrates just how much this style of music means to them all. Mark Ilaug (electric & acoustic guitars), Chris Malmgren (keyboards), Kyle Lund (bass) and Richard Davenport (drums & percussion) prove that when all musicians are in sync, they create a world where nothing else exists. It would be easy to say the band relies heavily on the skill and musicianship of Mark and Chris to drive the melodies, such is the interplay between them and the way they mix and weave the threads, taking over or leading the other one in, but that would greatly diminish the roles of Kyle an

(76:02; HMG Records [2024 Editon] ) Track list: 1. Time Syndrome 3:59 2. The Ship (That Must Come In) 6:04 Trilogy: 3. I. Father (He Shall Add) 4:11 4. II. Hollow Dweller (From The Valley) 3:45 5. III. A Gift 5:29 6. The Winds (Behind the Door) 4:08 7. September Park 4:29 8. Navigator 4:53 9. Lonely Is a Place 3:58 10. Beggar's Hand 5:32 11. The Ship [Nashville Mix] 8:09 12. September Park [Rain Mix] 5:27 13. Navigator [Broken Arrow Mix] 7:39 14. Lonely Is a Place [April Mix] 3:42 15. Father [Sessions Mix] 4:42 Line-up: Darrell Masingale - vocals, guitars Ron Poulsen - bass, vocals Corey Schenck - keyboards, guitars, vocals Andi Schenck - drums, percussion Prolusion. US band Pangaea started out using the band name Artica back in the late 1980's, and throughout the 1990's they released a string of EPs and albums under this initial name. In the second half of the 1990s the band opted to go under a new name, Pangaea, and from what I can understand "The Rite of Passage&quo