(76:58; Moonjune Records) Track list: 1. Deep Ocean 6:42 2. The Sound of the Earth I 9:55 3. From Darkness 7:34 4. The Sound of the Earth II 12:14 5. Serenity 5:49 6. The Sound of the Earth III 9:14 7. Lovely Place 4:43 8. The Sound of the Earth IV 16:36 9. Take a Walk 4:11 Line-up: Xavi Reija - drums Markus Reuter - touch guitar Dusan Jevtovic - guitars Tony Levin - bass, Chapman Stick Prolusion. Spanish drummer Xavi Reija has a career that goes back to the 1990s, and his resume of artists he has worked with in some capacity or other over the years makes for a rather impressive read. He stepped up as a band leader back in 2006 with the project Xavi Reija's Electric Quintet, and released two albums with this project, and later on he formed a new band constellation called Xavi Reija's Electric Trio. In between these projects, Reija have released a total of four purebred solo albums. "The Sound of the Earth" is the third of those solo productions, and was released by th...

(50:54; Pingvinorkestern) Track list: 1. Stay 0:56 2. Look, No Hands 3:58 3. Free Fall 4:25 4. Oj 3:56 5. Happy 1:51 6. Walk Slowly 5:52 7. Stora Moerdarbacken 4:03 8. Honk 3:14 9. If You're a Dreamer, Come In 6:14 10. Retour des Visite 2:55 11. Save Me 7:06 12. Likörcigarren 3:03 13. Leave 3:21 Line-up: Susanne Johansson - vocals, violin, recorders, melodica, percussion, sound effects Mats Fredriksson - vocals, guitars, xylophone, percussion, ukulele Micke Wall - guitars, percussion, voice , glockenspiel, tubular bells, ukulele, bodhran Stefan Dernbrant - vibes, xylophone, glockenspiel, flute, percussion, sound effects, jews harp, melodica Shiny Mac - bass, saw, synth, percussion, vocals with: Lisa Morgen - french horn Andi Almqvist - vocals Haakan Rydlöv - bassoon The Penguin Party Choir - vocals Joakim Zetterqvist - violin Maria Bergström - violin Sigrid Kroeker - viola Viktor Johannesson - cello Prolusion. Swedish band Pingvinorkestern appears to have been formed sometime aroun...

(42:31; Karisma Records) Track list: 1. Hasselblad 3:59 2. Oktober 4:10 3. Til Warszawa 5:16 4. 235 4:43 5. Superga 4:19 6. Diamant 4:10 7. Himmelen Som Vet 4:01 8. Ohnesorg 5:41 9. Aldri Helt Stille 3:58 10. Min Krig 2:14 Line-up: Kim Ljung - vocals Dan Heide - guitars Sindre Pedersen - bass Joakim Brendsröd - keyboards Ted Skogmann - drums with: Erik Ljunggren - keyboards Ginge Anvik - keyboards Terje Johannesen - trumpet Prolusion. Norwegian band Ljungblut is the creative vehicle of composer and artist Kim Ljung, an artist best known for being a member of Norwegian rock band Seigmen. Ljungblut was launched as a project all the way back in 2004, and have released six full length albums at the time of writing. "Villa Carlotta 5959" is the most recent of these studio productions, and was issued through Norwegian label Karisma Records in the late fall of 2018. Analysis. For those who keep track of record labels and the music they tend to release, Karisma Records are just about...

(42:30; Rock Company) Track list: 1. The Flight Continues 2:28 2. In the Old House 3:49 3. Keeper of the Forest Castle 4:12 4. Identification Man (Psychedelic Inserter) 5:39 5. Fog 2:29 6. The Saga of the Discoverers (Parts 1-2) 5:54 7. The Saga of the Discoverers (Part 3) 3:27 8. The World of Light 4:26 9. One Strange Morning 4:27 10. Hello, Star Man! 5:39 Line-up: Vitaly Kiselev - guitars, programming Alexander Malakhov - synthesizers Prolusion. Russian project Sunrise Auranaut is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Vitaly Kiselev. From 2013 and onward he has released a steady stream of albums under his chosen moniker, sometimes as a pure-bred one man operation while on other occasions additional musicians have been brought in to contribute as well. The album "Inserter" is the fifth of those albums, and was released in 2018 through Dutch label Rock Company. Analysis. It is an accessible and atmospheric laden variety of instrumental progressive rock we get on this ...

(77:38; Chromatic Music) Track list: 1. Roumanian Folk Dances 3. Standing Still 3:39 2. Roumanian Folk Dances 2. Peasant Costume 3:01 3. Roumanian Folk Dances 4. Stick Game 4:58 4. Mikrokosmos 149. Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm II 3:48 5. Mikrokosmos 113. Bulgarian Rhythm I 4:44 6. Mikrokosmos 78. Five Tone Scale 7:31 7. An Evening in the Village. 10 Easy Piano Pieces No. 5 4:38 8. The Young Bride. For Children Vol. 1 No. 17 5:15 9. Exiles 10:59 10. Tonk 3:34 11. The Talking Drum 6:39 12. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two 7:33 13. Starless 11:19 Line-up: Nelson Coelho - guitars Gabriel Costa - bass, vocals Fred Barley - drums, vocals with: David Cross - Violin Prolusion. Brazilian band Dialeto have a history that goes back to the end of the 1980s, and started their career as recording artists all the way back in 1991. It would take the band a couple of decades to continue their endeavours though, but from 2010 and onward they have released a new album every few years with a total ...

(57:00; Ma.Ra.Cash Records) Track list: 1. Rubidor #1 5:10 2. Il Corpo Nel Sogno 4:42 3. Neglibor 7:01 4. Blu Marrone 2:51 5. Sono Invisibile (Bolero Terzo) 7:22 6. Strippale 3:10 7. Un Paradiso Con Il Mal Di Testa 3:50 8. Il Cimitero Delle Fate 3:52 9. Di Passaggio 3:10 10. Prato Fiorito 6:34 11. Orfeo e Moira 5:52 12. Rubidor #2 3:26 Line-up: Stefano Giannotti - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion Valeria Marzocchi - flute, vocals Lorenzo Del Pecchia - clarinet Maicol Pucci - trumpet, flugelhorn Marco Fagioli - tuba, trombone, siphon, harmonica, synth, electronics Emanuela Lari - piano, keyboards, vocals Valentina Cinquin - harp, vocals Riccardo Ienna - percussion Gabriele Stefani - vocals Edgar Gomez - vocals with: Antonio Caggiano - vibraphone Prolusion. Italian project Oteme (short for Osservatorio delle Terre Emerse) have been around in one form or another since 2010, and revolve around the compositions made by band leader Stefano Giannotti. As of 2024 there have been four studio a...

(328 pages, Gonzo Multimedia) Prolusion. Writer and reviewer Kev Rowland will be a familiar name for anyone who read the progressor website and a few other websites that cover the progressive rock scene, and increasingly a well known name also for people with less of a close relation to the progressive rock scene due to his series of books featuring music reviews. Among artists and labels he has been known as a capacity for more than 30 years, one of the true veterans among reviewers of progressive rock. In the fall of 2023 he released his fifth book of compiled progressive rock reviews. Analysis. That Kev have covered a lot of ground in the progressive rock music scene is a matter that certainly comes to light when going through all the reviews in this book. Even if this volume cover many releases of a fairly recent date, this volume collecting reviews written in the years 2014-2018, there are some albums that have been reviewed in this tome that are difficult to impossible to obtain ...

(57:29: Conveniens) Track list: 1. Commercial Dance Song (single Version) 4:28 2. Industrial Mylasia 3:22 3. Pidgeion Memory 4:12 4. Geomoshadowdive 5:07 5. Salmineo 4:36 6. Piano Piece 1:45 7. Victims Of Convenience 6:43 8. Onn (Ond) 5:21 9. Cigarette Tric 6:00 10. Diyddiyd 2:47 11. Tonsure 3:43 12. Nellimonk 4:47 13. Commercial Dance Song 4:38 Line-up: Dave Smith - synthesizer, piano John Maz - drums, synthesizers Prolusion. US twosome Conveniens were an active creative unit back in the 1980s, and released three full length albums between 1984 and 1987 before disappearing from view. What they have done since then I don't know, but the albums from back then have been subject to some reissues over the years. "Victims of Convenience" is the second album by this duo, and was first released back in 1986. A reissue of this album appeared in 2024, with four additional songs added to the album in it's reissued form, as well as the track listing being rearranged. Analysis. A...

(66:40; Snowdonia) Track list: 1. Nel Mezzo Del Cammin 2:48 2. Per Lo Tuo Ben Penso 1:40 3. Per Me Si Va Nella Citta Dolente 2:06 4. Ed Ecco Verso Noi Venir Per Nave 2:00 5. L’Angoscia Delle Genti Che Sono Quaggiu Nel Viso Mi Dipigne 4:31 6. Stavvi Minosse 0:35 7. Amor Che a Nullo Amato Amar Perdona 6:15 8. Stige 3:44 9. La Citta di Dite 2:30 10. Qui Son Gli Eresiarchi 4:55 11. Pier Della Vigna 3:13 12. I Dilapidatori 1:28 13. I Violenti Contro Dio 0:55 14. La Prima Bolgia 0:51 15. I Ruffiani 1:00 16. La Terza Bolgia 1:35 17. I Barattieri 3:37 18. Gli Ipocriti 3:20 19. I Ladri, Tra Orribili Serpi 2:20 20. Vedi Come Storpiato e Maometto 1:58 21. I Falsari, Fatti Lebbrosi, Passioidropici 1:30 22. I Giganti 0:44 23. I Traditori, Immersi Nello Stagno Gelato di Cocito 2:44 24. Il Conte Ugolino 4:20 25. Lucifero 2:52 26. Il Cammino Sotterraneo 3:00 Line-up: Francesca Badalini - piano, syntheszer, zither Andrea Grumelli - bass, electronics, soundscapes Luca Casiraghi - drums, percussion Claud...

(37:59; Hargadein Music Group) I was on FB one day and was reading a post by my good friend Olav Martin Björnsen and saw him mention something about the new album from Pangaea. The database in my head came to life so I dropped him a note, surely not the Pangaea I remembered reviewing more than 20 years earlier? Yes it was, so I was soon in contact with the band and was delighted to find that the line-up was still a quintet and the gang was all back together with Andi Schenck (drums, percussion), Corey Schenck (keyboards, guitars), Steven Osborn (vocals, guitars), Ron Poulsen (bass) and Darrell Masingale (guitar). It is strange to think that Andi, Corey, Ron and Darrell were all playing together in 1989, and that Steven joined in 1991, and here in 2024 they are back together with a new release. As I said in my review of ‘A Time and a Place’, I thought it was a great album and was somewhat surprised for there not to be a follow-up but now there is, it just took a little longer than I exp...

(51:23; HMG Records) By the time of the third album there had been some changes in the band. Ron Poulson had left, with Robert Berry taking his place on the album (although I note Maurice Bettaglio is also credited on Discogs – he was certainly a member for a time but don’t know how much he contributed to this), but the biggest change was the return of Steven Osborn on vocals and acoustic guitar. Osborne was a key member of the band when they were performing as Artica, recording all four albums with them, but had left to continue his studies before they became Pangaea. This allowed Darrell to move back to providing backing vocals as opposed to lead, with the rest of the line-up of course being Andi Schenck (drums & percussion) and Corey Schenck (keyboards & guitars). By 2001 I was now in contact with the band who sent me a four-track sampler of material they had recorded for the new album, hoping to get a deal. I was sure they would get something, but I never heard from them ag...

(53:02; HMG Records) The quartet were back in the studio with Robert Berry to work on this album in August 1997, releasing it a few years later. Back then I was regularly being sent promos by Angular Records to review and this was the first time I came across the band. There were very few of us regularly writing about prog at the time, and I have not seen any other reviews of this album from that period, but I certainly liked it when I came across it in 1999, saying “while it may be a tad bland for some prog fans, if you like music like 80’s Yes in some parts while more AOR in others then this is worth investigating.” Now, there has been a lot more prog through my ears since I wrote those words and don’t think the Yes reference is accurate, as there is much more neo going on, but the mix with AOR is certainly accurate. This was a direct follow-on from the debut with the same line-up and producer working together in the same studio to continue where they left off from the previous one, ...

(76:02; HMG Records [2024 Editon] ) In 1995 the band Artica comprised Andi Schenck (drums & percussion), Corey Schenck (keyboards, guitars & backing vocals), Darrell Masingale (vocals & lead guitar) and Ron Poulsen (bass guitar & backing vocals). They worked with Robert Berry at his Soundtek Studios and released ‘Liquid Placidity’, which I must confess to having never come across. Undeterred by the success they changed their name to Pangaea, and over the next few years released three albums under that name, all recorded with Robert and then disappeared. Until now. Not only is there a new album but they have remastered the others and refreshed the artwork, which is why, only 27 years after its debut release, I am now playing ‘The Rites of Passage’. Back in the 90’s the most popular (in a relative sense, prog wasn’t really popular at all and the mass media were doing their best to keep it that way) form of progressive rock was neo prog, but the styles coming out from the ...

(41:38; Metal Blade Records) When one comes across the names Ray Alder and Jim Matheos, thoughts immediately go to Fates Warning, of which Matheos was a co-founder while Alder joined in 1987, and although it appears likely that 2020’s ‘Long Day Good Night’ will be their final album together, they are still happy to tour. Just because they are not recording together in that band does not mean that Alder and Matheos do not like recording together altogether, and here, we have the debut album from a very different band indeed. For the most part it is just the two of them, although on some songs they are joined by drummer Gunnar Olsen (Puscifer). Matheos and Alder began talking about working together again as soon as they completed the last Fates Warning album, “We just didn’t know what, when, where” says Matheos. “I had begun work on another Tuesday the Sky record, which is an ambient, mostly instrumental, pet project of mine. But the first songs I’d come up with felt like they were more ...

(42:00; Fruits de Mer Records) Many of you will be aware that my home is in one part of New Zealand, but I work in another, only getting back every other weekend. So when a package arrives my wife opens it when we are on one of our daily video calls and shows me what is inside so when an envelope arrived she did the same as normal, and was somewhat surprised to see there were 9 cards inside as well as the disc. Given they were numbered on one side she laid them out in sequence, showing me each one. They were related to the tracks on the album, of which there are 8, with the ninth being a photo of the band. But on the back, there was writing, so she then turned them over and read the story of the last flight of the Moon Goose. She also noticed that some of the letters were in red as opposed to black, and when looking at them in sequence it formed an ominous message, “The Moon Goose is dead”. Some bands are subtle in their messaging, others not so much, but this appears to be giving a ve...

(41:48; Iapetus) I have been a fan of Markus Reuter’s experimental guitarwork for some years now, and while his releases with Stick Men will always be my favourite (please can you come to New Zealand?), I am also a huge fan of Anchor & Burden so when I realised this started life during the sessions for ‘Kosmonautik Pilgrimage’ I was quite intrigued. Apparently, that was a three-day session, and on the second day Markus was in the studio and decided to create a series of solos in a cleaner fashion than normal. Stefano Castagna was mixing that album, so of course had access to this raw material and felt he could so something with them in a different manner. He has been working with Markus since 2021’s ‘TRUCE 2’ album, both as a mixer and a collaborator, but is also known for a musician in his own right with his love being for where  1980’s art rock intertwines with jazz, Mediterranean music and experimental sound. He has taken the solos and then built layers of keyboards against ...

(60:00; New Joke Productions) I really enjoyed Kristoffer’s last two solo albums, awarding 2021’s ‘Let Me Be a Ghost’ maximum marks, and now he is back with his fifth solo release (he is still probably best known for playing with his brother Daniel on the first six Pain of Salvation albums). Apparently, the recording process for this release started at the same time as 2019’s ‘Homebound’ and was planned to be a simultaneous release, but a certain pandemic got in the way which led to him working on what would become ‘Let Me Be a Ghost’ instead. Since then he has gone back to the sessions and has produced something which feels far more like a band in the symphonic progressive arena, heavily influenced by Pink Floyd with some wonderfully dated keyboards. He is a multi-instrumentalist so plays most of the core music himself, but has brought in three different drummers and three guitar soloists (I have no idea who plays on “He’s Not Me” but he has nailed the Gilmour style to a tee, while th...

(45:05; Wise Queen Records) When I first came across ‘An Abandoned Orchid House’ by Talitha Rise I was just blown away by the sheer beauty and style of Jo Beth Young. This was followed up with ‘Strangers’, by which time she had shortened the band name to Rise and now finally we have her first full studio album under her own name (there was a compilation of rarities in 2022). She has maintained her long-term working relationship with Peter Yates (Fields of the Nephilim) who appeared on the debut, while both bassist Jules Bangs and cellist Ben Roberts have been there since the second, so although the artist name may have changed, this really is a logical progression. Jo has always followed her own course, none more so than with this album which shows her spreading her musical wings in a way which may actually disappoint some of her longtime fans, but it is important for an artist to be true to themselves and follow wherever the muse leads them. Here Jo is still producing the wonderful dr...

(48:50; Jam Records) Here we have yet another in the series of albums by Jeremy Morris (Jeremy, The Lemon Clocks, The Jeremy Band ) and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star, R.E.M. ) with Jeremy providing the songs, vocals and guitars, and Ken vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. Released in October 2023, this is the most recent album I have of Jeremy, who has only released two more solo albums and one by The Lemon Clocks since this came out. How he manages to maintain such a prodigious output along with quality control has been a mystery to me ever since he started sending me cassettes thirty years ago, but while the medium has changed, I still look forward very much to playing everything he sends me. The reason for that is when it comes to power pop that has been influenced by The Beatles (in particular), The Byrds, Big Star etc. then he is amazingly consistent and in Ken he has obviously found a kindred spirit, as this is at least their fourth collaboration together. Jeremy...