(51:48; Karisma Records [2025 Edition] ) Here we have the fifth in the Karisma Records remaster and reissue series of White Willow albums. Originally released in 2006, this  was their attempt to break out from the established 70s prog rock sound and pursue something more up to date. They chose to work with an outside producer, Tommy Hansen (Helloween, TNT, Pagan's Mind, Circus Maximus), and decided they wanted to take influences from City Boy, surely one of the most under-rated bands around, who managed to capture pop rock, hard rock and prog in some incredible releases. Not only did White Willow have a new singer in Trude Eidtang, but the band had cut down in size from eight to six, so while the rest had all played on the previous release, they had also departed ways with cellist Sigrun Eng and second guitarist Johannes Saebøe. There were also no strings, and the only additional people credited outside the band this time is producer Hansen (vocal arrangements) and engineer Brynjar...

(29:27; Acid Dragon) Track list: 1. Teryayu Vremya 4:06 2. Come Tomorrow 3:52 3. I Don't Resign 2:22 4. Trance Aviation Pilots 3:52 5. Luchshe By 3:33 6. Just a Dream 3:26 7. Look at the Sky 2:50 8. L'Amour 5:26 Line-up: Yuri Smolnikov - vocals, guitars Evgeniy Gorelov - keyboards Mike Solo - guitars Misha Brovarnik - bass Irina Yunakovskaya - cello Jim Moto - drums Prolusion. I do not know all that much about Russian band Romislokus, but I understand they were an active creative unit some 20 years ago with a succession of albums released over the span of a few years. Recently I got one of these into my possession: An album called "Lyon's Message", which was attached to an edition of the French progressive rock magazine Acid Dragon back in 2003. Analysis. While the Acid Dragon magazine is a progressive rock speciality publication, I do find that the band Romislokus may not be on top of the lists for bands to promote within that setting. While they certainly have t...

(57:04; Glass Castle Recordings) Track list: 1. Certainty 7:01 2. Everything Changed 4:09 3. The Ultraviolet Catastrophe 2:55 4. Copenhagen 5:15 5. Cause and Effect (But Not Necessarily in That Order) 5:58 6. The Uncertainty Principle 8:43 7. Inside the Atom 6:54 8. The Think Tank 3:57 9. One Word That Means the World (Arkhipov) 4:22 10. Between Two Worlds 4:17 11. Living with Uncertainty 3:33 Line-up: Malcolm Galloway - vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, programming Mark Gatland - bass, Chapman Stick, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers with: Kathryn Thomas - flute, vocals Ethan Galloway - vocals Prolusion. UK band Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate has been releasing new material at a steady pace ever since their debut album "Invisible" appeared back in 2012, and along the way this venture has also doubled in it's core size from being a one man studio venture with guest musicians involved to having a stable core of two studio musicians. As well as a few more peopl...

(48:58; Soniq Theater) Track list: 1. Explorer 4:24 2. Distant Planet 4:49 3. Supersaurus 7:50 4. Tasty Latin Bird 4:35 5. The Akasha Chronicles parts 1, 2 & 3 11:47 6. The Akasha Chronicles parts 4 & 5 6:50 7. The Akasha Chronicles parts 6 & 7 8:43 Line-up: Alfred Mueller - all instruments Prolusion. German project Soniq Theater is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Alfred Mueller, and for the last three decades or thereabouts he has released solo slums under this moniker at a pace of almost one album per calendar year. "Explorer" is the 15th album to see the light of day under the Soniq Theater name, and was self released at the start of 2025. Analysis. The albums released by Mueller under this project name always come with some strengths and some weaknesses to them. Mueller has a very good ear for creating and exploring compelling moods and atmospheres, and over time has developed an expertise in the creation of instrumental escapades that tend to ap...

(76:00; Marek Arnold) The 2023 full-length debut from Marek Arnold contained not only the songs from the first two EPs, but the complete “Berlin 2049” suite plus a few songs from his time with Toxic Smile. Although Marek is a keyboard player (and saxophonist) he somehow always knows what is required from guitar for a song to sound really good and works hard to ensure the songs are crafted and arranged in a manner which ensures they get their time to shine. The only other keyboard player I can think of who has this ability is Derek Sherinian, and I had to smile when I realised, he provides a solo on one of the songs. This may be a full-blown project as opposed to a band, with numerous performers (I think around 50 but I lost count) but somehow this always feels like a band. Marek has long been in demand in multiple bands, and this clearly demonstrates his skill not only in composing but the way he arranges the music so there is continuity even though there are multiple players involved....

(78:00; Marek Arnold) Arguably I am reviewing these to releases the wrong way around, as this collection was released after the debut album, but given this contains the EP which started this project off I feel it is the right way for me. As may be gained from the title, this is a collection of three EPs (plus lots of other material) from keyboard player/saxophonist Marek Arnold who is widely known for his time with bands such as Toxic Smile, Cyril, Seven Steps To The Green Door and Damanek. He has always reminded me of Martin Orford in that not only is he a wonderful composer and keyboard player but is also a master of a very different instrument indeed. The concept behind this was when Uwe Treitinger, organizer of the established Artrock Festival Reichenbach/Vogtland had the idea for a “hymn” for the festival and asked Marek to provide it. He wrote the song, “Stay”, played keyboards and saxophone and asked many of his friends to get involved, with lead vocals provided by Melanie Mau. ...

(69:00; Moonjune Records) It is not possible to overstate the importance of Leonardo Pavkovic in the world of jazz and avant garde music, as while most labels look to sign artists who they believe will make them lots of money, Leo instead has a musical itch to scratch, part of which can only be relieved by putting different musicians together and seeing what happens. That is the case here, as yet again he has brought together some people to plug in at La Casa Murada. Markus Reuter (Touch Guitar AU8, Soundscapes) and Alexander Dowerk (Touch Guitar S8) are no strangers to each other, performing in both Anchor and Burden and Tonnen von Hall, while Reuter and Mark Wingfield (electric guitar) have already recorded together in this studio. Added to these are Nguyên Lê on electric guitar and Luca Calabrese on Pocket Trumpet, so, in short, we have four guitarists working to create soundscapes and dreamscapes and cutting through it all is a trumpet, with everyone composing live with all of this...

(45:31; Is It Jazz? Records) Norwegian jazz-rock trio Krokofant are not only back with their sixth album, but they have returned to the trio of Tom Hasslan (guitars), Axel Skalstad (drums) and Jørgen Mathisen (saxophone) following on from two albums where they expanded the line-up with the addition of organist Ståle Storløkken and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. The first thing ones notices when playing this is that this is very much an album out of time, feeling as if it is coming to us straight from the Seventies with a very high influence from both Soft Machine and King Crimson while Mathisen obviously loves his Coltrane, and the band themselves say this is for fans of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bushman’s Revenge, Elephant9, Red Kite and Kanaan, and any album which references John McLaughlin is going to make me sit up and take notice. I have often said that a trio is my favourite band format as there is absolutely nowhere to hide, yet it must be said this also sounds like a quartet, give...

(43:40; Kingfisher Sky) It has been a long time since I last heard anything from Kingfisher Sky, in fact it was all the way back in 2010 and the time of their second album, ‘Skin of the Earth’, and now they are back with their fifth. Formed in 2005 by drummer Ivar de Graaf (ex-Within Temptation, who on this release also provides Irish bouzouki, mandolin, acoustic guitars, keys, fretless bass), and singer Judith Rijnveld, only guitarist Edo van der Kolk is still involved from the original line-up, which now includes Nick Verschoor (bass, acoustic guitar), Erik van Ittersum (keyboards), and Maaike Peterse (violon, cello). There are also some additional guests, including Troy Donockley (Nightwish) on flute and Uilleann pipes, and Edward Reekers (Kayak, Ayreon) on vocals. De Graaf left Within Temptation as he wanted to play music which was more challenging, and did so just as the band started to gain international success, and with his wife Judith they created a band which allows her class...

(46:50; Jam Records) I have lost track not only of how many albums I have reviewed by Jeremy (The Lemon Clocks, The Jeremy Band ), but also how many I have reviewed when he has worked with Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star, R.E.M.), yet here the duo are back again. With two multi-instrumentalists who also both sing and can produce there is no need to bring in anyone else, and yet again the pair are doing all themselves on 12 Jeremy Morris originals. They have never made any secret of their love of 60's and 70's classic rock and pop, often drawing comparisons with The Byrds, The Beatles, Big Star, The Posies, Teenage Fanclub and more, and yet again we have an album which is a power pop psychedelic delight. Jeremy has said this is a story which is designed to be listened to as a whole from start to finish, yet each of these songs are true standalones which would go well on any classic radio station. Jeremy has long decided to follow his own path and not have any expectations...

(60:10; Jef Bek) I don’t get sent nearly as many CDs as I used to, a combination of living at the end of the world, the cost of postage, and that many independent artists only release their music digitally, so it is still an unexpected pleasure when one arrives, especially one like this which includes photos not only of Bek but of the 16 others involved. Bek is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist/composer who began his career as drummer for Chicago based Prog-Rock band Dot Dot Dot which included Thymme Jones (which morphed into Cheer Accident), and it is nice to see that all these years later Jones has repaid the compliment by providing trumpet on one track.   Like many musicians, during Covid, Bek found himself with a lot of spare time on his hands as live performances stopped, which impacted both his session work, lecturing, and theatre (he has been involved in many major productions, including  writing the music, lyrics and book for the world premiere of ‘Evel Kniev...

(68:00; Metal Blade) Here we have the second album from Danish Progressive Death Metal outfit Iotunn, and there is much to take in as musically and lyrically there is a lot going on. ‘Kinship’  tells the story of a prehistoric tribesman, journeying through  life’s conditions with themes of unity/disunity, light/dark, body/mind, nature/culture, good/evil, creation/destruction, and human/inhuman. It is difficult to know quite where to start, but opener “Kinship Elegaic”, is the longest track on the album and probably contains much of what one might to know about this. First off, singer Jón Aldará is an absolute monster, able to provide death growls or soaring vocals, whatever the music requires. At the back there is Bjørn Wind Andersen who is obviously an octopus, able to keep things going in multiple time signatures while always hitting hard, and bassist Eskil Rask plays between drums and guitar, sometimes providing melodies of his own or locking in tight to provide backup. The...

(36:25; The Incident) The cover may have immediately made me think of Queen’s ‘The Miracle’, but what have here is the second album by the Alt/Prog rock band from Greece & Malta, so musically a little different. It was sent to me by keyboard player Lef Germenlis, who many will know from other projects such as Until Rain and Oroboros, while here they say they are influenced by the likes of Anathema, Katatonia, Pineapple Thief, Porcupine Tree & Foo Fighters. These bands are quite different in their approach, and that comes through in the music which find The Incident very much following their own path as while there are times when one could imagine then being considered crossover prog, in fairness they are crossing so strongly into alternative, rock and pop that the crossover element is more in their approach as opposed to any defined sub-genre. The result is an album which ca be quite confusing to listen to, such is the variety and mix of what they are doing, with piano incredib...

(54:14; Iapetus Media) Right from the off you need to know this is an album to be listened to only on headphones, and then only when one is in the right frame of mind to truly take it in, as this ambient guitar album is very special indeed. Cofone has been experimenting with different progressive and dreamscapes for some time, and for this release he provided electric guitar, and while he was in the studio improvising, he was joined by Markus Reuter who is credited with “Treatments” as Reuter assisted Cofone with creating music which makes one feel very much in tune with the cosmos. If one said to me what is the perfect album to be listened to late at night where there is a clear sky, sat outside with a glass of wine staring into the heavens, then it surely must be this as I cannot imagine a more perfect coming together of audio, visual and taste sensations. Ambient albums can often be too meandering and boring, yet while this moves all over the place there feels there is a sense of di...

(60:00; Talking Elephant) Dorie is well known for her work as backing vocalist with Chris Difford, Francis Dunnery, William Topley, Marti Pellow as well as being one of the lead singers for Kaprekar’s Constant, and here she finally returns with her second solo album, following on from 2008’s ‘The Courting Ground’. Some members of Kaprekar’s Constant form part of the backing band, including her father David (best known for his time with Van der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill) who provides flute, horns and whistles. Unsurprisingly, given her relationship with Kaprekar’s Constant, there is a large amount of storytelling within this album, which is probably best described as folk prog crossed with singer songwriter. What makes the album stand out so much is not only the quality of the songs, but the way the music has been structured to ensure the vocal arrangements and harmonies are always front and centre. This is an album which has had real care paid to how the songs have been compile...

(74:00; Moonjune Records) Multi-instrumentalist José Pedro Beledo enjoys bringing in new musicians for virtually every album, so while he provides electric guitar, Spanish guitar, acoustic piano and violin he is joined this time by Jorge Pardo (flute, tenor sax), Carles Benavent (bass guitar), one of my favourite drummers in Asaf Sirkis along with guests Gary Husband (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Mimi Moog) and Ramón Echegaray who provides candombe percussion on one track. Most multi-instrumentalists are skilled at one type of instrument and not so much on others, but while Beledo is primarily a guitarist he is no slouch on the others either. It is interesting to note that there is one traditional song on here, plus four credited just to Beledo but the three songs with Gary Husband are credited to all five musicians.  Here we have a band who are really cooking solidly linked in with Beledo to create jazz rock fusion which is a delight from beginning to end. Sirkis is well-known fo...

(38:18; Abstraktor) Here we have the latest release from Abstraktor, a Russian progressive folk band I had not previously come across, but one of the members is Yaroslav Borisov who I know from Happy55. He provides vocals, synthesizers, and piano and is joined by Ivan Sukharev (vocal, harp, kalyuka, flutes), Alexander Bityutsky (drums, percussion) and Oleg Salkov (bass, synths). Apparently, the name comes from mixing the words "abstraction" and "tractor", with “Abstraction” as a way of artistic expression and “tractor” as a bright symbol of the modern village. I cannot talk to the lyrics, which are important to the band, as they are all sung in Russian (the title of the album translates to “Mother”) so I just treat the vocals as another instrument. What I found compelling right from the off is while the band say this contains the influences of European Synth-rock and Synth-pop similar to the likes of Duran Duran or Beirut, the strong piano elements make me think str...

(40:31; Crime Records) Norwegian proggers The Windmill are back with their fourth album. The line-up on their 2010 included Erik Borgen (lead & backing vocals, guitars), Jean Robert Viita (keyboards, lead & backing vocals), Morten Clason (sax, flutes, keyboards, guitars, lead & backing vocals), Arnfinn Isaksen (bass) while both Sam Arne Nøland (drums, percussion), and Stig André Clason joined in time for the second album. It was the same line-up on the third and would surely have been the same on this one, but sadly in the spring of 2018, drummer Nøland was diagnosed with cancer, and he died later that year. The band looked to Kristoffer Utby, who plays with Stig André Clason in Infringement to be the replacement, but although he has played on this release, he has now decided to concentrate on that band instead and he in turn has been replaced by Nils Harsem.   Any band who kicks off an album with a 22-minute-long song are setting out their stall from the beginning...

(47:41; Karisma Records [2024 Reissue] ) Here we have the fourth in the series of six White Willow reissues being undertaken by Karisma Records. Originally released in 2004, it was their fourth album, and the original seven songs have been remastered by guitarist and bandleader Jacob Holm-Lupo. It was the first album which sold more than 10,000 copies for the Norwegian proggers as they became more metallic and heavier, but the intensity of the sessions had a major impact on those involved, with singer Sylvia Erichsen leaving the band for a few years and not appearing on the next release. "We wanted to create an album that felt like a storm — a reflection of the turmoil in the world with climate change and political unrest, and also within our own lives," explains Lupo. For some reason, and I have no idea why, I never heard this album when it came out although I reviewed both 2000’s ‘Sacrament’ and 2006’s ‘Signal to Noise’ when they were released. The album has been officially...

(40:28; VMS) Somehow, I missed out on 2022’s ‘Isosessions’, but I reviewed the four albums prior to that and have always been in awe of these Russian musicians who bring together loads of different styles in a way which somehow always makes perfect sense. There is less of the space rock which they were originally known for, although it is still present, while the violin often brings in a folk element, and the listener quickly understands here is a band who are refusing to stay inside any sort of musical pigeonhole but instead go where the muse takes them. This album contains just two instrumental tracks, a part one and a part two (each slightly more than 20 minutes long), and Ivan Fedotov (drums & percussion), Arkady Fedotov (bass, synth, noises, sampler), Alexander Kuzovlev (guitars), Alexey Klabukov (keyboards, synths, sampler, trumpet, winds arrangement) and Vitaly Borodin (violin, kalimba, sampler) have again used the talents of guest Alexey Esin (tenor & soprano saxophones...