(47:42; Synthagma) Track list: 1. Radical Animal Pt.1 6:15 2. Fenris 8:15 3. Sound of a Cat's Footstep 6:04 4. Power 9:23 5. Radical Animal Pt.2 14:17 6. Epilog 3:28 Line-up: Roland Eichler-Hungerbach - vocals, guitars Ropp Koehler - keyboards Thomas Bruhns - bass Thomas Kols - drums Prolusion.  German band Synthagma was formed back in 2021, and consists of members with a solid pedigree in the German progressive rock scene. Initially a duo, the band developed into a quartet prior to hitting the recording studio to prepare their material for an official release. The end result of that process is the album "Radical Animal", which was self released by the band in the summer of 2025. Analysis. It is a mostly instrumental variety of progressive rock we get with this album, and apart from choral voice effects we only get one song where the vocals have any substantial role to play. Otherwise this is a creation that revolves around the instruments and instrumentalists, and those ...

(54:11; Cromosoma M) Track list: 1. Come Heavy Sleep 1:54 2. Creatures of the Night Part 1 4:32 3. Get in Line 4:58 4. The Chinese Witch 7:10 5. I Dreamed of Flying 3:47 6. Creatures of the Night Part 2 4:52 7. Alone 4:57 8. The First Time We Met 5:15 9. The Next Dream 7:45 10. I Dreamed of Flying [Acoustic] 3:45 11. The First Time 5:16 Line-up: Massimo Pieretti - keyboards with: Amy Breathe - vocals Germana Noage - vocals Kate Nord - vocals Laura Piazzai - vocals Maria Chiara Rocchegiani - vocals Lorenzo Cortoni - vocals Claudio Milano - vocals Marco Ragni - vocals Dominic Sanderson - vocals Michael Trew - vocals John Hackett - flutes Rob Townsend - saxophone Lauren Trew - clarinets Lisa Green - violin Mauro Cipriani - cello Gianni Pieri - cello Simone Cozzetto - guitars Roberto Falcinelli - guitars Francesco Mattei - guitars Nick Fletcher - guitars Fabio Lanciotti - guitars Peter Matuchniak - guitars Jean Luc Payssan - guitars Luigi Pistillo - guitars Attilio Virgilio - guitars Vince...

(124:00; Cherry Red Records) It is somewhat hard to believe that this band blew so very brightly indeed and there were gone after just five albums. Bill Nelson released his debut solo album, ‘Northern Dream’, in 1971 and was soon championed by John Peel which led to his new band, Be-Bop Deluxe being signed to EMI Records in 1974. This new three CD set brings together the first three studio albums, so one can now easily hear the original releases and the progression between them. Given that the first three releases all have names relating to guitars it is a nice package. The only constant was Bill Nelson, as after ‘Axe Victim’ he  totally changed the line-up, but on the debut he provided lead vocals, lead & acoustic guitars, grand piano, arrangements and was joined by Ian Parkin (rhythm & acoustic guitars, organ),  Robert Bryan (bass, lead and backing vocals) and Nicholas Chatterton-Drew (drums, percussion). It includes some of their most well-loved songs including the ...

(25:16; Gonzo Multimedia) Here we have a six-track 25-minute-long EP/album from Gordon Giltrap which was released earlier this year with all proceeds going to charity. I have been a fan of his music for nearly 50 years, and do not think that is going to change any time soon with this being yet another wonderfully reflective selection of music underpinned by his delicate classical acoustic guitar. I am sure if I was played just a few bars of “The Fox At Dawn” (which features keyboards by Mark Guyatt) I would be able to quickly recognise who was behind it. The same is true of any of the songs contained on here, and I love the solo “Small Pockets of Joy” which was inspired by “Substitute”, and one can hear how it commences in that manner before moving on and away. This set is bookended by “Starfield”, the closing number being the original instrumental and the opening now containing vocals (the only song to do so). Apparently Giltrap shared a dream about his late wife Hilary with his frien...

(55:03; Sky Cat Records) I have been fortunate enough to hear quite a few of the most recent albums by Ed Palermo and his band, and I have always loved the way he takes music and arranges it into something very different indeed. Is he a proghead who loves jazz, or a jazz musician who has dabbled in the dark side? Who knows? It doesn’t really matter, as whether he is releasing big band arrangements of Frank Zappa or Todd Rundgren the end result is always a delight. Here he is sometimes playing it somewhat straight by rearranging a single song, but at others he mashes a few different songs together (“Black Hole Sun” leading into “Bodhisattva” for example). I think you can learn all you need about Ed just by playing the third track, “There Comes A Time” by Tony Williams. The voiceover from the American and British generals is straight out of Python, and when we get the cry from the Brits of “Release the Mellotron” the Americans could not believe what they were hearing, “I didn’t think the...

(53:07; Untold Stories) What we have here is the debut album from a new Bulgarian band, but they have been put together by guitarist Daniel Eliseev-Marinovski who is best known for his band Daniel Eliseev Project and the albums ‘Night Shadow’ and ‘Lost Humanity, both of which I really enjoyed. However, they were quite different from each other as the debut was with vocals and songs while the second was more about instrumental workouts with Daniel very much to the fore, so in many respects this is a logical progression from the first D.E.P. release as opposed to the second, so I can understand why this is under a new name. Keyboard player Nikolay Samardjiev, who played on the debut, is back, but the other musicians are new with Alek Tsandev (bass) and Radoslav Mitev (drums and percussion) joining special guest, Boil Karaneychev (vocals). I’ve been looking at Boil’s Facebook page and he is a well-known musician and singer in the Bulgarian scene, but it would be great if he committed to t...

(124:55; Progrock.com's Essentials) Recorded on the band's tour in support of the ‘Seven Chambers’ album at a gig at Zoetermeer's Boerderij venue on September 14th, 2023 the “Australian” prog band comprised Mark Trueack (vocals), Sean Timms (keyboards, vocals), John Greenwood (guitars, vocals), Steve Unruh (violin, flute, guitar, percussion, vocals), Don Schiff (stick) and Chester Thompson (drums). That is one heck of a rhythm section by anyone’s standards, I first saw Chester duelling with Phil Collins on the ‘Duke’ tour back in 1980 (and still have his autograph), while it has been more than 30 years since I fell in love with The Rocket Scientists where Don was playing his trade at the time. Mark and Sean were the founders of Unitopia back in 1996, while they are also members of United Progressive Fraternity alongside Steve. This means we have a band of seasoned professionals, who can mix and change styles and approach as the need arises. Having Steve Unruh in the mix mea...

(53:57; Humu Records) What we have here is the second album from Finnish outfit Positive Wave, only fourteen years on from the debut. Performed entirely in Finnish this is progressive folk with plenty of nods to jazz and psychedelia. In fact, the whole album sounds as if it were recorded at the end of the Sixties and was now just coming to light as opposed to a brand-new release. Lead singer Susan Karttunen has a nice range, but what makes her voice stand out is the edge she can provide, which normally comes from the blues as opposed to this style so while she can sing very sweetly indeed it is when she is coming across as a more refined Janis Joplin that the music really stands out. The dated electric piano underpins what is happening above, and there are times when we move almost into funk territory with “Pelota” sounding as if it is coming to us from the late Seventies with plenty of horns, while the rest of the album sounds as if it is from a decade earlier. According to the mighty...

(49:38; Obiymy Doschu) Back in 2018 I reviewed the second album by this band and gave it top marks. I am not sure anyone truly expected there to be another, as not only had it taken them eight years between the debut and the follow-up, but these guys are also based in Kyiv, Ukraine. None of us can attempt to comprehend what that country is going through following on from the brutal invasion by Russia, but somehow Volodymyr Agafonkin (vocals, acoustic guitar), Mykola Kryvonos (bass guitar), Yaroslav Gladilin (drums), Olena Nesterovska (viola),  Yevhenii Dubovyk (piano, keyboards) and Oleksii Perevodchyk (electric guitars), plus a few guests, have managed to create something beautiful, charismatic and important. The title can be loosely translated as joy, refuge, solace, all of which is in very short supply in Ukraine at present. Vlad has told me  the album stands as a testament to hope and resilience, featuring soaring melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and an uplifting message meant ...

(52:31; Iapetus Media) Iapetus Media are rapidly becoming one of my favourite labels, as even though the artist name may be new, one knows that what is contained within is going to be exciting and not like anything one has come across previously. Here we have Lorenzo Feliciati‬ (electric bass with electronics, synth), Luca Calabrese‬ (flugelhorn, pocket trumpet, live electronics), and Luca‬ Formentini (Moog guitar, modular synth, sampler,‬ Monome Norns), captured live in front of an audience at Spazio Pontano in Milan‬ on January 9th and 10th, 2024. Not only was this a totally improvised performance but was also the first time the three musicians had played together, so they were bouncing out ideas and themes not sure what the response would be like. Even though the incredible Markus Reuter was not playing that night, he has had a hand in this album as he is the person who mixed the recordings and then produced it alongside LLL. The combination of bass, electronics, keyboards, horns an...

(37:02; Jae Sinnett) Here we have the 21st album from drummer/vocalist Jae Sinnnett and this time he has gone back to the rock music which originally interested him when he was starting to play. He has brought together pianist and Hammond B-3 organist Allen Farnham, bassist Terry Burrell, guitarist Jason Cale and tenor saxophonist Ada Rovatti to work on new arrangements of rock classics, which also includes improvisations as well as what was scored. They then work their way through  Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” Rare Earth’s “I Just Want to Celebrate,” The Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein,” Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride,” Deep Purple’s “Hush” (yes, I know it is not the original, but this was the one which inspired Jae) and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song. I must confess to not being familiar with Rare Earth, but all the others are very well-known to me, and it is interesting to hear the treatments they are given. There are times when they are very close to the original and plenty of oth...

(57:04; Glass Castle Recordings) I was blown away by the last album from HOGIA, 2023’s ‘The Light of Ancient Mistakes’, as even though it was their seventh album it was a major step change in what had come before – think the difference in Big Big Train after ‘Bard’. But whereas the latter was due in no small part by the change in line-up, HOGIA is still the duo of Malcolm Galloway (lead guitar, synths) and Mark Gatland (bass guitar, additional guitars and synths) while they have again been joined by flautist Kathryn Thomas who has been there since the second album (although just one song this time) and guest singer Ethan Galloway (again just one song). The earlier albums demonstrated hints of what was to come, but it was only with the last one that everything really gelled and I am delighted to say that here we have more of the same. With a band comprised of two true multi-instrumentalists, the ideas can be driven through as opposed to needing to explain them to others, and with Gallow...

(43:02; Regal Crabomophone) Fifth Daughter are not only a band new to Fruits de Mer, but this is their debut release although the duo of Nicholas Whittaker (Diagonal) and James Howarth (Running Dogs, The KLF, Martin "Youth" Glover) have been around the scene for a while. They describe themselves as progressive/psychedelic rock and their music as an "eclectic mix of prog, psych and acid folk, very much inspired by the likes of Jade Warrior, Jimmie Spheeris, VdGG and Incredible String Band". Anyone who put that out there from the off is going to get me giving them a try and I am very glad I did as this never sounds like an album from 2025, but much more like something from 50-60 years ago. Lyrically this is a loose concept release telling the story of a rural society far from Earth whose obsession with summer leads to an endless day that they soon regret, learning to appreciate the rhythm of the seasons in the process. To complete the line-up Whittaker brought in fell...

(44:40; ST Productions) When I reviewed the debut album by CIRCU5 I bemoaned the fact it took five years for Steve Tilling to record it and that he needed to get his act together for the next one. I am so glad he listened to me as this one only took eight…OK, so he has been busy on other projects such as XTC-related projects TC&I and EXTC as well as writing the theme music for a John Lennon documentary, plus there was a pandemic where he got really sick, but at long last it is here. This time around we actually have a band, as while Steve provides lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards he has also been joined by Mark Kilminster (Tin Spirits) on bass guitar and backing vocals and Lee Moulding (son of XTC legend Colin) on drums, percussion, and backing vocals.  Yet again I find myself having to mention the presentation as what we have here is a CD-sized hardback book, with the disc inside the front cover, glossy pages of photos with the lyrics and details of musici...

(51:21; Progressive Promotion Records) French neo-prog outfit Eye 2 Eye continue to suffer somewhat with line-up changes as while Philippe Benabes (keyboards) and Didier Pegues (drums, backing vocals, keyboards) formed the band all the way back in 2002 and guitarist Bruno Pegues was initially involved in 2004 before joining fully in time for their 2017 album ‘The Light Bearer’, they have again been through some changes. That album had Michel Cerron as the lead singer, but he changed that role to backing singer for 2020’s ‘Nowhere Highway’, and while he reprises that role as a guest on this the next release, Jack Daly (lead singer on 2009’s ‘After All…’ and ‘Nowhere Highway’) has left, being replace by Paul Tilley while the band is now a quartet with multiple guests as they no longer have a bassist either. Guest violinist on the last album was Marie Pascale Vironneau, and she played a major part, but that role has now been taken on by Elise Bruckert and it is somewhat diminished, althou...

(188:51; Esoteric Antenna) There have been multiple versions of Renaissance over the years, and at one point there were even two different ones operating at the same time, and although this particular line-up did not include any of the founders, there is no doubt that most view vocalist Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford (acoustic guitars), John Tout (keyboards, vocals), Jon Camp (bass, vocals) and Terry Sullivan (drums, percussion) as being the “classic” version. What we have here are the first two studio albums from this line-up (Dunford had been involved with earlier records but these were his first as a full member), namely ‘Turn of the Cards’ and ‘Scheherazade and Other Stories’ along with the double live album ‘Live at Carnegie Hall’. This last included songs from all of the band's Annie Haslam-era studio albums to date, as well as the forthcoming ‘Scheherazade’ which was a month away from release at the time. To reproduce the sounds of the studio album, the live recordings had th...

(39:41; Swell Brothers) After the worldwide success from their debut album, ‘Just A Couple of Swells’, brothers Moses Swell and Dewey Swell are back with their second. As it says on their Bandcamp site, “Things were not always swell for the Swell Brothers but they didn't know. Dad was a drunk who watched old movies on TV. But that was swell with the brothers and led to their love of Old Hollywood. Mom cut hair and made them constantly sweep up. That was swell, too, because the used their brooms to create intricate rhythms and led them into music. Now Ain’t that swell!”. Mind you, one could reasonably argue that in reality we have ex-Muffins Dave Newhouse and Michael Bass having a load of fun, not only in their bio but also on partial transcript of an interview with Dewey and Moses Swell supposedly from a show that Lennie Tristano hosted on PBS TV in NYC - called ‘It’s Better Than It Sounds’ which was “probably” recorded 1970 – 1971 which is well worth checking out. One might think ...

(38:46; Eclipse Music) This is the first time I have come across Finnish musician Antero Mentu, although apparently he has released other albums prior to this, which in English is called ‘I Dreamed of a Distant Land’. It is instrumental, with the six songs all called “Unia” (“Dream”) with a number appended to each, which makes one think this is designed to be listened to as a complete piece of music, almost orchestral in its manner, as opposed to being dipped in and out of. Antero provides guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion and is joined by Otto Eskelinen (flute, keyboards, percussion), Amanda Blomqvist (drums, percussion), Jesper Anastasiadis (bass) and Markus Pajakkala (flute) and the result is something which brings together folk music, world music and jazz, in a manner which is pleasant although often feels like it lacks direction and purpose as somehow it can be inventive while also feeling somewhat repetitive and New Age. It certainly does not sound as if it has come out of Fin...

(66:00; Iapetus) After I reviewed the most recent release by Anchor & Burden, ‘Afterglow’, I mentioned to Alexander Paul Dowerk (Touch Guitars S8) that I had not heard the previous album, which is why I am now listening to their 2024 release, ‘Extinction Level’ He did also say, “It's for sure some of the most uncomfortable and brutal music out there. You are stronger than most humans!” so I knew I was in for an interesting listen. He is of course joined by Markus Reuter (Touch Guitars AU8 and S8, Soundscapes), Bernhard Wöstheinrich (keyboards and electronics), and Asaf Sirkis (drums and percussion), and the quartet have set out to create music which is not only jagged and heavy, but refuses to conform to any preconceived ideas of what the end result should be like, apart from it being avant garde and incredibly powerful. This is music which holds no hope or light for those lucky enough to come across it, as this is deep and passionate, jagged and abrasive, a horror show for the...