(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...