(61:00; Boudicca Records) In 2024 I was fortunate to come across Scottish progressive band Ebb, who sent me their debut album to review. I am truly glad they did as I was stunned to discover that here was an independent outfit who were investing in a CD which came in an A5 book packed full of colour photos and lyrics. By then the album had been out 18 months, so I was somewhat surprised to discover I was the first person to review it for ProgArchives. In November 2025 they released their second album, ‘The Mirror’, and I am again the first person to review it, but worse than that, I am still the only person to have reviewed their debut! Yet again it has been issued in an A5 book which has been beautifully designed and contains the same line-up of Erin Bennett (guitars, lead vocals, trumpet) who also provides all the material, along with Anna Fraser (drums, percussion), Nikki Francis (Hammond, piano, synths, saxophone, flute, clarinet), Bad Dog (bass), Kitty Biscuits (backing vocals, pe...

(46:35; Coenobite Productions) Multi-instrumentalist Coen Vrouwenvelder had planned to take a year off after 2022’s ‘My Habit II’, but one thing led to another and for multiple reasons it has taken until 2025 for his 19th album to be released. Here Coen has undertaken a slightly different approach, so while we still get some unusual time signatures and chord progressions, this is more focussed around guitar, with keyboards being somewhat more simplistic and the guitars kept to the fore. He has never made any secret of his admiration for Andy Latimer, and “Tree of Life” certainly sounds heavily Camel influenced. It makes me wonder what would happen if he and Martin Springett ever undertook any musical investigation together, as their combined influences could well produce interesting results. Coen is not a great singer, and he recognises that, but there are times when he feels he needs to provide a voice to his stories, and as they are so personal he needs to do that himself. This means...

(40:26; Melodic Revolution Records) At the bottom of the front cover it says, “A Progressive Bass Journey”, and in many way that tells you all you need to know about this album. The lead musicians on this instrumental release are Alberto Rigoni (Italy), Michael Manring (USA) and Stuart Hamm (USA), all playing bass in different styles and techniques, with the only other musicians being drummers Tim “Herb” Alexander (ex-Primus) and David Menoudakis who play on three tracks each out of the nine on offer. What they are attempting to achieve here is a fusion of progressive rock, metal, fusion, soundscapes, and experimental textures which together combine to create an album which is quite different to many others. It is hugely cinematic in that one can certainly imagine this being used in a science fiction soundtrack, and while they are all masters of their instruments this is about ensuring the basses are being used to create music, as opposed to all being about ego. In many ways it is a fa...