Scarless - 2025 - Arkana

(55:22; Lynx Music)






















Poland has long been a hotbed of progressive rock, and luckily for me I have been fortunate enough to hear a great deal of music from that scene over the years, and I even contribute to a Polish website (the wonderful MLWZ.PL). However, I don’t hear everything, which is why I have only just come across Scarless and their second album, ‘Arkana’. In 2023 they released their debut, ‘Czekając...’, with the line-up of Gaba Latak (vocals), Janusz Głowacki (guitars), Marcin Perguł (keyboards), Tomasz Zarzycki (bass) and Adam Wątły (drums), but Gaby has since left and been replaced by Anna Grzesik.

The result is a classic Polish Neo album which hearkens back to early Quidam, Collage and Satellite with some influences also from Millenium, yet looks across to ‘Script’ era Marillion as well, especially on songs like “Wieża” where the picked guitar in particular takes the listener back more than 40 years. Pallas and Pendragon have also had their part to play in curating the sounds and styles, making this a fascinating mix. Interestingly, Anna sings more in an alto manner as opposed to soprano which is more common in prog, and this provides her with a darker and more emotional and almost Gothic approach against music which has been quite bright, yet the two styles do not clash but complement each other. All vocals are in Polish, and this allows the non-Polish speaker to treat the words as another instrument, with a melody and depth of their own. The keyboards are wonderfully dated, taking us back into the Eighties and early Nineties, and there is no doubt that any fan of that genre/era of prog will find a great deal here to enjoy as this album is a time machine which needs to be discovered. 

Kev Rowland, March 2026

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/bandscarless/
https://www.lynxmusic.pl/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tonnen von Hall - 2025 - Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen

Image
(61:45; Iapetus [Unsung Records] ) Track list: 1. Erdmantel 4:05 2. Vorhalle 0:40 3. Antlitz 4:12 4. Stahlhalle 1:01 5. Kraken 5:02 6. Mitralsaal 0:55 7. Kanister 5:56 8. Sockelwald 0:49 9. Kaiserlicht 5:46 10. Schacht 0:43 11. Zivilisationsfolie 4:27 12. Nebelgarten 0:58 13. Donnermesser 6:41 14. Blutrille 1:01 15. Rauschmitte 5:22 16. Klingensaal 0:50 17. Endgegner 3:39 18. Ätzung 0:41 19. Thronfolge 3:09 20. Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen 4:55 21. Herzkammer 0:53 Line-up: Markus Reuter - guitars, loops, sounds Alexander Paul Dowerk - guitars Asaf Sirkis - drums, percussion, vocals Prolusion. Germany based band Tonnen Von Hall was established back in 2022 or thereabouts, and the threesome consisting of Marks Reuter, Alexander Paul Dowerk and Asaf Sirkis has been developing the style and sound of this new formation ever since. The results of that process first came to light on an EP released towards the end of 2024. A few months later the band have now released their debut album ...
Read more

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more