Canterbury jazz-rock legends Soft Machine need little introduction, but this release might. This release comes from a Norwegian gig the band played, and though the master tapes aren’t absolutely pristine, the sound, for a live recording, is quite good. “Soft Machine’s two concerts at the Henie-Onstad Art Center near Oslo, Continue Reading
Progressive Rock
Exit North – Anyway, Still
Exit North is a revelation to me. The instrumentation reminds of the sort of progressive rock one would expect to hear from Tim Bowness, Steve Jansen (who happens to provide backing vocals on this album), or in parts, David Sylvian, but singer Thomas Feiner is blessed with a voice so Continue Reading
Luca Calabrese – I Shin Den Shin
MoonJune Records is one of those labels that consistently excels, especially in progressive rock and maybe even more so in jazz fusion. The latest release by Luca Calabrese is from 2024 and has six tracks of the sort of high-quality fusion you would expect from the label, and its focus Continue Reading
Sverre Knut Johansen – Distant Shore (30th Anniversary Edition)
Thirty years is a very long time to manage missing the work of a critically acclaimed artist like Sverre Knut Johansen. His work on this album sounds like a combination of the better aspects of New Age and early electronic music, a more relaxed version of progressive rock and a Continue Reading
Rossana – À La Portugaise
It took me a minute to understand the album, but Rossana and her band’s claim to be Portuguese psych-fusion comes off as relatively true. This reminds me of a cross of the sort of prog-fusion mixed with Iberian pop of the 1970s and 1980s which was so good for its Continue Reading
David Sylvian – Late Night (Atom™ Remix)
For you who are fans of the new wave band Japan and their lead singer David Sylvian, this will be a treat. David offers a one-track release of a song that did not make it onto the album entitled The Good Soon vs the Only Daughter. The track was remixed Continue Reading
Nick Sudnick – Opera of the Sixth Hour
Zga bandleader Nick Sudnick has been busy composing his Opera of the Hours series, and this installation might be his most creative yet. It has the passion of Rock-In-Opposition with a touch of Frank Zappa’s general weirdness. This is in keeping with what I remember of the old Soviet avant-garde Continue Reading
Peter Sinfield – Eulogy by Andrew Keeling
Many thanks to Mariana Scaravilli at Discipline Global Mobile for sharing this eulogy for the English poet Peter Sinfield. Why a poet on these pages, when I could have put this at my other website? Because Peter’s work was intimately tied to progressive rock and beyond. Not only did he Continue Reading
Hawkestrel – Hawkestrel Presents Pre-Med – Old Habits Die Hard
This was a very pleasant surprise to run into. Former Hawkwind alumni gathered to make this record, and the sounds is as sharp as it was in the 1970s. Space rock is alive and well.
Jisr – Live In Kolkata
From the band’s website: “JISR (جسر) is a Munich-based collective led by the charismatic linguist, singer, percussionist and gembri player Mohcine Ramdan. He has gathered some of Bavaria’s best musicians to share his vision of an emotional pan-oriental sound deeply rooted in the tradition of his musical family. Their live Continue Reading