With a feel that sits between Kosmische Music dabbed with touches of psychedelic and apocalyptic folk, Departure Street has a new album that has me captivated at the moment. Pure guitar bliss. From the band’s Bandcamp site: “This Broken World is the 22nd full-length solo album by A J Kimmel Continue Reading
Progressive Rock
RematriNation – ᎠᏌᏃ ᎩᎦᎨ (The Red Dress)
Symphonic rock still lives! RematriNation is a trio fronted by keyboardist and vocalist Lisa LaRue, and the music is something quite special, blending progressive rock with indigenous influences from the band members (Cherokee, Yaqui, and Ecuadorian mestizo). The music is solid, beautifully recorded, and it’s definitely satisfying a need I’ve Continue Reading
Culto sin Nombre – Dos Formas
Avant-progressive chamber rock has great appeal to me. Mexican quartet Culto Sin Nombre were among the best at it, though they always suffered from poor production quality. It’s a shame, really, as they should have been held in the same esteem as Univers Zero and Art Zoyd.
Denis Frajerman, Marc Sarrazy, Loïc Schild – Paysages du Temps
Composer Denis Frajerman was once part of one of France’s most experimental troupes, Palo Alto. I wondered for years what happened to them, and today I see that Denis is active, making long-form music that combines Neu!, Klaus Schulze, Pink Floyd, and his own aesthetic.
Happy The Man – Live
From the Cuneiform Records Bandcamp site: “Excellent performances & very good sound on recently discovered live tapes (7/78 & 10/78) from the final incarnation of the band [with drummer Coco Roussel] made Live possible. Spirited live versions of pieces from their two Arista lps, some of which are significantly different Continue Reading
Zhaoze – In Snow Storm, Yet Not Back Home | 风雪未归人
Good news from Guangdong, China! From Zaoze’s Bandcamp site: “Finally, it’s here—a new release from Zhaoze. A small EP featuring just two tracks. One is a brief piece under two minutes, a reimagined version of a previous work; the other, a substantial mid-length track clocking in at six and a Continue Reading
Kaleikia – Makali
Some heavy progressive rock from Galicia, one of my paternal ancestral homelands: “Makali (from the Bubi Makálé/Makòlé) was a drill born free in the jungles of Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea. He was captured by humans and sold to Galician sailors who took him to Meaño. There he lived with his Continue Reading
Srdjan Ivanović Blazin’ Quartet – Sleeping Beauty
What a pleasant and elegant surprise this album is! The Blazin’ Quartet offers up a late-night smoky jazz with a hint of ECM Records‘ sonic aesthetics, early Durutti Column and a more instrumental Tindersticks. True whiskey-and-cigarette music.
Audion Magazine – Audion 86 (multimedia)
This appears to be the first Audion Magazine release of 2026, as far as I can tell. For those unfamiliar with this incredible magazine, it was essential reading for me during my teenage years as I sought to learn about progressive rock and its subgenres, particularly avant-prog and Rock In Continue Reading
Mujician – The Journey
Mujician was perhaps one of the greatest improvisational groups to come out of England, and this album shows them in peak form. The band consisted of clarinetist and saxophonist Paul Dunmall, backed by drummer Tony Levin (not the King Crimson bassist), bassist Paul Rogers (not the hard rocker), and Keith Continue Reading