Appalaches is a progressive post-rock band from Quebec, and they released Cycles in late March. The songs on the album are all really good and well fleshed out, in relatively long structures – up to the twelve-minute ‘Milsai’. Their instrumental compositions speak of themselves, and they surely will be a band to look out for in the coming years!
Animatist‘s Face Club is a top-tier album putting math rock, post rock, and jazz fusion in the blender, which results in a greenish goo that tastes much better than what it looks like! Odd-time ostinati are repeated extensively to create powerful buildups in their songs, and the subtle saxophone work on top of it is just the cherry on the sundae. It’s a really special album that will most likely resonate with a lot of you!

Post-metal band Telepathy‘s latest album, Tempest, came out last month, and it’s a pretty worthy successor to 12 Areas. You probably know the band already, so I will be brief: this album is solid, but I feel it’s a bit less inspired than the previous ones.
Leviathan Owl is the solo project of Scottish musician Andrew Scott, and what a pleasant discovery it is! Everything Will Be Fine is a wonderful EP seemingly bridging the gap between the likes of Plini and David Maxim Micić’s softer sides, with a hint of post-rock added to the mix. It’s really a treat, and the thirty minutes it lasts are all more than worthy of your time. Everything Will Be Fine is a fantastic EP!
Rivière Rouge Suite is Furat‘s first release. It’s an avant-garde classical music piece in seven movements including microtonal tunings on detuned pianos. The piano-only composition is a fascinating experience that utilizes xenharmony to create strange and eerie atmospheres, odd melodies and intriguing chords. The fourteen-minute experiment might leave you confused and dumbfounded, and that’s why it’s so interesting to listen to it.
Cocanha is a French folk music trio singing in the Occitan language. I ès? offers lush and entrancing vocal harmonies over minimalistic percussive rhythms that leave all the space needed for the singers’ voices to put us under their spell. It’s an album which makes us travel right into the cultural traditions of Western Europe, and on its own offers a hypnotic charm!
France’s Ça impressed me with their previous EPs, 24615 and 378, but Mon tout petit ça à moi s’est dévoilé au grand jour quand j’ai su le voir sans lunettes is on a whole other level. The progressive math rock band seems to take more influences from fellow countrymen ni and PoiL, especially in the vocal department. The album comes out on April fourteenth, and I highly recommend you check out the song ‘Ça à moi’ to get a taste of what’s to come!
In the same vein as Frank Zappa and Mr. Bungle, a.P.A.t.T. create music with a strong personality, whacky idiosyncrasy, and which is genuinely good, deeply interesting, and funny, at least musically. Fun with Music came out about a year ago, and completely flew me by. Their brand of progressive rock is quirky but technically proficient. It’s a real joy to go through!
II is the latest album of progressive doom metal band An Empty Room, and it features only one, massive, three-part song. The slow, heavy, all-obfuscating riffs on ‘II’ are awe-inspiring and totally infect. The droning notes and dark chords bring a tangible and asphyxiating atmosphere to the composition, which is some of the best drone/doom metal I’ve heard in a long while!