Pete Lee – The Velvet Rage

The Music

The Words

Once in a while, you stumble across an album that really clicks with you; and, once in a blue moon or so, you find one that does so while remaining criminally in darkness. One such album is Pete Lee‘s The Velvet Rage, out on June 29, after a successful Kickstarter campaign. The London-based pianist here plays original compositions in a quintet formula, with drums, electric guitar and bass, and saxophone. Amika Strings, a quartet, also makes an appearance.

The seven tracks make up for an eventful fifty minutes, with variegated moods and atmospheres, from … Read more

Book of Sand, Virgil, The 8-Bit Big Band, Valia Calda, Similar Fashion, Juuichi, Harmolodic String Band, Us, Today, and Karmic Juggernaut

Book of Sand – Postmodern Witchcraft

Book of Sand is no different to strange, unsettling experiments [1] [2], and Postmodern Witchcraft continues to defy expectations. The album is blackened post-punk for satanic surfers, which opens a new branch in the vast tree of music, and that is always cause for celebration. It’s strange, and it’s probable that you will be offset by it, but it’s something much worth listening to.


Virgil – The Pacer

Prog fusion is hardly a rarity, these days, but good bands keep pouring out, warranting a listen! Today’s subject is Los Angeles’ Virgil, with … Read more

Charlie Looker – Simple Answers

The Music

The Words

Charlie Looker, of Psalm Zero and Zs renown, just unleashed a new amalgamative full-length under his own name, titled Simple Answers. The album stems from taking a deep look at oneself in a context where far-right extremism and fascism are ideologies on the rise. “Am I a fascist?” All of this process is recorded and expressed through an amazing musical journey.

The record is very “modern classical”, in essence, and takes many influences from industrial music, post-punk, and metal music. The orchestra-electronic ambivalence of Simple Answers reflects well the left-right divide of the world’s … Read more

Roz Harding – Supermood

The Music

The Words

I have to say I didn’t expect to be this impressed by saxophonist Roz Harding‘s album, precisely because of the lack of a bass guitarist in the project. As a bassist myself I think it’s an important part of any band, but there are more than one bass-less band I follow and love, so this wouldn’t be the first. I’m glad to say that Supermood is part of that category. Having no bass means there is a part of the audio spectrum that is not tapped into, not that the music lacks interest.

Mike Outram’s … Read more