Tag Archives: progressive rock
The Lovecraft Sextet, Black Math Horseman, HC Behrendtsen, and Phantom Spell
The Lovecraft Sextet – Miserere (Denovali)
Dark jazz and doom jazz are terms that have been thrown around pretty much since the start of the Twin Peaks TV series, along with its legendary soundtrack. There have been many attempts at emulating the mood and vibe of the original sound, but few innovators. With the Lovecraft Sextet, however, it doesn’t get any more doomier than that. While listening to Miserere, their third opus, I couldn’t get it out of my mind that this album is actually a doom metal album played by a jazz quartet. While the Twin Peaks fascination… Read more
John Zorn, Levi Nice, Atte Aho, and 417.3
John Zorn, played by Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith – Suite for Piano (Tzadik)
Official Tzadik website
You have to believe me when it comes to Zorn material, as there’s no official preview of most of his music to be found online. However, Suite for Piano, despite its rather boring title and appearance, is one of his best works recently. First off, this release was inspired by Schönberg and Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and is Zorn’s take on various musical forms for piano—the prelude, the allemande, the scherzo, the menuet, and the gigue to name a few—played by … Read more
Licho, Deadeye, Pyrithe, and Balungan
Licho – Ciuciubabka (Pagan)
Born from members of bands such as Koniec pola, -S-, Wędrowcy-Tułacze-Zbiegi, and Gruzja, Licho has quite the pedigree! With this project, however, the members steer away from black metal and into a very unique and dark psychedelic post-punk aesthetic. The result is simply astounding. Guitars full of effects, hypnotic rhythms, Sprechgesang-ish vocal delivery, and droning harmonies will conspire to suck you into a dark vortex. This album got a lot of spins from me, and I hope you too!
Deadeye – Deadeye (Dox)
Hammond, guitar, and drums. You know the drill. This is going to be… Read moreBubblemath, Dalila Kayròs, Extra Life, and Contemplator
Bubblemath – Turf Ascension (Cuneiform)
Accolades like “the best prog band in the last decades” should not be overlooked as mere exaggerations. Indeed, they are statements worthy of examination. Bubblemath has been on my radar since their 2017 release Edit Peptide, and reading back at this five-year-old critique, I find nothing more to add for Turf Ascension, so I’ll just paraphrase: it’s complex yet groovy prog. Definitely one of the best prog rock album of the year so far!
Dalila Kayròs – Animàmi (Subsound)
Italian singer Dalila Kayròs has at this point played in so many of my… Read more