Editor’s Note: Arthur Sullivan began writing what would be his only symphony when he was twenty-one years old, on a trip to Ireland, the native land of his father. “The other night as I was jolting home,” he wrote to his mother from Belfast, “through the wind and rain on an open jaunting car, the…
Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2018 is proud to announce that headlining our festival this year we welcome the legendary Brian Wilson. A Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement, Brian Wilson is one of popular music’s most revered figures, the main creative force behind some of the most […]
via BRIAN WILSON brings Pet Sounds to Cropredy 2018 — The Rockin’ Chair
Just a rather large slice of heaven arrived in today’s post to Progarchy HQ.
Calling Swiss band Glaston post-rock does this Zurich / Basel four-piece a bit of injustice. They do include plethora of post-rock elements on “Inhale / Exhale,” the group’s first full-length album, but it’s definitely much more than that. Welcome to the soundtrack of emotions, free form and complexity.
Jumping on a bandwagon in 2014 with the release of the “Setting Out” single, the quartet spent next three years in honing and redefining their sound, reaching its climax with the 2017 release. Ten songs of “Inhale / Exhale” show that there is much to the of post-rock than delay-engaged tremolo riffs, what’s ultimately proven with the album opener and one of the strongholds “Game of Tones.” This polarising piece flows manually from very minimal to complex, never exuding any feelings of fatigue. And that is the biggest hallmark of Glaston and this release. Where many bands from the post-rock branch get stuck in proverbial mud of repetitiveness, Glaston manage to beautifully arrange different structures that form their songs. Be it the almost 10-minute epic contender of “Sunnar” or the shortest interlude “This Isn’t Happening.”
Even at their most repetitive, “Ihale / Exhale” doesn’t feel like that at all, as the music here is carefully put together and measured with microscopic precision. It is not to say that Glaston get mathematical, but rather it is the free-form factor of their composition skills and senses that allow them to be methodical and random at the same time.
“Ihale / Exhale” is available on Bandcamp.
One look at his online presence and you know this: Fernando Perdomo lives, breathes and loves music. His Facebook feed is chock full of great stuff he’s heard or created (including his vibrant contributions to Dave Kerzner’s work), and the discography on his Bandcamp page offers a musical feast ranging from power pop to abstract experiments.
But as Perdomo writes in the liner notes of his one-man instrumental album Out to Sea, “I discovered the magical sounds of Progressive Rock in 6th grade and became obsessed … This record is a tribute to the sounds that made me the musician and person I am today.” It’s quite a journey, and a stellar tribute indeed.
Opening track “The Architect (Tribute to Peter Banks)” sets Perdomo’s course: a funky vamp, tasty octave licks and harmonized lines, rhythmic breakdowns a la early Yes and chunky, endlessly inventive leads. Wide open vistas loom on the horizon, with one nifty moment leading straight into the next. You can’t tell what’s coming, but soon you just relax and enjoy — because you’re sure it’ll be great.
Artist: Borealis Album Title: The Offering Label: AFM Records Date Of Release: 23 March 2018 “…I am thoroughly smitten and would recommend this band to anyone…who likes heavy metal with gusto, plenty of melody, a hint of prog and a healthy symphonic edge. ‘World of Silence MMXVII’ has thoroughly whetted my appetite for Borealis and […]
Following the declaration of intent of lead single ‘Pop Don’t Stop’ Kim Wilde releases the thrill ride of raucous second single ‘Kandy Krush’.
‘Pop Don’t Stop’ was playlisted on BBC Radio 2, declared “a huge pop anthem” by the Express and a “pop wrecking ball that’s about to smash its way through your brain” by Popjustice and included the prescient lyrics “The seasons come and go again and what was old is new again.”
Kim Wilde’s return to recording isn’t a comeback, but it does mark a fresh start in the iconic singer’s extraordinary career. Proud of her past, but focused on the future, Kim has never stopped singing or selling out tours – she has played more shows in the past decade than ever before, finding fans in countries she never dreamed she’d visit and turning new generations on to her songs – such huge hits as…
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Far Skies, Deep Time. Even the very title evokes mystery. Indeed, were there still loads and loads of CD stores, and if I could spend my time browsing them, I would buy this album simply for the title alone. Even if I knew absolutely nothing about Big Big Train. I do, however. That is, I do know about Big Big Train. In fact, I know a lot about Big Big Train. I’ve written more about Big Big Train over the last nine years of life than any other single topic, except for my professional work on humanism and the humanists of the 20th century. And, to be clear, 9 years is just a little less than 1/5 of my life.
Truly, my life is immensely better for knowing the music and stories of Big Big Train.
I’m coming up on a full decade of Big Big Train being a vital part of my personal and professional life. My kids and wife all know and love the band’s music, and no other band has served as the soundtrack of my last almost-decade more than has Big Big Train.
Continue reading “FAR SKIES DEEP TIME by Big Big Train (2018)”
The last album produced by the then fourth-member of Rush, Terry Brown, Signals (September 9, 1982) marked yet again a major progression in the music of Rush as well as in the lyrics of Neil Peart. The pressure to produce something similar to the previous year’s Moving Pictures naturally proved immense, as they had never encountered such success. On the Moving Pictures tour alone, fan attendance doubled at concerts, and almost anyone in the American Midwest could hear one of three tracks from the album almost anytime on FM rock radio. But the three main members of Rush decided that a second Moving Pictures would be too easy. They had done that album, accomplished what they had sought to accomplish, and they wanted to take their music in new ways. In particular, Lee had become more and more interested in keyboards and composing on them. He never planned to become a “Keith Emerson,” but he loved the challenge the keyboards brought him. [1] Not surprisingly, especially given Lee’s interest and the learning curve he needed to understand and overcome regarding synthesizers, the keys employed on the album had either 1) a deep, booming bass sound or 2) an airy, soaring feel. Lee remembers:
I was getting bored writing. I felt like we were falling into a pattern of how we were writing on bass, guitar and drums. Adding the keyboards was fascinating for me and I was learning more about writing music from a different angle.[2]
Further, he claimed, the keyboards allowed Rush to expand beyond the trio without actually adding a new member of the band.[3] With Signals and the following concerts to support it, Lifeson claimed he felt “almost re-born” with the new sound. [4]
Progarchy 