Album Review: High Spirits — Motivator ★★★★☆

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Sometimes, in between the prog epics, you need some straight-up hard rock or heavy metal to cleanse the ol’ palate. Well, here’s a great new old school rock album for you. There’s a terrific garage band vibe to this one. It’s like the guys down the street who jam on weekends suddenly made a totally kickass album. It’s got a nice, slightly underproduced sound. A touch of raggedness gives the feel of authenticity to the whole exercise.

You know the only reason these guys are playing these songs is because they love to rock. In just thirty minutes — no muss, no fuss — they get the job done: they rock your socks off. I must say this album, while obviously harkening back to an earlier era of uncomplicated rock and roll, is nonetheless a refreshing surprise. It’s as real as it gets.

Enjoy this revival of 70s guitar rock at your leisure, because it’s guaranteed to put you in high spirits. With Motivator, these dudes have recorded their best album yet.

[H/T to Angry Metal Guy for getting the word out on this one.]

Who Is This Steven Wilson You Keep Going on About?

On By Thaddeus WertIn progressive rockLeave a comment

wilson-transience

If you’re a regular reader of Progarchy, you’re probably familiar with Steven Wilson, whether it’s as the leader of Porcupine Tree, a solo artist, or the go-to remixer of classic progressive albums. And you’ve probably raved about his work to uncomprehending friends and relatives.

Well, Mr. Wilson has just released a compilation that speaks more effectively to his artistry than any words. Transience consists of fourteen songs, clocking in at more than an hour. There’s not really anything new, unless you want to count a couple of edits, but they were hand-picked by Wilson, and as such make for an interesting listen.

All of the songs highlight Wilson’s “pretty” side – in other words, his extraordinary gift for composing a beautiful melody. The flow of the album is flawless, moving from one entrancing moment to the next. One thing that struck me was just how good his first solo album, Insurgentes, was. “Harmony Korine”, “Significant Other”, and “Insurgentes” are all included, and they really stand out.

Continue reading “Who Is This Steven Wilson You Keep Going on About?” →

soundstreamsunday: “Warszawa” by David Bowie

On By Craig BreadenIn art rock, avant-garde, progressive rock1 Comment

bowieenoForty years on it seems like it must have been inevitable, obvious even, the crossing paths of Iggy Pop and David Bowie and Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, in service to Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy.  In Act Two of their collective careers, they became in the late 1970s the center of a wheel spoking to progressive rock, art rock, post punk, and new wave, the albums coming out of Bowie’s residency in Berlin among the richest, most genre-defying rock records created, documents of a grasp catching up with its reach.  “Warszawa” is from 1977’s Low, the second Berlin collaboration (after Pop’s The Idiot, for the trilogy is really a quintet, taking into account the records Bowie produced for Iggy during this period) and a document of Bowie’s dissolving spirits.  Here is where he throws the hammer at the mirror, where all his past characters like Ziggy and the Thin White Duke are shown the door.  The sound is fresh, with Eno, coming off his work with Cluster, applying broadly-stroked synth washes straight from the school of Moebius and Roedelius, encouraging Bowie to approach the music with deliberate freedom.  The result, like on the song “Sound and Vision,” is raw and buoyant.  It can also be wild and studied, as on the constraint-driven “Warszawa,” an exercise in composition employing  Eno’s planned accidents and oblique strategies.  In it, as on much of the album, you can hear an origin story of bands like U2 and Echo and the Bunnymen and Joy Division/New Order, and a second-wind promise Bowie himself would continue to fulfill, off and on, for the rest of his life.

soundstreamsunday playlist and archive

The Colin Tench Project

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

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Revel in the beauty of it all!

***

The digital album is now officially released and the song that Peter Skov has picked as the best song in the world is this one.
14. Part 4b [7.56]
Peter Jones: Lead Vocals
Phil Naro: Lead Vocals
Colin Tench: Guitars
Gordo Bennett: Orchestra, Percussion, Triangle, Thing that goes boing
Petri Lemmy Lindström: Bass guitar
Angelo Hulshout: Fretless bass
Jay Theodore McGurrin: Drums
https://colintenchproject.bandcamp.com/track/part-4b

John Wesley–A Week from Today

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment
InsideOut Music Header
John Wesley launches new track ‘to outrun the light’

 
Renowned singer / songwriter & guitarist John Wesley is set to release his forthcoming 8th studio album ‘a way you’ll never be’ on October 7th, 2016 on InsideOut Music. Following the recent launch of the track ‘by the light of a sun’, he is now pleased to reveal the next new track, the atmospheric seven minutes long ‘to outrun the light’. 
You can watch the lyric video for it here: 


John had this say: “The lyrics in this song try and touch upon that moment when you know your life is going to change forever and there is nothing you can do about it. You begin to question your own identity. You look back on all the years invested and fear that everything you thought you knew, was wrong to begin with. You wonder if perhaps, you have, “outrun the light”.”
 
Pre-order the album digitally from iTunes or AmazonMP3, and receive both ‘to outrun the light’ and ‘by the light of a sun’ immediately:
 
 
Listen to ‘by the light of a sun’ now here: 
 
‘a way you’ll never be’ was produced by Jim Morris at the legendary Morrisound Studios and you can find the full track-listing below:
 
1. by the light of a sun (5:32) 
2. a way you’ll never be (7:18) 
3. to outrun the light (7:07) 
4. the revolutionist (5:57) 
5. nada (5:41) 
6. the silence in coffee (5:09) 
7. unsafe space (4:17) 
8. sun.a.rose (6:44) 
9. epic (4:51) 
10. pointless endeavors (03:38)
 
The album will be available in Digipak CD, Digital Download.
  
 
John Wesley has built a long and varied career as a songwriter, guitarist, and recording artist. His music has been called lyrically sensitive and musically dynamic. His song-writing style incorporates emotionally-charged vocals that evoke the honesty and intimacy of Roger Waters and Patty Griffin coupled with a melodic yet intricate guitar style reminiscent of David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson, and Jeff Beck. John Wesley has performed as guitarist/vocalist for critically acclaimed UK based recording act Porcupine Tree, during the “In Absentia”, “Deadwing”, “Fear of a Blank Planet”, and “The Incident” world tours with whom he played with for nine years, culminating in 2010 with sold out performances at Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. 
 
In support of the album, John will head out as support to Marillion & Steven Wilson in the US & Canada and you can find the full list of dates below:
 
With Marillion
Friday 21 October 2016 – The Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA, USA
 Saturday 22 October 2016 – Saban Theater Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, CA, USA
Tuesday 25 October 2016 – Paramount Theatre Denver, CO, USA
Thursday 27 October 2016 – Vic Theatre Chicago, IL, USA
Friday 28 October 2016 – Vic Theatre Chicago, IL, USA
Saturday 29 October 2016 – Hard Rock Live Northfield, OH, USA
Monday 31 October 2016 – Danforth Music Hall Toronto, ON, Canada
Tuesday 1 November 2016 – Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre Montreal, QC, Canada
Wednesday 2 November 2016 – L’Impérial Bell Québec, QC, Canada
Friday 4 November 2016 – Royale Boston Boston, MA, USA
Saturday 5 November 2016 – 9:30 Club Washington, DC, USA
 Sunday 6 November 2016 – Keswick Theatre Philadelphia, PA, USA
 Tuesday 8 November 2016 – Playstation Theater New York, NY, USA
 
With Steven Wilson
Thursday 17 November 2016 – Center Stage Atlanta, GA, USA
Friday 18 November 2016 – The Plaza Live Orlando, FL, USA
Saturday 19 November – State Theatre Tampa, FL, USA
Sunday 20 November – Culture Room Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
 
 
Look out for more information on the album in the coming weeks.
 
Discography:
1994 – Under the Red and White Sky
1995 – The Closing of the Pale Blue Eyes
1998 – The Emperor Falls
2002 – Chasing Monsters
2005 – Shiver
2011 – The Lilypad Suite
2014 – Disconnect
2016 – a way you’ll never be
 

Exclusive Interview with Glass Hammer: VALKYRIE, The Best of 2016

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

 

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Glass Hammer’s Latest, VALKYRIE–2016’s best album.

From the beginning of this, let me [Brad] note that I think that VALKYRIE is not only Glass Hammer’s finest achievement, but it’s the best album of 2016, thus far.

Questions

PROGARCHY: Steve and Fred, after so many years of writing, recording, and producing, what motives you?  I ask this, because most bands go the other direction.  They start strong, and they lose it.  You, however, do just the opposite.  You started very strong, and you just keep getting better.  Why, how?  What’s your secret?

Fred: Luck, perhaps?  It may have a little to do with the fact we’re easily distracted and move from one thing to the next like butterflies so we never have a chance to get too stale.  We are always interested in trying something different.  I think in this case we benefit from having little bits of stuff fly by on the wind and stick to us- post rock, ambient video game music; things we don’t necessarily know well enough to emulate too specifically, but that influence what we’re doing at any given time.  The other thing is surrounding ourselves with the right people and I think that has a lot to do with the new album working out as well as it has.

Steve: We’re driven and we just don’t stop. Momentum is important. We have awesome bandmates who invest themselves into our vision and a support team that keeps everything behind the scenes running smoothly. I’m with Fred on the butterfly theory. There are a million things I’d like to try with Glass Hammer. We’ll never get to the end of my list or Fred’s.

***

PROGARCHY: What do you think Glass Hammer means as a band, a concept, a project?  Where do you see Valkyrie in your personal history, and where do you see it in the long tradition of rock and prog?

Fred: I don’t know what it means.  I feel like I have to leave those questions to the people on the outside looking in; people that have an objective view of it all.  My perspective is kind of mundane.  For me Glass Hammer is an outlet for the music I write and Valkyrie is the latest work we’ve done and that’s it.  Time will tell us where Valkyrie fits in the history of the band and of prog in general.  I have high hopes though that it will be remembered as an important album in our catalog but it’s not my call.

Steve: For me, Glass Hammer satisfies the need to create and share the work. We’re a musical expression of a world-view as well, and I guess I’ve driven that idea. Valkyrie is or was quite personal. The story of the soldier and the girl started as a way for me to deal with trauma from my own experience. The hope being, that as I wrote it I could build the story toward a hopeful ending, and thus, find answers to my own dilemma. What happened was that I realized how insignificant my experience was when compared to others. It helped me mend. My Valkyrie has already arrived and guided me home so to speak. What happened to me was no battlefield experience and we need to confess that unless we’ve actually been in that situation there is no way we could possibly be able to relate to those who have, or even write music about it. I can’t reduce that sort of horror into music or lyrics. Still, trauma takes many forms in many lives. I just hope Valkyrie helps others, and especially encourages family and friends of trauma survivors. Survivors don’t make it home without help. As for Valkyrie’s place in history I can’t say. We just hope everyone enjoys it and that it has as much or more impact as other important albums in our back catalog.

Continue reading “Exclusive Interview with Glass Hammer: VALKYRIE, The Best of 2016” →

Kate Bush: Before the Dawn (on Nov 25)

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Kate Bush announces:

On November 25 the live album “Before The Dawn” will be released on CD (3 CDs) and vinyl (4 vinyl) and digital download.  The conceptual heart of the show is reflected in the CD format, which is split over 3 discs centred around the two integral pieces – ‘The Ninth Wave’ and ‘A Sky Of Honey’.

CD1 ends with the pivotal track ‘King Of The Mountain’ which bridges into ‘The Ninth Wave’ suite of songs on CD2.

The album was produced by Kate Bush. Nothing on the record was re-recorded or overdubbed.

Threeviews

On By James R TurnerIn Ambient, art rock, avant-garde, electronic, Prog, Progarchy, progressive rock, progressive rock musicLeave a comment

Afternoon Progarchists, as someone who writes for a variety of different sites I find myself getting sent diverse and eclectic albums to listen to, all of which roughly fall into the margins of the progressive genre, and today I have three radically different releases, all of which have been bouncing round my brain as I ride the mean streets of Bristol on the bus to and from work. Two are freshly minted (one so fresh it’s not even officially released yet – but it’s one hell of a pre-order!) and one EP which has been out for a while, so without further ado, lets introduce today’s picks.

verity

Verity Smith – Parenthesis

http://www.veritysmith.net

I first encountered Verity at the Classic Rock Society Awards back in 2014 where she was performing as part of Clive Nolan’s Alchemy musical, where she played the parts of Jane Muncey and Jessamine and was truck by her vocal prowess and stage presence.

Continue reading “Threeviews” →

The Rising Brilliance of Mike Kershaw – What Lies Beneath

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock1 Comment

Mike Kershaw – What Lies Beneath (Bad Elephant Music, 2016)

Tracks: Gunning for the Gods (9:30), In Floods the Light (4:20), Dice (4:42), The City Revealed (6:53), Two Eyes (4:20), Wounds (4:45), Another Disguise (5:23), The City of My Dreams (7:04)

a0097340229_16I’ve been following Mike Kershaw’s work for a few albums now, and I’m truly impressed with how he has grown as an artist over the past few years. His earlier music, while displaying excellent insightful lyrical content, wasn’t the easiest music to get into. It required a lot of effort on the part of the listener, although that effort was rewarded. What Lies Beneath, however, finds Kershaw at his best to date. Fans of Fractal Mirror will find this music remarkably familiar, yet more upbeat than FM’s music. Featuring a diverse, yet progressive sound, Kershaw’s music sounds fresh and unique.

The similarities between Kershaw and Fractal Mirror exist because FM contributed to this album, much as they did on Kershaw’s previous EP, Departure. In addition to providing lead vocals, backing vocals, and playing keyboards, Kershaw collaborated with quite a number of people on this album:

  • Gareth Cole – electric and acoustic guitars, piano
  • Leopold Blue-Sky – bass, pedal steel, keys, drums
  • Leo Koperdraat – guitar, keys, backing vocals
  • Tom Slatter – vocals (track 6), acoustic guitar
  • Frank Urbaniak – drums
  • Rohan Jordan-Shah – drums
  • Joshua Leibowitz – drums
  • Marco Vàsquez – keys
  • Allyson Blue-Sky – backing vocals
  • Stuart Stephens – backing vocals
  • Clare Stephens – backing vocals

These collaborations have brought a breath of fresh air and diversity to Kershaw’s wonderful lyrics. This spark of energy shines clear in every aspect of the music, including Kershaw’s vocals. While I believe he still underestimates his vocal abilities, this album showcases his best vocal work to date. One of the best examples of this is on the upbeat track, “Two Eyes,” one of my favorites from the album. The lyrics to this song find the narrator searching through old family photos trying to figure out where he came from in order to find his purpose in life. The drums, courtesy of Urbaniak, set a wonderful rhythm for the song.

“Wounds” features lead vocals from Tom Slatter, whose voice reminds me of Andy John Bradford. Kershaw’s backing vocals work perfectly here, and the change up adds a nice variety to the music. Kershaw’s keyboard solo in the middle of the song is a great high point, as well, bringing back some of the sounds of his earlier albums.

While often keyboard oriented, What Lies Beneath does have its more rock-oriented elements. Throughout the album, the bass guitar keeps a steady, yet complex, flow. Excellent guitar work appears throughout, with some of the best coming at the end of the album with “Another Disguise” and “The City of My Dreams.” The instrumentation is solid throughout, although these songs are definitely lyric oriented.

“The City of My Dreams” builds wonderfully through both the music and the lyrics, and they meld together perfectly, with Kershaw’s vocals taking the spotlight towards the middle. Kershaw ends the album by contemplating on the passage of time through a city, yet it is so much more than that. The beauty of Kershaw’s lyrics is their depth – the more you listen, the more you get out of the music. Indeed, Kershaw is one of the most thought provoking lyricists of the last few years, and he is someone deserving of attention.

This album marks a wonderful step forward for Kershaw, and any fans of Fractal Mirror (whose recent album was also magnificent) should particularly take notice. Fans of prog in general should also take note, for Kershaw’s lyrics continue to impress. Now, with excellent musical collaborations, these lyrics can be appreciated by a more diverse crowd.

https://mikekershaw.bandcamp.com

http://www.kershmusic.com

Don’t miss James Turner’s interview with Mike Kershaw: https://progarchy.com/2016/08/28/what-lies-beneath-bad-elephant-special-part-2-an-interview-with-mike-kershaw/

PET SOUNDS, 1966-2016: Fifty Years of Prog

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment
pet-sounds
Arguably, the very first prog album.

Though I’m sure someone could make the case for either REVOLVER or SGT. PEPPER’s being the first prog album, I’ve always turned to PET SOUNDS by the Beach Boys.  I’m sure there’s a bit of the American in me that desires this to be so, so I can’t completely claim to be unbiased.  I know English proggers–understandably–think of Prog as one of their many national gifts to the world, somewhere above the Magna Carta.  And, it is!  Still, it’s conceivable that it came about in California but then was perfected by the English.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

 

As Brian Wilson has noted, he found his own inspiration for the album in RUBBER SOUL by the Beatles.  Is it possible the influence went both directions across the Atlantic?  Most certainly.

Regardless, PET SOUNDS is fifty years old.  And, what an extraordinary achievement it is.  Though one might regard it somewhat probably as a Brian Wilson solo album, it came out under the name of the Beach Boys, and it carries with it many of the trademark Beach Boy sounds and touches.

Continue reading “PET SOUNDS, 1966-2016: Fifty Years of Prog” →