Scarlet Hollow – A Window To October (Melodic Revolution)

 

Just after the release of the band’s 2012 debut album band member Gregg Olson suffered a devastating stroke, leaving him unable to even hold a guitar. After eight years of rehabilitation he’s fit enough to play on this new album of songs that he wrote while recovering. The result is a stunning progressive rock album, featuring the haunting vocals of Allison Von Buelow, and is a testament to Olson’s determination.   

Scarlet Hollow - Adventures In The Kings Garden

Fife Augury – The Shape Of A Tree (Self-released)

  

Fife Augury is made up of two young French multi-instrumentalists with a love of progressive rock. It’s in a prog-metal style, with influences including Pain Of Salvation and Steven Wilson, and imbued with a Gallic twist, with the album being a mixture of short, punchy tracks, interspersed with two epics pieces that top the eleven-minute mark. For a debut album it shows a lot of promise, so definitely one to watch.   

Fife Augury - Escaping Light

Tim Minchin – Apart Together (BMG)

 

Tim Minchin is my favourite Antipodean comedian, and one of the main reasons for that are the caustic comic songs that litter his live shows, but for his first studio album he’s dropped the comedy and gives us a compelling collection of personal, self-questioning songs. If you’ve seen him live then you’ll know he’s a superb musician, and here he shows he’s able to turn those talents in a completely different direction.        

Tim Minchin - The Absence Of You

Djabe – The Magic Stag (Esoteric Antenna)

 

If Djabe are known for anything, it’s for their work with Steve Hackett, and it was he who inspired this album after he penned the lyrics for the title track, based on an old Hungarian folk-tale of a magic stag. Djabe ran with it, with the result being an impressive prog/fusion album built around the tale, and they’ve completed the package with some evocative artwork by painter Imre Egerhazi, father of guitarist Attila.      

Djabe - The Magic Stag

Carlton Melton – Where This Leads (Agitated Records)

  

For their seventh album, West Coast space-rockers Carlton Melton move even deeper into the ambient, post-rock field, with long, sprawling tracks flowing over the listener. The 18-minute opener ‘The Stars Are Dying’ is a sonic soundscape that sets the tone for the whole album, and it’s not until nearly the end of the hour-long running time that ‘Three Zero Two’ crashes in with some crunching guitars. Superb stuff.      

Carlton Melton - Butchery

Wobbler – Dwellers Of The Deep (Karisma Records)

  

Norwegian prog-rockers Wobbler really upped their game on 2017’s ‘From Silence To Somewhere’, and have taken their time in order to produce something that won’t let down their new fans. The two lengthy retro-prog epics show their mastery of the genre, and the shorter ‘Naiad Dreams’ is a lovely ballad leading to the stunning closer ‘Merry Macabre’. If you miss classic 70’s prog-rock then Wobbler will do for now.    

Wobbler - By The Banks

The Left Outsides – Are You Sure I Was There? (Cardinal Fuzz)

  

No sooner had Alison Cotton’s excellent solo album ‘Only Darkness Now’ appeared than she’s reunited with Mark Nicholas for a fifth record from The Left Outsides. Folk, psyche and ethereal drones are all present and correct, and the alternating vocals of Mark and Alison provide the light and shade which make this such a beguiling and entertaining album. If you don’t know the band you should start here.    

The Left Outsides - Only Time Will Tell

Turtle Skull – Monoliths (Art As Catharsis Records)

 

This is the Australian band’s second album of their self-professed 'flower doom' music - a mix of doom and psyche-rock. Fuzz guitars blend with droning synths to give a tantric feel to the eight extended tracks, with the highlight being the closing, eleven-minute ‘The Clock Strikes Forever', with its simple guitar riffs overlaid with fuzzed-out solos to produce a stunning piece of stoner/psychedelic guitar-rock.

Turtle Skull - Rabbit

All Them Witches – Nothing As The Ideal (New West Records)

 

I love All Them Witches for the no-nonsense stoner- rock of their early albums, but for this one they’ve extended their range, and can follow the riff-heavy ‘Enemy Of My Enemy’ with the brief two-minute guitar-only Everest’ without it sounding forced. The bludgeoning guitars return for ‘See You Next Fall’, and they stay put for the rest of this great blissed-out psyche-tinged stoner rock album. Recommended.   

All Them Witches - Enemy Of My Enemy

Mammal Hands – Captured Spirits (Gondwana Records)

 

This is the Norwich-based jazz trio’s fourth album, and across eleven tracks of piano, sax and drums they make a compelling case for being one of the best small jazz bands in the country. ‘Ithaca' gently eases you in, before the manic ‘Chaser' takes you off in a different direction, and in no time at all you're winding down with the relaxing trad jazz trio sound of ‘Little One'. If you like jazz, you’ll love this band.      

Mammal Hands - Ithaca

Lamp Of The Universe – Dead Shrine (Projection Records)

 

LOTU are a psychedelic/folk/drone-rock outfit from New Zealand, and amazingly this is the 15th album from one-man band Craig Williamson. The music entirely lives up to expectations, with woozy vocals and a psychedelic haze pervading the songs, and on tracks like ‘Beams Of Ra’, with its chanting/drone backdrop, I hear more than a touch of Quintessence, which is the highest compliment that I can pay him.      

Lamp Of The Universe - The Eastern Run

John Simms – Chromatology (Stargaze)

 

John Simms has been around for a while, first with the psyche-rock band Clear Blue Sky, and since they broke up he’s worked with John Enwistle, Bernie Torme, and Ginger Baker, among others. Now at last he's released his first solo album, and it's packed full of stunning guitar-led instrumentals and spaced-out soundscapes, all based around chromatology – the colours of music. For fans of classic guitar rock.      

John Simms - Night Star

Prism– Isometric (Bandcamp)

 

Prism are a well-kept secret, with scant information available online about them, other than that they are a psychedelic progressive rock band from Australia, and their album is ‘a tale of forever repeating cycles set in the mystical sands of time’, so the music has to speak for itself, and it does so splendidly. It’s a mix of prog rock and commercial pop, with snippets of speech linking the songs, and it works really well.   

Prism - Hypoxia

Third Planet – T-O (Self-released)

Third Planet are a Hungarian prog/psyche outfit who formed two years ago in Budapest, and who released their debut three-track EP on Bandcamp a year later. They now follow that with an album of fine heavy psyche-rock, full of twists and turns and inventive musicianship, especially noticeable on the 7-minute  ‘Eyes Wide Shut'. Most of the tracks have English vocals for maximum exposure, so I wish them luck.     

Third Planet - Raingame

New Band Special #35

  Featuring new groups that are recording songs and 

posting the results for you to hear on Soundcloud

DEADLETTER

Angsty London post-punk four-piece have their Fall-

 influenced 'Fit For Work' out as their new single.

Deadletter - Fit For Work

SUDO 60s

Sudo 60s are a Sydney five-piece who have a

nice line in psyche/pop with ‘Grandma’s Smiling'.

Sudo 60s - Grandma's Smiling

MOY

Glasgow-based Kiwi band MOY have released 

the indie/rock of ‘At My Door' as their third single. 

MOY - At My Door

INHALER

Dublin-based quintet Inhaler have the anthemic

 lockdown-inspired 'When It Breaks’ available now.

Inhaler - When It Breaks

SYRUP

Brisbane alt-pop outfit Syrup have a couple of

tracks out now, of which ‘Sun' is a warm pop treat.

Syrup - Sun

QUIET BLUE

Melbourne-based Nic Georgiou, aka Quiet Blue,

has the haunting ‘Hollow’ out as his new single.

Quiet Blue - Hollow

The Bardic Depths – The Bardic Depths (Gravity Dream Music)

The Bardic Depths are the prog-rock/fusion project of multi-instrumentalist Dave Bandana and lyricist Bradley Birzer, and with the help of a host of like-minded musicians they’re produced an album based on the theme of friendship, particularly that between novelists J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. It’s a fine progressive rock album with a universal message, and should appeal to fans of Floyd and Talk Talk. 

The Bardic Depths - The Trenches

King Gorm – King Gorm (Church Recordings/Bandcamp)

King Gorm are a San Diego prog-rock band in the classic style, who've been around for about four years, but have only just released their debut album. They’re proud to still use classic instruments of the genre, with Mellotron and Hammond A100 to the fore, and the story running through the songs culminates in the closing 38-minute title track. Fans of Rainbow and Uriah Heep will find much to enjoy.      

King Gorm - Freedom Calls

The Blinders – Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath (Modern Sky)

With their second album, The Blinders have matured beyond recognition since their ‘Brave New World’ single of two years ago. It includes songs they’ve honed in a live setting, as well as new pieces, like the intriguing spoken-word ‘Interlude’, and the slow, reflective 'In This Decade', which closes the album in a style that's quite unlike their usual brash rockers. One to watch, as they get better with every release.    

The Blinders - Something Wicked This Way Comes

Luna Cruise – Sand Reckoner (Self-released/ Bandcamp)

Jacksonville-based psychedelic rockers Luna Cruise have released one album and two EP’s in the last two years, and the three songs on this EP have more crammed into their 22 minutes than some band have on a whole album. There's enough heft behind the tracks to avoid them being wimpy psyche-pop, and the retro-rock sound isn’t over-done, so there’s also a modern twist to their music. Well worth a listen.     

Luna Cruise - Big Chungus

The Explorers Club – To Sing And Be Born Again (Goldstar)

The Explorer’s Club are a great little modern psyche band, issuing an album every four years since 2008. This year they've doubled their output by releasing two at the same time, one of new original material, and this one of covers of classic 60's songs from bands like The Turtles, Manfred Mann, The Lovin' Spoonful, and The Zombies. They’re all done with the utmost respect, and is a welcome digression.    

The Explorers Club - She'd Rather Be With Me

Public Eye– Music For Leisure (Self-released/ Bandcamp)

Public Eye emerged out of the notorious Portland, Oregon punk band Autistic Youth, toning down the in-your-face punk attitude to a more accessible post-punk sound. They’re still angry, but their response is now more mature, and the music is more controlled and intricate. The songs date back to the aftermath of the 2016 US election, but considering the current state of the world, the sentiments still hold true.  

Public Eye - Descending

Green Seagull – Cloud Cover (Mega Dodo)

I loved Green Seagull's first album ‘Scarlet Fver’, with its retro psyche-pop sound, so grabbed this one as soon as I saw it. The band’s love affair with all things sixties continues, with UK pop meeting West Coast psyche, and the songs all have a harmony-drenched chamber-pop appeal. They are much more than mere copyists, and the respect that they have for their influences shines through in their music.     

Green Seagull - Aerosol

New Band Special #34

   Featuring new groups that are recording songs and 

posting the results for you to hear on Soundcloud

JACK BRATT

The Brisbane-based indie rocker has released 'The

 Ousider’ as the follow-up to his recent 'Spades' single.

Jack Bratt - The Outsider

THE INSTITUTES

'Heal In Time' is the new indie-rock anthem from

this up-and-coming Coventry four-piece.

The Institutes - Heal In Time

SPINN

The first single in two years from this Liverpool

quartet is the infectious 'Stuck On A Feeling’. 

Spinn - Stuck On A Feeling

DRIBBLE

Two ex-members of  W. Midlands band Afterbloom

 have released the grungy 'Taking Off’ as Dribble.

Dribble - Taking Off

PSYCHIC SHAKES

Psychic Shakes is the solo project of Max McLellan,

and ‘Suddenly' is a moody taster from his new EP.

Psychic Shakes - Suddenly

TORUS

Milton Keynes stoner-rock trio Torus have the

suitably heavy ‘Hold On’ out as their new single.

Torus - Hold On

Laura Marling – Song For Our Daughter (Partisan Records)

A new album from Laura Marling is always a treat, and this one even more so as the songs hark back to earlier times before the starkness of 2016’s ‘Semper Femina’. The album is in the form of a love letter to her imaginary daughter, with the tender lyrics that are the forte of this superlative songwriter, married to gentle acoustic tunes, or fuller band arrangements on tracks like ‘Strange Girl’. A stunning comeback. 

Laura Marling - Alexandra

Chris Forsyth/Garcia Peoples – Peoples Motel Band (Algorithm Free)

Chris Forsyth has made some of my favourite guitar-led albums of the past decade, and teaming up with Garcia Peoples for a live recording was stroke of genius. With GP indebted to the sprawling jams of The Grateful Dead, they were the perfect backing for Forsyth’s epic guitar solos. The highlight has to be the 20-minute version of ‘Dreaming In The Non-Dream’, but the whole album is just astounding.      

Chris Forsyth/Garcia Peoples - The Past Ain't Passed

Kanaan – Double Sun (El Paraiso)

This is Kanaan’s second album this year, following a collaboration with guitarist Jonas Munk, and on this one they take their improvisational skills to a new level. Mixing psychedelic rock and free jazz might sound like a recipe for disaster, but they lock it all together with a solid groove that allows them to take off into uncharted territory, and the result is another great album from the Norwegian power-trio.        

Kanaan - Mountain

I Am The Manic Whale – Things Unseen (Plane Groovy)

IATMW were originally a solo project by Reading-based bassist/singer Michael Whiteman, but over the years they evolved into an actual band, and this is their third album. Based firmly in the progressive rock genre, the music is the classic mix of guitars and keyboards, with intriguing lyrics and exemplary musicianship all round. I was so impressed that I got their other two albums, so what more need I say.        

I Am The Manic Whale - Billionaire

Hollow Ship – Future Remains (PNKSLM Recordings)

This is the debut album from this Swedish psyche-rock quartet, and it’s an assured effort for a band with only one single under their belts. It’s produced by Mattias Glava, fresh from his work with  Dungen, and he’s given the drums a sort of Madchester feel to them, and the guitar can either chime over them or bury them under power chords. Somehow it’s both modern and retro at the same time, and a great listen.      

Hollow Ship - Take Off

Cleaners From Venus – Dolly Birds & Spies (Bandcamp)

I’ve been a fan of this band since their first cassette album back in 1981 (which I still have), and this is at least their 25th album, with a consistent quality of songwriting from Martin Newell that is remarkable. As you might surmise from the title, it’s indebted to music of the 60’s, but they aren’t just a retro copy band, as Newell always has something insightful to say about the world we live in. Well worth a punt. 

Cleaners From Venus - Dolly Birds & Spies

Coloured Clocks – Flora (Bandcamp)

Coloured Clocks is the alter ego of Melbourne-based psychster James Wallace, and although this is their seventh album, it’s the first that I’ve heard. The last one was one song split into 33 short fragments, to be listened to in any order, so taking the psychedelic angle to the extreme, but this is a more conventional record, with some nice psyche-rockers and some dreamy ballads, all recorded in his home studio.       

Coloured Clocks - In Your Heart

New Band Special #33

  Featuring new groups that are recording songs and 
posting the results for you to hear on Soundcloud

PASTEL

The latest single from Manchester five-piece

 Pastel is the shoegaze epic ‘She Waits For Me’.

Pastel - She Waits For Me

TV PRIEST

New single from London post-punk band TV Priest

is the great Mark E. Smith-influenced 'Runner Up'.

TV Priest - Runner Up

THE LAZY EYES

‘Tangerine’ is the lead song from this Sydney

quartet’s upcoming three-track debut 'EP1'. 

The Lazy Eyes - Tangerine

CAMINO GOLD

‘Signs Of True’ is the second single from this

 alt-indie four-piece from Newcastle, Australia.

Camino Gold - Signs Of True

THE CLOCKWORKS

This Irish band have now relocated to London, and

‘The Future Is Not What It Was' is a post-punk treat.

The Clockworks - The Future Is Not What It Was

SONS OF ZÖKU

‘Dead Poets’ is the superb new single from this trio

of experimental psyche-rockers from Adelaide.

Sons Of Zöku - Dead Poets