This album is so well-written all the way through. Every track sounds so great, both in context of the album, and they even do very well as stand-alone songs. The best tracks for me are "Drive Home", "The Watchmaker", and "Luminol". I know it's half the album.

There are many oddities about the album. The saxophone honestly sounds like a guitar to me at times. The choice in harmonies also really sticks out, if anyone is so interested in such of a thing, or being aware of that. It can be difficult to describe. I find a meeting between eeriness and beauty, both at the same time present in sections like the later parts of "The Watchmaker" and "The Pin Drop". The instrumental performances are also eclectic and highly expressive. It's exciting. The sound produced on this album, though inspired by groups such as King Crimson, is very distinguished. Steven Wilson has really done something unique here. I'm stoked to see where he will decide to build off of projects like this.

Excellent album.

Some albums just make your freak flag fly full staff. YS by the Rock Progressivo Italiano band IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO (the bronze ballet) makes mine fly more than an erection of a horny pony off of Prince's "Lovesexy" album. This album is in a world of its own which incorporates the best of the best as its stomping grounds and for that I am quite enamored since I can't seem to get enough of this eclectic concoction that is a progressive rock version of a wet dream. This album simply satisfies my musical needs on every level and has thus become one of those rare "desert isle" must-haves because of the simple fact it incorporates so much in a single album that it is a near panooptic view of everything prog in the most exciting year of 1972.

Lyrically speaking, non-Italian speakers will not understand that this is a concept album about a man who is the sole survivor left on planet Earth who makes a journey and mysteriously disappears. The mythical city YS is not Italian at all and is actually a Celtic creation that supposedly existed off the coast of Brittany in modern day France. The city represents a magnificent and outstandingly beautiful city in Europe and how it went to hell in a hand basket because of the way it was governed. Hmmm...

Although IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO started out as a hard rock band with their debut album "Sirio 222" they caught the prog bug and went for the jugular in their approach of no holding back on this 2nd album. They simply incorporated every musical trick in the musical universe and deftly honed every possible development to create one of the most satisfying progressive rock albums there is to be had . Upon first listen you may deem this to be the centerpiece of the musical demented and the sonically insane and for that conclusion I cannot rightfully disagree. The fact is that this is extremely complex music that requires a multitude of listens to be able to even come close to "getting" what is going on here. I pride myself on being on the extreme edge of musical "eclecticness" and I must wholeheartedly admit that this release has taken me countless listens to appreciate in its entirety to the level that I appreciate it as I currently do.

This album will test your patience. All I can say is don't let it dissuade you. There are melodies to had. There are progressive fits of wanktitude as well. There is basically everything musically under the sun that makes its way into this recording. Simply don't have any expectations except for the most unorthodox and semi-accessibly bizarre outputs of any musical entity and you just might be able to appreciate this high point in progressive music. It really does reward but not upon first listen. It demands your dedicated attention but in the end won't disappoint. Masterpiece!!!

If you're disappointed by the fact the band broke up after this simply listen to the very well performed pop rock bonus track "La Tua Casa Comoda" that adorns my remastered CD and you would realize how they would have to go down the same path as many progressive bands of the day and realize that releasing an album or two and disbanding may have been the best strategy for musical integrity. Let your freak fly high and embrace this most dizzifying and monstrous concoctions of progressive rock in its full fury. YS is mysterious. YS is energetic. YS is a freakin' full-fledged all encompassing progressive rock experience. I can think of few recordings as progressive as this one and as deserving as the fullest of 5 stars that shine as brightly as this in the vast darkened skies.

— First review of this album —

Adrift....

Lowercase Noises is the working vehicle of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Othling, based in New Mexico USA. Andrew is here at PA under the post-rock genre but his work shifts from post-rock to ambient/drone/minimalist to instrumental music. He's an enormously talented fellow and this was his second full length album after the beautiful debut "Seafront."

Othling has grown and blossomed as a musician/composer over the past four years and has stated that he is beginning to view himself more as a composer than a guitarist. While this is exciting news based on the success of his most recent and acclaimed album "This is for our Sins", it is also a bit disappointing to me in a selfish sense. Because Othling is a superb guitarist and there is that side of me that just wants him to forever paint away over his pedals and guitar, improvising and creating the landscapes that first drew me in. But alas, he has moved on to bigger and better things and the new album was fantastic.

"When I started playing guitar, I wanted to be a blues player. At some point I just got tired of so many notes. I became happier with fewer notes. And so it went. Every now and again I get into a conversation where people seem to be trying to convince me to play more like I used to. And I always have a hard time explaining that yes, I do still enjoy playing like that to a degree, but my heart is in those slow, heartfelt melodies and those parts that you wouldn't know how much they added until they weren't there. Ambient music runs a high likelihood of being incredibly boring. A lot of artists seem to run with the slow, repetitive melody a little too far. Yes, it is relatively easy to write a melody like that. The hard part is developing it into something that evolves, gets interesting, and somehow stays simple at the same time. Subtlety is the key really, and subtlety in music is something that's really hard to achieve." -an excerpt from Andrew's blog

"Ambient Songs" remains perhaps the deepest treasure chest for the Lowercase fans who appreciate most the ambient guitarist inside of Othling. This is the goods. Approximately 145 minutes of instrumental guitar music recorded in one take, no edits, no overdubs, nothing but guitar and effects. Wave upon wave of rolling moods and emotions wash over you, slowly, softly, with no distraction. No vocals or other instruments. This is music to pull the shades for, music to relax to, or perhaps music to take on a long walk with your earbuds. Andrew's thoughtful playing is as always to this listener, very moving, a catalyst for my own emotions and thoughts to swirl in as I ponder and let them go. Individual notes and patterns repeat with slight variation as Eno might do on piano, the background shaded with numerous interesting guitar effects. As Othling alludes to in the quote above, evolution is the important component in this kind of music. It's a clear strength of his that he is able to keep things consistently interesting to me, someone who is not a particularly huge fan of this genre. That said, this may not be the best starting point in the Lowercase discog for most people. If you love long, slow, ambient tracks, then yes. But if you want to start with something a bit more active and conventional in terms of album structure, try his latest "This is for our Sins."

I don't believe this album is available on physical formats like some of his others, but you can get a high quality download from his website. Over two hours of pure blissful drift for those who enjoy this solitaire kind of instrumental music.

I decided to chase this hitherto unknown to me Japanese act, uniquely attracted by the lure of Steve Hillage's presence on guitar as well as confirmation that he would be wielding his slippery axe and leaving the synths to long-time partner Miquette Giraudy . Then, I also noticed that this psychedelic/space combo was also staffed by two drummers. The clincher was the presence of a cover version of a Mahavishnu Orchestra classic "Meeting of the Spirits" Hmm! This could be good proggy stuff, further online video research revealed the need to take a risk, as no PA review has yet been posted.

Well, they have been around since 1998, releasing regularly intervalled albums, to relatively small prog-rock acclaim being more of a trance/jam band and I can only guess that by adding the Gongster and his famous lady the prog community will join in on the fun. Truth is the music presented here is definitely more club oriented techno/rave with stupendous though binary drumming, relentless bass pummeling, scouring violin sorties, cyclical guitar churnings and stop/start explosions. In fact, the correct definition would be a heavier, more organic version of System 7 (Hillage and Giraudy's band are huge in Japan) with harsher sounds, adding definitely more propulsion than a synthesized drum machine. The first two tracks "Hinotori" and "Love for the Phoenix" are clear examples of what System 7 is all about, electronic space jam excursions that are both linear and hypnotic.

One of the highlight tracks unsurprisingly is the John McLaughlin-penned "Meeting of Spirits" off the Inner Mountain Flame album, showcasing Hillage's command of his instrument as well as some spirited work from violinist Yuji Katsui, though the two Japanese drummers cannot match Cobham's whirlwind technique. The piece comes across as a much heavier version, which is actually highly appreciated.

Another cool track is "Cisco", which is a heftier lumbering bulldozer with an echoing guitar that sounds like a harmonica, sort of wondering if it was not inspired by War's classic "Cisco Kid" (I think so!) , creating an all-instrumental jam-fest that rambles on for 13 minutes of beat-infested glory. There is an obvious Ozric Tentacles feel, when bassist Jin Harada steps up to the plate and starts swinging for the fences. Hillage, together with fellow axe man Seiichi Yamamoto (who is legendary in his native country) then start carving some serious slices of cosmic splendor, boldly going where few have gone before. This is a highly bellicose arrangement, thrashing hard and mercilessly, skirting the outer edges of delirium and unafraid to bliss out.

"Unbroken" starts out all fluffy white clouds, ponderous slivers of undulating rhythms and serene atmospheres, until the violin starts screeching boldly, a twisting neo-jazz electro- space shuffle, sort of urban cool in a delirious kind of way. Imagine JL Ponty meeting a Gonged-out Steely Dan! Steve really kills it here, showing clearly why he is such a prog guitar icon. Tremendous track!

The simmering and somewhat playful "Sino Dub" is a Yamamoto-penned epic that is just too simplistic and frankly puerile to my ears, at odds with the three previous tracks that had such massive doses of bite, grit, beat and fire. The eternal drum rhythm in particular is very boom-boom-tchak, closer to the Orb than anything else (funny, Hillage played on the debut!). This is a skipper.

The final track "Unseen Onsen" is an ambient Giraudy piece that showcases interplanetary synthesized resonations that flicker about in seemingly Oriental spheres (Gong), strips of Moogy stringlets forever blowing bubbles into the not too distant cosmos. It's refreshing, meditative, spiritual and hypnotic. A definite mood driver.

Somewhere between 3,5 and 4 Elevating firebirds

The Canterbury Sound is a special subgenre, little but very interesting. Its mixture of jazz and pop made a soft and easy listened form of progressive rock. The genre originated from this band "The Wilde Flowers" which existed in the sixties but never released anything then. This is a collection of demoes which is very insteresting for every prog lover. Afterwards members of this band formed Soft Machine and Caravan.

Musicians on the record are Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper, Brian Hopper, Kevin Ayers, Richard Coughlan, Grahan Flight, Richard Sinclair and Pye Hastings. The three tracks 17, 18 and 19 is actually with another band "Zobe" with Dave Lawrence, Bob Gilleson and John Lawrence.

I think this collection is underrated. You have to think about how early this was. Well many tracks feels a bit too simple and amateurish but other tracks are very fine and romantic. I like the lightness of the music and that it's the opposite of over produced music. "Impotence" is a typical Canterbury song with a soft pop melody in a jazzy landscape(8/10) and the romantic little "Memories"(7/10) or the little blues thing with wind instrument "Parchman Farm"(7/10) would I also recommend. "It's what I feel" with (I think) Richard Sinclair on vocals is very nice(7/10) as well as the lovely "She loves to hurt" which is more professional than others(7/10). The three Zobe songs are different from the others and I would recommend a closer listening also to them.

Many of the tracks aren't timeless gems and should perhaps just be heard as references but over all I think this album is pleasant and appealing. If you don't have enough spirit to hear it all I recommend "Impotence", "It's what I feel", "She loves to hurt" and "Memories". I consider the album an interesting start of wonderful bands. Three stars!

You wouldn't know this band if from Israël, listening to their second album. This is progressive metal with a slight touch of djent with influences from Dream Theater and many more modern progressive metal bands. The usual big guitar riffs are present throughout this CD, but what separate this music from the average prog metal bands are their strong compositions. When the band has showed their musicianship, they open the songs up with intelligent breaks by slowing things down with more emotional content. The vocals range can go from the screaming to some smooth vocals. Behind the powerful guitar riffs, the band has incorporated some nice arrangements and delicate passages with some acoustic music from the piano and the guitars offering a nice balance between metal and rock.

The first album from The Reformation presents an unusual collage of styles, including heavy blues rock, funk, psychedelic and avant-garde passages, and rapid spoken word. There are flashes of inspired guitar and keyboard passages peppered throughout; most other times, it sounds like a band in search of direction and its own sound.

'Sweet Redemption' Following a lengthy, baleful introduction, the roadhouse guitars come out, growling ZZ Top style. The vocals are a throwback to 1980s female-fronted rock (think Pat Benatar or Heart).

'Mechanical Blues' As the title suggests, this is largely a straightforward blues rock song, but it transforms into a progressive rock guitar jam midway through.

'Between Two Times' Electric piano-led and with some mighty fine guitar soloing later, 'Between Two Times' is a pleasant soft rock song, somewhat in the vein of Steely Dan.

'Ghost House Funk' Speaking of Steely Dan, this song makes use of a disharmonious chord not unlike 'Kid Charlemagne.' The male vocals here have a 'curled upper lip' slight snarl, similar to Wild Cherry. The electric piano break is the best part of a rather generic funk rock tune.

'The Rhythm of Fate' Heavy riffing and aggressive vocals return here in the album's lengthiest track, its length attributed to psychedelic jamming and noise rock tangents.

This is the first studio album of the Shaw/Lanzon era. The overall sound, songwriting and production are somewhat of an improvement over the previous "Equator" but without true highlights. In fact, none of the 10 songs is on a par with "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "The Night of the Wolf".

Notwithstanding, there are many enjoyable tracks, (still) with the recognizable heep sound. Mick Box takes on a more prominent role (electric guitar). Keyboards are generally more restrained than in the previous record: Phil Lanzon still plays bland snyth but without letting the 80s tones stand above the arrangements. Choruses are strengthened and never annoying, the rhythm session is dynamic.

On a high note: "Voice on My TV", the cover "Hold Your Head Up" (Argent) that sounds very good in the Heep' style and the soft rock ballad "When the War Is Over", with orchestration directed by Phil Lanzon (the second cover). Slightly superior is "Lifeline", the better song of the album.

Could have been a great album.

Jaime Rosas is a talented Chilean keyboardist, and it shows here. The obvious influence is Emerson, Lake & Palmer, but that's as far as style goes. The approach is vastly different. Rather than focusing on melody or structure, each piece serves to highlight Rosas' acumen on the keys, usually rattling off one blistering solo after another. It's a display of talent, but overall, a display I find uninteresting.

"Primera Luz" Breakneck organ and other keyboards race against bass and drums. As a demonstration of keyboard skill, this excels, but does so at the expense of compositional charm. Halfway through, the vocals emerge, but do so in a quiet piano passage that feels tacked onto the keyboard showmanship. Otherwise, it's an exhausting exhibition of rapid-fire and grainy organ.

"El Principio Del Ritmo" This is a glaring contrast to what came before. Lounge bar piano runs and jazz chords are performed over a simplistic progression.

"Buenos Momentos" Don't get too comfortable with that last number- this returns to mile-a-minute soloing, this time with a guest on lead guitar. The bass solo is a growling treat, however brief.

"Lejos" A more melodic approach, with hushed guitar and vocals, takes center stage here. That jazzy piano makes another appearance.

"Memoria" Here is something more akin to a jam, with the guitarist and keyboardist trading leads over a Pink Floyd-like backdrop.

"Flashback" While what has come before has been firmly on the side of progressive rock bombast or smooth jazz, the title track delves into New Age placidity and progressive electronic music while returning to ELP-inspired pomposity. It's more of a hodgepodge of ideas glued together into one concluding track.

Three albums in for Bologona band Accordo dei Contrari, and as expected of this Italian group, sublime and frenetic fusion displays are the order of the day (I'm fairly reluctant to use the `jazz' with that usual description though), and they've truly stepped up and taken their music in bigger directions than ever before. In addition to this perhaps being their busiest, noisiest fusion work yet, they've also added sophisticated classical flights, Post-Rock cinematic flavours, more Rock in Opposition/Avant textures and ambient passages to truly offer no better definition of a `fusion' of styles! Enviable technical displays played with passion and fire, it's constant never-ending musical eruptions effortlessly flowing from one seamless movement to the next and back, always melodic and endlessly groovy. There's still little references to other Italian fusion acts like D.F.A, Arti e Mestieri and the Canterbury sounds from the previous album, but the Accordo members are definitely forging their own path and have never sounded so tight and focused.

`Nadir' opens with groaning unfolding spacey electronics and ends on serrated jagged feedback, with wild guitar strums, slow-building giddy drumming, liquid bass and glistening electric pianos spiralling into controlled chaos throughout the centre of the piece. Some bits are like a schizophrenic take on the `Abraxis/III'-era Santana band, with moments of heavy grunt and softly building ambient builds back and forth too. The infectious playful `Dandelion' offers muscular twisting electric guitar/bass grooves over an exhausting mix of tempos that will have you grinning wildly! Violin and piano pirouette around the opening of `Seth Zeugma', offering a surprising dose of R.I.O/Avant Garde experimentation, but before long snappy drum lunges, molten bass spasms and hellfire Hammond rip through the fanciful classical sophistication, racing dizzying circles around the listener. Some of the Hammond aggression near the end even briefly calls to mind parts of Delirium's classic third album.

The overwhelming `Dua' will drive you to madness with a wicked glee, with surprisingly intimidating suffocating Hammond madness over endless looping piano/bass attacks. Improvisation `Tiglath' opens and closes with creeping late-night tip-toeing electric piano suspense to reverberating ambience along the lines of the Soft Machine's pitch-black `Fifth' album, with snarling slow-burn electric guitar strangulations, violated Hammond runs and intimidating rumbling percussion crescendos rising up from the pits of the Earth. `Piu' Limpida...part 2' closes the album with some sedate acoustic guitar, piano and droning cello Post-rock prettiness.

Sometimes a self-titled work can suggest an artist running low on inspiration, other times it can mean they are so confident with the results that they feel it's worthy of being considered their defining statement. The latter must certainly be the case for Accordo Dei Contrari here, and on the strength of `AdC', it's proof of a band slowly redefining what jazz/fusion can mean, not only for themselves, but for their listeners and lovers of the genre. Three great works from this talented band so far, and I still feel their best is yet to come!

Four stars.