2010-2014 in prog

Well, we're past the halfway point of the 2010s decade, so I thought a thread to discuss music & prog in the last five years might be in order. Some might say that five years is too short a timeframe to have a meaningful discussion about musical trends and the like, and they would probably be right, but what the heck.

Edited by Kazza3 - February 02 2015 at 02:51

Crossover has grown in the last few years and will come to dominate the prog world. 
I'm also enjoying the Krautrock revival, with three of Electric Orange's recent albums highly rated among that subgenre.

Glad to see that Progressive Metal has dropped in favour, with only one 2010s entry barely scraping into the Top 30 rated PM albums.  It's one thing for a subgenre to be less popular than another, but for it to be less popular than its own earlier output just means it's lost it and the fanboys have left

We're also witnessing possibly the last hurrahs of the original crowd of bands, with some terrific recent offerings from (insert names here, except Yes)

I'm not following much of the latest Prog in detail, but yes, I would say that pure Metal seems to be declining, or at least morphing into more melodic shapes like Haken, the modern Pendragon etc. Crossover is indeed growing strong, and there seems to be also some comeback of Neo and RPI. And new ways of Ecclecticism seem to be popping up, stretching the boundaries of the previous definitions of Prog, something that has caused some debate recently (the 'should PA remain a Prog-Rock site or open itself to all kinds of Modern Progressive Music' thread).

someone_else wrote: 1. Echolyn - Echolyn 2. Big Big Train - English Electric (Part One) 3. Deluge Grander - Heliotians 4. Akt - Blemmebeya 5. FreddeGredde - Brighter Skies 6. Discipline - To Shatter All Accord 7. Days between Stations - In Extremis 8. Camelias Garden - You Have a Chance 9. Druckfarben - Second Sound X. Abel Ganz - Abel Ganz

But what do you think regarding the topic?  Let's not turn this into listings lists

Sticking to strictly "new" artistst -
Black Mountain    Wilderness Heart    2010            1417    6/2/11    5                                             
Maserati    Pyramid Of The Sun    2010            1453    10/3/11    36                                            
Phideaux    Snowtorch    2010            1461    6/8/11    8                                                
Reasoning, The    Acoustically Speaking    2010            1469    6/29/1                                                
Reasoning, The    Adverse Camber    2010            1470    6/29/11    14                                                Nemez, Nadav    So Far    2010                6/21/12    6                                                        
Tea Club, The    Quickly Quickly Quickly    2010                3/12/13    5                                            Levin, Tony, David Torn, Alan White    Levin Torn White    2011            1452    9/20/11    31                                Storm Corrosion    Storm Corrosion    2011                4/12/13    7                                                Wilson, Steven    Grace For Drowning    2011            1495    9/30/11    35                                            Big Big Train    English Electric    2012                10/15/12    8                                        Henry Fool    Men Singing    2012                11/20/13    16                                            Maserati    Maserati VII    2012                11/20/13    17                                            Reasoning, The    Adventures In Neverland    2012                10/20/12    9                                        Samuel Jackson Five, The    Samuel Jackson Five, The    2012                6/16/12    3                                Staves, The    Dead & Born & Grown    2012                11/6/13    14                                            Stereokimono    Intergalactic Art Café    2012                6/16/12    4                                            Herd Of Instinct    Conjure    2013                2/6/13    1                                                remiata Forneria Marconi    PFM In Classic - Da Mozart A Celebration    2013                12/4/13    22                        Thieve's Kitchen, The    One For Sorrow, Two For Joy    2013                7/30/13    10                                        
Anubis    Hitchiking To Byzantium    2014                6/30/14                                                    Dream The Electric Sleep    Heretics    2014                5/9/14                                            Electric Orange    Volume 10    2014                11/18/2014                                                Fractal Mirror    Garden of Ghosts    2014                11/18/2014                                            Knifeworld    Unravelling, The    2014                7/28                                            
Perfect Beings    Perfect Beings    2014                3/4/14                                                    
Pymlico    Guiding Lignt    2014                11/17/2014                                                    Rothery, Steve    Ghosts of Pripyat, The    2014                11/14/2014                                                Umphrey's McGee    Similar Skin    2014                7/12/14                                                                                            

Kazza3 wrote: Here's my list of top albums, for today at least.  1. The Mars Volta- Noctourniquet 2. Kayo Dot- Coyote 3. Swans- To Be Kind 4. Everything Everything- Man Alive 5. Beardfish- Mammoth 6. Karnivool- Asymmetry 7. Kayo Dot- Coffins on Io 8. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy 9. IQ- The Road of Bones 10. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez- Un Escorpion Perfumado 11. PoiL- Brossaklitt 12. Jaga Jazzist- One-Armed Bandit

Kazza3 wrote: Well, we're past the halfway point of the 2010s decade, so I thought a thread to discuss music & prog in the last five years might be in order. Some might say that five years is too short a timeframe to have a meaningful discussion about musical trends and the like, and they would probably be right, but what the heck. So what trends have you seen in prog, and maybe music more generally, in the last five years? The ascendancy of Steven Wilson? Maybe that metal doesn't seem to be at the forefront of prog or rock in general in the way that it was not so long ago? A decline in the wave of prog and prog-related (or nu-prog, or alternative prog, or whatever...) bands that appeared last decade and gained widespread popularity? What about NEW prog rock bands? Favourite artists, favourite albums, favourite live acts? Are the old guard still alive and kicking? Anything you think of as groundbreaking? Or anything else?

Sorry about cutting your post short, but I needed to see the introduction in order to craft the response I promised earlier today.

Personally speaking, one of the most distinctive trends I have noticed in the past few years is the drift away from the traditional prog "epic" and the focus on shorter compositions, which nonetheless pack a lot of progressive elements. Related to this trend is the emphasis on the song form, though revisited from a progressive point of view, and incorporating a wide range of influences that, in some case, are quite different from those that helped shape the original prog movement.  This is, in my opinion, why Crossover is at the moment the most exciting subgenre among those included on PA.

Unlike other posters, I'd rather not make a list of bands/artists that have caught my fancy in the past five years. On my blog you can find four "year in review" posts (starting from 2011), where I mention some of the most impressive albums of those years. Unfortunately for his fans, Steven Wilson does not feature prominently in any of my articles, nor do I consider him particularly exciting or groundbreaking (though he's been undeniably influential).

OP:  I think that there are some labels that are doing a wonderful job of promoting good alternative, somewhat innovative or at least refreshing music. 

The trends seem to be away from metal and jazz, and yet the active crop of bands embraces a distinct eclecticism. Attention seems to have moved toward using concept, composition, and flow to express originality rather than relying on raw instrumental prowess (e.g., Phideaux, Abel Ganz). This appears to reflect a combination of matured instrumentation coupled with the fact that there are only 12 half-step notes in an octave.

richardh wrote: Yep loads more crossover and the good ship Steven Wilson sails on serenely.   For me however probably Anathema are the most interesting 'new' thing to happen with the album We Are Here Because We Are Here. They used to be 'doom metal' then saw the light and started making post rock/metal fusion (or something like that). Its basically music with heart and 'balls'. No prizes for guessing who produced it though.

But they haven't been doom since Eternity (1996).
The album you mention is great indeed.

I do prefer The Gathering's last 2 albums to Anathema's. Disclosure (2012) and Afterwords (2013) were much more satisfying than the last 2 Anathema albums. Check The Gathering if you haven't already, I think you won't be disappointed.