Album Review: Vinyl Dial – The Flight of the Crown Hawk

vinBand: Vinyl Dial | Album: The Flight of the Crown Hawk | Genre: Progressive rock, Space rock | Year: 2009/2019

From: Bedford, UK | Label: Seaside Tapes

For fans of: Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Pulsar, Tool

Buy/Listen: Stream | Bandcamp

Vinyl Dial has had an unusual creative trajectory. The Flight of the Crown Hawk was originally recorded and released on MySpace in 2009. However, in 2019 it got a remaster and was officially released on Seaside Tapes, a label focused primarily on DIY-electronica and vaporwave. In the intervening years, this one-man project has put out a handful of electronic and vaporwave releases, in addition to other space rock/prog rock releases.

The Flight of the Crown Hawk is not shy about just how much of the music is inspired by Porcupine Tree’s early work. The first proper song, “Shapes in the Clouds”, begins with spare acoustic guitar, airy synth pads, and murky, effects-laden vocals. It slowly slithers along for its first half, and the guitar solo sounds like it’s straight off Porcupine Tree’s Signify. The song’s second half plays with stranger rhythms, heavier guitar tones, and cosmic synth leads. Continue reading “Album Review: Vinyl Dial – The Flight of the Crown Hawk” →

Odds & Ends – February 10, 2020

gurBand: Guranfoe | Album: Sum of Erda | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

Guranfoe are an instrumental act who draw heavy inspiration from the ‘70s prog giants, most notably Genesis and Camel. They’re good at keeping the momentum up on this album, and the songs are chock-full of neat little flourishes and some great solos. Folk and jazz touches are deployed to great effect. However, as with many instrumental albums I cover, most of these songs feel too long, and some of the extended solos, in particular, leave me looking at my watch. If the band were to tighten up the songs a bit, I think they could put out a really great album.

Score: 72/100

karBand: Karfagen | Album: Birds of Passage | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

Antony Kalugin is an incredibly prolific Ukrainian composer and multi-instrumentalist, and Karfagen is one of his myriad projects. Birds of Passage is Karfagen’s 11th album in 14 years, and most of it is focused on the 44-minute title track. It’s mostly bright, sunny prog in the style of acts like Spock’s Beard and Moon Safari. Organ and synthesizer dominate on the first half, while the second half reduces the bombast (initially, at least). It can feel long-winded at times, but the songs have enough distinct movements that that’s only an infrequent issue. If you’re a fan of the 21st Century brand of symphonic prog, definitely check this album out.

Score: 77/100 Continue reading “Odds & Ends – February 10, 2020” →

Album Review: Константин Зед – Музыкальные Вибрации

Artist: Константин Зед (Konstantin Zed) | Album: Музыкальные Вибрации (Muzykal’nye Vibratsii/Musical Vibrations) | Genre: Avant-pop, Experimental rock, Post-punk | Year: 2014

From: St. Petersburg, Russia | Label: Southern City’s Lab

For fans of: Cardiacs, Bob Drake, XTC

Buy: Bandcamp

Normally, I try to cover albums released within the last year or so on this site. I do make exceptions, with my occasional entries in my Deep Dive and Lesser-Known Gem series. This particular album, however, falls into something of an odd spot. Released in mid-2014, Muzykal’nye Vibratsii isn’t quite old enough for my completely arbitrary cut-off date of 20 years for Lesser-Known Gems. But it is certainly lesser-known, and it’s definitely a gem.

Looking at this album cover and listening to the music on this record, it’d be understandable if you mistook this for some underground, avant-garde release from somewhere between 1978 and 1985. But that is an aesthetic multi-instrumentalist Konstantin Zed purposely cultivated on his debut album. The Bandcamp page for this album describes it as art-punk, which, despite few punky moments, is oddly fitting. It draws heavily from the artsier side of post-punk and new wave.

Continue reading “Album Review: Константин Зед – Музыкальные Вибрации” →

Album Review: Different Light – Binary Suns (Part 1 – Operant Condition)

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Band: Different Light | Album: Binary Suns (Part 1 – Operant Condition) | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2020

From: Prague, Czechia | Label: Progressive Gears

For fans of: The Flower Kings, Neal Morse, Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, Glass Hammer

Buy: Bandcamp

For as much as I disparage the 1990s as progressive rock’s dark ages, there were some genuinely excellent albums from that decade. The few bands that did put out good music in that era—acts like Spock’s Beard and The Flower Kings—had a distinct sound that, when put to strong compositions, could stand alongside the prog giants of yore. With the rise in popularity of heavier prog acts in the early 2000s (think Porcupine Tree and The Mars Volta), the relatively lush sounds of the ‘90s became much rarer. That’s why I was surprised to find such a ‘90s-sounding album being released in 2020.

Different Light aren’t just aping that old sound; they were formed in 1994, but they disbanded after just one album. They re-formed in 2008, and Binary Suns is their third album since that reunion. The overall sound on Binary Suns is lighter and lusher than most acts in the contemporary scene. Piano is the dominant instrument, and synth pads tie everything together. Continue reading “Album Review: Different Light – Binary Suns (Part 1 – Operant Condition)” →

Top 50 Prog Albums of 2019, Part 1: 50-26

Top 50 2019 Pt 1

Though this blog is only about a year old, I’ve been publishing music-oriented year-end lists on my personal Facebook since 2010. Those lists have usually covered all releases—albums and EPs—as well as music from genres outside the progosphere. Since starting this blog, I listened to more new music in 2019 than I had in any previous year, and it was even more skewed toward prog and prog-related output than in years past.

To save myself from having to write (and you from having to read) a 100-plus-entry list full of mediocre releases, I’ve instead opted to publish TheEliteExtremophile’s Top 50 Prog Albums of 2019. This post will cover entries 50-26. Part 2, covering the top 25, will be published on Monday.

I’m not publishing album scores here, and past album scores should not be read into too much. Reviews generally reflect something of a first impression, and after months of listening, albums’ standings rise and fall. This list also features some very good albums which I just never reviewed in full.

As a disclaimer, I’m sure there are some excellent albums not included. This is a one-man operation (in relation to reviewing, that is; my editors, Kelci and Dan, have been tremendously helpful), and I simply cannot listen to everything that gets released. I also have my personal biases against some rather popular trends in prog, which affected the composition of this list. But if you’ve got recommendations, do not hesitate to shoot them my way, either through this site, via email, or through my Facebook page. Continue reading “Top 50 Prog Albums of 2019, Part 1: 50-26” →

Top Prog EPs of 2019

Top EPs 2019Welcome to the first of three planned installments for this site’s best of 2019. Starting things off is TheEliteExtremophile’s Top Prog EPs of 2019. The vast bulk of what I listen to for this blog is full-length albums, and the assorted prog-related genres tend to be long-winded. As such, this list contains only five entries, but all five are highly recommended.

As a disclaimer, I’m sure there are some excellent releases not included. This site is my personal pet project, and I simply cannot listen to everything that gets released. I also have my personal biases against some rather popular trends in prog, which affected the composition of this list. But if you’ve got recommendations, do not hesitate to shoot them my way, either through this site, via email, or through my Facebook page. Continue reading “Top Prog EPs of 2019” →