Band: Duke Grey Fox w/ The Striped Bananas | Album:A Trilogy of Six | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
This instrumental record has interesting textures, ideas, and rhythms in spades. I’m especially fond of many of the synthesizer tones. However, like most instrumental records, this one feels too long. This release indeed feels like a trilogy of six; almost every song which tops three minutes feels dragged-out.
Score: 65/100
Band: Goat | Album: Headsoup | Genre: Psychedelic rock, Krautrock | Bandcamp
This is a fuzzy, buzzy psych record that is heavily inspired by the early works of King Gizzard and similar acts. The individual cuts are all fairly enjoyable, with a lot of folky inclusions. Certain instrumental excursions are better-plotted than others, though. My main issue is that this album feels somewhat aimless. There’s very little on this album that I’d consider unenjoyable, but more focus and cohesion would have been beneficial.
Score: 71/100
Band: Primaleón | Album: Systems of the World | Genre: Progressive rock, Progressive metal | Bandcamp
The music on this album is very good. It’s well-written, inventive, and it keeps you guessing. It’s self-evident that this band is well-versed in the prog of the 1990s and early 2000s. Unfortunately, this release is either terribly mastered or possibly even unmastered. Everything sounds so thin and washed-out. I’d love to hear a more sonically balanced version of this record. Even with this problem though, the compositions are strong enough to make this album worth your time.
Score: 78/100
Band: Prisma | Album: Gold | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
This Swiss band is pretty decent. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but they manage to balance their dynamics very well; the contrast of loud and quiet is handled smoothly. The band quite obviously are pretty big Tool fans, but their Tool worship is less blatant than many other acts I’ve run across. If you’re looking for some alt-metal-y prog, this is a solid choice.
Score: 76/100
Band: Sleepless Echoes | Album: The Imaginarium | Genre: Psychedelic rock | Bandcamp
This EP has a hazy, dreamy atmosphere about it. Psychedelic tones are blended with elements of everything from lo-fi to shoegaze to microtonal music to doom metal. For such a short release, it is pleasantly diverse, as this is the type of music I could definitely see myself getting tired of if any of the songs were too similar to one another. The mood on this release is consistently spooky, and that feeling is only augmented by the roughness of certain songs.
Score: 78/100
Band: Triptonus | Album: Soundless Voice | Genre: Progressive rock, Psychedelic rock | Bandcamp
There are some pretty cool ideas on this album. Guitar passages are consistently inventive and engaging, and I really like all the hand-drums. Unfortunately, Triptonus feels like a band that excels in live settings but can’t quite capture that magic in the studio. Most of these songs feel too long. An interesting riff (or even series of riffs) can only carry you so far in isolation.
Score: 63/100
The Elite Extremophile 