Band: Caverns Measureless | Album: Caverns Measureless | Genre: Progressive folk | Bandcamp
Scottish one-man experimental act Caverns Measureless plays a creepy, unsettling, and adventurous variety of folk-rock on their self-titled sophomore album. Acoustic guitar and mandolin plink alongside violin and flutes, while the occasional brash stab of electric guitar sends the atmosphere careening in another direction. The compositions are wiry and fluid, often changing path suddenly. All the songs here are complex, creative, and moody.
Score: 76/100
Band: Hizbut Jámm | Album: Hizbut Jámm | Genre: Psychedelic folk | Bandcamp
Hizbut Jámm is an interesting quartet. It consists of two Poles on guitar and drums, a Senegalese musician on guitar and vocals, and a Burkinabe musician playing the kora–a type of lute from West Africa. The lyrics are sung in Wolof and French, and West African melodies and scales are woven into the music. But this fusion also draws heavily from the tradition of Euro-American psychedelia. Textures are lush and dreamy, and the overall mood is hypnotic. Hizbut Jámm is an entrancing listen, and it’s a rewarding experience both as passive background music and as the subject of more active listening.
Score: 83/100
Artist: Ty Segall | Album: Three Bells | Genre: Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Prolific musician Ty Segall’s new album sees him going in a slightly proggier direction than usual. It mostly stays in his typical lane of fuzzy garage-psych, with the occasional dash of folk here and there, but many songs have weird, off-kilter riffs or unusual melodic throughlines. Like most of Segall’s albums, Three Bells is too long and lacks focus. Though plenty of individual songs are good in isolation, there are also a few unimpressive cuts mixed in. Brevity has never been Segall’s strength, and the flabbiness is especially bad in this album’s final third. (Also, the music video for “Eggman” is just Segall eating hard-boiled eggs for four minutes. It’s pretty weird, and I wanted to mention that.)
Score: 71/100
Band: Semiramis | Album: La Fine Non Esiste | Genre: Italian progressive rock | Bandcamp
I certainly didn’t have “new album from Semiramis” on my 2024 prog bingo card. Semiramis was a band in the early 1970s that put out one album in 1973: Dedicato a Frazz. Dedicato a Frazz is well-regarded among prog aficionados, myself included, but it isn’t quite at the same level as other Italian acts of the era. In 1973, all the members were only teenagers, and it’s somewhat apparent in the playing. 51 years later, Semiramis has returned, with only the drummer from the original lineup. Much like their only other release, this is a pretty good album, but I’ll still take PFM, BDMS, Osanna, or Le Orme over it. The compositions have that distinctly Italian feel to them, which I enjoy. However, the production and instrumental tones are all a bit glossy for my taste, in contrast to the rougher quality of Dedicato.
Score: 72/100
Band: Sleepytime Gorilla Museum | Album: of the Last Human Being | Genre: Avant-prog | Bandcamp
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is a band I had heard good things about, but I had never actually given them a listen before this album. This is their first album in 17 years, and it’s pretty good. The songs are varied and exciting. They range from the ominous, blistering metal of “Salamander in Two Worlds”, to quiet and creepy “Hush, Hush”. There are a few moments where the band leans into avant weirdness a bit too hard. “We Must Know More” is a goofy vocals-and-brass piece that sounds like it was written in 1910; “Silverfish” is simply way too long for how little happens. Coming into this album with no expectations, I’m pretty happy overall.
Score: 79/100
Band: Yo | Album: 희망열차를 타고 우주로 가요 (Hopetrain to Universe) | Genre: Art rock, Psychedelic rock | Bandcamp
The debut album from this Korean act is a dreamy, hazy experience that smartly blends indie rock with progressive and post-rock influences. The six songs on Hopetrain range from fuzzy and powerful to subdued and gentle. The production–purposefully vague and mushy–is an interesting creative choice that works for most of the album’s runtime. The band proves themselves to be experts at crafting fascinating soundscapes and weaving these backdrops with memorable melodies. Good chunks of this album almost sound like a 21st century neo-psychedelic interpretation of The Beatles.
Score: 81/100
The Elite Extremophile 