Odds & Ends: February 4, 2024

Band: Everything Oscillating | Album: The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

Everything Oscillating is an instrumental act that focuses on flashy, technical shredding. Two of the three members are the guitarist and bassist for the Seattle-based band Moon Letters, whom I’ve covered a couple times. EO does a great job threading the needle of balancing flashy instrumental antics and engaging songwriting. The best moments here call to mind classic bombastic ‘90s and early ‘00s prog bands like Liquid Tension Experiment and Transatlantic, with a bit more of a classic heavy metal influence. Jazz and Latin flavors are included naturally, and the (abbreviated) instrumental cover of “Achilles’ Last Stand” is done well, too. (I feel like I could write a short essay on my love for the original version of that song, and EO absolutely does it justice here. It’s right up there with “Carouselambra”, “In the Light”, and “The Rain Song” among my favorite Led Zeppelin cuts. (I know, shocker, my favorite Zeppelin songs are all among the band’s longest.))

Score: 79/100

Artist: Peter Gabriel | Album: i/o | Genre: Art pop | Bandcamp

Peter Gabriel’s first new album in 20 years is enjoyable. It’s decent, fairly arty pop with some good melodies and interesting ideas. His vocal performance is strong, and the production is clean, crisp, and professional. Compositionally, though, it doesn’t stand out. Post-rock flavors weave themselves into Gabriel’s usual somewhat-spacey writing style. It’s competent but not particularly memorable. i/o comes in two different mixes: the so-called “bright-side” and “dark-side” mixes. These two mixes are not meaningfully different. Yes, if you listen to each song’s bright and dark version, you can tell them apart, but the differences between the two are insubstantial, surface-level, and borderline-gimmicky. Publications (especially prog-focused ones) that included this on their best-of 2023 lists make me question if they just reflexively put every release from major ‘70s players on their year-end lists, regardless of quality. (In fact, I know several included Yes’s abysmal The Quest on their 2021 lists, so I suppose they do.) If you want some keyboard-forward art-pop to put on in the background, i/o will work, but this album doesn’t leave a lasting impression.

Score: 63/100

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Best of 2023: Top 50 Prog Albums Part 2: 25-1

Welcome to part two of The Elite Extremophile’s Top 50 Prog Albums of 2023. Part one can be found here. Now, let’s get back to it!

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Album Review: Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex

Artist: Steven Wilson | Album: The Harmony Codex | Genre: Art pop, Progressive electronic | Year: 2023

From: Hertfordshire, UK | Label: Virgin (UK), Spinefarm (US)

For fans of: Radiohead, Pink Floyd

Buy

It’s been a decade since Steven Wilson’s last good solo album. (I almost said just “album,” but Closure/Continuation was good. Not great, but good.) Especially considering the trajectory of his last two solo releases, I did not have high hopes for The Harmony Codex. He’s been teasing this album for a while as a return to form, and he had repeatedly said it’s less pop-oriented than The Future Bites. Then again, I’m sure that Roger Waters also thinks his dogshit re-recording of The Dark Side of the Moon is good. Needless to say, I took Steven’s word with a (large) grain of salt.

And I am pleased to say my skepticism was mostly misplaced. The Harmony Codex is notably stronger than The Future Bites and To the Bone. Its album art is even an improvement over both those works! In addition to being his most interesting album in a while, it’s also his most electronic since his (quite crappy) 2004 collection of electronic music. Latter-era Porcupine Tree often dabbled with electronic elements, and Wilson is part of the electronic duo Bass Communion, so this pattern isn’t unprecedented.

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Odds & Ends: December 7, 2022

Band: Audio’m | Album: Godzilla | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

This album consists of just one 43-minute, kaiju-sized song. Though it doesn’t have the city-destroying fury of kaiju-themed thrashers Oxygen Destroyer, this French septet’s newest release is quite strong. The music is often swirling and otherworldly, with the band’s two keyboardists weaving together complementary moldies and textures. Hints of jazz and Baroque music are sprinkled throughout this release, and that diversity of influences keeps this opus interesting.

Score: 77/100

Band: The Bronze Horsemen | Album: IV | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

This is some solid, enjoyable progressive rock. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but rather than detracting, it adds a homespun charm to it. This allure is especially evident when considering the combination of certain folk and bluegrass elements. This band roots its sound in the 1970s, with particularly strong Camel flavors. While it’s not groundbreaking, there’s a lot of heart and creativity here, and it’s definitely worth your time.

Score: 79/100

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Album Review: The Mars Volta – The Mars Volta

Band: The Mars Volta | Album:The Mars Volta | Genre: Art-pop | Year: 2022

From: El Paso, USA | Label: Clouds Hill

Listen

The Mars Volta, along with acts like Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater, helped revive the world of progressive rock in the early 2000s. They were one of the most beloved and influential prog acts of the 21st century. Their 2003 full-length debut–De-Loused in the Comatorium–and its 2005 successor–Frances the Mute–are two of the best prog albums of all time, irrespective of era. In addition to past prog influences, they incorporated post-hardcore, jazz, and electronic elements. Their classic sound is striking and immediately recognizable.

Now, ten years after their last album–2012’s Noctourniquet–they’ve reunited to put out their seventh full-length release. The core of the band remains the same; Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is still on guitar, and Cedric Bixler-Zavala is still the vocalist. Beyond that, though, there has been churn in the lineup. Bassist Eva Gardner has returned to the band after last appearing on their 2002 Tremulant EP. Omar’s younger brother Marcel–formerly the band’s percussionist through 2010–covers keyboard duties. (Longtime TMV keyboardist Ikey Owens passed away in 2014, though he did not appear on Noctourniquet.)

In reading about this album’s background, I found that Omar (always the lead (and usually sole) songwriter) consciously made an effort to move away from prog. This strikes me as a perplexing move. Just because Omar and Cedric are recording together, that does not make it The Mars Volta. Prior to forming TMV, they were both in the post-hardcore band At the Drive-In; and the two had collaborated in the one-off band Antemasque in 2014. If they wanted to make a non-prog album, reviving this band’s name doesn’t strike me as a smart move. They’ve got enough clout in the modern music world that they could have announced a new project and built hype off their reputations.

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Album Review: Meer – Playing House

Band: Meer | Album: Playing House | Genre: Progressive rock, Art pop | Year: 2021

From: Hamar, Norway | Label: Karisma Records

For fans of: Bent Knee, Phideaux, iamthemorning

Bandcamp

Over the last two decades, Scandinavia has become one of the most prolific producers of prog in the world. Big-name acts (by prog standards) like Wobbler, Opeth, and Beardfish have made huge waves in the scene. Meer, a Norwegian octet, continues in this trend, blending complex compositions and arrangements with accessible, catchy pop tendencies (another Scandinavian tradition, which I’m considerably less fond of).

The eleven songs on Meer’s sophomore album, Playing House, show intense structural ambition. The music is densely layered, and the band utilizes dynamics to great effect.

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Album Review: Steven Wilson – The Future Bites

Artist: Steven Wilson | Album: The Future Bites | Genre: Art pop, Synthpop, Soft rock | Year: 2021

From: Hertfordshire, UK | Label: Caroline International

For fans of: Steven Wilson’s other recent solo work – beyond that, I’m not sure; this is outside my normal wheelhouse

Buy

Steven Wilson, likely the biggest individual name in the current world of prog, returns with his sixth solo album. After making a name for himself with his longtime prog metal/rock band, Porcupine Tree, he struck out on a solo career (which I’ve documented here) that has tacked increasingly poppy over his last few releases.

Wilson had commented that he currently does not feel inspired when playing guitar, and his continued gravitation toward synthesizers is evident on The Future Bites. I have to give him kudos for following his musical heart and not kowtowing to prog traditionalists demanding another Deadwing or Hand. Cannot. Erase. I really respect him for broadening his horizons and playing what he wants to play. I wish more artists had that sort of integrity and adventurous spirit.

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Top 50 Prog Albums of 2020, Part 1: 50-26

Welcome to Part One of TheEliteExtremophile’s Top 50 Prog Albums of 2020, this site’s second-annual best-of list. It’s also my tenth year of writing year-end music roundups. The first eight were posted on my personal Facebook. Check out Part 2 here.

2020 was a banner year for progressive rock and progressive metal. There were so many fantastic albums released, and paring this list down to just 50 was often a painful process. Even more difficult was deciding on the exact order of these albums.

Like I said last year, I’m sure there are some excellent albums not included. This site 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.

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Odds & Ends – May 18, 2020

Band: Cheer-Accident | Album: Chicago XX | Genre: Avant-pop, Prog-pop | Bandcamp

One moment this album is brimming with squirmy, atonal synthesizers with eerie vocal arrangements, and the next it’s mellow, artful pop rock. Despite hailing from Chicago, there’s a very British sense of weirdness to Cheer-Accident’s work, most comparable to the inimitable Cardiacs. Strains of post-punk and folk merge seamlessly with progressive and pop rock to create something truly distinctive.

Score: 76/100

Band: Dai Kaht | Album: Dai Kaht II | Genre: Zeuhl | Bandcamp

I like Magma a lot. They’re one of my favorite bands, and I’m positive I’ll eventually do a Deep Dive entry on them. However, their shadow is nearly inescapable in the world of zeuhl (outside Japan, at least). Dai Kaht are a Finnish act who draw a huge amount of influence from Magma. Their sound is more guitar-centric than Magma ever were. On a technical level, the musicianship and compositions are complex. For all its oddness, it’s surprisingly catchy, and it is somewhat unusual for a zeuhl act to have guitar as its main instrument. But in the end, this release mostly sounds like an updated version of Attahk. If you like zeuhl, give it a listen, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking.

Score: 73/100

Edit: My opinion on this has improved a lot. Please see my Best of 2020 for my updated thoughts.
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Album Review: Константин Зед – Музыкальные Вибрации

Artist: Константин Зед (Konstantin Zed) | Album: Музыкальные Вибрации (Muzykal’nye Vibracii/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.

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