Album Review: Light – The Path

Band: Light | Album: The Path | Genre: Progressive rock, RIO, Chamber music | Year: 2023

From: Toulouse, France | Label: Independent

For fans of: iamthemorning, Van der Graaf Generator, Univers Zero

Years ago, I ran across a poll on the ProgArchives forums asking what the most important instrument in a (progressive) rock band is. It’s obviously not guitars or keys, as ELP and mid-career King Crimson demonstrate, respectively. Neither Van der Graaf Generator nor Atomic Rooster had a bassist in their classic lineups. So that’s why I ultimately chose “drums” in that poll. What makes rock music rock music is its rhythm. Ditch the percussion, and it’s difficult to make something feel like rock music.

I bring this anecdote up because for about the first twenty-ish minutes of Light’s debut album, The Path, there is almost no percussion. (Side note, the generic nature of the names of both the band and the album made this a bit of a challenge to find.) This album opens in a manner which feels more like classical or chamber music. As the record progresses, though, more traditional prog influences are brought in.

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Top 50 Prog Albums of 2022, Part 2: 25-1

Welcome back to The Elite Extremophile’s Topg 50 Prog Albums of 2022. In case you missed it, Part 1 can be found here.

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Album Review: Daniel Rossen – You Belong There

Artist: Daniel Rossen | Album:You Belong There | Genre: Progressive folk, Chamber folk | Year: 2022

From: Santa Fe, USA | Label: Warp Records

For fans of: Comus, Univers Zero, Jens Carelius

Bandcamp

I will be the first person to admit I’m a bit out of my depth when it comes to folk music, especially of the one-guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar variety. It’s normally not my sort of thing. I have repeatedly discussed my deemphasization of lyrics, so lyric-focused genres often fail to resonate with me. Every now and again, I’m able to find something in this field which I like. Such releases, though, always feature inventive, original music, which is what draws me in.

You Belong There is the first full-length solo release from Daniel Rossen, lead vocalist of the indie rock band Grizzly Bear. I listened to a bit of Grizzly Bear’s output before writing this review, and there are certainly some common threads. This takes a much more somber and introspective route than the band’s output, though, with the instrumentation being nearly entirely acoustic.

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Top 50 Prog Albums of 2021, Part 1: 50-26

Welcome to the first installment of The Elite Extremophile’s Top 50 Prog Albums of 2021. This article will cover places 50-26 on my list, with the top half set to follow on Thursday.

As I always say, I’m sure there are some excellent albums not included in my list. 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.

As I referenced in my Scheduling Note back in November, this list only addresses albums put out between January 2021 and November 2021. Next year’s list will cover December 2021 through November 2022.

Though it felt as if it started off fairly slow, 2021 wound up being a very strong year for progressive rock and metal. Finalizing this list took longer than usual, especially nailing down the specific order.

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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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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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Album Review: Jargon – The Fading Thought

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Artist: Jargon | Album: The Fading Thought | Genre: Progressive rock, Art rock, Chamber music | Year: 2020

From: Athens, Greece | Label: Independent

For fans of: Phideaux, Genesis, Peter Hammill, Steven Wilson

Bandcamp

The Fading Thought is the debut solo album of Greek keyboardist Jargon. Prior to this solo effort, he was one of the founders of the progressive rock band Verbal Delirium. There are some obvious sonic overlaps, but he’s managed to differentiate his solo sound from that of his band. The band’s efforts hew heavily toward certain prog-rock clichés; organ and bombast permeate the music. Jargon’s solo album, though, borrows extensively from chamber music and film scores. Piano and strings are given prominent roles throughout The Fading Thought.

The opening track, “The Film”, lacks traditional rock arrangement altogether. It’s a quiet, bittersweet instrumental led by piano with lush string backing. This flowing composition serves as a strong introduction to this record’s overall tone. Continue reading “Album Review: Jargon – The Fading Thought” →