Welcome to Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week. Six brand new and diverse slices of progressive music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to former Delain vocalist Charlotte Wessels, whose Chasing Sunsets, the second single to be taken from the upcoming third solo album The Obsession, won last week's Tracks Of The Week! Norwegian pop proggers Rendezvous Point were second with Presence and the brand new single from Oceans Of Slumber, Poem Of Ecstacy, was third.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier could it?
We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we'll update you with this week's winner, and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.
ALCEST - AMTHEYSTE
French atmospheric darkgaze duo Alcest have just released their brand new album Les Chants De L'Aurore through Nuclear Blast Records. It's the pair's seventh record and their first for four years, and to celebrate, Neige and drummer Winterhalter have shared a unique 'art track' video for Améthyste, a chimingly vibrant melodic song in keeping with the melodious feel of the whole album.
"Today marks the release of our seventh album, Les Chants de l’Aurore," the pair exclaim. "We are so happy to share with you the songs we have been working on during the past four years. It was a challenging album to make but we are really proud of the result and we hope you will like it as much as we do. Thank you so much for your everlasting support, it means everything to us. Much love."
KALANDRA - ARE YOU READY
At the proggier end of the Nordic folk spectrum, as one might expect of a band signed to the excellent ByNorse label, Kalandra are four Norwegian/Swedish musicians; Jogeir Daae Mæland, Katrine Stenbekk, Florian Döderlein Winter and Oskar Johnsen Rydh who released their debut album The Line in 2020. Their latest album, A Frame Of Mind, will be released through the label on September 13, from which comes the band's new single Are You Ready.
"We frustratingly thrive on pushing our creative boundaries, and halfway through crafting this song, we discovered its narrative quality, almost like a script, with its arrangement also being playfully serious in a way, adding layers of depth to the composition," the band explain. "Creating this piece was a liberating experience, offering us a much-needed release after spending long winter months locked away in our studio. We're excited to share it with you, wherever and however you encounter it."
HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE - COPENHAGEN
UK prog duo Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate have now shared a video for their recent single, Copenhagen, which will feature on the band's upcoming eighth studio album The Uncertainty Principle due for release later this year, and has been inspired by the meeting between quantum physicist Niels Bohr and his friend and former student Werner Heisenberg in September 1941 in Copenhagen.
"The content of this conversation was disputed," explains Malcolm Galloway of the ideas behind the new song. "Heisenberg was a German scientist leading the Nazi state's atomic research programme. Bohr was a Danish scientist of Jewish heritage in an occupied country. There is no surviving documentation from the time about the content of the meeting. In 1956 Heisenberg wrote a letter to a journalist claiming that he intended to discuss moral concerns about nuclear weapons. Bohr denied this and claimed that Heisenberg was happy to work on the atomic bomb for Germany.
"Was Heisenberg trying to get Bohr's help in making an atomic weapon? Or was he seeking moral advice? Or absolution? Or trying to get information to the Allies? Did he even know himself what he was trying to achieve? Complicating this is the likelihood that either or both men may have been under surveillance, and may have been aware of this."
NICK MAGNUS - BLOOD MONEY
Former Steve Hackett keyboard player Nick Magnus will release his latest prog album, A Strange Inheritance, through Magick Nuns on September 16. Blood Money is the first single taken from the new record, which features contributions from Hackett, noted prog multi-instrumentalist Tony Patterson, Unitopia guitarist John Greenwood, musician Andy Neve and singers Louise Young and Ginger Bennett.
A Strange Inheritance "takes us on a cinematic voyage," Magnus reveals. "A swashbuckling tale of love, loss and revenge. An unexpected bequest reveals the story of a young woman whose misplaced love condemns her to the grim streets of 18th-century London. She is deported, travelling across the high seas to the New World where imperialism and injustice rule, and an island paradise that is not what it seems."
LESOIR - WHAT DO YOUN WANT FROM ME?
Dutch prog quintet Lesoir will release their upcoming sixth studio album Push Back The Horizon through V2 Records, to whom the band recently signed, on September 20. The claustrophobic What Do You Want From Me? is the band's third single from the upcoming record, and with its equally disquieting video, courtesy of Crystal Spotlight, known for their work with Steven Wilson, showcases a darker side to the band's output.
"In an increasingly hardened political and social climate, a government is increasingly diametrically opposed to its citizens," the band state of the new single. "From that perspective, discontent predominates, and that feeling is reinforced when poverty grows and social securities decline. 'What do you want from me?’ is about feelings of powerlessness and injustice, which unfortunately more and more people relate to."
NINE STONES CLOSE - GHOSTED
Durch prog rockers Nine Stones Close don't do things by halves. Diurnal, the album from which comes the band's new single Ghosted, is one of two albums the sextet are releasing this year, the other being the deeply personal Adventures In Anhedonia. Diurnal is released on July 24, with Adventures... following later in the year.
"The album reflects the arc of a day and the internal dilemmas faced by individuals," the band say of Diurnal. "It takes listeners from the hopeful dawn of a new day through the highs and lows of daily events, culminating in moments of reflection as the sun sets. With tracks like the beautiful lead single Ghosted, the powerful Angel Of Flies and the epic Frustration/Sedation, Diurnal promises an emotional journey through the band's rich musical landscape."
