Welcome to Prog's brand Tracks Of The Week for 2024! Seven brand new and diverse slices of progressive music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to US melodic prog rockers Emerald City Council, whose video for Best Life won last week's first Tracks Of The Week for 2024. A worthy runner-up was worriedaboutsatan with Aussie prog rockers Caligula's Horse in third place.
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.
So get watching. And get voting at the bottom of the page.
LESOIR - PUSH BACK THE HORIZON
Dutch prog quintet Lesoir release a brand new single and the title track of their upcoming sixth studio album Push Back The Horizon. The band wowed prog fans with their epic 20-minute track Babel that they released in 2022, following their most recent album, Mosaic in 2020. Push Back The Horizon shows the band's daring adventurous streak to be in fine fettle and bodes well for the upcoming album.
"Push Back The Horizon is about people. About human relationships and about human situations," the band explain. "We are not in control of everything, and increasingly lose control because of secondary factors but also because of our own actions. That fact does strange things to us. Yet we keep running past ourselves, not realising that we are collectively at a tipping point.
"Push Back The Horizon is a snapshot from a random life, composed of stories in which everyone who dares to stand still from time to time will recognise themselves. Besides survival, it is mainly about life. About what people can do. About thoughtful situations, but also about spontaneous events that can unexpectedly give us a glimmer of hope. Or an answer. About family and brotherhood, near and far. About what we can do. Together. Not about 'could or should we have done it earlier or better', but about 'please let's try again'."
MIDAS FALL - MONSTERS
Prog Award winning Scottish post-rockers Midas Fall have expanded to a trio for the release of Cold Waves Divide Us, their first new album in six years which is released through Monotreme Records on March 8, with the addition of Michael Hamilton joining founding members Elizabeth Heaton and Rowan Burn. Hamilton adds extra depth to the band's sound as you will see and hear on this new video for Monsters, shot in quite striking surroundings.
"The monsters I sing about in this song are the intrusive, anxiety ridden thoughts that decide to rear their ugly heads from time to time, especially when you least expect it, just to remind you that you never truly have full control," explains singer Elizabeth Heaton. There is a feeling of defeat and submission in this song, juxtaposed with the idea that the act of writing the words and music itself can be the resolution."
CHELSEA WOLFE - EVERYTHING TURNS BLUE
Dark folk rocker Chelsea Wolfe is at her mpost atmospheroc and meodic on Everything Turns Blue, the latest single to be taken form Wolfe's upcoming album She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, which is released through new label Loma Vista on February 9, and on which Wolfe asks a question central to She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She: “What do I have to do to heal you out of me?”
"Everything Turns Blue is about finding yourself again after a long era of being part of something toxic.” Wolfe elaborates, “Making a split with someone after 10 years, 20 years, 30 years — there’s going to be some high highs and low lows as you begin to process it all.”
FINAL COIL - WIRES
Final Coil are a Leicester-based trio whose sound mixes post-rock, prog and metal to create a unique blend of atmospheric and hard-hitting rock music with broad appeal. The band, who feature Phil Stiles (lead vocals, guiatrs, synths and programming), Richard Awdry (guitars, vocals and programming) and Jola Stiles (bass), released their Closed To The Light EP back in 2015 and have followed it wit subsequent EPs and the albums Persistence Of Memory (2017) and The World We Left Behind For Others (2019). The band have just released their third album, The World We Inherited, through Sliptrack Records.
"We live in an era of unprecedented threat," says Phil Stiles. "Flashing headlines, endless conflicts both inter and intra-civilisational in nature, and the swirling voices of social media have coalesced to create a cold and unforgiving world. We heard freedom’s call, but we failed to keep it within our grasp."
IHSAHN - THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US
Norwegian prog metaller Ihsahn has released a strking new video for his equally dramatic The Distance Between Us, another track taken from his upcoming self-titled album that finds the musician offering up two distinct version of the new concept album, in both prog metal and orchestral forms. Ihsahn is released through Candlelight Records on February 16.
"The first two singles were taken from the beginning of the conceptual narrative, generating the hubris and determination required," he explains. "With this last single, we’re getting closer to the end of the story and hence both music and lyrics express a more reflective and melancholic perspective."
THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN - MAGICAL CHRONICLE
Hailing from Norway are prog rock ensemble, the briliantly named The Chronicles Of Father Robin who feature members of Wobbler, Tusmorke and Jordso. The band create a sound that blends prog, folk rock, vintage rock and psych. The ambitious band will be releasing their triple debut album, The Songs & Tales of Airoea, a full blown conceptual prog rock trilogy 30 years in the making and thich the band are releasing in three separate parts
Magical Chronicle is taken from the third instalment of the album, entitled Book III: Magical Chronicle (Ascension) and which will be released through Karisma Records on February 23. This follows Book I: The Tale of Father Robin (The State of Nature), which was released in September last year, followed by the December release of Book II: Ocean Traveller (Metamorphosis).
HIGH SPY - WATCHING
High Spy are a six-piece UK based melodic prog band who've been around since 2006 and feature Jeff Henson (vocals), Tony Hall (drums), Richard Pointon (guitars), Mark Price (keyboards) and Dave Lythgoe (bass). This far the band gave released six studio albums, their most recent being last year's Human Geometry.
This is their new video for Watching, which is taken from Human Geometry which has been produced by Bomark studios. The sextet have a live show lined up at The Artisan Tap in Stoke-on-Trent. Staffordshire on March 23. You can find further information from the band's Bandcamp page.
