Here’s some music that various members of the Prog team have been grooving to this week…
EDITOR - JERRY EWING
JEFF LYNNE’S ELO - *WHEN I WAS A BOY*
A wonderfully reassuring return to creating music from Jeff Lynne, back with the ELO mothership. Echoes of The Beatles; check. Nostalgia: check. Proggy orchestral flourishes: check. Stellar songwriting: check. ELO are back and still brilliant: check.
DEPUTY EDITOR - HANNAH MAY KILROY
SHINING - *THE LAST STAND*
Shining’s madcap music that melds rock, prog, avant-garde and jazz earned them their very own sub-genre: blackjazz. The Swedes’ latest album International Blackjazz Society is just as wildly unpredictable and captivating as always, as showcased by this track filmed during their recording sessions.
ART EDITOR - RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER
KYLVER - *DEATH OF THE MOUNTAIN GHOST*
Rising like the martian Mount Olympus over the northwestern edge of the Tharsis bulge, here’s the epic title track from debut album from Kylver, who feature in the Limelight section of the latest issue of Prog. It’s 8 minutes of atmospheric, 70’s Black Sabbath-like riffing overlaid with a delicate, present-day sprinkling of icy keyboards sparkling like fresh mountain rivers. Oh, and it starts like Welcome To The Machine melding into Rainbow’s Tarot Woman, so for me ticks all the boxes for monumental songs that transcend both genre, time and space.
NEWS EDITOR - NATASHA SCHARF
RENDEZVOUS SPLIT - *WASTELAND*
Last week it was Gazpacho, and this week I’m really into the epic new single from Rendezvous Point, who also happen to be from Norway. It’s not a Scandinavian conspiracy, honest! Wasteland is a catchy little slab of contemporary neo-prog with a strong theatrical air and just enough metal to add some extra colour. Their new album Solar Storm is rather good too and it’s out now through Karisma Records.
REVIEWS EDITOR - GRANT MOON
CITY BOY - *SECRET STATES - A THRILLER*
I admit it – City Boy were a new one on me when they popped up as our Outer Limits band in the current issue of Prog. When I asked our editor where to start with them he pointed to this art-rock/power-pop beaut. The three-piece suite crowns their second album Dinner At The Ritz, which criminally peaked at just No.170 in the US in ‘76. Still, it’s a masterclass in Supertramp-league songwriting and immaculate Steely Dan-ny production. At last - a city boy I can actually stand…
WRITER - RICH WILSON
ANATHEMA - *ANATHEMA*
Taken from their forthcoming DVD A Sort Of Homecoming, this song was recorded live at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral earlier this year. Replete with a sublime string backing, this haunting rendition of Anathema manages to surpass the studio version and captures the exquisite atmosphere of that majestic night in March.
LIMELIGHT BAND
CIRCULINE - *RETURN*
US prog rockers Circuline are featured in the latest issue of Prog, on sale now. Return is the title track from their debut album, out on Inner Nova Records, highlighting the band’s acknowledgement of past masters such as Yes and Gentle Giant, but equally with an eye on more contemporary sounds…
