We’re half-way through 2016, so what better time to reflect on the cream of this year’s new releases. January began with new offerings from Dream Theater and Nick Beggs’ side-project The Mute Gods, and over the last few months we’ve seen new material from the likes of Radiohead, Hawkwind, Frost* and Big Big Train. Then there’s the hotly-anticipated Jon Anderson and Roine Stolt collaboration out this week, and that’s without mentioning all the new talent out there.
So here, in alphabetical order, are some of the best progressive releases of this year… so far!
Anderson/Stolt – Invention Of Knowledge
We said: “It’s a stronger summoning of Yes music than anything Yes have managed in a while, and will provide ammo to those who believe Anderson is now the true spiritual carrier of the torch.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-06-15/anderson-stolt-invention-of-knowledge-album-review
Bent Knee - Say So
We said: “If you love original, inventive music that defies easy categorisation, you simply cannot ignore Bent Knee.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-06-15/bent-knee-say-so-album-review
Big Big Train – Folklore
We said: “Devotees of art, literature and legend, they keep mythic ideas and exceptional characters alive through poetry and song on a grand, almost orchestral scale.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-05-04/big-big-train-folklore-album-review
Dream Theater – The Astonishing
We said: “A momentous, absorbing and uplifting tapestry of music and melody that deserves a listen from intro to finale, lyric sheet clasped in hand… It’s also Dream Theater at their most progressive, as they dip into more styles than ever before.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-01-27/dream-theater-the-astonishing-2
Frost - Falling Satellites
We said: “An immersive and enjoyable, proving that modern progressive music can straddle numerous camps.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-06-15/frost-falling-satallites-album-review
Haken – Affinity
We said: “The 1980s is a surprising influence here. Where the group previously eulogised 70s proggers Gentle Giant et al, this album plugs into the following decade’s technicolour synth and penchant for kitsch via keyboard player Diego Tejeida. Think Yes’ Owner Of A Lonely Heart, but bug-eyed after seven Red Bulls.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-04-01/haken-affinity
Hawkwind – The Machine Stops
We said: “Musically, the bulk of the album is typical Hawkwind fare, and the mix of hypnotic riffs, driving rhythms and swirling synths will sound a familiar chord with long-standing devotees. Brock himself is in fine voice, his distinctive tones seemingly ageless and impervious to time.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-04-01/hawkwind-the-machine-stops
Headspace – All That You Fear Is Gone
We said: “Packed with force and feeling in its own right… Each song has its own reason for being, a lyrical theme, an emotional starting point, and emerges – several intricate musical detours later – as an entity, an event.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-02-23/headspace-all-that-you-fear-is-gone
Hexvessel - When We Are Death
We said: “Traces of prog and folk, freakbeat and drone rock, while artists as disparate as King Crimson and The Doors have been invoked by listeners attempting to make sense of this splendidly unclassifiable noise. Throw in Roxy Music and early Spirit, Pendragon and Pavlov’s Dog if you like: Hexvessel evade easy definition.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-01-27/hexvessel-when-we-are-death-1
iamthemorning – Lighthouse
We said: “This is an album which, from first listen, you know is monumental. Then the more time you give it, the more it yields. Lighthouse is at war with its demons and at peace with its own elegance.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-04-01/iamthemorning-lighthouse
Ihsahn – Arktis
We said: “What Ihsahn does so brilliantly is evolve through a cascade of ideas, many of which shouldn’t be able to coalesce. But they do with such an organic presence that it’s invitingly natural.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-05-06/ihsahn-arktis-album-review
Andy Jackson – 73 Days At Sea
We said: “The shards of Gilmourian guitar glinting across tracks such as Type 2 Error complement his skilful touch with evocative studio atmospherics.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-01-27/andy-jackson-73-days-at-sea
Knifeworld - Bottled Out Of Eden
We said: “If you want to know what progressive music sounds like in 2016, point your listening gear to Knifeworld.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-04-01/knifeworld-bottled-out-of-eden
Messenger – Threnodies
We said: “By turns seductively gentle and sledgehammer urgent, overwhelmingly heartbreaking and unbearably exciting, Threnodies is a spellbinding album. Before our eyes, a good band is becoming a great one.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-03-27/messenger-threnodies-1
Motorpsycho - Here Be Monsters
We said: “Big Black Dog marks the beginning of a remarkably dramatic journey that feels bound to the slow movement of stars, connected to something that is ancient and steeped in ritual and leading to an inevitable, cathartic denouement. In other words, classic Motorpsycho.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-02-26/motorpsycho-here-be-monsters
Purson – Desire’s Magic Theatre
We said: “An endlessly inventive, mischievous and absorbing album of meticulously crafted psychedelia and theatrical bluster, the band’s second full-lengther takes Cunningham’s beloved 60s and 70s influences and slams them artfully together.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-05-06/purson-desire-s-magic-theatre-album-review
Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
We said: “A well-honed balance of accessible and esoteric, this is Radiohead’s best record in a decade, a haunting and beautiful affair that shows some things do get better with age.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-06-15/radiohead-a-moon-shaped-pool-album-review-1
Shearwater - Jet Plane And Oxbow
We said: “The gap between Shearwater’s delicate melodies and the atmospheric currents of Gazpacho (even latter-day Marillion) remains satisfyingly narrow. Ultimately these are simply gorgeous, intelligent and often viscerally powerful songs.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-02-26/shearwater-jet-plane-and-oxbow
Southern Empire - Southern Empire
We said: “There’s richness to their sound and the material is imbued with a wonderfully even flow. Unlike so many prog show-offs, guilty of over-playing at every turn, Southern Empire subscribe to the theory of ‘less can also be more’.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-05-06/southern-empire-southern-empire-album-review
The Mute Gods – Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
We said: “A suitably diverse record from a supremely versatile talent.”
Read the full review http://teamrock.com/review/2016-01-27/the-mute-gods-do-nothing-till-you-hear-from-me-1
