Welcome back to Tracks Of The Week...
The premise 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 i n the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier could it?
We'll be bringing you Prog's 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.
Hats off to Puerto Rican guitarist Jan Rivera who walked away with the honours last week for his star-studded video for Can't Fight Who You Are, with consolation nods going out to Swiss Italian prog metallers Virtual Symmetry and quirky US duo Kaltenecker-Marko.
And now to this week's selection, which, given that it's December 12 already, has more than a seasonal feeling to it.
So get watching. And get voting...
Les Penning and Rob Reed - Stop The Cavalry
First up is Magenta mainstay Rob Reed with Mike Oldfield collaborator Les Penning and a new take on Jona Lewie's anti-war song Stop The Cavalry, which originally reached No. 3 in 1980. “I love the point in the process when Les puts his recorders on the track," says Reed. "It’s so recognisable from the Christmas hit he played on back in 1976 and evokes Christmas atmospheres straight away. We also had a lot of fun producing the quirky video that accompanies it.”
Mad Painter - Illusion
Nothing Christmassy about this offering from US prog rockers Mad Painter, a relatively new outfit who hail from Boston, but there is a serious retro vibe going on. Illusion is fired on by Alex Girtlin's searing Hammond Organ sound. Illusion is taken from the band's recently-released second album Splashed.
It Was A Good Dream - Redrawing The Curve
Another Boston-based outfit here, although sounding nothing like Mad Painter. It Was A Good Dream are a melodic instrumental post-rock quartet who specialise in sweet ambient spatial melodies as their track Redrawing The Curve slowly builds in atmosphere to a fitting climax. Signed to the dunk! label - naturally they've played the post-rock Mecca dunk!festival - the band release their second album Rememory early next year.
Kingfisher Sky - Winter Waltz
Back to Christmas with Winter Waltz from Dutch prog metal sextet Kingfisher Sky, a song based on a Scandinavian Folk tune by Filarfolket. "19 years ago we wrote a song celebrating the birth of our niece on the 2nd of December," the band say. It was a story we told her about the snowy forest and and the swans on the lake. We have re-recorded it to celebrate Christmas and to think back about that magical time when the forest indeed seemed to be made of snow."
David Brewis - Start Over
One half of art-pop duo Field Music, David Brewis (bother of fellow Field Music member Peter Brewis) creates a jazzy kind of vibe here with Start Over, that brings to mind the mercurial sounds of both Robert Wyatt and the late Leon Redbone. Start Over is taken from Brewis first ever solo album, The Soft Struggles, which will be released through Field Music’s new label Daylight Saving Records on February 24.
Anna B Savage - in|FLUX
London-based art rocker Anna B Savage describes her new single thus: "in|FLUX exemplifies the ‘flux’ as I see it between two seemingly disparate parts of me; my music, my mind and my creativity. The first half is a close, vulnerable and quiet start, full of introspection, vulnerabilities and a stilted inability to express something. From there, the song unfurls in to a second half that is more certain, more vocal and expressive of self-assuredness. These feel like two states (along with everything in between, as well) that I inhabit simultaneously as dynamic and multifaceted emotional human." It's the title track of her new album, out on February 17 via City Slang.
Bruit ≤ - Parasite
French post-rock quartet Bruit ≤ pull absolutely no punches with their new single Parasite, serving as a brutal criticism of streaming platform, Spotify. It's the band’s only Spotify release—with the rest of their back catalogue and future releases available on bandcamp and physical formats—the new single is a no-holds-barred Trojan Horse designed to be a parasite that purposefully directs listeners and new fans away from the platform. "It is unacceptable that people like Daniel Ek, the boss of Spotify, still exploit artists in total impunity and use this money to invest in AI for military use," the band state. "It's high time to practice music vandalism and parasite the machine!"
Triangle Space - Ruptures
Triangle Space are an American/Colombian band from Austin, Texas and Cucuta, Colombia who specialsie in a progressive instrumental rock sound. The was band founded in 2018 by Sebastian Amado (guitars), Federico Palmonela (bass) and Carlos Giron (drums) and the band take inspiration from the likes of Periphery, Plini, Intervals and Animals as Leaders. Ruptures is the band's latest single.
