FLYING COLORS - One Love Forever (7:16)
Album: Second Nature (2014)
Label/Distribution: Music Theories/Mascot/Rough Trade
www.flyingcolorsmusic.com
Flying Colors' "Second Nature" is again a treasure trove for ingenious melody arcs, embedded in a prog-oriented sound. Even more than in their other band projects the namesakes Steve and Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue and Casey McPherson can spread musically here.
OBERON - Escape (4:12)
Album: Dream Awakening (2014)
Label/Distribution: Prophecy/Soulfood
The Norwegian band OBERON combines Neofolk, Dark Psychedelic and New Artrock in a very unusual way on their third album (the first after 13 years). Here Current 93, Tenhi and Anathema unite in a mystical wedding. In the song presented here, however, New Artrock clearly predominates.
IAMTHEMORNING - 5/4 (3:49)
Album: Belighted (2014)
Label/Distribution: Kscope/Edel
www.iamthemorning.com
The St. Petersburg duo IAMTHEMORNING and their ensemble (feat. Porcupine Trees Gavin Harrison) have released a wonderful second album, expanding their ethereal chamber pop with art-rock to prog pieces. The result was a very harmonious and atmospheric style canon with addictive potential.
JPL - Je suis roi (9:27)
Album: MMXIV (2014)
Label/Distribution: Quadrifonic/Just For Kicks
www.jplouveton.com
Behind the abbreviation is Jean Pierre Louveton, who presents his fifth solo record with this album. The multi-instrumentalist is the mastermind of Nemo, but sounds more like Lazuli here. His lively mix of prog, rock and ethno sounds ignites immediately and stays on a high level throughout the whole album.
ECHO US - Visertque (We Always Knew) (special edit) (4:59)
Album: II:XII, A Priori Memoriare" (2014)
Label/Distribution: Dust On The Tracks/SPV
www.echous.net
Ethan Matthews as an electronic pop project started troupe Echo Us has become musically more and more overflowing and prog-oriented in the course of time. What has remained are the beautiful melodies and the concentration on beautiful singing. By the way, the sampler song is an alternative version of the corresponding album track.
SCHL@G - Ear (5:51)
Album: Loch (2014)
Label/Distribution: Amygdaland/Just For Kicks
With their second album, the duo SCHLömer/AGthe goes one step further than their stylistically open debut. The two musicians combine seemingly irreconcilable elements, be it Ambient with Industrial or Krautrock with Roots Music. Instrumental music for "Open Minded" music listeners who like to go on a voyage of discovery.
THE SIXXIS - Out Alive (5:37)
Album: Hollow Shrine (2014)
Label/Distribution: Glassville/Soulfood
www.thesixxis.com
You got the hang of it. At first The Sixxis seem to be alternatively knitted with rock, but their album "Hollow Shrine" is teeming with progrock and progmetal borrowings. So they make their racy songs through all sorts of breaks or tempo changes also for several listening sessions again and again exciting.
MONOMYTH - Collision (5:30)
Album: Further (2014)
Label/Distribution: Suburban/Soulfood
www.monomyththeband.com
They've done it again. After the brilliant debut the expectations on the second MONOMYTH album increased a lot. "Further" fills them with ease. Once again the Dutch succeed in creating a furious mixture of New Artrock, Spacerock and Psychedelic. All garnished with hard grooves.
ALAN J. BOUND - Moonshadow (live) (4:38)
Album: Live At Isle Of Wight (2014)
Label/Distribution: www.alanjbound.com / Just For Kicks
www.alanjbound.com
ALAN J. BOUND bowing to Hawkwind. He does this on his 2010 Hawkfest live album on the Isle Of Wight with flawless spacerock, which leaves nothing to be desired what this genre requires. The singer, guitarist and keyboarder convinces above all by his guitar playing. (Review: eclipsed 9/2014)
ELECTRIC ORANGE - Suite Beef (edit) (8:46)
Album: Volume 10 (2014)
Label/Distribution: www.electric-orange.com / Just For Kicks
www.electric-orange.com
You can rely on ELECTRIC ORANGE without restrictions. With their new album "Volume 10" the band from Aachen consolidates their place in the Hall Of Fame of the current Krautrock scene. Everything that distinguished the band in the past is there and new avant-garde experiments have been added. Album of the month!
APHODYL - Magnet (edit) (9:02)
Album: Magnet (2012)
Label/Distribution: Aphodyl www.aphodyl.de
Aphodyl have escaped many fans of psychedelic music so far - a criminal omission, one bases the outstanding live qualities of the Berlin band on. The album "Magnet", already produced in 2012, was also recorded live in the studio. The three longtracks offer spacy herbal/art rock with high addiction potential.
