The Art Of Sysyphus Vol. 113

22. March 2021

CD-Sampler

1.RPWL - Spring Of Freedom (Live) (5:40)
Album: God Has Failed - Live & Personal (2021)
Label/Distribution: Gentle Art Of Music/Soulfood
www.rpwl.net

Due to the Corona pandemic RPWL couldn't perform their debut album live. So off to the home studio, so that not everything was in vain. At the end of April you can get these recordings under live conditions in your living room and hear e.g. with "Spring Of Freedom" that RPWL haven't lost anything in atmosphere but have gained in professionalism.

2.IVY GOLD - Born Again (edit) (4:59)
Album: Six Dusty Winds (2021)
Label/Distribution: Golden Ivy/A1/Broken Silence
www.ivygold.net

The tube of Manou reminds partly of Inga Rumpf, partly of Doro Pesch. You can hear that the musicians of IVY GOLD (Credits: Joe Bonamassa, Avalon, Glenn Hughes) are absolute professionals. Professional and contemporary blues and classic rock with soulful parts. "Born Again" even has anthem and stadium qualities

3.STEARICA - The Great Spell (3:59)
Album: Golem 202020 (2021)
Label/Distribution: Monotreme/Cargo
www.stearica.net

The new STEARICA album "Golem 202020" is a successful mixture of Wall Of Sound and Prog in the guise of a modern horror movie soundtrack. With this, the Italians transfer the heritage of their compatriots from Goblin into the 21st century without disregarding tradition, as this excerpt from the work proves.

4.WHEEL - Movement (4:24)
Album: Resident Human (2021)
Label/Distribution: OMN/Rough Trade/GoodToGo
www.wheelband.net

Forget the last tool. Here are WHEEL! "Movement" is a crisp four-minute song that puts the qualities of the second album under the burning glass, fascinates with intricate groove-grenade riffs and a great dynamic. Singer James Lascelles pours his socially critical lyrics into hypnotic melodies.

5.MARC REECE - I'm Ready (4:16)
Album: Dreamer (2021)
Label/Distribution: LuckyBob/Soulfood
www.marcreece.com

MARC REECE presents excellent blues rock on his new album "Dreamer". The dirty but precisely played guitar and his rough voice form the heart of this work. "I'm Ready" is dominated by Reece's inimitable timbre in the beginning, before a guitar solo follows that is second to none.

6.BEND THE FUTURE - Lost In Time (7:15)
Album: Without Notice (2021)
Label/Distribution: Tonzonen/Soulfood
bendthefuture.bandcamp.com

The Grenoble quintet BEND THE FUTURE has specialized in a mixture of prog and fusion jazz. The rather rarely used vocals and the saxophone remind of The Tangent. Here, intellectual ambition and hot atmosphere are no contradiction. "Lost In Time" grooves as much as it spoils prog ears.

7.TWANGMEN - Autowahn (6:12)
Album: Triskele And Cascades (2021)
Label/Distribution: EMG/Twangmen
www.twangmen.com

From the Austrian Vorarlberg come fine sounds from the quintet TWANGMEN, ranging from Caravan to Kansas and from Kraut to Psych-Prog. Vintage keyboard sounds dominate, a cello provides splashes of colour. And "Autowahn" proves that the intricate can also be conveyed in a fun way.

8.SATURNIA - Smoking In The Sun (7:13)
Album: Stranded In The Green (2021)
Label/Distribution: Sulatron/Broken Silence
www.saturniamusic.com

Soft hypnotic drums, sitar, mellotron, flute synths, electric guitars, a few spacey sounds, echoing vocals: The Portuguese one-man-project SATURNIA is doing again exactly what they have done before and what they are particularly good at: dreamy psychedelic, as if packed in cotton wool, with indulgent melodies.

9.CHICKEN BONES - Feeling (4:40)
Album: Hardrock In Concert (1976/2016)
Label/Distribution: Long Hair
www.longhairmusic.de

The only album by German band CHICKEN BONES was overlooked for years despite its undeniable quality. On the one hand, the opener "Feeling" exemplifies the band's stylistic breadth beyond hard rock, and on the other hand, it hints at the group's improvisational talent in the album's long tracks.

10.OUGENWEIDE - Ouwe (Live) (2:37)
Album: Wol mich der Stunde (2004)
Label/Distribution: Sireena/Broken Silence
www.sireena.de

OUGENWEIDE were pioneers of medieval rock with their progressive, herbaceous folk rock. The 2004 follow-up live album "Wol mich der Stunde" shows them in all their grace with archive recordings. "Ouwe" comes with flute and folksong vocals, set to music by the famous medieval lyricist Walther von der Vogelweide