Myele Manzanza – Crisis & Opportunity, Vol. 4
The New Zealand drummer closes his four-volume series with a classically instrumented, deeply impressionistic jazz record.
D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings – Sophomore
Three prog heavyweights team up again for a sugary, onomatopoeia-heavy record that only really clicks on its rockier tracks.
Aaron Parks
Photo report: Aaron Parks’s new quartet at the Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival, Conservatori del Liceu, 13 November 2023.
Odd Crew – Dark Matters Part II
The Bulgarian veterans, unchanged since 1998, deliver a consistent, dark, sixth record with an unusually intimate closer.
Steve Hackett to release new studio album «The Circus And The Nightwhale»
Steve Hackett’s 13-track concept album «The Circus And The Nightwhale» arrives 16 February 2024 via InsideOut Music, with Nad Sylvan, Jonas Reingold and Amanda Lehmann among the guests.
Halestorm + Black Veil Brides + Mothica
Halestorm, Black Veil Brides and Mothica live at Apolo, 30 November 2023.
John Lönnmyr – Aftonland
A Swedish keyboardist’s instrumental love letter to classic seventies prog, from Canterbury textures to Opeth-adjacent moments.
The Aristocrats
Photo report: Guthrie Govan, Brian Beller and Marco Minnemann’s The Aristocrats, The Defrost Tour 2023, at Salamandra, 20 November 2023.
Donny McCaslin
Photo report: Donny McCaslin Quartet, featuring Bowie’s own ‘Blackstar’ band, at the Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival, 6 November 2023.
Mike Mangini – Invisible Sings
The legendary drummer’s restrained solo debut is a solid rock-metal record that never overdoes the drumming fireworks.
The Mellotron (Part 2)
Part two of the Mellotron story: the Mk V, the Novatron split, the fall to digital sampling, and the instrument’s revival decades later.
Explosions in the Sky + B1N0
Live report: Explosions in the Sky present END at Razzmatazz, with support from B1N0.
Temic – Terror Management Theory
A prog-metal supergroup debut with an impressive résumé and an even better ear for gentle vocal melodies over punishing instrumentation.
Mariusz Duda – AFR AI D
The Riverside bassist’s electronic solo project leans hard into vintage synth sounds — charming at first, wearing thin by the end.
Hania Rani – Ghosts
A 66-minute record with real gems, especially in its second half, but stretched well past the point of diminishing returns.
Colin Edwin & Robert Jürjendal – The Weight Of A Shadow
A Fripp-schooled guitarist and the former Porcupine Tree bassist trade ambient textures long-distance — demanding, uneven, occasionally rewarding.
Michael Peter Olsen – Narrative of a Nervous System
The Arcade Fire cellist’s solo record is unpretentious chamber-post-rock, at its best when Chinese percussion takes over.
Viven – Aquí en el infinito
A Barcelona band’s third record is let down by heavy mastering compression — the songwriting and live energy deserved better.
Fusion Code, “We Always Find Common Ground — That’s How Fusion Happens”
Fusion Code on blending funk, jazz, rock, Latin and blues, and what to expect from their Tótum Revolútum Fest show.
The Mellotron (Part 1)
The first in a series on progressive rock’s iconic instruments: how the Mellotron was born as an illegal copy of the Chamberlin, and became the defining sound of ’70s Symphonic Rock.
The Funky Knuckles
Photo report: The Funky Knuckles’ double masterclass at Jamboree, part of the Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival, 10 November 2023.
Tigran Hamasyan
Live report: the Tigran Hamasyan trio at Sala Paral·lel 62, Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival.
Pattern-Seeking Animals – Spooky Action at a Distance
A record of two halves: an entertaining, melodic first act undone by a saccharine, dated-sounding second one.
Brass Against + Hip Horns Brass Collective
Brass Against and the Hip Horns Brass Collective live at Razzmatazz 2, 8 November 2023.
Gong – Unending Ascending
53 musicians later, Gong’s current line-up honours Daevid Allen’s legacy with a classicist, meditative record.
Stoned Statues – Guardian
A Finnish trio’s second album is a superb, no-holds-barred statement — one of the bands to watch on the European prog scene.
Lalu – The Fish Who Wanted To Be King
A French keyboardist’s Saga- and Toto-inflected prog record, engaging and richly produced from start to finish.
Indukti, “Idmen” (2009)
Indukti’s swansong “Idmen” (2009): a hypnotic, genre-defying record from the Warsaw band, blending extreme progressive rock, violin and dark atmospheres.