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| ...Entelechy is the kind of release that should make people sit up and take notice. I’d not heard of Montresor before this release and gave it a punt. I’m glad I did and maybe you will too. With the full album available on Bandcamp there’s no reason not to try it out. |
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| ...There are times when only the music of Ozric Tentacles will do. The cleansing properties and positive waves are like a tonic and so there’ll always be a warm and fluffy place for them within my listening habits. And they’re a blast live, go and see them. |
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| ...The feel is often quite bare and stripped back, padded out by a fuzziness to the guitars, layering and deftly deployed keys within which MV conjures up his killer hooks. He is also adept at keeping what surrounds them interesting and compelling. The band create a tight and controlled sound, less epic than Oceansize but capable of offering expansiveness within lean songs. There are no fiddly extended instrumental workouts, these are songs plain and simple, an album of short sharp shocks that benefits from the brevity to give expansiveness without undue length. Fans of Mike Vennart are sure to love this and hopefully there’ll be a few more of those around after hearing this one. |
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| ...Like a series of country walks through time and space Revere Reach is a joy to the senses, an album of plaintive melodies and organic sounds that will continue to delight and surprise. Drake is not only one hell of a pianist who knows what makes a great song but he also has the balls to stick to his own way of doing things. The results are quite spectacular. An alternative world of pastoral delights. |
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| ...Sky were a fine bunch of musicians, successfully assembled from disparate areas, who produced many fantastic moments over a recording career that crammed in a great deal despite probably going on slightly longer than it needed to. That said, all of the albums have something to commend them. The skill and attention to detail in the remastering and repackaging, the additions from Sid Smith (based around interviews with Herbie Flowers and Tristan Fry) and additional extra tracks and DVDs certainly make these Esoteric releases the definitive editions and a fine reminder of what a great band Sky were. These albums are not simply an exercise in nostalgia and well worth your attention. |
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| ...Tres Caballeros is extraordinary. In fact, almost every single note is extraordinary. Individually these guys are astonishing, together this is the stuff of dreams and with all three being so far beyond the competition that they’re practically out of sight there are no stand out performances – they all stand out! God bless them every one and if you have the opportunity to see them this year and are even thinking of not going then you’d better be dead. Or in jail. |
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| ...If none of the influences existed this would no doubt be seen as a work of genius. However they do and some listeners are sure to baulk at all the references and similarities to familiar music and bands. Glass Hammer wear their influences all too visibly on their sleeves, and that’s fine whilst being slightly annoying as there is talent and ingenuity here in abundance and I’d love to hear it all come together to produce something truly groundbreaking and unexpected. Some days nostalgia fuelled sounds suit me down to the ground – the quality of the music here is certainly a huge plus – but at other times I just need something new and less derivative. This is a listen of two halves that, for me, depends on my mood. There is in no way anything terrible here, no skippers and nothing that should never have seen the light of day but the volume of references make The Breaking of the World rather unbalanced. |
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| ...Mike Judge is to be applauded for going down his own route and producing such an idiosyncratic release that, like the first album, just ticks all of the boxes for me. Excellent stuff and a massive ‘well done’ from me Mike! Not for everyone but give it a listen, you may well like it and hopefully it will also drag you in, like the proverbial bridge-dwelling troll. |
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| ...With the words of Jan Erik Liljeström and music of Niklas Barker, all of the band play a collective blinder and should be hugely congratulated. They deserve to have legions of “We’re not worthy!” audients lying prostrate at their feet. The world being what it is though they’ll probably have to make do with a few pats on the back plus some very warm handshakes and garbled words of thanks from we happy few...Human music for humans, creatures of emotion, rage, fear and exhilaration. This may all come across as the wide-eyed rantings of a serious fanboy but it isn’t meant to be. Until All The Ghosts Are Gone has really touched my soul, much more than I ever thought it would. Isn’t it great when a band you really love completely delivers? |
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| ...This is a wonderfully organic recording that has once again reinvented The Tangent. The playing throughout is, as you’d expect, top notch and this is certainly an album to immerse yourself in. As a band – and I’ve said this before! – I hope they stay together and see where they can take things next. The Tangent has always been a hell of a journey – sometimes frustrating but always fascinating – and they’re back on top form with this one, doing what they do best whilst spicing things up with the unexpected. |
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| ...The Imperial Hotel is a quite beautifully crafted work that deserves to be heard more widely. Some of the passages are simply breathtaking and the title track is a wonderfully conceived extended work in the grand traditions of High Prog to which The Samurai have added their own stamp. |
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| ...Overall New Way of Life succeeds in its attempt to deliver a “vibrant, energised and occasionally otherworldly sound”, an eclectic mix of old and new. Something of a curio (maybe they should have renamed the project as ‘Mabel Greer’s Old Curiosity Shop’?!) it is certainly a worthwhile if not essential release that finally gives something concrete to support the MGT legacy. |
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| ...Albums of this beauty and depth are rare. No doubt it will be surprising and revealing itself to ardent fans for years to come and hopefully Richard Wileman has now been convinced that his recent brief retirement was an unnecessary blip! |
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| ...Kalle Vilpuu is comfortable enough in his skin to do his own thing and defy preconceptions or expectations. Energy and vitality pervades all of the pieces on Silver Lining and I really can’t recommend it enough, an album at times beautiful and fragile, at others hard and edgy but always interesting and entertaining. Well worth your time. |
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| ...Daybreak is an entertaining listen from a young man who will hopefully get the opportunity to fully blossom and show us what he can do, perhaps leading a band capable of doing justice to his ideas and playing to his strengths next time. |
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| ...All in all a great release that keeps fun at the forefront and makes me smile a lot. Excellent work and here’s to more of the same in 2015 and beyond. |
