New album: An outstanding debut LP – subtle, original and experimental – by the Leeds quartet of Lily Fontaine, Douglas Frost, Nicholas Eden and Lewis Whiting, packed with intelligent, tender, rich, thoughtful, observational metaphor, and broad, inventive instrumentation
Read moreBlue Whale: Last Immediate Images
New album: A brilliantly angular, experimental, partly instrumental prog-post-punk and jazz sophomore release by the Belfast quartet of riveting cross-rhythms, innovative guitar and bass work creating an oddball but ornate aural tapestry
Read moreYOVA: Dreamcatchers
New album: An alluring, breathy, sensual, supernaturalistic LP by the duo of Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon, with a theme delving into the unconscious, for lost and unrealised dreams and ideals, and how they are nurtured, then realised, abandoned or destroyed
Read moreErotic Secrets of Pompeii: Mondo Maleficum
New album: Gloriously theatrical, witty, panache-filled, this is a lavishly swaggering, swirling cauldron of excess, rock-pop, post-punk, prog, baroque indie, and classical, a debut whirlwind LP of history-spanning reference and energy, from Greek myth to Shakespeare and the apocalypse
Read moreFavourite albums of 2023 Part 2: Anohni to Blur to Mitski, Ren to Sufjan Stevens
Welcome once again to the annual tradition of Song Bar’s favourite album releases of 2023. This is Part 2, and Part 1 was yesterday. There’s no such thing as a chart rundown or ‘best of’ here, and these come in no particular order …
Read moreFavourite albums of 2023 Part 1: Anna B Savage to Young Fathers
Welcome once again to the annual tradition of Song Bar’s favourite album releases of 2023. This is Part 1, and Part 2 is also out here. There’s no such thing as a chart rundown or ‘best of’ here, and these come in no particular order. This is all about quality and innovation …
Read moreRaze Regal & White Denim: Raze Regal & White Denim Inc
New album: The virtuoso experimental Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli join old friend and singer/ guitarist formerly of Oakland’s Once and Future Band in a pacy tapestry of cleverly interwoven psych, prog, funk, jazz and rock, with added echoes of Steely Dan
Read moreThe Polyphonic Spree: Salvage Enterprise
New album: The Dallas, Texas choral-folk-rock ensemble fronted by Tim DeLaughter return with a first set of originals since 2014’s Psychphonic , here with a bright, uplifting, evocative return that characteristically echoes the gentle psychedelia of Pink Floyd and The Flaming Lips
Read moreMarnie Stern: The Comeback Kid
New album: A joyously noisy return of proclamatory, zingy, explosively proggy indie-rock with the first album in 10 years since by the New York guitarist and singer, since 2013’s The Chronicles of Marnia
Read moreCody Pepper: Chemical Oasis
New album: An alluring, eclectic, eccentric jazz-pop electronica LP by the London-based singer-songwriter and Zebrah flautist Pauline Janier who brings a diverse set of sounds and musicians into this enthrallingly odd release
Read moreGoat: Medicine
New album: Another wonderfully indulgent dosage of meaty psychedelic folk rock from the mysterious, masked Swedish collective from Norrbotten County, with nods to Black Sabbath and other forbears, and certain fungal mitochondria
Read moreSigur Rós: ÁTTA
New album: With climate change ever on on the horizon, a beautiful, moving, melancholy, ethereal and dynamic LP by the elemental Icelandic experimental band, their first for a decade, with Kjartan Sveinsson rejoining since he left 2012, to complete the trio with frontman Jónsi and bassist Georg Holm
Read moreSquid: O Monolith
New album: The second album by the Brighton-formed experimental post-punks after 2021’s Bright Green Field sees them push into abstract prog, folk, jazz and other musical territory of light and shade, loud to intimate and intricate, all with sharp sense of life’s tragedy, comedy and absurdity
Read moreWITCH: Zango
New album: After a whopping 38 years’ absence, Zambia’s pioneers of zamrock (their name an acronym We Intend To Cause Havoc) return with their heady and wonderful mix of psychedelic rock, reggae, Afrobeat and funk
Read moreDeerhoof: Miracle-Level
New album: A 19th studio album by San Francisco the prog-punk-jazz experimentalists drummer Greg Saunier, guitarists Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich, and bassist/singer Satomi Matsuzaki is another blast of brilliant musicianship, but also the first entirely sung in Matsuzaki’s native Japanese
Read moreHMLTD: The Worm
New album: Apocalypse: The Musical? This highly entertaining second LP by the British art-rockers could be thus described, but the concept is “an anachronistic version of medieval England” and features a 16-piece string orchestra and gospel choir
Read moreDesire Marea: On The Romance of Being
New album: An extraordinary, beautiful, passionate, spiritual and erotic new solo LP by the South African multidisciplinary artist, sangoma (Nguni spiritual healer), and previously part of queer gqom group FAKA, now with a 13-piece orchestral ensemble mixing soul, jazz, rock and Zulu chants
Read moreVarious (ΠϢΑϪЄ) - The Psychedelic World Of Witchcraft
New album: This magical Halloween compilation release from the radio station and collective ΠϢΑϪЄ is a mesmeric blend of Eastern psych, ancient trance and more, themed around “Magick and the Occult” is packed with dancey grooves and dark allure
Read moreMelby: Looks Like A Map
New album: Serene, textured, mellow and beautifully moody LP by the four-piece from Stockholm, whose eclectic indie, at the surface, runs deep with elements of prog, jazz, electronica and dreamy pop, lightly dusted with shivery soul, folk, sadness and sugar
Read moreGoat: Oh Death
New album: The masked and mysterious Swedish collective return with their fourth studio LP, (not counting 2021’s Headsoup compilation) with a gloriously unholy fusion of psychedelic, prog and heavy rock, African and Indian influences centred around life’s ultimate end-meaning
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