Could this be Olivia's Shop? Let me introduce you to Olivia Ruth. She has a shop that sells everything you'll ever need. Or so Brendan Perkins tells us. https://open.spotify.com/track/2z5dCwXmkbhenm5YAA1sZB?si=7299d11393094792 A track from Brendan Perkins new album, Stories from the Old Church Lane. Now, the name Brendan Perkins is new to me. But, apparently, his latest…Read more Olivia Ruth
rock
Kontraster
It's not often that you find multiple genres on a single album (outside of loose compilations, of course). And it's even rarer for two bands with contrasting styles to each provide one half of an album. But that's what the Norwegian bands, Jordsjø and Breidablik, give us with Kontraster. And to challenge prospective listeners even…Read more Kontraster
Phantom Limb
If a ghost loses an arm or a leg, would he still feel the pain of a phantom limb? That's a tongue-in-cheek rhetorical question - I don't believe in ghosts - but perhaps the Swedish band, Hooffoot, would like to tell us why they chose to call their latest album, Phantom Limb. That probably does…Read more Phantom Limb
Emergent
Who's emerging from the Gordian Knot? Emergent is the second album by Gordian Knot, a band with a fluid line-up assembled by Sean Malone in 1998. Malone was an exceptionally accomplished multi-instrumentalist, proficient on bass guitar (fretted and fretless), Chapman Stick, guitar and keyboards. He was the American equivalent of the UK's Steven Wilson. As…Read more Emergent
I Advance Masked
Long before Covid appeared on the scene in late 2019, Andy Summers (The Police) and Robert Fripp (King Crimson) stashed away a stock of masks - sonic masks that hid what they were up to in their more famous bands. You might say, they were ahead of their time. They certainly pushed the boundaries of…Read more I Advance Masked
Curious Ruminant
Pondering the big questions in life? Jethro Tull released their 24th studio album on Friday. It's a collection of ruminations on life and the human condition, told with Iain Anderson's characteristic wry humour. What more appropriate title, then, than Curious Ruminant? https://open.spotify.com/album/1m5tTXkBOzJEiwDz1TyPIG?si=BOxHlIXaSSajWSMKMrgoDw The band was formed in 1967. They released one album a year from…Read more Curious Ruminant
The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
Going back to the corner where I first saw you.Gonna camp in my sleeping bag, I'm not gonna move. Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan It's a bit late for Valentine's Day, but this is one of the most romantic songs ever written. The Man Who Can't Be Moved is a single released by the Irish pop-rock…Read more The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
Quiver
There are 11 sound-arrows in the Quiver album by KTU. Each is as sharp and penetrating as anything that King Crimson has to offer. But, where KC gets its bite from an 8-piece band with three drummers, KTU distils this down to a compact trio. The King Crimson connection goes beyond similarities of musical style.…Read more Quiver
Vertú
Vertuous living in Chaucer's England The meaning of 'vertú' is not clear to me. According to the first entry that comes up in a Google search, it's either "knowledge of or expertise in the fine arts" or "the good qualities inherent in a person or thing". Or it might just be an old spelling of…Read more Vertú
Distorted Reality
Did we pick the wrong sort of mushrooms for our meal last night? If you like Muse, you will also like No Signal. The two bands are all but indistinguishable. Both offer classically-inspired keyboards, heavy rock guitar, choirboy voices and singable melodies. Distorted Reality is No Signal's latest album, released in digital formats in April…Read more Distorted Reality
Crotchety Man 