Molecules

come, come, come to the Sabbat, SATAN'S THERE

*ahem*

Thanks for getting me into the Vampires of Dartmoore, what a great one-off, a nice treat. I've read some dissenting opinion, people moaning about it but they are idiots who have no appreciation of... whatever it is. It's a great album to listen to in bed, the closest thing I can equate it to is the soundtrack to a demented 70's porn movie. 10 out of 10's a fair score I think. I'm looking for the Pazop album now, looking forward to this.

I am skeptical about all the contemporary albums you are reviewing though, if it's new in a proggy vein I am generally in danger of hating it; I like the crappy masters of old out-of-print 70's stuff, where the loudness isn't through the roof and the guitars aren't too distorted.

__________________

[SIZE="1"]Eff em
tumble her

Anteater

Oh, I'm verrrrrry critical of most contemporary prog. rock and metal, mostly because I feel that much of what I love has been diluted for the sake of being relevant to today's generation of listeners who are used to gel-slick production and emphasis on guitar-shredding (Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery, Pendragon, Knight Area, etc) instead of song-structure and composition. Furthermore, the priortization of these latter traits are what gave groups like Anglagard and The Flower Kings a songwriting edge over their more metallic peers back in the 90's, yet on the flip-side plain to see which traditions have spawned more bands and draw larger crowds, as events like Progressive Nation '08 shamelessly illustrate.

Hence, when I do review a prog. album from after 2000, its usually because find it reminiscent (but not derivitive completely) of the things I enjoy in the genre or because it stands out in some way.

But I gotta say though, and maybe its just me, but I really miss the eclectic lyric sensibilities that King Crimson and Yes had back in the 70's that seem absent in a lot of alternative and prog. today. And I'm not talking about The Mars Volta's nonsense or Radiohead's melancholic musings (which are both fine), but that poetic grasp of language which could mean anything or nothing and not hinder one's enjoyment of a song at all. Just like how people used to go pick up vinyls back in stores where the covers and packaging enhanced one's appreciation of the music, that sort of word sense seems to be going extinct.

__________________
Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Molecules

Sorry, I was fick and didn't read the moon safari post, just the date attributed to it, indeed it sounds like the perfect antidote to the poison that ails neo-prog. I am going to get the album tomorrow. My album acquisitions of late have slowed to mainly incorporate the updates made to this and Cellartapes' blog, so I have the time to listen, and I know I be getting quality music. Where's Comus lately? There are a lot of albums cropping up and he's missing them!
The Pazop album is pretty immense, Belgian mentalist prog with fiddles and everything. Each song is a concentrated blast of progressiveness and they're all surprisingly short... like Gentle Giant with ADD. Couple of songs fall short of the mark but on a 16 track album it's makes no odds.
Also Anteater see what you think of the last album I reviewed in the 60's psych thread (it's a 1971 release), hopefully you'd like that, link's included.

__________________

[SIZE="1"]Eff em
tumble her

Anteater

Haven't seen Comus in nearly a week and a half now, but I assume he'll return in a triumphant fashion at some point soon.

Definitely getting Luv Machine btw, and I enjoyed the review.

Today's review, coincidentally, is a very obscure psychedelic album of the highest calibur:


Garden of the Elks, which is the English translation of the name Algarnas Tradgard, is not your grandad's psychedelic rock band. In fact, as their moniker might give you an indication of, this one-shot album band is, to me, a living example of just how grand it is when you DO manage to find something a bit offbeat that doesn't sound singular and unique for the sake of it. Or, to put this in a different way, how many groups at that point in time would have thought to fuse Psychedelic Rock, Space Rock, Krautrock and Nordic folk music into a single, cohesive sound that doesn't rely on bass to send your mind to the skies?

Not many I'd say, which is why Framtiden ar ett Svavande Skepp, Forankrat I Forntiden (English translation: The Future Is A Hovering Ship, Achored In The Past) is simply so interesting when you actually sit down and listen through it the first time. You are struck that it doesn't strive to be different, it simply IS by the combination of the styles involved, and that's a rare quality indeed considering how easy it is, for the most part, to figure out which X band influenced Y band's sound in today's music world.

Not that I can't give you guys a few comparison bands to Algarnas Tradgard, because there are a few. The dread-folk atmosphere that pervades this album feel like a cousin to parts of Comus's First Utterance in some ways, while the lighter passages are sibling to Jan Dukes de Grey or Pentagle without sounding like either of those bands.

However, perhaps the best thing about this record is that certain aspects of their sound are emphasized on different tracks to various degrees, hence appealing to a variety of audiences without losing the core sound or style. Rings of Saturn, for instance, is driven entirelly by some serious psychedelic guitar grooving, while There Is A Time For Everything, There Is A Time When Even Time Will Meet has lots of sitar, Nordic flutes and enough spaceyness to make even Hawkwind fans cream their jeans. The female vocals, while sung in Swedish, are rather nice and don't distract from the mind-expansive sound at all.

So in conclusion...Honestly, this is an outstanding effort. Their sound is unique and stands alone for the most part, which is always a plus for obscure albums. For you fans of the psychedelic, the depths of space, or even folk music...this could very well be your Holy Grail of the month. No joke.


Also, here's an excerpt from Track #2 of the album for your listening pleasures. Enjoy!

__________________
Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Stephen

Am really loving their follow up released years later when it was rescued from the archives in 2001 titled appropriately Delayed.



Really just amazing stuff.

Terrible Lizard

Don't worry about it, I'll send him some african psych-rock for good measure. And some very obscure krautrock and no-wave.

__________________
“YOU ARE SCUM SLUT.”
-John Martyn