Landberk - Indian Summer (1996)

Throughout history, there have been infinitely numerous progressive rock bands who stop dead in their tracks developmentally once they're an appropriately acceptable King Crimson, Yes or Genesis pastiche. But then, like stars in the arctic sky, you have bands like Landberk...who in the course of three albums go from King Crimson's early 70's period to a snazzy crossover act that draws just as much inspiration from groups such as early Radiohead and the shoegaze scene as they do from obscure 70's pretensioners.

Indian Summer, a 1996 release which would prove to be the final album from this illustrious band, is also in some ways a realization of their potential as a unit, a contemporary in some ways to King Crimson's eclectic THRAK, which came out a year or so before this record. Vocals and guitar work are distorted into near oblivion at times, pitted against a cloud like ambience that would feel more at home on Slowdive's Pygmalion. Still, its not all drums and spacey guitar noodles: '1st Of May' is a solid alt. rocker blighting along with that classic 90's melancholy and 'Dustgod' comes across as the ideal marriage between The Smashing Pumpkins and post-87 Pet Shop Boys.

While I have been doing a lot of name dropping here, I just find it rather refreshing that a Scandinavian progressive rock band managed to successfully incorporate some of the cooler musical movements that were blooming twenty-some years ago and cut some fine songs in the process.

Prog., art rock, shoegaze, alternative rock...whatever your crack is, this baby's got it.

Listen Here - "I Wish I Had A Boat"


Try It
Buy It

This Heat - S/T (1979)

Blistering and demented even in it's quietest moments, This Heat's debut is a fundamentally different specie of record than it's infamously more accessible followup Deceit; they fume and smolder with strange, primitive ideas.

Put another way, the songs present here are worlds within themselves: 'Not Waving' is the ideal drone-jazz funeral dirge, or perhaps its merely the band's nod to Brian Eno and his work with No New York the previous year...but when you have such menacing, virulent industrialism at play on the groundbreaking 'The Fall Of Saigon' and an uncharacteristically amazing throwback to Can's classic percussive heyday on 'Twilight Furniture', the fact that this fantastic group debuted before 1980 seems almost like a fantasy. Amalgamating many of the best qualities of free jazz, fledgling post-punk, no wave and progressive rock into a compelling horror story before others had caught on is no small feat after all...

Get this classic today.

Listen Here - "The Fall Of Saigon"



Try It
Buy It

Alexander O'Neal - Hearsay (1987)

Another 80's R&B classic to liven up thine mix when the night feels a little too long for comfort. To those who might doubt how good this is....well, the album title says it for me. Personal highlights: the dreamy quiet storm epic 'Sunshine', Grand Theft Auto-radio favorite 'Criticize' and the gorgeously paced title track.

Listen Here - "Hearsay"


Try It
Buy It

Iona - Open Sky (2000)

In an intriguing deviation from most Celtic rock music (which tends to be either lean towards the overtly sappy like Clannad or mehish punk a~la Dropkick Murphys), we have groups like Iona, who take their heritage and chalk it up with influences as diverse as jazz, ambient and progressive rock to create some damn powerful tuneage that stands out from the crowd.

Truth be told, this is just as much a spiritual experience as it is a musical one. Joanne Hogg, perhaps better known in some circles as a major contributor to some of the songs from popular RPG Xenogears, is the driving force behind Iona and sounds utterly without peer with her pipes throughout the songs on Open Sky. The other trick to the band's sound however, along with a fantastic guitarist and drummer, is the role of violin throughout these pieces. While the keyboards float along like morning mist, the violins sound stark and lonely, and without their presence this album wouldn't be nearly as engaging as it is.

Looking for something ambient and soothing to the ears yet works equally well as a top-class progressive rock album?

X marks the spot mothafuckas'.

Listen Here - "Light Reflected"


Try It
Buy It

Jun Chikuma - Bomberman Hero OST (1998)

One of the most underrated franchises in all of video game fandom meets some seriously dope Drum & Bass here on an old school N64 classic soundtrack, consisting of nineteen tracks that don't outstay their welcome thanks to a distinct sense of pacing: few-to-none clock over 3 minutes, and flow like the River Jordan from the jungle japin' 'Foehn' to the strangely out of place guitar/flute led 'Loom' without a fuckin' hitch.

Even if you've never played this game, every second of material here is terrifically timeless nevertheless. Hell, if it weren't some obscure Nintendo soundtrack most of you would have scooped it up ages ago!

Listen Here - "Redial"


Try It
N/A

Grum - Heartbeats (2010)

Graeme Shepherd, AKA Grum, is an odd bloke hailing from the U.K., who up until his 2010 debut Heartbeats was mostly known in production/DJ circles for his various lauded remixes of popular House staples. In taking off with thirteen tracks of original material though, it seems he's set his sights on new horizons with the hopes of making his own stake in clubs across the world.

That said, this record certainly works wonders for the dancefloor - it's a curious blend between Daft Punk inspired electro pumping and 80's soft pop along the lines of Genesis and Madonna, with certain tendencies from both sides of the equation taking their own particular emphases depending on the track at play. Hell, 'Cybernetic' and 'The Really Long One' wouldn't be out of place on Discovery at the very least. But then you hear something like 'Through The Night', with that whole Yamaha keyboard layering the atmosphere and watery vocals going in and out, and you're like "Why is Hall & Oates Private Eyes playing? 1981 was a long freakin' time ago!" But as my ex-roommate used to say - "The party's only over when the music stops."

Fans of the 80's, fun, early House and less chaotic electro-pop will find much to love here. Everybody else will probably be too busy listening to Sonic Youth B-sides or something. Their loss!

Listen Here - "Through The Night"



Try It
Buy It

Ramases - Glass Top Coffin (1975)

Underrated and lauded in many underground circles back in the good ol' 70's, Ramases are basically the symphonic folk equivalent to psychedelic space gods Hawkwind and their ilk, sending their operatic tenors of voice and eclectic instrumentation alike to the infinite nether and beyond and letting their starborne intentions carry on to new worlds.

Glass Top Coffin, remastered and reissued after thirty five years in obscurity, was this communal collective jamboree's final release in 1975 before they split up to go do...whatever hippies do when they aren't playing music or indulging in mild altering contraband. Considering how beautiful and compellingly listenable this sophomoric finale was though, I guess the breakup couldn't have happened at a better time - amidst the acoustics and vibratto-harmonizing, there's a classically induced sheen borne from euphoric strings and woodwinds mingling amidst the sunshine pop and would-be Fairport Convention-ing which befits the "space opera" image as though it were a match made in heaven.

Fans of spacey subject matter, troubadours brimming with bard like delivery, baroque folk-rock and beautiful music on the whole will be blasting off with glee when this record gets a'spinnin'.

Listen Here - "Mind Island"



Try It
Buy It