After a meagre dose of good prog in July, August upped the ante with a slew of great releases of the underground, overground and wombling free varieties. In this month’s playlist, we’ve got catchy symphonic prog rock, thunderous folk metal, raucous jazz fusion, trippy instruprog from an Elder statesman, and, of course, our usual stock in trade, Galician drone folk! Plus our favourite picks beyond the scope of the blog, from synth pop to sauna wankery. Dust off those earbuds and turn the stereo up to max because our August playlist has the goods.
Sangre de Muérdago + Judasz & Nahimana – A Ilusão Da Quietude
Recommended for fans of: Trobar de Morte, The Moon and the Nightspirit, Current 93, dark folk Agalloch
Picked by: Dave
Sangre de Muérdago and Judasz & Nahimana’s A Ilusão Da Quietude is a testament to the potential of collaboration in music. Both groups hail from differing sides of the instrumentation spectrum, with Sangre de Muérdago focusing on earthy Galician folk while Judasz & Nahimana specialize in hypnotic and rhythmic industrial electronics, and when brought together on Ilusão, their work is a stunning integration of natural and synthetic, flowing between the two styles with seemingly zero effort. Songs like “Cantiga da Rainha das Aguas” and “Cantiga de Folhas e Agulhas” build and collapse on the two styles of instrumentation, leaving plenty of room for electronics to fill in the empty space left by folk before returning to its original form by song’s end. Moreover, every vocal performance on Ilusão is pristine: Priscila da Costa’s ethereal and soulful voice is absolutely perfect for Sangre’s primal instrumentation and when everyone joins in for group vocals, the result is hauntingly gorgeous. A Ilusão Da Quietude is a standout folk record that effortlessly made its way into my top albums of the year.
You may also like: The Visit, Musk Ox, Thragedium
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Sur Austru – Datura Străhiarelor
Recommended for fans of: Negura Bunget, Enslaved, Heilung, Moonsorrow, Thy Catafalque
Picked by: Andy
Romanian black metal is a beautiful thing, its inclusion of traditional folk a core of each bands’ identity. From Negura Bunget rose Dordeduh and Sur Austru, and the latter’s third album is simply sublime folk black metal. Hypnotic drumming, a full collection of traditional instruments, cemented by collaborations with a local artist for the album cover and local poet for the lyrics, Datura Străhiarelor is a stunning work conjuring absolutely unique soundscapes that feel both utterly organic, and like only one band could ever possibly have thought them up.
You may also like: Dordeduh, The Ruins of Beverast, Thragedium, Finsterforst, Aquilus
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Meer – Wheels Within Wheels
Recommended for fans of: Bent Knee, The Dear Hunter, pop Leprous, Kalandra
Picked by: Chris (seconded by Dave)
They didn’t know they were competing but they’ve won a place on this month’s list anyway: Meer’s third album sees them pushing further into progressive compositional territory, their gorgeous symphonic arrangements gliding over a stalwart rhythm section with sibling vocalists, Johanne and Knut, belting over the top. We get folkier flavours on “Chains of Changes”, contemplative nostalgia from “Take Me to the River”, a pop banger called “Behave”, and an epic finale in the form of “This is the End”. Let’s hope it isn’t the end, because Meer have reached the pinnacle of their sound here. Wheels Within Wheels should be a mainstay in any self-respecting prog rock fan’s library.
You may also like: Iamthemorning, Marjana Semkina, Haven of Echoes
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
The War Yaks – Bifurcate
Recommended for fans of: Thank You Scientist, Bent Knee, The Mars Volta, King Crimson
Picked by: Ian
Have you ever heard an album so precisely tuned to your specific tastes that you feel it might as well have been made with you in mind? Well, I have, and it comes in the form of Bifurcate. This is an incredibly enjoyable tour de force of wildly shifting, deeply layered, yet always melodic styles of prog, ranging from calming odd-meter balladry (“Codriver”) to twisted, jazzy saxophone freakouts (“Train”) and everything in between. True, the DIY production is a bit ragged at points, but there’s heart and passion behind every note, and it makes every sweet moment full of warmth, every emotional climax full of goosebump-inducing power. Bifurcate isn’t a perfect album. But it’s a strong case that the Yaks are an artist with the potential to make a 10/10 work down the line, and that’s not something I run into every day.
You may also like: We broke the weather, Eunuchs, Cabinets of Curiosity
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
delving – All Paths Diverge
Recommended for fans of: Elder, Weedpecker, Elephant Tree
Picked by: Doug
Nick DiSalvo is back to fill the gap between Elder albums with another solo outing. All Paths Diverge moves delving in similar directions to the development of Elder themselves, with greater metal influence, shimmering keyboards, and richer textures built from the unique combination of stoner, psychedelic, and krautrock. While delving’s sophomore still lacks the consistency demonstrated by the members of its parent project—entirely understandable for a largely solo endeavor—its impactful moments still deliver emotion and tickle the listener’s ear with complexity that felt noticeably absent from Hirschbrunnen. With such polish and DiSalvo’s proven creativity, delving represents a rising force to be reckoned with in the prog world.
You may also like: Gold & Silver, Papir, Son Cesano, Himmellegeme
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Non-Subway Picks
Bent Knee – Twenty Pills Without Water [Art rock/pop] Two members down but undiminished in their uncompromisingly unique sound, Bent Knee lean into art-pop and Radiohead influences on their seventh(!) album Twenty Pills Without Water, which showcases catchy bops and more ambient-inspired pieces, all suffused with vulnerability and melancholy; eclectic in vibe but unified in theme, it’s a delightful assortment that ranks high in their now storied discography. [pick by: Chris, seconded by: Ian]
Marianas Trench – Haven [Pop rock/symphonic rock] Yeah, its sonic grounding in 2010s electropop, new wave, and Queen-esque pomp rock, combined with its thematic basis in Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, may make it come off as a bit too tropey, but when the execution strikes this fine of a balance between sleek, danceable hooks and ambitious symphonic-rock odysseys, and when the vocal performances are this gloriously extra, who even cares? Sure to please anyone’s inner theater kid. [pick by: Ian]
Nile – The Underworld Awaits Us All [Technical death metal] While I do have my moments, I can be extremely picky with tech death, and Nile’s latest is the first time the band’s music really clicked: The Underworld Awaits Us All is filled with brutal technicality, a touch of Egyptian imagery, and enough interesting song structures to keep a fickle tech death enjoyer like me engaged throughout. [pick by: Dave]
Jpegmafia – I Lay Down My Life for You [experimental hip hop] With crazy bars full of references and Peggy’s unique brand of industrial, metal-y rap production, this is his most cohesive work yet. [pick by: Andy]
Wintersun – Time II [melodic death metal] 12 year old Andy’s dream came true [Editor’s note: Andy is sickeningly young, some of us were twenty when that album released]. [pick by: Andy]
Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk [synth pop] Returning for a third album, Magdalena Bay layer Imaginal Disk up to the hilt with layers of exquisitely produced synth, catchy beats, some more ambitious compositional ideas, all held together by Mica Tenenbaum’s silky voice. If your summer road trip playlist doesn’t have a bunch of these tracks on it, do you even have a summer road trip playlist? [pick by: Chris]
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet [pop]: Brat summer was a psy-op by the CIA to reinvigorate the cocaine trade by getting everyone to listen to shitty 2010s club music again; Short n’ Sweet is a psy-op by the CIA to increase the birth rate of white people—at least the lascivious latter is catchy, irreverent, and surprisingly well made. [pick by: Chris]
Kingcrow – Hopium [progressive metal]: Continuing on the path of The Persistance, Kingcrow are back with their melancholic brand of groovy, electronic-infused progressive metal. They reintroduced some of the atmosphere and guitar solos from Eidos, added more electronic synthwork, and generally just dialed up the prog meter for another magnificent addition to their catalogue. [pick by: Sam]
