A song to end the day with...: Future Kings Of England - Mustard Men

The Future Kings of England is the trio of Ian Fitch (guitar, keyboards, effects), Karl Mallett (bass, keyboards, effects) and Simon Green (drums, keyboards, effects) from the UK.
They play old-style/sounding psychedelic rock and have released 3 albums, all highly recommended.


The Future Kings Of England
2005


The Fate Of Old Mother Orvis
2007


The Viewing Point
2009

Here's a song called Mustard Men from their second album.

Review: The Red Masque - Feathers For Flesh (2004, Big Balloon)

The Red Masque are an avant-rock band from Philadelphia founded in 2001 by Brandon Ross (bass, keyboards) and Lynnette Shelley (vocals). They have released one EP, three studio albums and one live album. You can read more about them here.

Go here and here to download in a Pay-What-You-Want fashion their EP and first album. More downloads are available here. Videos are to be found here.
Check their Myspace for more samples.

Below is my review for their second full-length studio release from 2004 called Feathers For Flesh.

Nighttime songs to halucinate to... by Moon Duo

As their name suggests, Moon Duo, is a duo made up of Ripley Johnson (of Wooden Shjips) and Sanae Yamada created in 2009 making psychedelic fuzzy soundscapes, trippy ambiances and hypnotic rhythms. I have their 2010 release, Escape, which is a short album of 4 songs culminating in about 28 minutes. They have another EP and two singles.

Here's a short bio from their website:
"Moon Duo was formed by Ripley Johnson of Wooden Shjips and Sanae Yamada in San Francisco in 2009. Inspired initially by the legendary duo of John Coltrane and Rashied Ali, Moon Duo counts such variant groups as Silver Apples, Royal Trux, Moolah, Suicide, and Cluster as touchstones. Utilizing primarily guitar, keyboards, and vocals, the Duo plays space against form to create a primeval sound experience. After a debut 12" single on Sick Thirst, the group released the acclaimed Killing Time EP on Sacred Bones, followed by the Escape LP on Woodsist."

Here's the song Stumbling 22nd St.


Here's the song Escape



Here's the video for Killing Time

Recommendation: Nodding by the Fire (Spain, folk)

I came by this band through The Silent Ballet website.

Nodding By The Fire are a Spanish band who play an instrumental folk/sountrack-like sort of music, very calming and beautiful.

You can download their EP for free at their Bandcamp.



Lineup:
Javier Ordás: guitar.
Carlos Puente: bass, guitar, casiotone, flute, harmonica.
Jacob González: percussion

New Decemberists song for download - Down By The Water

The Decemberists have announced their new album, The King Is Dead, which will be out on January 18th, 2011.

Go here to download a song from that upcoming album called Down by the Water. 


Go here for their Youtube channel and here for their Myspace.

A song to start the day with...

Start your day with Formaldehyde, a beautiful song from Phideaux's brilliant album, Doomsday Afternoon.

A band in the Spotlight: Magyar Posse (Finland)

Magyar Posse, a cinematic post-rock band from Finland with 3 studio albums released is under our magnifying glass this post. You can listen to them here and here.

I got to know about them while browsing the Prog Archives post-rock database in 2005 and proceeded to get their first release We Will Carry You Over The Mountains, released in 2002. Much like Explosions In The Sky's first album (How Strange, Innocence), Magyar Posse's first album, is a naive and simplistic yet charming and beautiful album that I still listen to and enjoy today immensely. The band has a knack for creating stunning emotional pieces that evoke in my mind scenes as if watching a movie. I've read they've been influences by Ennio Morricone, among others, and if so, it does show.

Here's one track from the album:





After being enthralled with this first album I proceeded to get their second album, Kings Of Time, released in 2004. Here they've upgraded their sound further. The interplay of the keyboards and guitar is a major reason for their lush, rich and epic sound. I feel as if being transported to some other place, an unknown European urban location in the midst of winter, where all around are closed up in their shells, hurrying up to get home from the cold and rushing about their business, oblivious to anything else besides their own occupations; for some reason the music invokes that imagery in my mind... don't ask...



Here's the most beautiful piece from that album:





When Random Avenger came out in 2006 I got it, obviously and it did not disappoint. These Finns again showed how skilled they are at creating catchy rhythmic pieces filled with ambiance and magic.

Here's the opening piece from the album:




They have also released a live album in 2006, Live at UMF, Finland.
The band is apparently still active and playing shows occasionally (according to their website) but I don't know if they're writing new material, recording or what are their plans for the future. I do look forward to it, though.

Support a musical project - The River Empires

Who are The River Empires?
Here's a short blurb from their website:

"The River Empires is simply a group of friends from Oregon who write and play music together. Their style infuses bluegrass, folk and country with cinematic instrumentation and themes. They claim to be an independent band as well as conceptual, yet have been careful not to turn the two of those genres into gimmicks. They have self funded and self created from the birth of the group. Their music and lyrics tell a story written by the singer, Jessy Ribordy."

Here you can listen to some of their tunes. 
Their first album is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon and here physically.



The band is preparing on recording their followup album and has started a Kickstarter fund-raising. Now, if you like what you hear, then please read the following and see if you'd like to support it.

"We plan to track the 14 song album over the course of two months during winter 2010/11. Being that our musical style combines bluegrass with film-like soundtrack/scores, we require several hire on musicians to perform the symphonic sounds we are aspiring for. On our first album, we had a very talented harpist, french horn, oboe, clarinet, flute, trumpet, trombone, and bowed contrabass players. We are hoping to continue through that vein of style and so most of the budget would be going toward adding all the extra instrumentation. Essentially we require a small symphonic orchestra to complete our vision of this next album. In addition, the budget will go toward other production costs, including several weeks of mixing engineering in post. 

We are also hoping to really have the time to create, like our first one, a pure and organic album. We don't use auto tune on vocals and we don't quantize instrument performances. We take the time to get take after take until we are happy with it. And we believe that creates much more of an honest sound that is missing these days in the music industry. So this also requires a bit more time in the studio than normal and a lot more attention and devotion to detail."





 Some musical teasers of the band for you to listen to:

New Solefald song streaming - Vitets Vidd I Verdi

I just saw at Metal CallOut that a new song, Vitets Vidd I Verdi, from the new and upcoming Solefald album (Nov. 15), Norrøn Livskunst, is up for listening here.

 

 Here are two older songs to wet your palate:

Review: Gargantua - Kotegarda (2007, Roadkill Music)

Gargantua is a Polish (avant-) prog-rock group who released two album thus far. Here I'm reviewing their second album, Kotegarda from 2007.

The balance between the rough and the pleasant

Starting with a lovely violin lead tune, the music sides on the more folkloric side, but also has a certain formal elegance. The vocals accompanying the music are sung in a female fronted lead backed up by male voices. The entire amalgam of sounds takes from so many styles that it is a challenge to try and decipher their whole influences; however it is a delight to listen to. In a way it reminds me of the way that Le Silo took so many influences in their debut album 8.8 and made a fabulous mix out of it. The music here doesn’t sound at all like Le Silo but the exercise done is similar in that they take from many sources and combine it into one, with such elegance and easiness.


 

A song to end the day with...

Here's a wonderful and lengthy song from Miami-based band Little Atlas, called Silence.
The song is taken from their album Hollow released through 10T in 2007.

Just for your information, you can stream their entire discography (and in fact also the albums of every other band on the 10T roster) here. 

Review: Emma Myldenberger - Tour de Trance (1979 Minos & Stelis, 2006 reissue Garden of Delights)

The soundtrack to your daydream

Joviality, peacefulness and hallucinations...
All of those are portrayed in Tour de Trance, which might be inferred from the name.

It is not only calm and peace that are conjured through their music. Being a folk band, you’d expect only that. But being as diverse as they are, their music is also rhythmic, catchy and entertaining. It’s also as beautiful as can be, haunting even at several points. And indeed, they can induce inner calm with their serene parts. The music in this album has all of those.

A song to start the day with...

Here's a song by the Swedish band My Brother The Wind called Karmagrinder from their debut album released this year, Twilight in the Crystal Cabinet.

A song to go to sleep with...

Here's a great song by Subterranean Masquerade called No Place Like Home

We've been waiting for the new Sub-Masq album for years now and I saw Tomer post something about it last year on some forum, but still nothing in sight. If anyone knows anything about it, please let me know in the comments.

Streaming album: Salome - Terminal

You can stream the new Salome album Terminal in its entirety at NPR.

Terminal will be released on November 9th, 2010 through Profound Lore.

You can also read a New York Times piece about them here.

New Agalloch song - Ghosts Of The Midwinter Fires

I just read over at Number of the Blog, that there's a new Agalloch song for streaming.
Go here to hear it and you can also pre-order it (with a shirt if you wish to add it).

Spotlight & Review: Sólstafir - Masterpiece of Bitterness (2005, Spikefarm)

Sólstafir - Band name explanation by guitarist and vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason:
"Crepuscular rays. Alternating light and dark bands of light (rays and shadows) that appear to fan out from the sun's position; usually occur around sunrise and sunset, also when the sun shines through breaks in clouds."

Background - The Icelandic cowboys
Sólstafir is from Iceland and came to existence around 1994, but there is no exact known date.
As drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason recalls he was asked by guitarist and vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason (or Addi as he's called) to join the band in December 1994. However, he says, the first rehearsal wasn't until January 1995. At that time they were a trio, with Halldór Einarsson on bass. They composed several songs from basic riffs that Addi and Halldór wrote and played in other formations in 1993/4, and also wrote new tracks as well. In 1998 bassist Halldór had left the band and was replaced by Svavar Austmann. The other guitarist, Sæþór M. Sæþórsson joined only in 1999, for their live shows. The fours guys (Addi, Sæþór, Halldór and Guðmundur) knew each other from childhood.

A song to trip along with...

Here's a song from Electric Wizard's new album, Black Masses called Venus In Furs

New Agalloch song - The Watcher's Monolith

Head over to Stereogum and listen to The Watcher's Monolith from the new forthcoming Agalloch album, Marrow of the Spirit.
The album is scheduled for released through Profound Lore on November, 23rd.

Review: Disen Gage - The Reverse May Be True (2008, RAIG)

This is a very good album, but The Reverse May Be True.

Before I go on with the review, let me quote from here to introduce the band to you:

"DISEN GAGE branched out in 1999 when guitarist Konstantin Mochalov, guitarist Yuri Alaverdyan, and bassist Nikolai Syrtsev were studying at Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. Joined by Eugeny Kudryashov on drums, the quartet started playing out in their native college-club and became known with a surprising quickness due to fantastically fast spread amateur cassettes and their reputation for insanely emotional live performances at various student-festivals. The band's collaborative approach combined the intricate instrumentation of old-school progressive rock, the melodic expressionism of ethno-jazz, and the rough drive of garage-rock. Music-lovers apprehended the band as a phenomenon in local indie-scene, one of a few heirs in Russia to the traditions of instrumental rock. In addition to their work with the band, Mochalov, Alaverdyan and Syrtsev continued working as researchers at the Moscow Institute of Bio-Organic Chemistry, and Kudryashov played with a number of local indie-pop-rock groups. In 2002, tearing apart between their musical and academic interests the band practically stopped concert activity. Two years later, Yuri Alaverdyan left to continue his academic career in Sweden. Nevertheless, the quartet got over the difficulties with the appearance of the crafted guitarist Sergei Bagin, and returned to the active concert practice."

The Screw-Loose Entertainment released by RAIG in 2004, was indeed entertaining with its instrumental guitar-oriented, heavy and quirky rock (sometimes even psychedelic in nature and mood, though not sound), manifesting a variety of influences from King Crimson (Red-era) to more avant-rock leanings. It is therefore, with excitement that I found in my mail a promo copy of their new album released in 2008 (through RAIG as well) with a title that suggests a good portion of healthy skepticism and open-mindedness. Coming in another successfully well made digipack by RAIG, the art work, a collage of drawings and pictures is very fitting the music and atmosphere resounding from the album.