The music industry is fickle, the charts like production-line models, endlessly similar until the next relaunch, Mark II, Mark III etc. Then there is Jump! This is the fourteenth studio album in a career of over 25 years; I’ve had the pleasure of introducing them and their charismatic lead John Dexter Jones with not an [&hellip

I’m well aware that the appropriateness of genre labels can be quite subjective, and yet I have to wonder just what is played on Norwegian radio for Kalandra to be “pop sensations”, even when the adjective “alternative” is sometimes added to that statement. Now I’m not averse to pop by any means (and in fact [&hellip

A new album from Mike Vennart is certainly something to get excited about, and an unexpected one released with little build up – only a week after it was announced – is even more of a treat. In the Dead, Dead Wood marks the third chapter in the ex-Oceansize man’s solo career, seeing him strike [&hellip

‘Compassion’ sounds like a warm and fuzzy word. And yet, when you think about it, it is almost the opposite. Compassion is essentially the sympathetic consciousness of and concern for the suffering, distress and misfortunes of others. Its Latin roots translate it almost literally as “suffer with”. Not so warm and fuzzy then? I mention [&hellip

In the year that will always be known for a disastrous pandemic, it has become increasingly noticeable how music has responded intuitively with releases redolent with both negative and positive perspectives on these strange and stressful times. In Singularity, Rain have poured forth their own mixed emotions in a fascinating cascade of myriad styles and [&hellip

I admit it. I was ready to be underwhelmed by Powerclashing Maximalism. It might be the third album from the band, but I’d never heard of Autocatalytica, so had no idea about the diversity of their sound, and though I had no problem with the heaviness of the music, when the vocals first came in [&hellip

After the huge success of their US tour in 2019, Yes has just released The Royal Affair Tour: Live From Las Vegas. The album comes in three formats: a CD digi-pack with a 12-page booklet, as a double LP with a gatefold cover and a large format book, and, of course, also digital. Most Yes [&hellip

Young British band Ihlo burst onto the scene last year, and immediately polarised opinion. If ever there were a Marmite band it seemed to be Ihlo. Most criticism, in my opinion quite unfounded, was that they were merely copycats. The main reason I don’t really believe this to be true, is that there was very [&hellip

Jakko Jakszyk’s profile is higher than ever at the moment, as a consequence of being, since 2013, the voice and second guitar in a rejuvenated King Crimson. But that is just the tip of the iceberg of a career that has spanned over 40 years and seen him work with Tom Robinson, Pip Pyle, Dave [&hellip

The Ozrics return with a new album, their first since the well received 2015 release Technicians of the Sacred. This album has been written, programmed, recorded and produced throughout 2019 and 2020 by Ed Wynne at the Blue Bubble Studio, ably supported by Silas Neptune and Balázs Szende, with a notable selection of guest musicians. [&hellip