Nine Skies – The Lightmaker

‘The Lightmaker’ is the new concept album by prog band ‘Nine Skies’.A man (Rudy) is living his 1001st and therefore his last life. He describes thevarious characters of the incarnations. The various guest vocalists (including Kristoffer Gildenlöw), clarify these characters. Certain parts of the text narrated, or whispered. There are nice changes in tempo and/or … Read more, available in English and Dutch

‘Nova Cascade – ‘The Navigator

‘Nova Cascade’ plays ambient art and prog rock. Electronic sounds play an important role, rhythm is secondary. The start of ‘Sleeping Dogs’ is beautiful. Vocals and music form an ultimate balance. Especially the details of the violin are intriguing. The title track (with flute playing) is exceptionally constructed, but the “percussion” lacks warmth. Real drums … Read more, available in English and Dutch

Brian Setzer – The Devil Always Collects

Guitarist Brian Setzer keeps rockabilly and swing alive. In his long career, he sold millions of records and won several awards. ‘The Devil Always Collects’ is his new album, which features 11 songs. These invite you to sing along, but the high (rousing) tempo makes this far from easy. The backing vocals are sometimes predictable, … Read more, available in English and Dutch

Starlite & Campbell – Starlite.one

Starlite & Campbell is a prog.band formed by married couple and multi-instrumentalists Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell. Because they play so many instruments together and are both vocalists, there is only one guest musician. ‘Starlite one’ is their third album. There is a lot of variation in the music: ‘Saving Me’ has a fairly catchy … Read more, available in English and Dutch

The BluesBones – Unchained

‘Unchained’ is the seventh album by The BluesBones (Belgium). During a live studio setting, the instruments were captured in one take, well done! The balance between vocals and music is fine. The relationship between the instruments themselves, and the balance on the headphones is good. Nico De Cock sings parts of the lyrics, other parts … Read more, available in English and Dutch

Depeche Mode – Memento Mori

Last year, Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher passed away; he was co-founder of synth-pop band Depeche Mode. Memento Mori’ is the first album released by vocalist Dave Gahan and guitarist/keyboardist Martin L. Gore together. The inspiration arose at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. The 12 songs describe a variety of moods, including anxiety, joy, obsession and … Read more, available in English and Dutch