Muziekrecensies
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
A highly versatile guitarist and composer, Nick Fletcher has collaborated with many musicians. For his solo album’ Quadrivium’, he asked drummer Anika Nilles (Jeff Beck). ‘Quadrivium’ is the Latin word for four-cross. Plato gave this name to the four noble arts: mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy. ‘A wave On the Ocean of Eternity (Prelude)’ has … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Guitarist Steve Rothery is of course known from Marillion, whose hit ‘Kayleigh’ is familiar to almost everyone (young and old). On the beautiful late summer’s day of 7 September, Steve Rothery and his band were in De Bosuil in Weert (The Netherands). The support act was provided by progressive rock & pop duo The Dave … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Beatrix Players is a band with a very distinctive style. They themselves describe their style as, “adventurous music that operates at the interface between folk rock, singer-songwriter acoustic, prog and quasi-classical baroque chamber pop”. ‘Living & Alive’ is their second album, the lyrics, in short, are not just about life itself. But also about the … Read more, available in English and Dutch
The Emerald Dawn is a symphonic prog rock band from England. Tree Stewart and Ally Carter are not only the vocalists, they are also multi-instrumentalists. Apart from symphonic rock, they also use crossovers to jazz and experimental music, among others. Tree again has done the art-work. ‘Out of Time’ has a warm, classically-oriented start. Pretty … Read more, available in English and Dutch
The prog band ‘The Ancestry Program’ is from Germany. The band consists of six people, several of whom are multi-instrumentalists. ‘Of Silent Mammalia Part 1’ was released in 2021. Its follow-up ‘Of Silent Mammalia Part 2’ was actually scheduled for autumn 2022. But due to the complexity of the album, that turned out not to … Read more, available in English and Dutch
British female formation ‘Girlschool’ has been around for 45 years. ‘WTFortyfive?” is their 14th studio album, the release date is 28 July. The first few seconds of ‘It Is What It Is’ are quite quiet, then the ” speed rolls on”. The lead vocals are pleasantly raw. The backing vocals and music are rousing, soon … Read more, available in English and Dutch
The melodic metal band King Kobra has a new line-up. ‘We AreWarriors’ is their new (seventh) studio album. This one has a pleasant rock-metal start with ‘Music Is A Piece Of Art’. The (rousing) songs have fine balance between rhythm and melody. Vocals and music are also in balance. Paul Shortino’s voice still has a … Read more, available in English and Dutch
English prog band ‘The Mighty Bard’ has been around for about 19 years. Their debut album ‘Blue God and Other Stories’ (2014) received rave reviews. ‘Beyond the Gate’ is their second album. On it, the mystery and wonder of the mystical world are brought to life. Because the band signed with the label Epictronic, you … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Lazy Grey blues/rock/funk band Lazy Grey was formed in Antwerp some four years ago. ‘Making Tracks is their debut album. This one starts nicely with ‘Blood From A Stone’. There is a slightly dull layer over the music. Thomas Maenhout’s voice suits the music just fine. Fortunately, he has a fairly clear pronunciation, as the … Read more, available in English and Dutch