Muziekrecensies
Tony Romero’s second album from Vortex is called ‘Zen’. The 9 instrumental tracks are mostly made for relaxation and meditation. Yet the pace in ‘Africa’ is a bit faster than expected. It contains a mix of instrumental (slightly classical) atmospheric elements and electronic sounds. In the restful epic ‘Ocean’, you won’t hear waves rustling, but … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Poor Genetic Material is a prog band. For the album ‘Elsewhere’, they worked with a smaller line-up. As a result, there are some differences, but also definitely similarities with the earlier albums. ‘The Colour Of Happiness’ has a pleasant mid-paced start. The rhythm section has an important part which is nicely complemented by higher notes. … Read more, available in English and Dutch
‘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’ 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
‘Foxtrot’ is perhaps Genesis’ most beloved album. In honour of the fiftieth anniversary of this album, guitar virtuoso Steve Hackett planned a tour. He was joined by Rob Townsend, Nad Sylvan and Amanda Lehmann, among others. On ‘Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’ you will not only hear tracks from the album … Read more, available in English and Dutch
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
Multi-instrumentalist Duncan Parsons’ previous album ‘On Earth, As It Is’ (2022), received rave reviews. In the past ten years, he released six official solo albums. The new album is called ‘I’m Here, All Weak’, which is a throwback to the past. Because 15 of the 17 songs were on one of those 6 albums. There … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Fortunately, the second day of Bruis Festival in Maastricht was sunny. Pendejo was allowed to open on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. On this occasion, they were on stage with an XL formation. That means there were two extra horns with them, namely: Joost Verbraak (sousaphone, trombone and trumpet) and stand-in Isaac McCluskey (trombone). VolcánPendejo opened … Read more, available in English and Dutch
The Spanish-language name and lyrics make Pendejo seem like a band from Spain or Latin America. But nothing could be further from the truth: this stoner rock/metal band is from the Netherlands.¡Pendejo! opened the second day of Bruis Festival Maastricht, and they did so with full conviction. After this performance, Maxazine had an interview with … Read more, available in English and Dutch
‘Strings From The Edge of Sound’ is the new album of Karmamoi (Italy). The CD contains four new and five tracks from “old” albums. In the calm, new tracks, there are sometimes a lot of layers. The (stacked) vocals are balanced with the music. You can hear emotion in both vocals and music. Most turns … Read more, available in English and Dutch