Welcome to Prog's brand Tracks Of The Week, Seven brand new and diverse slices of progressive music for you to enjoy.
A hearty well done to UK prog rockers The Bardic Depths whio romped home last week with What We Really Like In Stories, folowed by No-Man's Life Is Elsewhere and Exist Immortal's Play Pretnd in third place.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier could it?
We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we'll update you with this week's winner, and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.
So get watching. And get voting at the bottom of the page.
THE PINEAPPLE THIEF - IT LEADS TO THIS
It Leads To This is the third and final single taken from the album of the same name, which will be released by The Pineapple Thief through Kscope Music on February 9, which sees the band and especially lyricist Bruce Soord trying to make sense of the world around him. The band hot the road throughout Europe later this Month and into March on a jaunt which will see them headline at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on March 16.
"It Leads to This can, and should, be read with a question mark. Is the world doomed?," says singer and guitarist Bruce Soord. "Could we have acted differently? Do people change? Does it lead to this? As much as I go on about the polarised state of the world, it’s a minority creating this toxic environment that a lot of us have to live in. So, there's a positive message from this - it shouldn't, it doesn't have to lead to this. I’m so proud of this album and song. I just can't wait to get out there and sing it. I'm going to be able to sing every word, play every note, and feel really good about all of it.”
THE UTOPIA STRONG - LAMP OF GLORY
Cosmic prog trio The Utopia Strong are, for the uninitiated, Gong and Knifeworld man Kavus Torabi, former six-times World Snooker champion Steve Davis and Coil/Guapo member Michael J. York. They recently announced that they would be releasing a new album, The BBC Sessions, recorded at the famous Maida Vale studios, a release which deliberately acknowledges the legendary Peel Sessions releases that ran on the Strange Fruit label from 1987 until the label's demise in 2004.
“It was lovely working with the BBC engineers who, obviously, have their own idea as to how the band should be mixed," says Davis. "We have a fairly specific approach when we record together so I think it was quite liberating to just play and go with their sonic decisions."
“When we hit a point where all three of us really had something going, we would continue while the proverbial tape was rolling,” adds Torabi of the sessions. “So, the shorter pieces are the result of about ten or fifteen minutes playing that you wouldn’t have heard.”
THE C SIDES PROJECT - THE TRUTH OF IT
Welsh prog rockers The C Sides Project released their new album, Foxes On The Road, through White Knight Records at the end of January. The band, comprised of ex-Magenta musicians and vocalist Sian Elson, whose striking vocals blend with those of bassist Alan McCarthy in impressive fashion, not least on this nine minute slie of impressive melodic prog.
"The C Sides Project continue on their musical journey, their innovative form of progressive rock nods to the classic prog bands of the 1970s while at the same time finding new and surprising ways of using rhythm and melody to create a kaleidoscope of sound that is all their own," the band say. "The band is made up of competent musicians that are able to tell wondrous stories in music and lyrics that transports the imagination to wherever they will take you. Their writing is fresh and imaginative with every new recording seeing the band’s style develop in new and ever expanding forms."
NORTH SEA ECHOES - UNMOVED
We introduced you to North Sea Echoes the other week. It's the new project from Fates Warning men Jim Matheos and Ray Alder who release their debut album Really Good Terrible Things, through Metal Blade in February. It's channels a different musical path than Fates Warning, perhaps mellower yet no less progressive and cerebral and is a welcome addition to the prog world.
“Some people dealing with depression often exhibit a remarkable ability to conceal their inner struggles by presenting a facade of happiness to the world," explains Alder of the new single.
SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY - HIDING PLACE
US-based instrumental progressive metallers Sometime In February have just signed a record deal with prog specialists InsideOut Music. The band. were founded by guitarist Tristan Auman in 2020, and also feature drummer Scott Barber and bassist Morgan Johnson. They released their Here Goes EP in 2021, and Hiding Place is their brand new single. The trio are currently out on the road in the US.
“We are thrilled to be signing to the world’s premier label for progressive music," the band state. "Sometime in February wouldn’t exist without many of the artists on their roster, and it’s an honor to stand beside them. Thomas Waber has been supportive and encouraging to us for some time now, and we’re excited that we found the right moment to work together and make InsideOutMusic the home for the next era of Sometime in February."
“Up to this point, nearly all of the writing for Sometime in February had been my responsibility, and for the past year, we’ve been focused on switching gears to a full band dynamic," adds Auman of Hiding Place. "The resulting collaboration is wholly new, and unmistakably us, and sets the stage for our upcoming sophomore album."
A BURIAL AT SEA - MASTERFRED
Irish-born but now Liverpool-based, post-rock duo A Burial At Sea, that's Dara Tohil, and Patrick Blaney, release their second lbum, Close To Home, through the Pelagic record label on February 23, from which comes new sngle, the atmospheric if oddly titled Masterfred, which the band originally named after Tohil's father, with tongue seemingly firmly in cheek.
"Masterfred was originally a silly working title," explains Blaney. "We named the track after Dara’s dad Fred because he’s a legend but, as we dug deeper into our inspirations for this album, there was no doubt that he absolutely deserves to be on the record in some shape or form. Although the track is one of the darkest on this record, the title brings a familiar light-heartedness to it."
25 YARD SCREAMER - DID YOU EVER
Welsh proggers 25 Yard Screamer released their latest album The Memory Cheats (The Pictures Within 2023) through White Knight Records back in January, from which comes rocking new single Did You Ever. The new album sees the trio returning to rework their 2003 debut album The Pictures Within with striking results.
“The album is a rerecording/reimagining of our debut album," says bassist Matt Clarke. "It's been a bit of a revelation to revisit these songs that were written in the early days of the band. We were getting to know each other as friends and musicians. Lots of laughter and enthusiasm surrounded the writing at a time that held a lot less responsibilities for all of us. Donal, Nick and I had wanted to put the songs down so we could review what we were doing. Basically, we created an album of demos."
