Welcome to Prog's Tracks Of The Week. Six new and diverse slices progressive music for you to enjoy.
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.
Maebe - Harsh Realm
Bristol artist Maebe, better known as guitarist Michael Astley-Brown, indulge in guitar-led post-rock coloured by a wonderfully modern progressive sheen, as can be heard in the video for Harsh Realm. The track is taken from the band's upcoming album Rebirth. Relive. Repeat., the band's second, set for release on July 21. “My goal was to take the Maebe sound to new extremes in every direction,” says Astley-Brown of the new release. “It’s heavier, groovier, dreamier, more aggressive. But crucially, the melody is always at the forefront. I wanted to create instrumental songs with hooks that really stick in your head, and with Rebirth. Relive. Repeat. I think I’ve achieved that.”
HamaSaari - Crumbs
HamaSaari are a French prog quintet who recently released their debut album Ineffable through Klonosphere/Season of Mist, and which has been mastered by the estimable Forrester Savell (Animals as Leader, Karnivool). "The beauty of Crumbs is that it keeps building and morphing, growing like a tree, its branches reaching in all directions," the band explain of this track. "At the beginning, everything is simple, the dreamy keys lines kept grounded by the steady kick and bass, and the mantric, repetitive guitar. Just like the beginning of the video, the music feels golden, but autumnal; warm, yet with a foreboding chill, the colours not as bright as they once were."
Kite Parade - Wonderful
Melodic progger Kite Parade is the brainchild of Somerset based musician Andy Foster, who recently released his debut album debt album The Way Home,through White Knight Records, from which comes the uplifting Wonderful. "After starting out as a studio based project, I'm happy to announce that I’m in the process of putting a band together to get Kite Parade out there playing live at festivals and support slots," says Foster. "Exciting times ahead! After a lifetime of playing covers I’m trying hard to imagine what it’ll feel like to perform my own songs. I just hope that I’ll be able to stop smiling long enough to actually sing!”
Nomadic Narwhal - Fathoms (Part 4 - Hadal)
In keeping with their nautical name, Nomadic Narwhal look out to the oceans for inspiration, stating "it's easy to forget about the many mysteries that lie beneath the waves. Spanning from forgotten shipwrecks all the way to undiscovered species, there is a sense of awe beyond every seamount. The ocean is in every breath we take, and we still know very little about the vast majority of it." The epic Fathoms (Part 4 - Hadal) is taken from is a four part concept album exploring the different atmospheric zones in the ocean. Starting from the surface and ranging to the sea floor, each pelagic zone has its own curiosities and mystique. In short, Nomadic dedicates three songs per zone to musically capture the atmospheres encountered on a journey from topside to the deepest chasms of the ocean. The Hadal Zone (Hadalpelagic Zone) is based on the always shifting and unstable sea floor/trenches.
Prognosis - Phantom Force
Manchester prog metallers Prognosis (yes, we see what they did there) return with a brand new song, Phantom Force, which is the first to feature the band's new vocalist Corban Skillånder, who's versatility is bound to win over more fans for the band. It's taken from the band's upcoming three-track Esigen EP, which builds on the heavy approach of earlier material, but also shows up the band's more overtly progressive inclinations. “This era of Prognosis feels like a completely different animal, and I couldn’t be more excited by the music we’re creating together,” says guitarist Phil Weller. “Our relationship as songwriters is growing stronger and stronger, and with Corban fronting the band, our creativity feels limitless.”
What Five Fingers Said To The Face - Black Spiral Dance
Oslo's interestingly named trio What Five Fingers Said To The Face (WFFSTTF for short, obviosuly) delve into dark experimental areas of progressive music, citing the likes of Opeth, Tool, Ulver and Meshuggah as inspiration. The disquieting Black Spiral Dance is taken from the band's fourth album Endless which was released back in February. The band themselves talk of "creating sounds that are seemingly there and not there at the same time. Something is speaking through these songs." As their name implies, they certainly have an impact!
