As band honcho Boris Bardash explains, Ole Lukkoye’s name comes from the hero of a fairy tale written by 19th century Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. Ole Lukkoye used to bring the dreams for the children, as a Sandman of Morphey. In the last page of the tale he told the story about his elder brother, whose name is Death. So, “Ole Lukkoye” is a soft name of the group – “Death”. This explanation came in an interview I conducted with Bardash in the January 1999 issue of Aural Innovations, back when we were still a printed zine. So Ole Lukkoye have been around for a long time (I believe their first recordings date back to 1989). And Dyatly is a treat because it’s the first album of new music from these Russian Ethno-Psychedelic rockers in some years.

As usual the band utilize a combination of standard and ethnic instrumentation, including guitar, keyboards, bassoon, percussion, djembe, darabouka, jambi, ngoa and dav. Kommuna Ra opens the set with 14 minutes of Psychedelic groove rock, consisting of steady pounding rhythms, mesmerizing drones, ambient Jazz horns, freaky space electronics, seductive female Indian inspired chants and shamanic male vocals. Think tribal ceremony meets rave in a Middle Eastern bazaar in space. Dyatly (Woodpeckers) features 17+ more minutes of hypnotic spaced out grooves, with lightly wailing organ lines, ambient trip guitar fills, multi-layered atmospherics, effects, and a mind-bending yet rhythmically flowing sense of magic carpet ride soundscape grooves. I love the combination of Ethnic Pop, lysergic shaman ritual, Space-Jazz, and cosmic alien presence that pervades throughout, creating a hallucinatory sense of other-wordly inspiration. Bela Dama continues with 14 minutes of trippy spaced out Ethno-Psychedelic soundscape grooves and cosmic Raga Rock that you can simultaneously dance to and meditate on. It’s the Om chant for your bad soul searching self. The fun continues as Bela Dama segues seamlessly into the explosively intense 17 minute Just Wind. And Veni, Vidi, Vici is a short coda to what is essentially one continuous 70 minute journey. I hope we don’t have to wait years for another new set. This is magical music.

For more information visit the Trail Records web site at: http://trailrecords.us
Visit the Ole Lukkoye web site at: http://www.olelukkoye.ru

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Welsh multi-instrumentalist Gavin Lloyd Wilson follows up last year’s Portraits Of A Landscape album with a new 3 song EP to be released in July to coincide with Spurious Transients’ appearance at the 13th Dream Of Doctor Sardonicus Festival Of Psychedelia, hosted jointly by Fruits de Mer Records and Sendelica in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales on August 7th.

Planet Cantaloupe is a new song recorded by an expanded sextet Spurious Transients lineup of guitar, bass, electronics, drums, saxophone, sitar and tanpura. After a drifty Ambient-Psychedelic-Jazz intro the music breaks into a cool grooving Jazz jam that’s led by the horns, but we’ve also good freeform soloing guitars, an underlying sitar drone wave, a strange soundscape stream of static, free-wheeling percussion to augment the steady drumming, and a general Ambient-Psychedelic vibe. We’re also treated to Planet Cantaloupe (Reprise), which gives the song the ultra-spaced out electronic treatment. Gitarau Cosmig is an older unreleased song recorded during the Portraits Of A Landscape sessions by the duo of Wilson and Luke Boardman on drums. It’s a cool and strange combination of phased, droning, snaking electronics and lazy grooving acoustic based Psychedelia that sounds like it might be emanating from the mountains of Appalachia. Nice stuff and I sure hope Wilson is planning a new album with the Psych-Jazz lineup of the band.

Purchase the CD, vinyl or download at the Spurious Transients Bandcamp site: http://spurioustransients.bandcamp.com
Visit the Spurious Transients web site at: http://spurioustransients.blogspot.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The latest from Austin, Texas based Book of Shadows is another of those small batch Reverb Worship label CDs that comes in a super limited edition of only 50 numbered copies. As usual we have a fluid lineup from one track to the next, with four improv tracks and two Aaron Bennack compositions.

The Dark Sea Of Awareness is a 17 minute improv with the core trio of Sharon Crutcher on vocals, Carlton Crutcher on keys, and Aaron Bennack on guitar, plus Ernestina Evelyn Forbis on vocals and Chris Cones on guitar and electronics. This is seriously dark and intense music, coming across like an Ambient-Industrial/Noise-Psych horror movie soundtrack. Sharon sounds like a morphing of Gilli Smyth and Jarboe while Ernestina provides haunting backing chants. Aaron and Chris’ guitars play off each other nicely, with each contributing to the macabre yet freaky narrative. Soundscapes create the atmosphere and electronic effects offset the mood with a hovering UFO presence, making for a contrasting horror/sci-fi vibe. A strong opener that’s simultaneously disturbing and beautiful.

Stopping The World is a shorter track written by Aaron and featuring just Aaron, Sharon and Carlton. The music is a sparse but effective combination of varied melodic guitar patterns and spaced out alien electronics, plus Sharon’s eerily mesmerizing vocals. The guitar, electronics and vocals taken individually are so different, and yet come together to create a cohesive and hauntingly beautiful whole. North Door is another Aaron penned track with the same trio plus Brett Humphrey on guitar and electronics, and consists of moody space atmospherics and electronic effects, noisy Psych guitars and Sharon’s vocals.

The Principles Of Stalking is a nearly 30 minute improv by the quartet of Sharon, Carlton, Brett Humphrey on guitar and electronics and Steve Marsh on guitar, electronics and vibrator. Once again Book of Shadows tread a strangely alluring middle ground between horror, sci-fi and Psychedelia on this noise-laden and often hair-raising exploration of sound, mood, and theatrical narrative sculpture. I really like the sections with densely noisy yet atmospheric Psych guitars and Sharon banshee howling amidst fluttering space electronics. Another of those strange but cool combinations of contrasting elements that Book of Shadows excel at bringing together. Glide Into Eternity is pure Space-Ambience and sound exploration and one of the shortest tracks I’ve ever heard from Book of Shadows. Finally, The Doors Of Not-Doing is a Sharon/Carlton/Aaron improv that’s quite different from the rest of the album. Part of it gets into Indian influenced orchestral territory, but there’s also tribal dance electronica and much more. These folks are always full of surprises.

For more information, visit the Reverb Worship web site at: http://www.reverbworship.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

My introduction to the music of Atlanta, Georgia based Psych rockers The Seventh Ring Of Saturn (TSROS) was through several excellent contributions to Fruits de Mer Records compilations, doing covers of The Grateful Dead, The Hollies, The Beatles, The Pretty Things, and more.

Ormythology consists of 8 songs and not quite 30 minutes in length. Two of the tunes are originals. Burning A Hole brings to mind a cross between 60s Pop-Psych and Porcupine Tree. It’s got chunky rocking but slightly jangly guitars, but also a ripping acidic quality and spacey electronic effects, AND the kind of melodic hook that makes the first listen sound like you’ve known the song all your life. Time To Fly is an equally strong, rough and tumble but fun Acid-Garage-Pop rocker.

The remainder of the set is an intriguing variety of a covers. TSROS do a Psych rocking, space efx’d rendition of Faces, which was a fuzzed out rocker by mid-60s band T.C. Atlantic. They’re faithful to the spirit of the original on Spaceman, originally recorded by early 70s Danish Hard-Psych Rock band Hurdy Gurdy.

TSROS go all Greko-Turkish on their bad selves for the remaining 4 songs. They inject a space-fuzzed garage feel into Teli Teli Teli, an instrumental version of the Greek trad./Pop song by composer Manos Loizos. I think Karli Daglar might be a traditional Turkish song but the great guitarist Erkin Koray recorded a version which may have been TSROS’s inspiration for their melodic guitar solo led instrumental with bubbling electronic effects. Ditto for Yedikule and Uzun Ince Bir Yoldayim. The latter has a killer ripping solo that gives the music a Black Sun Ensemble meets the Bevis Frond feel.

These guys do a great job with covers and keep bringing them on I say. But I’ll offer some feedback to the band and say that on the strength of the two Ted Selke penned songs I’d love to hear more originals. Really guys, those are good.

For more information visit The Seventh Ring Of Saturn web site at: http://tsros.com
The CD is currently available at Amazon (CLICK HERE)
The LP is projected to be available early June and will be pressed on glow in the dark vinyl. Pre-orders are being taken by Shiny Beast in Holland (CLICK HERE).
Everyone else keep your eyes on the TSROS web site.

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

This is the first I’ve heard from New Orleans based Chef Menteur since 2007’s The Answer’s In Forgetting. Their latest is a 3-CD set that consists of three different albums: The most recent is Force Majeure, which was originally released by the band last year as a limited edition and now sold out cassette. We’ve also got a reissue of the 2012 released 2-LP East of the Sun & West of the Moon, plus North Tomorrow & South Of Yesterday, an unreleased set of songs recorded at the same sessions.

There’s a tremendous amount of variety across these three CDs and a lot to digest…

Force Majeure opens with the spacey, melodic, soundscape drifting Faeroe, which has a cinematic feel and lightly playful alien effects. The band then veer into left field with the funky yet psychedelically spacious, dance floor enabling Pyrymyd Scheme. I like the darkly moody and volcanic intensity of Death Wraith 2000. Surface Tension injects a Morricone soundtrack feel with acidic yet hauntingly ambient Space Rock and funky rolling grooves. The elusively complex arrangements detected on the previous tracks come to full fruition on my favorite track of the set, Immense Dimension, with its combination of Prog Rock intricacy, Space-Funk, mesmerizing drones and cosmic majesty.

The dozen tracks on East Of The Sun & West Of The Moon cover a lot of ground, starting with the anguished, emotive and totally trippy Psychedelic Narconaut. Il obstrue ma vue de Venus is deliriously surreal in its zig zag from a Stoner take on Pink Floyd’s One Of The Days to densely noisy windswept Rock, to lusciously gorgeous melodies. Terpsichore consists of sultry yet freaky Space-Jazz. Lozenge Club is a brief but funky and Dub-like spacey piece. The Forest upsets any sense of balance with its combination of acid drone waves of guitar and keys, punctuated by off-kilter electro rhythms and freaky Jazz and effects injections. The 11+ minute Oxen Of The Sun is like a Prog Rock take on acid-space Psychedelia and Space-Ambient exploration. The music ebbs and flows with a freeform feel, but at all times has a clear sense of goal oriented composition. Chef Menteur prove themselves to be masters of thematic development as they seamlessly shift gears, from minimal ambient waves, to high intensity Space-Prog, to caustic yet cool grooving Acid-Psych. The band does a complete 180 degree turn with the 19 minute Ganymede, a Space-Drone symphony that blends floating Space-Ambience, early minimal Klaus Schulze and Frippertronics. The Long Stand (Part 2) is all about melodic and rhythmic rocking Acid/Space-Drone splendor with a tasty surprise acoustic finale. The Eastern flavored Ordo Templi Orientis is simultaneously trippy and powerhouse acid-symphonic. I Belong To This Plateau starts off like Bluesy dreamy Pink Floyd in a train station setting, before being enveloped in a shroud of potently crushing and noisily harsh aggression that somehow manages to retain a sense of hypnotic drift. And Reach For The Lion is a killer heavy Acid-Psych rocker that’s tempered by spacey keyboard melodies.

North Of Tomorrow & South Of Yesterday consists of unreleased music from the same sessions as East Of The Sun & West Of The Moon. There’s some cool stuff though as a whole it’s not as consistently powerful as the other two albums. But there’s a lot happening here. We’ve got raga rockers, a weird lo-fi keys and rhythm machine bit, fun and freaky electronica and samples blends, a lulling banjo and bass stroll, and sound, noise and melody experiments. Among the highlights of the set are Farfisa Duo Raga, a strangely narcotic blend of intensely paralyzing drones, melodic keys and strumming acoustic guitar. The avant-Psychedelic The Mamluk Qalandars has a pleasantly mesmerizing, acidic dissonance. The Long Stand (Parts I & II) is a trippy, spaced out and totally stoned Indian inspired raga Psych rocker with a freeform magic carpet ride sensation, but then goes pure Space Rock for the last couple minutes. Phallus Marinarus features 12+ minutes of flowing fuzz waves, snake-like weaving space drones, and lightly melodic soundscape guitars, all led by a kind of phased, Motorik rhythmic pulse. And Sorry For The Delay is a beautifully melodic, dreamily streaming and cool grooving rocker with a tasty offset of layered guitars and Kraftwerk synth melody. Just trip along with this gem as it goes deeper and deeper into space.

Space Rock, Psychedelia, Prog, Jazz, electronica, meditative space excursions, soundtrack narratives… it’s all here. And Chef Menteur deftly juggle and blend it all. Recommended.

For more information visit the Sunrise Ocean Bender web site at: http://www.sunriseoceanbender.com
Visit the Sunrise Ocean Bender Bandcamp site at: https://sunriseoceanbender.bandcamp.com
Visit the Chef Menteur web site at: http://www.chefmenteur.org

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Here we’ve got a split album between Welsh Space/Psych rockers Sendelica and Italian psychsters Da Captain Trips. Sendelia’s side consists of Day Of The Locust, a 23 minute “Geoff Chase mix” of the track that originally appeared on the 2010 Streamedelica She Sighed As She Hit Rewind on the Dream Mangler Remote album. The first half of this epic jam consists of monster heavy spaced out hard Psych rock with a tightly wound bass and drums rhythmic pulse and killer left/right channel guitar action. The band are tight as a knot throughout and the energy and intensity never wane as bass and drums relentlessly propel the musical motion while the guitars solo in acidic space. Though not always prominent there are electronic embellishments, but Pete’s guitars seem to be handling the cosmic factor just fine. The second half is more of the same but becomes a brain searing shock of aggressively harsh acid-noise Space Rock. Wow, what a ride. This sucker will leave you head spinning and drained. Freakin’ awesome.

Da Captain Trips’ three tracks are a considerably milder contrast to Sendelica’s sonic assault. The Repentant Blacksmith gets a steadily funky and slightly Bluesy Psych rock groove going with tasty soloing guitar, hypnotic synth waves and freaky electronic effects. Some of it brings to mind a more Space Rock version of Colour Haze. Horizon is a nicely melodic jam with Proggy keys that gets increasingly intense as it goes on. Ditto for Space Tide, a loose melodic jam that trips along, sometimes quietly and sometimes more heavily in Psychedelic space.

The vinyl will be released in an edition of 300 by the Vincebus Eruptum label (and seems to be sold out already) and the CD in an edition of only 150 by FRG Records.

Stream, download and purchase at: http://sendelica.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Throughout it’s over two decade history, Alien Planetscapes was headed up by Doug “Dr Synth” Walker, who tirelessly, and often with much frustration, steered the band through countless lineups, from duo electronic pairings to multi-instrumental Space Rock big bands. Doug passed away in 2006, but Alien Planetscapes alumnus Richard Orlando has started making archival recordings available, some of them quite rare. These are no frills packages where it’s the MUSIC that matters, and all proceeds go to Doug Walker’s son Evan.

Alien Planetscapes – “Official Bootleg #7″ (Galactus 2015, CDR)

Official Bootleg #7 is a compilation of live performances, studio outtakes and radio cuts. Love Shack Radio and Gravel are both tracks that would end up on Alien Planetscapes’ 1997 CD album Life On Earth, and features one of the most accomplished, tightest and smoking lineups in the band’s history. Love Shack Radio features Prog and Jazz infused Space Rock that jams authoritatively amidst a bubbling cauldron of electronics. We also get a shorter second version of the song that distinguishes itself from the first with blistering guitar solos that dominate the track. The synths achieve battle in space levels on Gravel, firing on all cylinders alongside a combination of Beat lounge flute/sax Jazz grooves and demonic Rock riffage.

Next we get a March 1990 WKCR radio cut that I recognize from an old Alien Plantetecapes cassette album. This is the band in one of their big band periods, featuring scorchingly intense and absolutely mind-blowing Space Rock with emphasis on the ROCK and monstrous playing from all musicians. If the Mahavishnu Orchestra decided to become a Space Rock band they might sound something like this. It brings a tear to my eye hearing such incredible music and imagining if it got the kind of exposure it deserved. Next is an excerpt from the 1992 Radio Special Volume VIII cassette album and features the heavy rocking with double saxophone dueling with keys Jazz-in-Space side of the band.

The 14 minute Herb’s Dream (dated 2000) is new to me. The musicians are clearly in the formative stages of putting a piece together as it’s a pretty loose jam. The guitar starts out with a Psychedelic Bluesy feel but ends up in ripping fuzzed space. There’s some energetic Jazz flute soloing alongside the guitar which sounds really nice. We’ve got space synths galore and a lo-fi but cool sounding Herbie Hancock styled keyboard solo.

A standout track is the 12 minute appropriately titled Experimental Improv from an unknown date. This is a fascinating piece that features a different side of Alien Planetscapes, consisting of spaced out sound exploration and some downright haunting horror movie soundtrack themes.

Pre-Flight is dated Sept. 2001 so… maybe from the Strange Daze festival? Probably not; I don’t think Doug jammed on flute like this at that performance. Regardless, this is a cool Soft Machine in space jam with intense acidic guitar and ripping solos, flute and electronic effects mania.

Finally, we’ve got a brief preview of the forthcoming Green Mars album, featuring a 1999 electronic Doug and Richard Orlando recording from 1999 which is the follow up to the Blue Mars CD Rich released last year.

If you never had the chance to explore the many 1990s versions of Alien Planetscapes, especially the pre-Life On Earth lineups, then this is an outstanding collection that you should check out.

Alien Planetscapes – “aka: Doug & Carl, Live in Brooklyn March 13, 1987″ (Galactus 2015, CDR)

Here we’ve got a duo electronic edition of Alien Planetscapes with Doug and Carl Howard. Carl was quite the energetic make things happen guy in the independent music underground in the 1980-90s. He recorded as Nomuzic, ran the Audiofile Tapes label, and published the short lived but excellent Artitude music paper. AND he was in the late great Space Rock band Born to Go, who sadly left no official recorded legacy and most people only know about if they saw the band perform live.

The sound quality of this live performance (that Carl remembers as being in a dive bar that no longer exists) isn’t great, but certainly good enough to be of interest to AP geeks like myself who can get a sense of what was created. It’s nearly 60 minutes of electronic space excursion with an experimental edge. We’ve got gradually drifting soundscapes and a variety of bleeping, howling and other alien effects, plus sporadic bits of percussive clatter. What I like best is the subtly but ever changing moods and interesting use of effects. The music runs a gamut that includes drugged electronic orchestral ensemble, playful cosmic whimsy, sci-fi soundtrack narrative, haunting drones, effects-laden floating space electronica, and all manner of exploration. The three tracks are titled Selma Freedom March 1965 Parts 1-3. As Doug says near the end: If you don’t know what that means, go back and check your history.

Third Sun – “Rooftop Follies” (Galactus 2015, CDR)

Finally we have a real treasure from Doug Walker’s past. Third Sun was a pre-Alien Planetscapes band that existed from 1971-77, and like Alien Planetscapes the lineup was continually fluctuating. I had previously heard two Third Sun recordings on an old Sound Of Pig label cassette called The Baby M Trial, which featured a 6 piece lineup from March 1976 and a 4 piece from May 1976.

Rooftop Follies consists of a 55 minute July 1976 set by the trio of Doug Walker on alto sax, flute, vibes, and percussion, Pablo Calogero on alto sax, flute and percussion, and Ron McCalla on electric piano and percussion. The music is a blend of Prog-Jazz, Canterbury, Soft Machine, Sun Ra, and a variety of free-form avant-but-accessible Jazz workouts. Comparisons could be made to The Muffins, a regional contemporary of Third Sun who I know Doug was a fan of. I like the jamming sax as the electric piano tinkles a pleasant melody and the percussion sets a tribal grooving beat. The dueling sax and flute with the piano playing mediator is fun. The music is beautifully melodic throughout and the electric piano sound is lulling. Much of it has a narrative feel, like it’s the soundtrack to a children’s theater Jazz production. A real treat for those of us who want to know as much of the Doug Walker historical record as we can get our hands on.

Email Richard Orlando at porcupinejones@yahoo.com to order.

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

I could go on at length about Greg Segal. In the 1980s he was the guitarist in the improvisational band Paper Bag who had four albums on the SST label. And in addition to numerous other bands he has recorded a stunning array of music across numerous solo albums. The body of work is HUGE. But the responsibilities of parenthood have dictated higher priorities so it’s pretty exciting for those of us who have been following Greg’s work to get a new album after what seems like some years. And to say it’s been worth the wait is an understatement.

Greg indulges his inner Proghead on the 21 minute title track. It starts off as powerful Prog infused song. Greg has an unmistakable voice and the vocal portion carries his trademark style, which makes for a distinctive and off the beaten path Progressive Rock style. The music has a potently orchestrated sound at first, but after the initial vocal section veers into a darker Avant-Prog/RIO segment, and from there is continually transitioning. I hear bits of Canterbury, symphony orchestra, Van der Graaf Generator, ripping acid guitar solos, chamber ensemble, Carl Stalling soundtrack, Psychedelic Phantom of the Opera, Mellotron encased Free-Jazz and more. If that sounds suspiciously all over the place, note that these elements are all incorporated into a compositionally intricate narrative flow that in classic Prog spirit transitions through a continually evolving thematic sequence. The 11+ minute The Hook And The Point is similar, kicking off with a spacey sci-fi synth melody before launching into a free-wheeling chamber music/Jazz blend jam. I like the multi-layered combination of horns, strings and dissonant tension. When the music transitions to a vocal number it brings to mind a cross between Robert Wyatt and Dagmar Krause with Henry Cow/Art Bears. This is singer-songwriter music for the Avant-Prog/RIO set, and again I hear elements of Canterbury and Jazz, plus The Residents, spacey Mellotron sounds, off-kilter percussion, and another head-spinning succession of musical themes. Greg’s body of work over three decades is enormous, making it difficult to single anything out, but I have to say these are two of the most remarkable pieces of music he has ever recorded.

Rounding out the set are three shorter tunes. Simple Answers is a fun, almost Country-ish acoustic guitar and vocal number that can’t resist taking the chaotically surreal dreamland detour. Laugh Gently is a Psychedelic Blues song that’s like a cross between Peter Hammill and late period Beatles. And At The End Of The Day is a peaceful piano and vocal song that closes the set. Damn, I hope there’s more coming sooner than later.

For more information visit the Greg Segal web site at: http://gregsegal.com (There’s LOTS of history and information here)
Stream and download from the Greg Segal Bandcamp site: http://gregsegal.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

My first acquaintance with Belgian musician Will Z. was through his previous band, Cosmic Trip Machine, who played a 60s/70s influenced brand of heavy Prog-Psych. On his latest album, New Start, Will plays acoustic and electric guitars, sitar, bass, piano, keyboards, synths, Mellotron, percussion and vocals, with guests on percussion, flutes, oud, vocals, and the late great Daevid Allen contributes gliss guitar to one track.

Inspired by Jain philosophy, New Start is an almost non-stop exploration from start to finish. The set opens with the 13 minute Jain Devotion (Parts I-III). After a few minutes of freaky noodling effects, a lazily grooving and nicely melodic Psychedelic tune begins, with sparse tribal percussion, flute, and spacey keys. When the vocals kick in it’s got a beautiful trippy 60s feel, though it’s also embellished with strange soundscapes and staticy drones, as well punchy spaced out synth lines. This melts seamlessly into Namo, which quickly shifts to a more energetic pace, propelled by concert piano and bass and led by choral chanting and spoken word vocals. It’s darkly trippy and the searing sitar wave cuts through the proceedings like a mild acid burn. When the music bleeds into Evil Namo we find ourselves in a firestorm of orchestral madness, with anguished howls, crashing percussion, wind tunnel drones, and general fire and brimstone chaos. For the first time things actually come to a momentary halt and then Greek Loop starts fresh, starting off with a Psychedelic Oriental theme. But it quickly transitions to a chaotic spaced out effects melee that preps things for the rhythmic Nefle, which combines wildly wah’d fuzz licks, pulsating and totally tripped out alien synth waves and ghostly effects, and carried along by a hypnotically thrumming bass groove. Wrapping up the set is the 11 minute Jain Devotion (Parts IV-V), which returns to the seductively Psychedelic album opening theme, though we’re now far deeper in exploratory space, with the music tripping along into a Psychedelic dreamland that is part acoustic, part orchestral, and with an edgy acidic sear. It eventually settles into a jam that powerfully recalls early Amon Düül II at their most freeform and spaced out. VERY intense and my favorite track of the set.

In summary, there’s a lot going on here. The album as a whole is quite a journey with all kinds of thematic twists and turns and really has to be heard in its entirety to be appreciated. The opening and closing Jain Devotion tracks hold their own as stand alones but the shorter tracks they bookend really need the strung together sum total to make sense.

For more information visit the Mega Dodo web site at: http://www.mega-dodo.co.uk
Stream samples and purchase at: http://megadodo.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Vespero continue to evolve, and on their latest album, Fitful Slumber until 5A.M., they serve up one of their most compositionally and instrumentally sophisticated and exciting sets to date. The band describe the album as a “conceptual piece touching upon the theme of intricate functions of the human subconscious, dream-visions and music”.

The “intricate” and “dream-visions” descriptors certainly resonated with me throughout the set. Vespero are deep into complex Prog territory on this album, while incorporating all manner of Jazz, ethnic and Space Rock influences.

Vision 1: Ogni Fuoco consists of high energy Prog-Jazz-Space Rock. The bass and flute provide the jazzy feel, with an almost bouzouki sounding instrument injecting the ethnic vibe, and rocket propelled synths taking it all into space. The music is clearly composed and very tightly executed, but Vespero manage to maintain a loose knit feel, even drifting off into mellow soundscape segments. After that opening roller coaster ride we’ve got Vision 2: Outer Planting, which alternates between an Ambient-Prog take on traditional ethnic party music and dreamy deep space interludes, with excellent use of mandolin and a sci-fi ooo-wee-ooo keyboard melody. Vision 3: Kamzas Red Sands could be the cool grooving Space-Prog soundtrack to a sci-fi secret agent flick. Vision 4: 1507 mixes Dashes of Discipline-era King Crimson with the Jazz, ethnic and Space Rock influences that pervade throughout the album into a steadily and heavily rocking and rolling sprint to the finish line. Vision 5: Ezel blends bouncy jazzy ethnic Prog with dreamy soundscape excursions and blistering Space Rock. I like the whirling dervish ethnic vibe of Vision 6: Atil and its explosive heavy rocking spaced out Prog-Jazz that at times brings to mind a cosmically ethnic inflected Soft Machine. And Vision 7: Kidish Hail is a darkly reflective, oddly dissonant Space-Ambient-Jazz rocker that closes the set.

I’ve been an impressed follower of Vespero since their launch and have to say this is hands down their best album to date. The musicianship and compositional acrobatics are mind-blowing, but maintain a relaxed freeform feel so as to dispense with any overly flashy pretentions. This is complex Prog that rocks hard and takes chances. Fitful Slumber until 5A.M. will be a shoe-in for my Best of 2015 list. No shit, RECOMMENDED!

For more information visit the R.A.I.G. web site at: http://raig.ru
Stream, download and purchase CDs at: https://raig.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz