It's good, but not as good as 70's Yes. Nowhere near. Steve Howe plays some amazing lead guitar on the title track and Jon & Billy do a great job of conjuring up Anderson and Squire at times. Worth a listen but it took me quite a lot of plays before I liked it.Originally Posted by JKL2000
I've struggled to find much at all this year that I like. I've listened to a lot but everything sounds similar to something I already have. These are all that i've bought that were released in 2023:
Manna/Mirage - Autobiographie
Aida- Terre de L'autre Cote
Jonathan Scales - Re-potted
Actionfredag - Turist i eget liv
Rien Faire - Peuple
Just picked up Himlackbacken 2 - Moon Safari right at the end of the year now and, yeah, this may be my #1.
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A gentleman is defined as someone who knows how to play the accordion, and doesn't.
I’ve found a lot of great albums this year. The problem with these topics is that I find a bunch of new albums through your lists and my list won’t be ready for half a year.
Your question was directed to Steve983, but I'll chime in. To my ears, Mirror to the Sky is very very good. I haven't bought many cds this year, but have listened to some albums via Spotify. Take that into consideration when I suggest Mirror, for me, deserves a high ranking. No, it's not on par with their mighty seventies releases, but it holds its own, and in context of Yes's recent output, it stands alone, in my opinion.
Not sure if this helps, but it's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it!
Many great records this year, but for me the number one is an easy choice. Uriah Heep's Chaos and Colour is an amazing record.
Hiromi's Sonicworld (it's fusion but far closer to the jazz side of things... but I absolutely love it!)
I agree 100%. I didn't much care for their previous release. But I really liked Mirror to the Sky. I hope they can do more albums as good.Your question was directed to Steve983, but I'll chime in. To my ears, Mirror to the Sky is very very good. I haven't bought many cds this year, but have listened to some albums via Spotify. Take that into consideration when I suggest Mirror, for me, deserves a high ranking. No, it's not on par with their mighty seventies releases, but it holds its own, and in context of Yes's recent output, it stands alone, in my opinion.
Not sure if this helps, but it's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it!
Welcome to PE. If you want to watch old men argue about old musicians, you've come to the right place!
jamesmanzi
Thanks for the honest opinions on Mirror to the Sky. I should probably buy a copy of it.
My recommendation is to listen to the album first.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
I'm going to have to go ahead and agree with that. That album landed squarely in my 'Meh' category this year.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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I don't follow hundreds (thousands?) of musicians like some PEers.
My 2023 best:
The Murder Capital - Gigi's Recovery
Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex
Empire State Bastard - Rivers Of Heresy
Peter Gabriel - i/o
Queens Of The Stone Age - In Times New Roman
Jethro Tull - RökFlöte
Last edited by Geoff O'Donoghue; 12-18-2023 at 10:57 PM.
"One should never magnify the harsh light of reality with the mirror of prose onto the delicate wings of fantasy's butterfly"
Thumpermonkey - How I Wrote The French Lieutenant's Woman
"I'm content to listen to what I like and keep my useless negative opinions about what I don't like to myself -- because no one is interested in hearing those anyway, and it contributes absolutely nothing to the conversation."
aith01
I did listen to some of it, but I didn't make it all the way through. Well, I'll try again on Spotify and see how it goes.
IMHO jump to the title track and see if that works for you. If it doesn't (not a certainty either way honestly) then the rest of the album isn't likely to win you over either.
I'm in the "like it" bucket but I definitely understand others being in the other camp. It's a good to pretty great album, not a mindblowing classic on par with past works.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
Isobar - Isobar III
Karfagen - Birds: Passage to the Forest of Mysterious
The Chronicles of Father Robin - The Songs & Tales of Airoea Book 2: Ocean Traveller
Lars Fredrik Frøislie - Fire Fortellinger
I Am The Manic Whale - Bumper Book of Mystery Stories
The Winter Tree - Earth Below
Glad to see this on someone's list!
1. Pasinkel, Maraude automnale (France)
2. Essor Et Chute, Essor et Chute de notre Civilisation (France)
3. Gravity Fields, Disruption (Spain)
4. Agusa, Prima Materia (Sweden)
5. Jordsjø, Salighet (Sweden)
Honorable Mentions:
Lars Fredrik Frøislie, Fire Fotellinger (Norway)
Markus Venehsalo & Mavon Safia, Introlation (Finland)
Isobar, Isobar III (USA)
The Chronicles of Father Robin, The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book I (Norway)
Squeaky Feet, Cause for Alarm (USA)
Chad
They will definitely be on my top 5 list, which I'm still compiling... waiting to hear a few latecomers, and revisiting some from earlier this year.
Funny, I had this one as 2022, but I see it was released this January. That will impact my list, as I really like this album.
Bill
A strong year. Very hard to compile a top 10, but here goes (might feel different tomorrow)
1 Poil Ueda - Poil Ueda
2 Haralabos Stafylakis - Calibrating Friction
3 Awadagin Pratt - Stillpoint
4 John Ghost - Thin Air. Mirror Land
5 Black Country, New Road - Live at bush hall
6 Lankum - False Lankum
7 Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy activities and the Maple Death
8 Roomful of Teeth - Rough Magic
9 The Mercury Tree- Self Similar
10 Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Continuing
ALso bought and quite like (in no particular order):
Ymusic - Ymusic
The Filibuster Saloon - Going off topic
Bob Drake - The room in the tower
Valve - Tiny Pilots
Q- Q
Gong - Uneinding Ascending
French TV - A Ghastly state of affairs
Eclectic Maybe Band - Bars without Measures
Jack O' The clock - The warn, dark circus
Jennifer Rieser - Golden stake
Univers Zero- Lueur
Yussef Dayes - Black Classical Music
5UU's - Live at Wurzburg
Poil Ueda - Yoshistune
Craig Fortnam - Ruins in Time
Jordsjo - Salighet
Jamie Branch - Fly or Die
The Witching Tale - What magic is this
Resistor - Illuminator
Nile on Wax - After Heaven
Solstein - Solstein
Complete Mountain Almanac - Complete Mountain almanac
Agusa - Prima Materia
A Light Sleeper - Equaeverpoise
Homunculus Rees - Ecco L' Impero dei doppi Sensi
Paskinel - Maraude Automate
Kavis Torabi & Richard Wileman - Heavens Sun
The Holy Family - Go Zero
Join the Din - Change
a.P.A.t.T. - We
Amoeba Split - Quiet Euphoria
Illegal Crowns - Unclosing
Ultraphauna - No no no no
Pixvae - OI VE
Rhun - Tozih
Crown Lands - Fearless
Angel Ontalva - A haunted , hidden world of caves
Fistfights with Wolves - The Sheep that eats the wolf
Zopp - Dominion
Julia Holter & Alex Temple - Behind the wallpaper
GoGo Penguin - Everything is going to be okay
Flip Noorman - Sings Tom Waits (in het nederlands)
The Mercury Tree album is SUPERB.
Artist formerly known as Phlakaton
Yeah , I saw little praise on this board but it is really really good.
You not heard the new ni yet?
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
I'm one of the 212.
It is still on my bandcamp wishlist. I heared some of it but I am not (yet) convinced it is for me.
ni is too one-dimensional for me. As individual songs it's strong stuff, but as an album it quickly becomes boring.
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
Here's what I've picked up this year with a few thoughts on each album.
Blood Ceremony, The Old Ways Remain: My current musical fascination is with "stoner" rock (or "heavy psych," if you prefer a less derogatory term) led me to this band. Old Ways is my first album from this Canadian band. It will not be the last. Lots of early Tull and Deep Purple influences (which I suppose are stoner-ish). The guest fiddle player adds a lot of texture. This is an album I picked up and sort of forgot about. Revisiting it over the past few weeks has really made me take notice of a good album and a very good band. In fact, it's a strong contender for my album of the year.
Cheer-Accident, Fragments 02: Probably shouldn't include compilations in my year end review, but, meh, it's my review and I'll write the rules as I see fit. Like the first volume in this series, a mixed bag. Isn't there a new Cheer-Ax studio album out? How come I don't have that yet? I should probably get it.
Chronicles of Father Robin, The Songs & Tales of Airoea: I'm just going to count this is a double album (for now) and move on with my life. I love both volumes. One thing I've been noticing (especially on Book II) is how much the songs benefit from a straightforward approach by the drummer. I remember Gentle Giant's John Weathers saying something about how he tried to push the songs forward. He didn't want to play around the edges; he wanted to be the band's propulsive engine. An easy comp for this band is Wobbler (for obvious reasons). Whereas the drummer from Wobbler is fussy, skittering around the edges (not, for what it's worth, a criticism rather simply an observation), the drummer here is doing some Pugwashing (if you will). I really like all these tunes. Hopefully the recent spate of live shows are recorded and released. I'd love to hear what this band can do live.
Crown Lands, Fearless: I like Rush. These guys like Rush, and they recorded a very heavily Rush-influenced album. It's terrific! The live version they released is even better! I worry about the future of the band given the recent personal developments surrounding Bowles' identity. I hope both Bowles and the band can fully heal and carry on.
Lars Frederick Frøislie, Fire Fortellinger: Karisma is definitely my label of the year. Lots of great releases including this album from Wobbler's keyboardist. The vox are a bit strained, but that only adds to the homespun feeling of the album.
Peter Gabriel, i/o: Still processing this one. Not a lot has really jumped out at me yet. Definitely one I need to spin some more.
Gong, Unending Ascending: Album of the year for me. The current Gong can do no wrong. If Torabi's guitar is indeed a spaceship, I am happy to go along for the cosmic ride.
Green Lung, This Heathen Land: Crunchy riffs, wild vocals, swirling keys, pagan rituals, psychedelic mushrooms. What's not to like?
Haken, Fauna: A return to form for the band after the hard shift to a more metal sound (and I like the last two albums!). Glad I had a chance to see them live.
Peter Hammill, In a Foreign Town / Out of Water 2023: These are both good, but I can't imagine I'll reach for them over the original albums. Glad I have them, and there are some interesting choices PH made in recreating them.
Hawkwind, The Future Never Waits: Very similar in style to 2021's Somnia but with more of a band feel. Nice balance between Brock's riffy rock songs and Martin's spacey jams. Apparently there is a new album on its way in 2024. My father-in-law recently turned 80. I joke that he's now old enough to run for president of these United States and/or join Hawkwind.
Howling Giant, Glass Future: Fuzzed-out stoner guitars blend in nicely with proggy keys and almost pop-like vocal harmonizations. I missed a chance to see the band on their most recent tour. Hopefully that won't happen again. I've been spinning this one a lot. Prog fans (as opposed to stoner metal fans exclusively) should find a lot to like here.
Ice Age, Waves of Loss and Power: I think this is what folks call tech- or prog-metal. I'm not a big fan of the genre (though, obviously, I like Haken, too), but this album really hits me in the right spot. Over-the-top and bombastic in all the right ways.
Iron Jinn, S/T: I really, really need to give this one a better listen. For whatever reason, it just hasn't connected. Loud and brash but still trippy and out there, the band have a style that is tough to describe. The overall feel is dark, like a forest ritual gone out of control. I should like all that, right? I'm sure it'll click sooner or later.
Jack O' the Clock, The Warm, Dark Circus: I picked up this album when I was knee-deep in Karisma label recordings, and I pushed it to the side in favor of mellotrons, fairies and flutes. I've been revisiting it hard over the past few weeks. Once again, great stories and great playing. How can a song like "Stuck Inside of Elvis" get stuck in your head? How does that happen? This feels like a transitional album as Watkins has noted that the band's rhythm section has turned over. If that's the case, what an album to go out on. The twenty-minute punch of "How Are We Doing . . . " and " . . . And Who Will Tell Us?" is a fascinating musical journey. Maybe this is my album of the year? But . . . Gong! Ach, these rankings are irrelevant, aren't they?
Jethro Tull, RökFlöte: I like most of this album. Quite obviously, there are reasons not to like it. Anderson can still craft a good tune, and the band he's got around him has a chance to stretch out here and there. Why is the production so sterile?
Jordsjø, Salighet: More goodness from Karisma. More flutes and woodland rituals and snow and illegible fonts! I have no idea what this album is about, actually. But it's good.
Kanaan, Downpour: Sometimes brutal fuzzed out jazz rock from this Norwegian band. Do you like Hedvig Mollestad? Well, she's on one track here, and the overall vibe of the music is not so far off from what she's doing. The drummer is now in Motorpsycho!
Large Plants, The Thorn: Huh? Wolf People? Wait. No. It's Large Plants! Hooray!
Dave Lombardo, Rites of Percussion: What does an all-percussion (or nearly all--there are some atmospheric keys) album from Slayer's (and Fantomas' and Mr. Bungle's and Dead Cross' and . . . ) drummer sound like? A punch in the face? A kick in the teeth? Yes. But also "no."
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
PART TWO:
Melvins, The Devil You Knew. The Devil You Know: Six songs from the hoary past re-recorded with the current Melvins line-up. It's not too hard to like this. The Throbbing Gristle-inspired album they released, on the other hand, is not my cuppa. I got a chance to see the band with Boris a few months ago. They are always good.
Mondo Drag, Through the Hourglass: <Imaginary band conversation> "Hey, we like Pink Floyd, right? Sure we do! And we've got all this vintage gear and probably some drugs. Let's make an album."
Motorpsycho, Yay!: It took me a while to warm up to this one. A vocal-forward Motorpsycho album at this point in their career is not the first thing I would hope for. (Neither are particularly great singers, something I think they'll admit to, and there is some wear and tear going on.) But dismissing this album as lightweight is certainly a folly. The more I've spun it, the more I've fallen in love with it. And it is a very pleasant 180 from their last few dense, proggy albums. At this point, Motorpsycho really can do no wrong in my eyes. Now when is that North American tour going to happen??? (I know the answer to that, and I don't need you to tell me that the only way I'll ever see this band is to travel to Europe.)
Le Orme, . . . And Friends: The first disc in this three-disc set is a proper Le Orme album, and it's good. It references much of the band's history while also pushing the narrative forward. I haven't explored the other two discs much.
Pere Ubu, Trouble on Big Beat Street: More electronic bleating, slashing guitars, skittery drumming and Americana musings. This albums is long (over 70 minutes), and there is still a lot going on that I haven't fully processed. But it's good. I'm glad David Thomas is still out there on the edges and reminding us that it doesn't take much to push one right over.
Ring Van Möbius, Commissioned Works Part II: Six Drops of Poison: ELP-influenced prog power trio released ELP-influenced prog power trio album. I could say more but . . .
Soft Machine, Other Doors: Not a whole lot of thoughts on this. I like it. It works for me. John Marshall (RIP) sounds remarkably good on it.
Swans, The Beggar: It's so much music, and it's not an easy listen. I sometimes grow frustrated with Swans. Can I really listen to Gira drone on for another five minutes? Ach, there's a really cool bit right after that. I guess I can--wait, is he droning on again? I really want to like this album. A few more spins, right?
Kavus Torabi / Richard Wileman, Heaven's Sun: Fucking brilliant stuff. Perfect late night chill-out album.
Tu-Ner, T-1 Contact Information: The album doesn't do much for me. Seeing the band live, though, was amazing. Concert of the year for me.
Tusmørke, Hestehoven: Did I already say something about flutes, woodland rituals, fairies and unreadable fonts? Got it.
Weite, Assemblage: Krautrock-inspired Krautrock. Mellow but never under-the-radar, the music demands your attention and engages you every step of the way. Elder's Nicholas DiSalvo is (I think) at the helm for this one. If you liked Delving or Elder's Silver and Gold Sessions, you'll like this.
Steven Wilson, The Harmony Codex: Does anyone else get a sense that the songs exist so that Wilson can experiment with his new Atmos toys? I'm slowly appreciating what's going on here, but I can't get over the feeling that this is more about a new sound system than a new musical expression.
Wizrd, Seasons: Fuck yeah. It's a Karisma album but no flutes or woods and, surprisingly, very few wizards! I hear they're recording a follow-up. This is good news.
Yes, Mirror to the Sky: Dear Yes, you have a pretty good rhythm section. Turn them up in the mix and give this music, much of which is good, a little more life.
The 3 Clubmen, s/t: An EP of Andy Partridge-like pop songs from Andy Partridge (and friends whom I don't know). It's good but, well, it's not a new XTC album, is it?
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
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