So aftera short, vacation-induced break we're back with Prog'sTracks Of The Week! Seven brand new and diverse slices of progressively inclined 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.
KATATONIA - TEMPORAL
Doom-laden Swedish prog metallers Katatonia emerge with their first album post-split with guitarist Anders Nyström. Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State will be released through Napalm Records on June 6. The suitably brooding Temporal is the second single to be taken from the upcoming album, accompanied by a quite strikingly beautiful video. The. band kick off a UK and EU headline tour with fellow Swedes Evergrey in November.
"Temporal, when the enchantment is gone," the band say of the new song. "When riffing is on, the combination offers no solace other than the pleasure of the vicious circle & the colours of the night. Enjoy.”
NOSOUND - WORN-OUT PARTS
Italian post-rockers Nosound return with their first new music in eight years with the release of the haunting new single Worn-Out Parts. It's taken from the band's brand new studio album, To The Core, which will be released through Kscope on June 27 and represents a return to the sound of the band's earlier albums like 2008's Lightdark and 2009's A Sense of Loss.
Mainman Giancarlo Erra has described Worn-Out Parts as "probably one of the strongest songs in Nosound’s discography", the song features the return of the guitar bow and includes an impressive guest vocal performance by Louise Pigott.
GAUPA - TEN OF TWELVE
Sweden's Gaupa, now slimmed down to a quartet (former co- guitarist Daniel Nygren left in 2024 to focus on family life), return with a brand new single, Ten Of Twelve, which heralds the arrival of Fyr, a new four-track mini album which will be released through Nuclear Blast Record son July 4. It's the band's first new music since 2022's Myriad, and still shows them to be a hypnotically compelling mix of prog, harder grooves and Emma Näslund's entrancing vocals.
"The rooster is the tenth animal in the Chinese zodiac and that's also the meaning of the title", Näslund reveals. "It's usually connected with perseverance, being on time and alert. The rooster often suggests prosperity and luck in different cultures. I read that somewhere back in the day people thought it was lucky to bring a rooster into the kitchen. I thought that it was a bit fun to play with the idea of a chaotic and unlucky rooster. Someone who just messes things up."
L.O.E. - I WAS NOT MAGNIFICENT
A deeply personal vein runs through the lyrics of I Was Not Magnificent, the latest single from prog-minded UK post-rockers L.O.E. - the trials of bass player Ben Walsh, whose experience with Chronic Kidney Disease has been a defining part of both his life and the band's upcoming EP of the same name, which the band will release on May 23.
"The words in the track are raw and reflective, a quiet acknowledgment of how, in the face of illness or struggle, music has a power that transcends the physical," the band say. "It’s a reminder that, even in our darkest hours, we are connected to something much greater than our individual struggles. The song is not just about music’s power, but about the realisation that sometimes, when we feel the weakest, we can find the most strength through the things that move us."
HIROE - DANCING AT THE END OF THE WORLD
US post-rock quintet Hiroe (somewhat awkwardly pronounced 'hero-way') will release their debut album, Wield, through the Pelagic label on June 20. Ahead of that, they've released the slow-building and mesmeric Dancing At The End Of The World as their new single, which highlights the band's light-to-heavy dynamic perfectly.
"Though seemingly contrasting, "dancing" and "the end of the world" are brought together to symbolise our shared human capacity to transform pain and vulnerability into something profound and meaningful when facing overwhelming adversity," the band say. "Dancing At The End Of The World represents an act of defiant optimism to find hope in the face of hopelessness. It's a conscious choice to find light in darkness and not be consumed by despair, even when all hope seems lost, even when it feels like the end of the world."
GWENNO - WAR
Trilingual art rocker Gwenno will release her latest album, Utopia, through Heavenly Recordings on July 11. Having released three albums sung in Welsh and Cornish, this is her first sung primarily in English. Her latest single, the emotive War, is based on a poem written by Welsh artist and poet Edrica Huws, Vingt-Et-Un, from around the start of WWII.
“I’ve loved this Edrica Huws poem for a really long time," Gwenno states. "She was an artist and poet, and she wrote this at the start of the Second World War. It kept resonating with me over this period where we’ve really normalised the idea of war, and actually at times have perhaps been quite enthusiastic from our sofas. I think her poem is really worth something in an age where we’re obviously tumbling towards something catastrophic. Those words have really reminded me of that very small window you have before it happens — the chance to be considerate, and more vigilant, and aware. It’s the elegance of her writing, the calmness of her writing, the wisdom.”
HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO - BOB'S YOUR GIDDY AUNT
The song title is, obvsiously, a mx of those two old English colloquialisms “Bob’s your uncle” and “My giddy aunt”, both of which appeal to Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad's fascination with language and study of literature alongside her band’s trait of not taking itself too seriously, not to mention having lokng had an English tour manager! The song is taken from the trio's rockingly adventurous new album Bees In The Bonnet which is released today via Rune Grammofon.
“How much can you tweak and twist on a musical idea to make it a full track?," asks Mollestad. "This is an example of that,” says Mollestad of the track. “So many variations over a (long) riff, combined with dynamics, my guess is this will be one of the best head-banging songs for our audience, at least after we finish the long experimental intro!”
