We're back with a brand new Tracks Of The Week! This week we've got another seven new and diverse slices of progressively inclined music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to Welsh heavy proggers Godsticks, whose guitar and bass playthrough of Hold Back got the most votes last week. Well done boys! Downes Braide Association came in second, with Wingan prog rockers Boss Kelod in a respectable third place.
The premise is simple - we've listened to a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - it 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 (please, don't forget the photo!) and biog with quotes to us here.
LONELY ROBOT - THE RIVER
Lonely Robot have shared a new video for their latest single, the reflective The River. It's the third single to be taken from the band's farewell album, An Ending, which is released today through White Knight Records. It's the sixth and final album from the band. And, dare we say it, one of their very best!
“The River represents the first time within the Lonely Robot universe that I have embarked upon a writing collaboration with someone, which in turn somewhat ironically renders the process a little less lonely," mainman John Mitchell explains. "Writing and recording The River with Jez (Fielder) proved to be a most fruitful partnership centred around themes of memories and loss born of our shared life experience as a pair of adopted kids.”
ØLYP - MOLDEN
France-based instrumental prog metal duo Ølyp are a new one for us, but we're mightily impressed with what we've heard so far. They are Thibaud Lépicier (guitar, bass, additional production) and David Annenkoff (drums) and they will release their debut album, I(m)MORTAL, through Klonosphere Records/Season Of Mist on November 25, on which the addition of violin, viola and cello, pushes the band's cinematic side even further.
"I(m)MORTAL explores humanity’s increasingly fucked-up relationship with nature, environmental collapse and our own role in shaping what comes next," the pair say. "And they do it without a single lyric, just massive instrumental landscapes that swing between beauty and total devastation."
QUIVIRA - THE TURK/FOLLOW THE WIND
US progressive rock trio Quivira have shared a video for their latest single, The Turk/Follow The Wind. It's taken from the band's recently released self-titled debut album, which is out now through Melodic Revolution Records. The band hail from Topeka, Kansas and the connection is further emboldened by the fact the band feature Jake Livgren, nephew of Kansas founding member Kerry Livgren, as well as a member of Proto-Kaw. He's joined by John Baker (Mars Hollow) and keyboardist Lisa LaRue.
The band's debut album focuses on the story of pre-Kansas “Quivira”, the Native American villages that Coronado believed held gold.
KOMPENDIUM - LILLY
Steve Hackett stars in the new video from Robert Reed's Kompendium project, a director's cut of whose Beneath The Waves was released last week through Tigermoth Records. Hackett features on an extended version of the track Lilly. The original album was released in 2012, and alongside the former Genesis guitarist also featured the likes of Gavin Harrison, Nick Barrett, Jakko Jackzyk, Francis Dunnery, Chris Fry, John Mitchell, Nick Beggs, Troy Donockley, Mel Collins, Steve Balsamo and Angharad Brinn.
"I always thought the album was one of the best things I’ve ever done, so as it was out of print, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get the album to a new audience," Reed says. "Also, there were some compromises made with the original album, as there always are towards the end of making any album. Some songs are left off because of time constraints, some not finished, and other choices made in the mix, as you really run out of time and have to say it's finished at some point."
GIANT SKY - LIFTING APPLES
Giant Sky, the solo project from Norwegian musician Erlend Viken, best known as the vocalist, keyboardist and principal songwriter of acclaimed progressive rock outfit soup, have shared their latest single, Lifting Apples. It's taken from Giant Sky III, the third and final instalment of the band's trilogy, which features a guest appearance from Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite. A companion album, The Further We Go The Deeper It Gets, will follow on October 16.
"This album has been with me for a long time," says Viken. "Some of the ideas on Giant Sky III go back many years, and in a way it feels like a cross-section of the last 25 years of my life as a composer. We live in a time where music is increasingly shaped by algorithms, AI and endless digital possibilities. I suppose this record is my way of walking upstream a little bit — taking the slower route, trusting the human imperfections, and letting the music find its own shape. It wasn't a quick album to make, but I'm proud of what it became: ambitious where it needed to be, modest where it should be, and above all, honest.”
SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE - TEMPORARY HAPPINESS REVIVAL
The rather brilliantly named Norwegian instrumental art/prog/post-rock quintet, The Samuel Jackson Five, have shared their latest single, Temporary Happiness Revival. The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, A Passage to Elsewhere, which is released through Karisma Records on October 30.
"Temporary Happiness Revival quickly became a unanimous favourite within the band, and one we knew early on that we were on to something special," the band say. "Built around a sense of nostalgia and quiet optimism, the track aims to capture the feeling of warm summer evenings, the scent of youth. And a bittersweet longing for simpler times. Musically, it blends James Jamerson-inspired bass grooves, neoclassical piano, tape loop experiments, shimmering 80’s synth textures, and traces of imaginary folk music into a lush and layered sonic landscape."
DITCH THE DEMON - MEAT HONEY
Hastings psych/prog rockers Ditch The Demon return with another new single, the distinctly creepy Meat Honey. No, we're not sure what it means, either, but the band describe it as "a prog-rock’n’rollercoaster of a song about the Devil’s hunger for fresh souls." The band’s forthcoming second studio album Fallen Angels, is now due for release early next year.
"Meat Honey came about after bassist Steph stumbled upon an article about vulture bees feasting on carrion, which sparked an idea for a tongue-in-cheek spin on rock music’s obsession with the Devil," the band state. "The accompanying video was shot on a shoestring budget at a former Hastings tap house owned by a neighbour of vocalist Amanda Brooks-Byron. The band’s drummer Neil Warman does his best to look 'seductive yet sly’ in his portrayal of Lucifer…"
