REVIEWS
Andy John Bradford’s
Ocean 5
Progressive Rock is a genre
of music that is split into
myriad different sub-genres.
Each sub-genre is both alike,
and different from every
other genre (if that makes any sense at all), but one
I haven’t heard a lot of is Progressive-Folk, and
Andy John Bradford’s Ocean 5 is just that. And
their debut album, “Return To Mingulay” is the
best example of the sub-genre that I have ever
heard.
What the band have created here is easily
some of the best music I have ever had the privilege of listening to. The vocals and the music have
been written so well, and both compliment each
other so beautifully, that I would be surprised if
this album didn’t get all of the attention that it so
rightly deserves.
The album opener, “The Mingulay Boatsong” is a very beautiful song, both musically and
vocally, but it’s the guitar solo that really adds an
amazing layer of depth to the track. The way it
seems to blend so seamlessly with the rest of the
music makes this song a favorite of mine.
The rest of the disc is just as good as the
opening track, and really has some brilliant moments of music within its grooves. From the slightly heavier feel of “The Whitby Smugglers Song”,
“Dancing With the Rhythm of the Shore”, and
“Empty Hands”, the beautiful “Sails off the Bay”,
and album closer “Fly Away”, and the more upbeat
“6000 Friends” (featuring the vocals of Lorelei
McBroom of Pink Floyd fame), and a song that, to
me feels like it would go over very well with fans
of Frank Zappa, “Dancing With the Rhythm of the
Shore”, this band proves that they are true masters
at their craft, and amazing songwriters.
“Return To Mingulay” is a definite contender for album of the year in my eyes. This album is perfect for fans of folk, progressive rock,
and anybody who loves a well crafted musical
work of art. There is not a dull moment on this entire disc. And also, not to be missed, is the phenomenal artwork by the amazing Sonia Mota. The
graphics are so incredible and fit the mood of the
album just perfectly. I would be very surprised if I
didn’t include this album in my top ten of 2013. Rob Mallory
The Flower Kings
Desolation Rose
When The Flower Kings
released “Banks of Eden” in
June of 2012, fans rejoiced,
the long wait was over. It
had been nearly five years
since their previous release,
“The Sum of No Evil” had been released. So when
the band announced that the would be releasing
their newest album in October of 2013, as a huge
TFK fan, I was elated. So happy that I didn’t have
to wait another few years to hear some new music
from one of my favorites in the Progressive Rock
genre. And as always with this band, I was not disappointed by what they had to offer this time
around.
“Desolation Rose”, released on October 28th of
2013 is everything that fans of the mighty Flower
Kings have come to expect from them, enchanting
melodies, ethereal music passages, beautiful guitar
playing, and the perfect vocal harmonizing that we
have all come to know and love.
As with the previous few albums, the album
kicks off with the big epic piece, the nearly fourteen minute “Tower One”, a song that is destined to
be a TFK classic. With fantastic music, and an incredible vocal performance, it’s no wonder the
band chose this song to kick off their twelfth studio
album.
And the good music doesn’t stop there, as
the band expertly tear through another nine tracks
of pure proggy goodness. From the crunchy rock of
“Sleeping Bones”, to the beautiful prog melodies
and groove of the title track, the diversity of “The
Resurrected Judas”, the very dark and ballsy duo of
“Dark Fascist Skies”, and “White Tuxedos” and of
course the beautifully majestic songs “Blood of
Eden”, and disc closer “Silent Graveyards”, it’s
evident that releasing an album so close to the release of the previous posed no problem for these
seasoned prog geniuses.
When you stack this album up against the
other albums in The Flower Kings discography, I
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