My First #VINYL reaction video (not digital files) of an excellent album, followed with my 'Top 7 Fave things' countdown....coming down the YouTube pike....
Buck's Moonlight Revival - self-titled - ALBUM REVIEW [concept album/ lo-fi alt-folk]
by Dean Wolfe, Prog dog Media [album released June 27, 2021]
[note: they have a new music coming out soon!]
When I think about concept albums lo-fi folk isn't the first thing that springs to mind. Cue Buck's Moonlight Revival- a couple (Eric and Caitlin) shacked up in a house in Kingston Ontario with loads of 'vintage' gear including an 8 track Tascam 488 tape recorder as the centrepiece (thought there might be a cat there who would feel otherwise).
Add to that mix: a taste for atmospherics that hearkens stark and barren landscapes not unlike the icy north, sweet and wispily lilting female vocals, gently picked acoustic guitars, analog synths and layers of bowed instruments of any stringed variety, plus a touch of harmonica and saw (of the tree-cutting variety).
The lyrics are adapted from the poems of singer Caitlin's grandfather who yearned that one day they could be put to music.
The album flows from track to track. It's meant to be enjoyed as a whole. The only break is in the very middle of the album when either the tape or vinyl record would need to be turned around- something that is novel to the recent generation who know only the world of streaming (but a resurgence of cassette decks and record players are bubbling underneath the surface and gaining popularity among younger folk).
There is a great relaxing simplicity to this record. There are no drum machines, no real percussion of any kind, except for the natural rhythms evoked by Eric's fingerstyle guitar and baritone ukulele pickings between long breaks of atmospherics utilizing found sounds and backward tape meanderings. This self-titled album evokes a feeling of soul-searching as if you are gently becoming aware of a long lost memory. It's full of buzzes and vibrations, breezes and birds, haunting echoes and soothing singing.
Prog dog score: 4.5 / 5 bones. Buck's Moonlight Revival is no less epic for its quietness. It marks an exciting (but calming) start to this couple's career. May it be long and prosper.
deanwolfechannel.blogspot.com/2023/06/bucks-moonli…
Bear Ghost "Jiminy" ALBUM REVIEW
by Dean Wolfe, Prog dog Media (released 2023).
Bear Ghost, out of Phoenix Arizona, are a very unique high energy trio (nuclear at times)-- a catchy mix of melodic and intricate thrashiness, pop, punk, rock, theatrical and prog. One outstanding feature of this band is the guitarist/vocalist, Ryan Abel who is a singing powerhouse, slightly reminiscent of Freddy Mercury of Queen. In fact I'd be very surprised if at least someone in this band isn't a huge Queen fan.
This band is relentlessly tight- just watch one of the live shows on YouTube (or better yet, in person as they are touring). Andrew Heath plays bass and backs up on vocals, and Myke Buttonz in on drums (is that a real name? My auto-correct hated it). There's some additional instrumentations on the album like trumpet, violin, piano, keyboards, ukulele, glockenspiels and other incidentals sprinkled here and there, plus some lovely female vocals.
Bear Ghost's music has a fun and irresistible quality (I doubt there's anyone out there who wouldn't be tempted to sing along in the 'la la la la la' parts on the album's opening track). I noticed in a live video of the band that the audiences sing loudly along with the band on stage and in effect become part of the performance.
Humour, and to a degree, silliness, is on full display in the band, and without any of those downer irreverence vibes. No, this music is uplifting and can even be triumphant. The final track 'Vulture' is passionate and emotional, and the only 'slow song' on the album, and it's damn good as well. In fact, that's my only 'complaint' about the album- I'd like to hear some more slow songs by the band- just to balance it out a bit, but that's coming from an older music-fan dad dude. (Please note: there's a bonus track at the end of my CD which features an acoustic guitar/vocal song- beautiful!)
Some of the songs would be great in Scooby Doo cartoons during the monster chase segments. I hope that doesn't sound mean- I actually LOVE Scooby Doo (some of the remakes are better than others). Props on the album graphics too.
Bear Ghost are so out-of-the-ordinary they may have pioneered a new category of music, a term which they have all around their website and Facebook pages: "Adventure Rock." Prog dog scores this "Adventure Rock" album a more than respectable 4 bones out of 5. (*The score may go up- I like to reserve the right to do this over time if albums soak further into my soul).
progdog.ca
Returned to the Earth "Stalagmite Steeple" ALBUM REVIEW [Art Rock, Prog Rock Adjacent]
by Dean Wolfe, Prog dog Media (album release date: June 14, 2024)
I love it when I can connect with an album. When I was cycling through "Stalagmite Steeple" by UK band Returned to the Earth for review purposes I felt a bond being established. It was probably the third time through when I had to leave the house... and I didn't want to turn the music off!
Right up front I will mentioned that "Stalagmite Steeple" is very much akin with Steven Wilson's softer side, (like Hand. Cannot. Erase.). I would consider it art rock for sure, definitely progressive-adjacent. There is a high-standard of tastefulness in production, atmosphere and composition. It's an intriguing listen. Singer composer Robin Peachey's voice also reminds me of Wilson's (Peachey also performs on guitar, piano and synths).
If this album were a book, it would be a page-turner. Each track feels intimately connected and companioned- it is a spiritually cohesive whole. One concept tying it together lyrically is Robin Peachey's musings on empathy, escape, compassion and perhaps tragedy.
The album is largely slow without being plodding or diluted. Nor is it slow in the romantic or love-ballad sense. Melancholic? Maybe, but for me it's not depressing. Its only shortfall is that it deserved an exorbitant studio budget like in the days of yore when labels would spend a million dollars to record an album. On this project it would have not been wasted. So in that sense the canvas is slightly modest or sparse in parts, but since the material is so powerful it stands on its own quite confidently- a testament to all of the strong-boned melodies and composition.
The album is airy and spacious, carefully laid out and allowed to breathe, pulse, unfold deliberately and unhurriedly. That's such a different vibe than is so popular in the world right now; a world of maniacal TikToks, YouTube Shorts, busily shuffling Spotify playlists et al. Perhaps Stalagmite Steeple is a musical remedy or salve of sorts for this modern age- a balm for souls being run ragged- being pushed and pulled from all directions at once.
It's also beautiful. In fact the friend who recommended I check this album out used the word 'gorgeous', and he's right. The paradox here is that the album is also emotionally deep-cutting, drawing its listener into musical depths of profound contemplation.
There are no 'skip-pers' on this obviously carefully and lovingly crafted album. It's a consistently enjoyable listen throughout and there's even a nurturing quality or vibe I get from it. It has a timelessness to it as well.
I'm a new Returned to the Earth fan now, so I can't compare this to any of their previous 4 albums- I've not heard any of them! However I am so curious to explore them.
Fave track: Dark Morality.
The Prog dog score is 4 1/2 out of five dog bones. It's a gem.
progdog.ca/
deanwolfechannel.blogspot.com/2024/05/returned-to-…
Citrus Moon "Citrus Moon" ALBUM REVIEW instrumental prog rock/ math rock/ post rock
By Dean Wolfe, prog dog Media (album released Feb. 2023)
Citrus Moon are a 4 piece instrumental band out of Chicago. They will appeal to many a progressive rock fan (King Crimson fans for certain) as well as math rock fans (I will be video-interviewing the band and will post a link below when it's done).
Based on my ears alone I can tell you electric guitar is prominent in this band: with 2 guitars, bass and drums being the substance of it. The players are Demetri Bairaktaris, Kevin Polochak, Seth Beavis, and Patrick Stevens. The songs are dynamic and full of punctuations like '!', '!!' and '*'. The songs are very memorable and distinct despite there being no singing. Each tune covers much territory. Citrus Moon sound extremely tight and move along like a single giant Mecha robot. Each song is a varied story like on 'Los Lunas', they move through rock passages and into almost Caribbean detours. There seems no limit on these guys: they move freely from riff to melody to tension-building passages. The drummer breathes and fluctuates with the band as well as pinning songs solidly to the ground.
I even detect kind of African influences in the guitar work- there being plenty of clean electric guitars as well as distortion soaked segments. Guitar geeks will obsess over where single coil and bridge pickups were employed, what the hammer ons were, what amps did the guys use etc etc. But overall it's a fun and appealing album that I would even rate high on the 'girlfriends/wives will like it' chart (a 'plus' for many of us dudes who like to listen to a wide variety of musical experimentations). There's even an orchestral string flash in 'Dark Rainbow'.
Overall the album feels quite playful as well. Not to be outdone, the bassist does get aggressive at times with his tones, and reminds me of the legendary Tony Levin.
There's no outright heavy-metal vibes with the band. They play it restrained and the melodies emerge naturally.
In summary I'd say these guys are explorers. The album is rich, very rich- with both simple and intricate musical concepts and ideas. They have a great chemistry and I would run, not walk, to any gig that I could attend. This is what the world needs more of today: bands! Real bands! Bands that play together and stay together, exploring musical territories together.
This album earned a well-deserved 4 out of 5 bones on the prog dog chart.
citrusmoon.bandcamp.com/album/citrus-moon
Prog dog interview link: https://youtu.be/s_5CJqWrEDc?si=g730c...
Thanks Everyone: I've got 30 requests and here they are:
Radiohead - Airbag (How Am I Driving) mini album - @ectoplasma5
The Smashing Pumpkins - Machina (entire album) - @alibabaschultz352
Radiohead - More non-album tracks or a full live show (Glastonbury 2003 or The Jools Holland special) - @rohnnyjotten3985
Pescado Rabioso - Artaud (album) - @natanielcostard
Streetlight Manifesto - The Three of Us - @seanhembree6154
Pacifica - Silent Affection - @stevegfromnc3482
The Stone Roses - Debut album - @boyreporter
Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us (new album) - @Lebowski55
The Warning - Burnout (new release) - @DarrellW_UK
The Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania (album) - @floortworecords
Aviations - Coma or Blink, or Retrospect version of Outliers (single) - @collinolevson6883
Coheed & Cambria - The Afterman: Ascension (album)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Ethiopia and Aquatic Mouth Dance (tracks) - @seanhembree6154
Fleet Foxes - Self-titled (album) - @_CoasterNinja
Infected Rain - Lighthouse - @RussInCanada
Various avant-garde and experimental artists (e.g., Varese, Subotnik, Monk, Cage, etc.) - @MisterWondrous
Two Bad Bricks - Blue - @richardadesmond
Portishead - Third (album) - @thedaimhin4535
The Vegabonds - @dawntie
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (album) - @sonsofliberty9630
The Sixsters - City and I Stare At You - @brentkelsay3439
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden or Laughing Stock (albums) - @cgallagher4501
Minami - Konomachi ni hare wa konai - @danielduarte6802
Slowdive - Souvlaki (album) - @boyreporter
BE’LAKOR - @cranboogie
Obsidian Tide - @jennifer9047
Cattle Decapitation - Circo Inhumanitas - @justinquamme916
Black Sabbath - Self-titled (early album) - @GIBKEL
The Warning, Bandmaid, Nemophila, Bad Omens - @hardknox1917
Tracks produced by Nigel Goodrich - @benfarrellathome1786
A crocodile eating a turtle whole - @dizzydial8081. (haha, really!?)
Want to add any?????????
Help me out everybody: what would you like me to react to?
Did you know I used to react to music in my car???
Swans were an early staple on my channel. They had a big influence on me: I had the idea for "commit an act of listening' while listening to them in my car!
www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
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