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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Slow Burning Car

Defection

Review by Gary Hill

There is at least one song here that definitely doesn't fit under prog rock. The thing is, there is plenty of prog built into this sound beyond that. Add in the fact that this is just very adventurous (should I say "progressive?") music, and you'll understand why I landed this here. While not everything works completely to my ear, the mix of psychedelia, post punk, space rock and more on this has some stunning moments.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017  Volume 6 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2017.
Track by Track Review
Alpha Duplicor

This comes in incredibly hard edged. It has an almost heavy metal edge to it, but the shifts and changes land this more in the vein of modern prog rock than anything else.

Soul Crimes
There is more of that modern prog element to this, but more in terms of space rock turned shoegaze. Yet perhaps the overall sound lands closer to emo and punk rock.
The Orb

Percussion leads this out and dominates early parts. The cut grows outward from there into some intriguing stuff. The vocals get some processing at times. This is hard edged and a bit raw. Yet, it's also quite definitely proggy in so many ways. It's a complex piece with a healthy helping of space rock and more in the mix.

Devil In The Room
Punk rock merges with a bit of space rock edge here. This is among the last proggy stuff on the disc, but it still has some really interesting space elements at times. I like this stomper a lot. It works really well.
The Sunday Derby

Based heavily on the rhythm section, this is one of the most purely punk numbers here. It's also a lot of fun. It's one of my favorites despite it's general lack of prog rock. That said, the breakdown movement definitely brings it into proggy space territory.

You Can't Stay Here

More purely punk rock oriented, this is a real screaming hot tune. This earns a definite parental advisory. If the whole album were like this, I wouldn't land it under prog. It would still be great, though.

Bedtime

More of a balladic number, this one doesn't work as well for me. Yet it does have some proggy stuff in the mix. The trippy spacey section mid-track is full prog, albeit weird prog.

Chrysanthemum
Another mellower cut, this is definitely trippy and weird. It's full on prog rock, too. I love the intricate guitar picking and the overall dark and gloomy sound to it despite the brightness of some of that guitar.
Polar Warden

Trippy, freaky stuff opens this. After that introduction it gradually coalesces to something a bit more musical. Still, it remains understated. This is very much psychedelically based space music. This instrumental (there are some spoken voices  - soundbites - more as background) is intriguing and quite tasty. At over eight and half minutes long, it's also an extensive piece of music. It's the most purely prog related thing here, too.

Clouds

This is more of a driving, punky number. It still has spacey, psychedelic layers built into it. It's pretty catchy and interesting. This is a cool way to end the set, really.

 
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