Doomsayer's Holiday

Remastered with 2 bonus tracks."‘Map of the Past‘, the fifth studio album from Cumbrian prog rockers It Bites, will most likely inhabit a strange, disturbing place in your heart. It’s a release that is obscurely beautiful and tender, but also one that can occasionally sound incongruous and lost in time. Very often, when it comes to progressive music, people will often justify anything odd by defending it with its genre. In the case of It Bites, there is a temptation to lean on a sound from their 80s heyday, which occasionally makes ‘Map of the Past’ seem staid and not just a little cheesy.In places this album is a wonderful, soaring retrospect vision of a forgotten generation, built around the ‘discovery of an old family photograph’. Although not a concept album per se, ‘Map of the Past’ explores the idea of lives captured within photographs, and reflects these contemplative visions with equally thoughtful music; album opener, ‘Man In the Photograph’ opens with the fuzz of radio static and soon leads into sound of organs and John Mitchell’s recollections borne from this one picture. The song blends into the more progressive sounding fare of ‘Wallflower‘ and its indulgent synth solo. The title track is more engaging, with soaring chorus vocals and disorientating time signatures, showcasing the tight musicianship and richly mature songwriting ability that has grown from their 30 years of existence.The strength of this album falters with ‘Flag’ and its irrepressibly outdated smattering of 80s memorabilia and Sting powered vocal lines, although the lyrics are undoubtedly more engaging than any Police offshoot. The album does have a tendency to wander into these unpalatable territories, but more than often than not redeems itself; as the grandiose, irresistible flounce of ‘Send No Flowers‘ resurrects its orchestral bombast and moves into ‘Meadow and the Stream’s artistically detailed backdrop, it’s clear that this album is more rollercoaster than record. The album finishes, as it started, relying on simply constructed songs and that radio static to bookmark the end; ‘The Last Escape’ is honestly beautiful, and seems even more so in contrast to the tumult of the remainder of the record.‘Map of the Past’ shifts between temporal paradigms rather than changing between tracks; it’s a scintillating album that is honest to itself, and stays true to It Bites’ form, even if it does rely on sounds from their back backcatalogue occasionally. Despite this, the depth of the album is phenomenal and is genuinely rich in its storyline, with music that peaks and troughs fittingly. Well worth a listen if you find yourself pointed at the progosphere." - Bring The Noise

Recorded during the band's live performance residency in Tokyo, this is a complete rendition of the first album, Storia Di Un Minuto."To celebrate the 40 years anniversary of "L'isola di niente", PFM have recorded an incredible series of live albums, where they play the original first 5 LPs tracklist in its entirety for the first time ever. This energetic new version it is called "Un minuto" features the first historic LP "Storia di un minuto" with all its fantastic tracks including, for the first time, "Grazie davvero", never played live before.Released in CD papersleeve, "Un minuto" is part of a series which includes the first PFM's five albums reproduced live, to be collected in an elegant box called "Il suono del tempo"."

"Much like my addiction to Swiss roll, for some people more is never enough. You’d have thought two wildly successful “day jobs” would be enough to keep some folks busy. But not so for Katatonia lead vocalist Jonas Renkse and The Pineapple Thief front man Bruce Soord. Clearly they've got too much time on their hands as they have come together to create Wisdom Of Crowds. I can tell you now, I am eternally grateful that these two chaps did a bit of moonlighting. As will you.Originally written for Renkse’s voice, Soord sought out the acclaimed vocalist to complete the compositions and release the music to the masses. In doing so, Bruce Soord has found the perfect foil for the music he has written. Which is all at once jagged, sharp, melodic, aggressive, tender, sparse and loud. What anchors it all together, what makes it a cohesive mix, is Renkse’s vocals. His delivery is sublime. But we’ll come to that in a bit…Album opener ‘Pleasure’ sets up the album with Renkse’s weary and plaintive voice stretching across the track as it morphs from electronic intro to a upbeat mix of live instruments, effects and sounds. This album is different to their respective bands yet retains enough familiarity to comfort fans of both. Title track ‘Wisdom Of Crowds’ evokes a faint vibe of early Gotan Project with its horns and sparsely placed guitar lines whilst ‘Radio Star’ leaves you haunted…. leaves you looking for something as Renkse sings "give you the lights, give you the stars, give you a sign".Standout track of the album is ‘Frozen North’. It’s simply stunning. A melancholic guitar line awash with strings coupled with Renkse’s beautifully evocative vocal melodies and lyrics transporting you to a place of reflection. When, 4 minutes into the song, we descend musically into a fantastically out-there blend of electronica with jagged shards of glitchy noise rhythmically pounding towards the conclusion of the song. It just feels right and natural. It feels magnificent.Next up we have ‘The Light’, a more traditional (as in what the uninitiated imagine it to be) prog tune that is reminiscent of Saucerful-era Floyd with its backwards guitar and drumbeats. It’s 7 minutes of pure progressive music: bluesy guitar licks on a bed of synths with again startlingly intimate vocals.  ‘Pretend’ counters this with aggressive shards of guitar playing from Soord.With that we head into the final 3 tracks on the album. The triumvirate of the album in fact. I’ve genuinely never heard an album FINISH with such breathtakingly songs. Most artists would have put these tracks at the top of the album such is their magnificence. ‘Stacked Naked’ shimmers into view with a tenderly melodic  intro backed with some wonderfully harmonised vocals. Renkse’s lyrics painfully urging "if anyone should ask how the story goes just pretend we're almost there just pretend....pretend.....". ‘Centre of Gravity’ is a song that made me think of the bond of friendship, of the shared experiences, of the sharing of secrets and hopes and dreams. It ends with Jonas repeating "hold out your hand", a plea to never let go of what once was but also as an offer of support. And finally ‘Flows Though You’ arrives with a wail of siren and simmering aggression. Renkse defiantly proclaiming "I can lose but I will never break" as the song heads towards a cacophony of drums, guitars and electronica.So. After all that what is this album like?Jonas Renkse’s vocals and lyrics are the highlight of this album. They are the lynchpin of the entire record. No matter where the music goes, no matter what genre it delves into, the guiding light is his voice, his delivery and inflection. In Soord, he has found a collaborator that can create music that uses every aspect of his voice and talent.It is a stunning album in both depth and range of emotion and music. It captures so many genres and yet defies labels. Part rock, part electronic it's all blended together to create and album that lifts you up, makes you think and most importantly makes you FEEL. There is a hypnotic use of space and dynamics from the frailest most intimate ambience to bombastic guitar driven sections that lift your spirits. It is everything you can want from an album and more." - Echoes And Dust 

"The second, along awaited album from the italian multi-talented band is finally out! And "it's not so far" (in italian language "Non è poi così lontano" is a Perigeo work) from the expected!During the preceding months the band has given to fans information about their hard work in studio, but nothing let us know what would be their new musical orientation, though they were noticing it would be different from the debut one!Now we know at last! Though it's not so far from the first one, with a similar melancholic ansiogenic mood and the same powerful expressivity, there's a great melodic research and this gives easy pleasure to the listener, notwithstanding the harmonic and structural complexity. Let me tell you, this is only from talented and inspired musicians: the others entangle themselves in boring and uselessly complex structures.The opening track 'Wait For Me' starts with a powerful intro in Echolyn - Änglagård style, but it suddenly changes in a melancholic mood when Calandriello starts his beautiful singing.It's very difficult to find out what are the more representative tracks since the whole work is very high level. Surely the opener 'Wait For Me' has its big impact, as 'I Feel Like Snowing', the crimsonian 'Pleasure of Drowning', the dramatic 'Open Window' and the intense 'Not Now', this last sometimes recently performed LIVE. The whole work is enriched with musical and sound effect refinements which often bring pleasing surprise to the listener. For a NOT lazy listener this is a pleasure.. hasn't it?Calandriello, in my opinion, reaches his highest in intensity and melodic inspiration, the sound effects and the registers of Botta's keyboards are charming and refined, Zago's guitar work, in counterpoints, accompaniment or solo, has always the right tune and visionary intensity, Malacrida's refined drumming is a powerful support for Cassani's complex bass patterns.King Crimson is reborn in Italy? Not so true! Though the crimsonian inspiration is alive and well, as painful moods, ostinatos, harmonic and structural constructions, NAGS are actually the melodic counterbalance of another italian band where Zago and Botta are involved: Yügen.Sadly in the last days NAGS announced that Zago will not take part to the project anymore. We all hope that Gian Marco Trevisan, the one who will take his heavy inheritance, will be able to grant to the band the same visionary and technical support in future compositions.The last track 'Farewell' is Botta's special gift to Zago." - ProgArchives

"After 4 studio albums, Papir unleash their first live album. It’s surprising it took so long, since the band’s shows have long been revered amongst fans.The music-biz has also noticed Papir’s stellar live performances: like when Mojo Magazine singled them out from the hoards of bands at danish music-showcase Spot 2012 as THE show of the entire festival - as well as the holy rite of passage for any cosmic Stoner Rock band: The Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, The Netherlands, where Papir was asked not to perform no less than 3 times during the festival in 2014! It’s the first and finest of these shows in full that Papir havde chosen for this release, and it’s all here: Christoffer Brøchmann’s jaw-dropping drum chops, easing from delicate jazzy drumrolls one second into deranged math-psych explosions the next - creating a diving board for Nicklas Sørensen’s vast array of guitar-styles, blending post-rock drones with majestic wah-drenched soloing. With Christian Becher keeping it all together with his bouncing and booming bass lines, as well as utilizing his groovemaker to make blistering ethereal soundscapes.While Papirs albums have always been based on live performances during intense studio sessions, there’s still a different element present at Live at Roadburn - maybe due to the drunken barks from the ecstatic crowd, or the fact that the band is not just playing for the tape machines. There’s an extra layer of adrenaline present - the added aggressive tone of fluttering fuzz and sizzling cymbals, an extra punch and and grit of their build ups. From the first note, Papir show just how far they’ve travelled over the span of a few years, catapulting a motoric track off their self produced DIY debut release into new soaring heights. The show also reworks “Monday” and “Sunday #2” from Stundum - their first El Paraiso-release, as well as drop a highlight from last year’s “IIII” into the equation. As if this wasn’t enough, they premiere two brand new tracks with the same stamina, making sure that Live at Roadburn is not just a roadmap of where they’ve been, but very much an up to date snapshot of one of Europe’s hardest working instrumental outfits.The album was mixed and mastered by Causa Sui’s Jonas Munk from a 24bit multitrack recording."