Kindo @ Skyway Theatre (Studio B) 8/9/19

Kindo/The Reign of Kindo played their 1st headlining show in Minnesota on Friday night at 1 of the smaller venues inside The Skyway Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.

I could be wrong, but the tour they are on is their 1st headlining tour of North America, at least outside the Northeast.

How many people were there? I would guess maybe 100-150, but I'm not certain. There are Kindo fans in Minnesota as I know from the 2 most recent shows they played here (April of 2019, and August of 2017). I also have found some of their cds at Half Price Books and even Cheapo perhaps.

So I must mention the openers, which were all good, enjoyable and music I would go for hearing more of. Maybe most in particular, Rocco of the Snow, the 1st band. Rocco DellaNeve is the keyboardist from Kindo, but he has some fantastic music of his own.

I enjoyed Rocco so much, I ended up buying his record Prime Mover (not a Rush or Ghost reference).

I took from Rocco's music to be very catchy, dreamy and electronic rock. Almost like a cross between The Apples in Stereo and Timmy Sean.

Very well written, melodic and moody. It almost fits in with the "Indietronica" stuff I've written about, and I talked to him after the show and he kind of likes that term for his stuff. I am really digging it, so much, I can definitely see myself writing something more about Rocco of the Snow soon in here.

Adrian Bellue (not to be confused with Adrian Belew of King Crimson, Zappa, Talking Heads) does this really cool multi-sustained electrified acoustic guitar. It's all just him. Lots of tones and effects. Similar to say Michael Hedges or Tim Reynolds. He was crazy good. And he is planning on playing Minneapolis again this Fall (October? I thought he said).

I actually messaged him a few months ago when he was named for this tour, about the Adrian Belew thing, and he told me he may try and do a Bellue plays Belew sometime.

Sirintip is what I would describe as a Female Singer/Songwriter, but maybe with a bit of a Jazz and Soul element? But her show on Friday was JUST HER. Ala Imogen Heap, or Kimbra at The Cedar a few years ago, or even St.Vincent many years back at The Walker.

It was her and an assortment of keyboards and microphone effects.

Very moody, atmospheric and electronic.

She reminded me of those above and even say Jessie Ware at points.

The highlight for me was a song she dedicated to a friend who had died recently. Very melancholic.

Her music might do well with film or television, as it has a cinematic quality I enjoyed. Although I wonder what it would be like with a full band, which she said this is the 1st tour she's done without one.

And as far as Kindo, it was another fantastically energetic show with many highlights.

I Hate Music maybe being my favorite as I can't ever get sick of that song. The funky/catchy bass rhythm from Jeff Jarvis, while repetitive, totally works with a sick groove. Maybe even better live than on the studio version.

Waiting on the Wind (not to be confused with Walking on the Wind from Spock's Beard), which is 1 of the Patreon tunes that has not been released, was another great part.

Impossible World, Flowers by the Moon, Something in the Way that You Are and and Just Wait were tunes I don't think I had heard them do be before.

Hold Out and The Moments in Between and of course Hero were others that always sound even greater live. Smell of a Rose, Return to Me and Human Convention also never fail to work well live. Kind of live staples from Happy However After.

Gerald Castillo who plays percussion (Djembe? and some others) really adds a lot to their live sound. He actually had this great drum-off with Kindo's drummer Kendall Lantz, during the encore during Just Wait. It was a really great way to end the show.

Also great to chat with members of Kindo, including Joey finally. I told him about my love the tune "Poor and Hungry Kings" ; how it's now become 1 of my 5 favorite tunes and how much I wish more fans (not on the Patreon) could hear it. But I didn't ask him about when the next album was coming, etc.

He did tell me they are planning on doing 1 of those in-studio videos for Human Convention which should be great to see.

But they have 15? or more songs that didn't get released on Happy However After, and there's more coming. And as great as HHA is (and it is, as I put it #2 on my list of favorite albums 2018), I think many of the strongest tunes from the last few years, from Patreon, have yet to be released. Besides Poor and Hungry Kings, stuff like Ladybug and Citizen of Nowhere namely. And that tune they did on Friday, Waiting on the Wind.

So depending on schedules, maybe their next record will come in 2020 or 2021?

I also talked about The Dear Hunter with them, and how Nick Crescenzo on a recent podcast mentioned being a huge fan. I think it's not IF but just WHEN they finally tour with TDH. Because I would estimate like 50% of the TDH fans are Kindo fans.

Also cool to see some local fans, 1 being Tom from the band Earthrise. He was animated the whole show, getting the fans into it in the front.

the other being Matt O'Leary who I found has a great YouTube Channel where he talks about prog and indie rock among other genres. He has even done collaborations with Notes Reviews in fact.

I was able to chat with him and his wife Nina about a number of topics, mostly music of course as they are both huge/passionate music fans (and musicians themselves, which I guess was the original intent of their channel).

We talked among other things, about Kindo and what we could do to try and help them sort of breakthrough because we know they could have a larger audience if given the amount of exposure. My friend Nate mentioned to me how with Kindo, their music is almost too diverse for the masses, as catchy and melodic as it can be. Like Keane goes Jazz-Rock.

But I still wonder, given the right tour or a hit single or something, they could find a larger audience. I suppose my fanboy bias is included in wanting that so much; but I have seen this happen many other times; King's X, Three, dredg, etc, etc....The Dear Hunter and Dream Theater have kind of been exceptions to an extent. Baby-steps at their own gradual pace?


Set List
Let Me Be
Hold Out
Impossible World
Human Convention
Waiting on the Wind
Bullets in the Air
Romancing a Stranger
Return to Me
Something in the Way That You Are
Flowers by the Moon
The Hero, the Saint, the Tyrant, and the Terrorist
Smell of a Rose
The Moments in Between

Encore:
Feeling in the Night
I Hate Music
Just Wait

Kindo @ The Amsterdam Bar w/ Thank You Scientist and ItPoW 4/25/19

I saw Kindo again last night, for the 2nd time in less than 2 years, at the same venue they played at in 2017, The Amsterdam Bar in downtown St.Paul.

The set list below I believe is correct as I found it on setlist.fm for other shows this tour.

Great show, great performance, yadayadayada of course. "Till We Make Our Ascent" was the biggest highlight for me as I still consider that my favorite track from them. I literally got goosebumps through much of it.

The band's lineup was a little different than from 2017, which I think largely was due to time. Steven Padin was not there, but new drummer Kendall Lantz . Also 2nd percussionist Geraldo Castillo also was not there either, but a really talented guy whose name I didn't catch either.

Kindo did announce they will be doing a Headline Tour this Summer which includes a show on Friday August 9 at The Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis.

I can't see missing that of course.

Kindo of course has their Patreon which I am a part of, receiving 1 new song nearly every month. They've released 15+ new songs that were not included on Happy However After, *however* in speaking with Jeff Jarvis and Kendall at the Merch booth, their next official album isn't likely to be coming out all that soon. I wonder if a lot of that has to do with the touring and also among those 15 tunes and what I would assume, is many not released songs, they aren't ready to release a group of them together yet.

I.e. I'm not expecting their next record for probably 2 years. But as a Patreon, I can't be unhappy about that given how many new songs I already have been able to hear of course.

And I did see Joey and sort of talked to him during Thank You Scientist's set, which was loud of course. He asked me if I could chat after the show, and I told him yes.

But unfortunately, I had to leave at 11PM. TYS was still playing, and a combination of:
-My back and maybe unexpectedly, MY RIGHT ANKLE were bothering me.
-My wife needed to go into work at 6AM (getting up at 5AM likely), so I really needed to get home and to bed. As it turns out, she didn't get up/go into work at that time.

I didn't get to chat with Joey more for that reason, but hopefully next time.

Kindo
Obsolete (abbreviated)
The Hero, the Saint, the Tyrant, and the Terrorist
Human Convention
Till We Make Our Ascent
Feeling in the Night
Symptom of a Stumbling
Return to Me
Nightingale
The Moments in Between

Estradasphere and RX Bandits? This was the 2nd time for me seeing Thank You Scientist. The below set list was taken from another show this tour on setlist.fm. I don't know their catalog well enough to know how accurate it may or may not be.

I can say, I enjoyed their performance more than the show I saw them open for Protest the Hero. They have some great moments in their music, and while I still can't avoid hearing their singer channeling Claudio Sanchez, at 1 point last night I almost thought he sounded like Chris Ruff from Kaddisfly (Buy Our Intention-era).

They even included some ethnic instruments and instrumental sections which were cool and fun.

They are kind of technical and staccato-happy, almost

Their drummer, honestly should form a band with the bassist from White Denim in that he looked like he was about 19, but he was rather good.

And I guess they are going to go on tour with Bent Knee later this year. which I can totally follow and if it hits MN I likely will go.

Their "new" or new album-songs I may have enjoyed more than anything else they did, and their new album coming on June 14th is a Double LP, and I probably will try and check it out (time permitting of course., and disciplining myself. Instead of at-work, I'll try and add to the flash drive in the car).

But I can't say I still have been won-over enough by TYS that I enjoy them enough to consider myself a fan yet. I went through a similar situation with The Contortionist, Leprous, Riverside and even RX Bandits even. But with all of those bands, I never got hugely into them, but they did release 1 album I went back to at least (and made my end of year album list).


Thank You Scientist
Wrinkle
FXMLDR (listed as 'Half Knuck' on the setlist)
Blood on the Radio
Son of a Serpent (listed as 'Serpent' on the setlist)
Absentee
Lo Mein (unofficial name from setlist)
The Amateur Arsonist's Handbook
Poop Magician (unofficial name from setlist)
Chromology (listed as 'Buc-ee's' on the setlist)
Shitballs (unofficial name from setlist)
Mr. Invisible
Terraformer

Encore:
Feed the Horses

This is not the exact set list as it was taken from another show on setlist.fm, and they did play a cover of Let's Go Crazy from Prince, and likely 1 or more of those other songs was not included.

As for them, I enjoyed moments in their music, probably some of the more proggy, technical parts. The Bass Guitar, not unlike other shows, was WAY TOO HIGH in the mix for me. At points it seemed like more or less all I was hearing.

Their singer both also sounded like he was doing his version of Claudio Sanchez, and also was too low in the mix I could barely hear him (on their 1st song).

But overall, their energy and busy moments I enjoyed.

In the Presence of Wolves
The One Who Fell to Earth
M.U.A. (Manipulation Under Anesthesia)
Let's Go Crazy (Prince Cover)
White Noise
Thalassas II: What Dwells Below (The Portal)
Man of the Times

Also it was neat to see some friends: Rob from Brice Play Drums/The Dang Ole Triole,
Nate and Heidi, 2 other local progrock fans.

I didn't see YouTuber Matt O'Leary nor Min Lee, but maybe next time.

Video: 893 Essential Songs, Foals, Dug Pinnick

I'm off today and had to drop a few items off at the storage space, so it was convenient to make a quick video.

The midseason may be including a video (likely without many physical items).

The React to Songs list, a video? I don't know how long (winded) going over it would be. Perhaps an abridged/summary video could work. Again, of course time permitting.



Update:

Kindo concert in St. Paul, MN
Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part
Dug Pinnick - Dug Pinnick's Tribute to Jimi
89.3 The Current's 893 Essential Songs since 2000 comments

Owel - Paris (2018-2019)

Classic Case of I've been checking out, but still have yet to hear an entire album (or heard it to form a semi-accurate opinion).

However, I've listened to about 2/3 of this album once, and some of the 1st couple of tracks a few times to know I am pretty much won over.

Credit goes to a super Mew/The Dear Hunter and PCR fan like myself named Heather whose maybe known best for her work on the MewX podcast.

Edits will likely have to happen, but this album dropped last Friday March 29th and Heather along with others comparisons to MEW along with some others (Oceansize and Kindo) had me curious.

Lorenzo from altprogcore also posted about them on twitter and his blog I assume.

Lots of great strings, namely Violin.

I hear Jazzkamikaze, Paper Route, Team Me, Ours, The Receiving End of Sirens, Aereogramme, Miracles of Modern Science, Revere and a lot of others.

The vocals are probably the biggest challenge, but technically their singer is pretty good. And the vocal lines are well-written. He just has a bit of an "Emo" or Youthful side (but not really like Anthony Green thankfully for me).

That and I suppose partially due to originality. They do remind me of a lot of other artists, however I think their songwriting is good enough it may not matter.

And this is their 3rd album, so I may have to go back to their previous two LPs eventually.

but for now, another album and ARTIST to come out of nowhere on my radar, that is doing progressive college rock with strings and dreamy dynamic parts that I totally go for.

And they're from New Jersey, so maybe I'll have a chance to see them live at some point.

Also they covered "The Crowing" from Coheed and Cambria, which I will have to check out soon.

Kindo Spring 2019 NA Tour w/ Thank You Scientist + ITPOW

Very excited to see KINDO Again! Thursday April 25th at The Amsterdam Bar and Hall

Thank You Scientist and Kindo seems kind of obvious and I think they either toured together or at least played festivals like ProgOctober Fest in Chicago together.

In the Presence of Wolves I have known about for a few years, and while I've never loved them, I am hoping they could win me over live.



April 12 Jersey City, NJ
April 19 P Pittsburgh, PA
April 20 Toronto,ON
April 22 Lansing, MI
April 23 Columbus, OH
April 24 Chicago, IL
April 25 St.Paul, MN
April 26 Lawrence, KS
April 27 Denver, CO
April 28 Salt Lake City, UT
April 30 Portland, OR
May 1 Seattle, WA
May 3 Oakland, CA
May 4 Los Angeles, CA
May 5 Phoenix, AZ
May 7 Austin, TX
May 8 Dallas, TX
May 10 Nashville, TN
May 11 Atlanta, GA
May 12 Orlando, GA
May 14 Carrboro, NC
May 15 Washington, DC
May 16 Ardmore, PA
May 17 Cambridge, MA
May 19 New York, NY

Albums of the Year 2017-2018 (11/1/17-10/31/18)

Another 12-month cycle of albums and here's the List of releases I checked out and got into since November 2017.

I think overall 2017-2018 was in some ways a better batch of releases than 2016-2017 during-the-year.

The Family Crest and Kindo releasing new albums within 1-week of each other back in April was a really big deal for me and while nothing came out that seemed to be better than both of them, the 2 of them held up for me quite well.

But, given the records I've discovered from the year before this (Dirt Poor Robins) the feeling about this being a greater year than last year may not be true now.

I think like many years, this past year seemed to have a lot of favorite artists with potentially coming out with new albums that I was excited for. And some of them did (Bend Sinister, Kimbra, Kindo, Family Crest, Galactic Cowboys, Vennart), but many of them still did not. Which makes 2018-2019 of course a very exciting year to anticipate.

But like many years, some pleasant surprises are always a big part of what makes this fun. Grimus for one coming out with a really good new album, especially given I haven't thought about them for a few years.

Also getting more music from Fjokra (and in Physical form being on Vinyl) finally and another album from Small Leaks Sink Ships, but not expecting it so soon.

The Gloomcatcher and even the 1st Typhoon album in 5 years of course was a big deal for me.

And finally an album from King Gizzard that works as-a-whole, which may stick out in their catalog given the varied styles and prolific-ness (they released 5 albums in the past 12 months? and maybe closer to 10 in the last 5 years?)

But I suppose this past year was a year with a good mix of favorites and surprises that I look for in every year.

We'll see what happens in the next 12 months to find out how it compares, but I in no way find what I've been able to get into over the last year disappointing.



Only heard clips from
Umphrey's McGee - It's You
Metal Allegiance - Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty
Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It
Paul McCartney - Egypt Station
Dog Fashion Disco - Experiments in Embryos

Live Albums


Fates Warning - Live Over Europe


Michael Nesmith and the First National Band Redux - Live at the Troubadour


iamthemorning - Ocean Sounds


Renaissance - A Symphonic Journey

Meh

Canon Blue - Lasso Yo
Bill Hubauer - We Came from Space
Greta Van Fleet - Greta Van Fleet
Nicholas Krgovich - In an Open Field
Nicholas Krgovich - OUCH
Nile Rodgers and Chic - It's About Time
Lawrence - Living Room
Prince - Piano and a Microphone
Umphrey's McGee - It's Not Us

67-1


67. Dessa - Chime


66. Harakiri - Alchemy Choir


65. Umbrellaman - Volcano Beach [EP]


64. God is an Astronaut - Epitaph


63. Chromeo - Head Over Heels


62. White Denim - Performance


61. Arcane Roots - Landslide [EP]


60. Anna von Hausswolff - Dead Magic


59. Jason Bieler - Birds of Prey [EP]


58. Field Music - Open Here


57. The Arusha Accord - Juracan [EP]


56. Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer


55. Spock's Beard - Noise Floor


54. The Mercury Tree - Cryptic Tree [EP]


53. Lenny Kravitz - Raise Vibration


52. Inferi - Revenant


51. Soft Machine - Hidden Details


50. Dream the Electric Sleep - The Giants' Newground


49. Hannah Wicklund and The Steppin Stones - Hannah Wicklund and The Steppin Stones


48. Phideaux - Infernal


47. Vennart - Copeland [EP]


46. StellaRoma - Revel and Ritual


45. Kai Danzberg - Pop-Up Radio


44. Myles Kennedy - Year of the Tiger


43. Minus the Bear - Fair Enough [EP]


42. Hands of Despair - Well of the Disquieted


41. The Monkees - Christmas Party


40. Tax the Heat - Change Your Position


39. Josh Rouse - Love in the Modern Age


38. U2 - Songs of Experience


37. Punch Brothers - All Ashore


36. The Sea Within - The Sea Within


35. Augury - Illusive Golden Age


34. The Dang Ol' Tri'ole - Dang!


33. Josh King and Them - Into the Blue


32. Nosound - Allow Yourself


31. Fish - A Parley with Angels [EP]

A great preview for the final record coming in 2019.

I have to say maybe the thing that stands out most is hearing a live version of "The Voyeur" it hit me how much it reminded me of some of the Shaming/Kaviar Kevin Gilbert stuff.


30. The Faceless - In Becoming a Ghost

"The Spiraling Void" stands out as 1 of the best tracks they've done. The rest is good but I am on the fence about this band with all the drama and members leaving, etc, kind of bugs me to want to listen to this of late.

Maybe more down the road.


29. Journal - Chrysalis Ordalias

This is massive and long and layered. Not too different than Unlorja, their last album from 2010.

It's still moody though.

But it's as technical and epic a record that came out this year, but sadly went under the radar at this point. The Tech/Death and Metalcore scene should check this out certainly.


28. Capital Cities - Solarize

"Venus and River" is my favorite, but take all the singles and the Swimming Pool Summer EP and you have a good collection of catchy tunes, while not new when it was released, can't be ignored how consistent they are.

But I do agree with many in not liking this quite as much as their debut A Tidal Wave of Mystery.


27. Yossi Sassi and the Oriental Rock Orchestra - Illusion of Choice

Very fun and progressive. Middle Eastern instrumentation with a lot of strings and heavy rock riffs at times. And largely instrumental which in some ways adds to its charm.


26. Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pacifisticuffs


25. Crippled Black Phoenix - The Great Escape

A return to form in some ways. Maybe their best record since I, Vigilante.

Not too long, and this isn't their 5th album in 3 years. I wonder if they may have spent more time on this, it showed in it's quality?

although glancing at their discography, they released a few albums in 2017 and 2016, so I'm not sure.

Regardless, this record I enjoy, and more than many of their other recent ones. It almost reminds me of what Klimt 1918 should still be doing or me enjoying music like Katatonia more than I normally would.

 
24. Between the Buried and Me - Automata I/II

Better than expected, although the style is really not much different than their last few records. I think with some good moments and the length not being too much helped these.

"Yellow Eyes" off Automata I is 1 to go back to certainly.



23. Esperanza Spalding - Exposure

An original experiment being written and recorded live for 3 days, streamed on Facebook.

I enjoy a lot this, although I think a lot of it is more traditional jazz sounding than
Emily D+-Evolution or even 12 Spells which came out later.

But the ambition here may have more legs in the long run.


22. The Dear Hunter - All Is as All Should Be [EP]

It's The Dear Hunter and while it's 6 tracks or whatever, I still enjoy them quite a lot.

But at the same time, they are not from The Acts or any concept other than how they were recorded at 6 lucky fans homes/hometowns.

"The Right Wrong," "Blame Paradise," and the title tracks are favorites.



21. Typhoon - Offerings

Very dark and still containing some of the chamber rock/folk stuff I enjoy.

"I Remember" and "Rorschach" are 2 of the best parts.


20. Kimbra - Songs from Primal Heart: Reimagined [EP]

These are surreal and sublime at times. Even better than the original studio version in some ways.

It's only 4 tracks though which is maybe the only issue.


19. Esperanza Spalding - 12 Little Spells

Loving A TON of this. The odd/quirky jazzy-pop section that to me is being as progressive as any jazz artist working today.

"Touch in Mine," "Dancing the Animal," "You Have to Dance," "Readying to Rise," "Thang," "With Others".... jazz, prog, soul, r and b..even a bit of spoken word iirc.


18. Childish Japes and Dave Vives - Salamander

One of the best surprises of the year. This is probably my favorite release JP Bouvet has done since The Super Pilots.

And Dave Vives is an outstanding singer which truth be, I think makes this album 2 or 3 times as good. He totally has a great Jeff Buckley-thing type voice at times which I totally love.


17. Bend Sinister - Foolish Games

"Shannon" is a hugely catchy, riffy tune. The rest of this album is still very consistent with many layered tracks with riffs and keyboard parts that still really work.


16. In Vain - Currents


15. Galactic Cowboys - Long Way Back to the Moon

The Cowboys are back! And this is no slouch of a record with energy and heavy riffs in their progressive-grunge style.

Dane Sonnier, their original guitarist sounds awesome, as does Ben Huggins and Monty Colvin on many of these banging tracks like Zombies and Internal Masquerade which are catchy as hell at times.


14. Black Belt Eagle Scout - Mother of My Children

Wonderful 2nd LP from Katherine Paul of Genders. Some of this reminds me more of her work in Forest Park. Very dreamy and atmospheric.


13. A Dying Planet - Facing the Incurable

Great, emotional, atmospheric prog metal from the Tipton brothers with guests including a track from Erik Rosvold.

Like the samples too.

Sad/melancholy also given Troy having to only be a vocalist and not a bassist anymore, but you can totally hear it in his voice and the music.


12. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Polygondwanaland

The best King Gizzard album for me, and their proggiest.

"Crumbling Castle" is quite the piece.


11. Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs

Hugely symphonic and their most technical.

It's long, but all of their albums are.

But it goes up from All Is One and even ORwarriOR I guess in some ways in that I think it flows slightly better.


10. Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis - Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures

Epic, although that's kind of par for their course. I can't deny, this album reminds me a bit of Good Apollo 1 more than I would expect.

No production/mixing issues and there are some quite good melodies here. The 1st 3-5 tracks and the last 3-4 songs sans for the last song "Lucky Stars," I get sucked-in, in some ways like Good Apollo 1.

Stronger melodies and deeper/ more addictive moments help this one compared to so many of their previous albums.

Like it a lot, and maybe their best album since Good Apollo 1 (The Afterman albums were decent, but I at this point would lean towards this record over those).

Probably their 3rd or 4th best record for me.


9. Kimbra - Primal Heart

Heavily Electronic at times, but a lot of the songs still have good moments. "Everybody Knows" is a favorite especially, and I do enjoy many of the singles.

I suppose I can't deny that some of the different elements and feelings from older fans about it not being as pop or soul-driven are valid, but I enjoy every track enough to not be bothered by the differences.

I just hope/wonder if this is her new muse/direction, or is this album kind of a 1-off experiment and she may want to still emphasize her jazz and pop side again more in the future (my wife who enjoys Vows and a song like "Miracle," feels this way).


8. Vennart - To Cure a Blizzard Upon a Plastic Sea

Pretty dense and varied album that I do enjoy more or less every track. I suppose to be fair, I haven't been as attached to it as I wish, otherwise it may be even higher.

"Donkey Kong" and "Spider Bones" are both excellent and among the best songs he's written.
"Diamond Ballgag" and "Immortal Soldiers" are 2 other standouts.


7. Small Leaks Sink Ships - Polaroid People [EP]

4 tracks from Small Leaks, and all 4 of them are awesome. I may even feel some of these are better than the Golden Calf stuff from last year.

This band is on a winning streak I hope never ends.

Quirky, layered post-rock prog who as I've said, remind me of Menomena and Wolf Parade at their most progressive.

This one has a cool electronic side to some of it.

Great, emotional vocals as usual.


6. Fjokra - Evening Lights [3-track Vinyl, [1B]

A 3-track single, but it finds its way here and this high because it includes that many tracks.
Poppy, experimental, jazzy, loungey, and still kind of crazy.

The title track may seem tame to those who want the most "out there" Fjokra stuff, but I still love how melodic it is.

This guy and his band are savants and even if this is his approach of singles/videos, I am still a happy Fjokra fan with that way of making/releasing music.


5. Long Distance Calling - Boundless

All-instrumental, but it hardly hurts this album. In some ways it feels like a sequel to the classic Avoid the Light.


4. The Gloomcatcher - Blade in the Belfry [EP]

Breath of fresh air to get another new batch of tunes from The Gloomcatcher! Love the piano and acoustic melodies.


3. Grimus - Unmanageable Species

Another great layered/textured pop/rock album from Grimus. I will probably never get past but also always find no problem with how much I love their music reminding me of Ours/U2.


2. Kindo - Happy However After

A great collection of tunes that are maybe more prog-rock than some of their other albums. These songs I loved per the Patreon and they have held up for nearly 2 years.


1. The Family Crest - The War: Act I

My favorite record from one of my favorite bands this decade. While I love Beneath the Brine, I feel this album is even better. I suppose part of it is the consistency and flow. Every track I enjoy and it never drags. Catchy, energetic, and diverse. Many tracks also get better with time.




Next/Now the Current year.....

2018-2019 (11/1/18-10/31/19)

A More detailed entry coming soon

Confirmed titles
22 - You Are Creating: Limb2
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time
Dan Mangan - More or Less
Fish - Weltschmertz
Muse - Simulation Theory
Ours - Part 2: New Age Heroine
Ours - Part 3: Spectacular Sight
Roine Stolt's The Flower King - Manifesto Of An Alchemist


Artists
Arch / Matheos
Bent Knee
Dirt Poor Robins
Disillusion
dredg
East of the Wall
Flying Colors
Foals
iamthemorning
King's X
Local Natives
Neverending White Lights
Ours (a 3rd album TBA)
Pepe Deluxe