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Back in 2013, before I had the site up and running, I remember reviewing an album called Mistral by a band called A Cosmic Trail. It was a good album and I’ve revisited it through the years. Well, thirteen years later, the band is back with Third, and it’s their best yet. The album released on March 13th.
The band, namely Markus Ullrich (guitars, synth pedal, bass, keys) and David De Liniers (drums), plays progressive rock that regularly incorporates post-metal. There are no vocals outside some harmonies from vocalist Victoria, though you will hear some short voiceovers strewn throughout, mostly about cosmic and human truths. The music is layered, well-calculated, and heavy when it needs to be.
There are only four tracks but the album still runs 40 minutes. The opener “Terra 877” is probably my favorite, a fifteen-minute piece that feels sobering and enlightening; I love the riffy transition in the middle to the celestial final minutes. My other favorite is “Reversio”, a darker piece with energy and quick fingerwork on the guitar. All the tracks are wonderful, though, and make for a rock solid listen. Fans of instrumental prog rock need to take a look.
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I had high hopes for this collaboration between Aurora and The Chemical Brothers. Tomora turned out to be a little too much Chemical Brothers, but I still enjoy it. The debut album is called Come Closer and it launched on April 17th.
I’m a huge Aurora fan. I love all her albums dearly, including her songs that show up in other media, such as Wolfwalkers and Hellblade II. I can’t say I know much about The Chemical Brothers outside a few songs, but the idea of Aurora singing along with electronic/trance music sounded appealing to me.
Unfortunately, Aurora is wasted on much of this album. Most of the songs are extremely repetitive, such as “Ring the Alarm”, and while I’ve come to appreciate those tunes somewhat, I can’t help but feel disappointed. Aurora’s lyrics are always meaningful and poetic, so to hear her used more like an instrument doesn’t sit well with me.
There are several highlights, though. Even though it’s repetitive, the title track is gorgeous. “My Baby” has some color and life that I like. “Somewhere Else” is more like an Aurora song, deeply catchy and vivid. So is “I Drink the Light”, which is damn near eight minutes long and has lots of interesting vocal work. “Wavelengths” is a great ballad that is utterly beautiful. And “The Thing” is a slow-burning yet fantastic tune and probably my favorite overall. I find the album is greater than the sum of its parts, but I can’t help but sense missed potential here. It’ll be interesting to see what the next album offers.
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Plini has made a name for himself over the past decade. His guitar sound is unmistakable and I’m pretty sure he spawned a wave of copycats, if my inbox is any indication. His third album launched on April 24th and is called An Unnameable Desire, though I find it to be just a bit more of the same.
The music here is instrumental progressive rock blending jazz fusion, djent, metal, and more. It feels quite natural, never forced. I think this is Plini’s heaviest record yet, as you’ll hear plenty of riffs, and I think fewer djent portions, too. I tend to like Plini’s more soulful and infectiously beautiful tracks, and there aren’t as many on this record.
Like with his other albums, though, many of the songs blend together in my mind, and while they work just fine as an album, it doesn’t feel like the songs necessarily need to be together. For me, the highlights are “Ciel”, a spunky piece that showcases Plini’s excellent guitar phrasing abilities; “Manala”, the heaviest track and yet somehow it feels serene; and my favorite, “Vespertine”, a cinematic and delicious piece with some spacey quirk. Overall, it’s a solid album that I probably won’t listen to much.
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Find the artists online:
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The PROG Mind 