TEE "The Earth Explorer"

TEE is a five piece flute front progressive rock band from Tokyo, Japan. Their so-called 'European' sound is unique considering their far-east origin. The imaginative tunes with complex ensembles and rhythms will definitely catch the attention of prog lovers all over the world. Their sound will remind you bands like Camel, King Crimson, Asia Minor or even Frank Zappa on some parts. The band was formed in 2004 when... more

Kevin BARTLETT

You may not know his name but you have definitely heard his music more than once or twice in your life. Maybe on HBO, or on MTV, or on VH1, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel. Doesn't ring the bell? How about American Idol Rewind, or Dr. 90210? We had interviewed Kevin Bartlett a couple of years ago when his second solo album GLOW IN THE DARK was released. Bartlett has been quiet since that time but but he has been secretly brewing new projects. A few months ago he had put a new song...more

Peter Hammill, founding member of Van Der Graaf Generator, released his 28th solo album " nearly 3 months ago. He recently got back home from a short tour covering North America, Canada and Italy. In the 70's when bands like...more

FRIGHT PIG Barque At The Lune *** REVERSAL OF GRAVITY Scuba Gear ***

DAVID PALMER / THE QUALITIES OF SILENCES

This album was recorded in 2007 at, for the most part, the Pfeiffer University in NC. David Palmer wrote all the songs and the lyrics. It sounds like a live recording, not a lot of production went into it. I would not call this album “progressive”, what Palmer was trying to achieve in my opinion was experimenting with different genres like folk, rock, jazz, classical and ambient. Each song has a different atmosphere in this sense.

The first song “Resolve” is a bit ambient. The only problem with this song was that the bass and percussions in some parts sounded a little cluttered. The song itself is well written and has a nice intense atmosphere.

My favorite songs on the CD were “The Moon in July” and “Somnolent Exaltation“, on which Palmer tried a bit of jazz. These are most definitely the better performances on the CD. One song however was quite different then the others, and that was “Der Doppelganger“. It was influenced by classical music. The vocals (Steve Harrill) were especially good.

“Too Metallic To Smile” and “Wal-Mart Chronicles” were on the hard rock side. The problem with those tracks is the vocals. They sound too dry and they were overly dominant in the recording. Although this was a live recording I would like to see some production work, especially a better studio mix, this would really make a big difference.

Hande BURDG