We said this last time we went down the rabbit hole (and the time before that), the prog scene was a big part of where Organ started. Down the Marquee with the cutting edge of IQ, the majesty of Pallas, the bite of Twelfth Night and the rest of them back there and while the prog scene is maybe a little too polite and maybe not that progressive these days it is still worth checking out what the now rather insular scene offers now and again…
Yes I am repeating myself here, I did say all this last time, time and tide and all that and who needs an introduction anyway? We are constantly shouting about the really properly progressive things of course, the things the prog scene and their glossy magazines seem to mostly be oblivious to, the bands on the real progressive cutting edge, bands like Cheer Accident, Yowie or Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Extra Life or KayoDot or Slift or anything truly progressively exciting. The brutal prog of those Flying Luttenbackers would probably send your average porcupine bothering big big pineapple tree follower running to those hills, most so called prog bores the hell out of us these days, when it does dare to be properly progressive like Extra Life were over at New River Studios then it is still thrilling…
Yes, there are still some more conventional “prog” things worth your time so yes, let’s go down that rabbit hole we like to go down now and again. Here’s a thing or two that has come to our attention in recent times…
Dominic Sanderson – Blazing Revelations – This one is a full on throw in a couple of kitchen sinks classic prog rock by numbers, there’s goes a Rush riff disguised as a bit of Jethro Tull, here comes some classic Genesis flavoured Mellotron, what was he on about just then? The mighty hogweed? Hang on were on to The Wall now. I mean he and his collaborators aren’t hiding any of it, this is boldly full on epic 70s style Mellotron-drenced prog rock excess and there’s those words of the prophet written up there on his studio wall again. Dominic and his friends are good at it, no half measures here – he’s from Wakefield, a “26-year-old progressive rock artist influenced by the likes of Steven Wilson, Van der Graaf, King Crimson and Caravan” so he says and yes it has gone all Caravan now. These pieces do keep switching in terms of which classic 70s prog band they wants to be and hang on, here comes another great big helping of piled up Mellotron.
The only real thing that’s missing here is a touch of identity, Dominic Sanderson and friends are doing an excellent job in terms of sounding like their heroes and properly doing the authentic 70s epic prog thing, the one vital thing they don’t have is a musical perosonality of their own, a finger print, a little bit of, well it just needs a lttle something. There goes another lump of Genesis, Ripples, here comes a touch of Focus. Four epic full on no messing 70s proper prog tracks, excellent stuff, he just needs that little bit of a finger print, that one little thing, if he can find that bit of identity to go with the rest of it then something rather good is brewing up here. Watch this space… Bandcamp
Syrinx – Time Out of Place (Ocula Records) – Now, where this has come from I hae no idea, it actually came out back in September, they’re from somewhere in North America, they sound like some kind of 70s classic Rush meets Queensryche for those who want such a thing. We’re talking intricate melodies intertwined with (slightly) thunderous bass lines, we’re talking bombastic and we’re talking another band throwing the kitchen sink in there. Awful album cover art… Bandcamp
Stinkbug – Between Timid and Timbuktu – That bit sounds a bit like England, if England had been from North America rather than London. Stinkbug are from Portland, Oregon and this, their debut album came out back in June 2025…
“Formed by the union of guitarist/vocalist Andy Treister (Strike Twelve), bassist Dick Fitts (JIM.), drummer Jake Riggs, and keyboardist Ryan DeHaven, the foursome combines the experimentation and outer space exploration of progressive rock with the DIY-ethic and quick tempos of punk. Each member’s background playing jazz opens the door to hypnotic modal and atonal jams that fill the gaps within digestible, fist-pumping rock anthems. On their debut Between Timid and Timbuktu, Stinkbug present a journey through the stages of youth, death, and the nature of time itself that straddles the line between pensive and a veritable head-banging adventure”.
I guess there are headbanging moments and yes, you can headbang to good prog rock which, in turn, is what this is (at times). Good prog rock, proper musical adventure without ever getting too hard boiled or difficult, and thankfully without ever getting anything like ‘Neo’ about it. A modern prog rock band who don’t want sound like Porcupine bloody Tree, how refreshing. Oh that’s a nice bit of razor sharp synth right there and that’s a neat little jazzy bit and power prog maybe? Whatever it is, a thumbs up from this end of the line… Bandcamp
previously…
And yes, seeing as we’ve been asked a number of times, we have listened to Steven Wilson’s most recent album, I did just throw it on again for one more try before the year ends and well, we’ll stick with our review policy and pass on it. Here, have something Red…
THE ORGAN 