AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
GRANT MOON has a rummage down the back of the Prog sofa for the ones that nearly got away…
Even in less nerve-shredding times, Etienne Jaumet and Cosmic Neman’s Zombie Zombie wouldn’t be for everyone. On the French electro duo’s latest release, Vae Vobis (Born Bad), the vocals are sung in Latin and processed by a vocoder, but, as niche as that sounds, it actually works very well. The ‘doomed angel’ choir adds to the medieval mood of the album, but there’s enough invention, krautrock savvy and synth hooks to make numbers such as Dissolutum, Lacrymosa and (now sadly prescient) War Is Coming rock along on the musical margins.
Last year English guitarist Rod While offered the highly accomplished set Open The Cage, and he now follows that with Vigil (rodwhile.bandcamp.com). While is a versatile guitarist with a taste for jazz and fusion, and a producer with a golden ear for tone, so his intelligent compositions come couched in pristine, electro-leaning arrangements. Sibylline’s 9/8 upright bass riff, Viridian’s sleek, Jeff Beck-y guitar lines and Heliotrope’s acid jazz trip are among the classy highlights on another worthy offering from this overlooked talent.
A cursory glance at the cover of Robert Crosbie’s The Global Machine (Iamgeisha) is enough to reveal the Irish artist’s passion for King Crimson. That said, while the record is freighted with cerebral guitar work it’s by no means a Discipline
pastiche. There’s a retro, 80s feel to some of Crosbie’s soundscapes and tones (the groovy Warp, the quirky and groovy Twerp). Add in some 90s-style techno (Machinery) and industrial/ ambient (closer Samana, beautiful), and there’s much to savour here.
After last year’s compelling Tales From Strange Travels, keyboardist Geoff Proudley returns with K Of A (geoffproudley.co.uk). Inspired by the life of Katherine of Aragon, this sweeping classical music was made using high-end orchestral samples rather than the even-costlier real thing. It’s hard not to think of Rick Wakeman (and more recently Ms Amy Birks) when considering music evoking Henry VIII’s wives, and while this is probably more prog in theme than composition, the stirring harpsichords, emotive pianos and Proudley’s detailed, historically literate approach make for an engaging listen.
And closing with another French band this time, Brest quartet Tranzat return with more pummelling fun on their third record Ouh La La (Klonosphere Records). With singer Manuel Liegard supplying larynx-shredding vocals, the quartet bring swathes of heavy downtuned guitars (Lobster Beaujolais), hooky grooves (Mr Awesome, Lord Dranula) and, clearly, a taste for quirky song titles (Climbing Tibetan Mountains To Learn The Secrets Of The Mind). Those pastel shades they’re sporting on the album cover aren’t fooling anyone – this is gonzo, left-field stuff that fans of Devin
Townsend really need to hear.