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PROG ROCK FOR BEGINNERS

 

Mainstream Prog Mainly Most of the Time: Playing popular and/or accessible Prog Rock.

 Latest Episode

Nickie’s Niches #31: July 2024

Start Artist Song Time Album Year
0:01:47 Anthony Phillips 0:32
0:02:19 Anthony Phillips Sarabande Noir 3:03 Private Parts & Pieces XII: The Golden Hour 2024
0:05:22 Landless Luireach 0:33
0:05:55 Landless The Hag 3:26 Lúireach 2024
0:09:22 Flaer 0:20
0:09:42 Flaer Burrow 3:44 Burrow 2024
0:13:26 Aryeh Frankfurter 0:34
0:14:00 Aryeh Frankfurter The Melancholy Waltz 4:36 Aubades Borealis- Dawn Songs of the North 2024
0:18:36 Twenty Committee 0:37
0:19:14 The Twenty Committee Embers 5:32 The Cycle Undone 2023
0:24:45 Eivor 0:36
0:25:21 Eivor Ein Klta 5:39 Enn 2024
0:31:00 The Decemberists 0:19
0:31:20 The Decemberists The Reapers 4:32 As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again 2024
0:35:51 Kati Rann 0:36
0:36:28 Kati Ran Hefring 3:52 Sala 2024
Returned to the Earth 0:28
Returned To The Earth Dark Morality 6:38 Stalagmite Steeple 2024
  1. Private Parts & Pieces XII: The Golden Hour
    by Anthony Phillips

    Anthony Phillips should need no introduction to fans of progressive music. This gorgeous continuation of his Private Parts & Pieces series does not disappoint, beginning with the lovely Wychmore Hill Suite. Electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, and one vocal track make up the instrumentation. The effortlessness of Anthony’s guitar playing belies the intricacy of the pieces, and marks him as a true master of the instrument.
    1. Lúireach
      by Landless

      There’s nothing quite like the power of 4-part harmonies when presenting folk songs. This sophomore outing from Landless features some spare instrumentation, pump organ, shruti box, fiddle, viola, banjo and trombone. But it’s the weaving of their voices on the traditional and more recent folk songs that are rightly at the fore of this stunning release.
      1. Burrow
        by Flaer

        Beautiful ambient EP from multi-instrumentalist Realf Heygate, inspired by ancient earthworks in England. There is a feeling of light and air throughout, with strings of all kinds, piano, guitar, and recorders providing instrumentation. I could do with a lot more of this. Contemplative, eerie, and melancholy.
        1. Aubades Borealis: Dawn Songs of the North – Remixes and Remasters
          by Aryeh Frankfurter

          As advertised, these are remixes and remasters of previously released material from Aryeh’s extensive solo works, concentrating on the folk music of Nordic lands. He plays Celtic/Irish harp, nyckelharpa, viola, violin, cello, cittern, guitar, flutes, pennywhistle, and plucked psaltry, and is joined by wife, Lisa, on harp on one of these gorgeous pieces.
          1. The Cycle Undone
            by The Twenty Committee

            I just fell in love with Geoffrey Langley’s voice, only to learn that he has been performing with Renaissance since 2016. Indeed, Annie Haslam contributes to the excellent epic track on this release. Instrumentation is keyboards of all sorts, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and drums, with some harp, autoharp, and assisting vocalists. The music is sophisticated and layered, sometimes harkening back to classic era prog.
            1. Enn
              by Eivør

              Eivør hails from the Faroe Islands, and although it’s remote and obscure, her music has not remained so, as she is celebrated throughout the world of Nordic music. She moves effortlessly from folktronica to indie pop and even some more contemporary sounds on this release. The rich, atmospheric pieces, with her interstellar voice at the forefront are what catches my ear most
              1. As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again
                by The Decemberists

                Much anticipated return of The Decemberists is released in full. The music trips along from sunshine pop with dark undertones, to Alt Americana, topped off with the My-Drone-Is-Longer-Than-Your Drone tour de force of the midsection of, “Joan in the Garden.”
                1. SÁLA
                  by Katt Rán

                  This Dark Nordic Folk recording is named after the Old Norse word for ‘soul’ and ‘sea’, “SÁLA” is an act of ‘soul retrieval’, the shamanic art of trauma recovery. She often sounds like she’s invoking powers of some sort, veering from ethereal to forceful vocals, singing in Norwegian, Old Norse, and Icelandic, as well as English. She utilizes many Nordic folk instruments, and brings an excellent cast of guests to this recording (from Heilung and Theodor Bastard, among others).
                  1. Stalagmite Steeple
                    by Returned To The Earth

                    There is something so restrained and elegant about Robin Peachy’s work. His wistful vocals suit the tortured aura that surrounds his subject matter, with his wonderfully layered and refined sound. This is heavier than his previous outing, but not so much so that it occludes the particularity that constitutes Robin’s definitive style. I love the pathos of The Final Time’s lyrics, but going with Dark Morality as being more indicative of what you’ll hear here.

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