It's Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week! Five new and diverse slices of progressively inclined music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to Italian kraut-gaze quartet Oslo Tapes, whose track Analemma won a tight race last week, pipping UK proggers Circu5 into secind place and with Halifax proggers L.O.E. in third place.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it? The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier, could it?
We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we'll update you with this week's winner and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.
GAZPACHO - WE ARE STRANGERS
Norwegian proggers Gazpacho will release their highly anticipated twelfth studio album, Magic 8-Ball, through Kscope on October 31. We're lucky enough to have heard it, and we can tell you it's great. The anthemic We Are Strangers is the second single from the album (the band shared 8-Ball in August) is a perfect taster for the delights that await you. Also, any song described as "like Rush had a fistfight with Godzilla" is OK with us!
"We Are Strangers was born during a jam session where we were playing around with some 'interesting' time signatures," the band say. "The kind that makes you consider if all those late nights might have made a lasting impact on the system. Since the song is about fate and how it randomly shows up to change everything, that instability felt right. Our fates seem to be flying around until they randomly strike, whether good or bad. Fate wears a thousand faces and blindsides us, leaving everything changed in the blink of an eye. A phone call at night, a test result, a lottery ticket. All strangers until they are not anymore.
"When it was finished, we asked ourselves if this was a Gazpacho song or if it sounded a little like Rush had a fistfight with Godzilla and once we thought about it we decided the answer was 'Hell Yeah'. To both."
AIRBAG - ERASE
Norwegian prog trio Airbag announced this morning that they will release a live album, Dysphoria, through Karisma Records on November 21. The upcoming release was recorded at Poppodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands in 2024. The brooding Erase is the first music released from the album.
"Erase was in many ways the centre piece of the A Century Of The Self tour," says guitarist Bjørn Riis. "It represents both the theme of the shows and the powerful performance and sound of the band. It was really a high point for us too, when all the lights turned red and that foreboding echosound explodes from the speakers followed by the thunderous bass. This live version is a straight-out rocker, and you can really hear how much we enjoyed ourselves on stage!"
PURE REASON REVOLUTION - BETRAYAL
UK prog rockers Pure Reason Revolution recently announced they would be on the bill for MidWinter progressive rock festival in the Netherlands in February, as part of their upcoming The Dark Third 20th anniversary live shows, which will see Chloe Alper rejoining the band onstage. At the same time, they shared a new remix/reworking of the track Betrayal from their most recent studio album, Coming Up To Consciousness.
“Love this epic mix from Wondastation, it’s a real journey, pulling in the listener from start to end," enthuses mainman Jon Courtney. "Betrayal has been dissected, but beautifully reassembled, pushing the track to harmonic heights. Enjoy!”
ALEX HENRY FOSTER - IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN
Canadian post-rocker Alex Henry Foster goes the instrumental route on new single In The Valley Of The Sun, released while he and his band work on material for their next album. The track keeps true to Foster's post-rock roots, but there's plenty of cinematic scope here too, which is why his sound appeals to so many prog fans as well.
"It’s been loud, noisy, and truly intentional in my studio recently, which is particularly galvanising for me since I’m working on a surprising new creative project," Foster says. "Surprising because it wasn’t actually planned at first, and I saw its inspirational essence spark in my heart in such a way that it took precedence over everything I was foreseeing to immerse myself in at that point…"
JONAS LINDBERG & THE OTHER SIDE - GRUVAN
Melodic Swedish prog outfit Jonas Lindberg & The Other Siden will release their latest album, Time Frames, on November 7. It's the follow-up to 2022's acclaimed Miles From Nowhere, and Gruvan is the first music to be released from it. As you'd expect, it's melodic, epic (weighing in at over eight minutes!) and prodigiously delivered, with some rather youthful help as well!
"Gruvan is Swedish and means 'The Mine'," Lindberg explains. "This is actually the name of the studio where most of the album was recorded. Originally intended to become more of a bluegrass tune, it derailed as usual and ended up as an 'Other Side' track with a 12/8 fusion groove instead. On this one, my 2-year-old daughter crashed the percussion sessions, grabbed a shaker and played along. It sounded so cool that she ended up appearing on the track.
FIRELIGHTERS - MY TIME WILL COME
Franco-British progressive rock band Firelighters began life as a duo of singer and lyricist Alex, who grew up steeped in the mists of Wales, and seasoned French composer and guitarist Joël (it's all first names only here) in 2020, but have since been fleshed out by Nicko Kalifornia (bass) and Hervé (drums), who joined in early 2024. The band are gearing up for the release of their debut album, Quiver, whch they will release on October 24, and from which comes the catchy and lively My Time Will Come.
"Against a backdrop of intertwining guitar melodies, groovy bass lines, atmospheric keyboards and rhythms oscillating between restraint and liberation, Alex's crystalline, emotive voice fluctuates between vulnerability and strength," the band say. "The songs unfold like landscapes: textured, spacious, and constantly shifting, with complex arrangements that merit repeated listening."
THE HIRSCH EFFEKT - DER BRAUCH
Hanover trio The Hirsch Effekt today announced they will release their new album, Der Brauch, through Long Branch Records on January 30. The album sees the band spreading their musical wings, shifting in a more progressive vein than previous, heavier albums. Which can only be a good thing. Title track, Der Brauch, which translates as 'the custom' shows the band can still pack a punch, only now it's mixed with more intricate and proggy passages.
"Our work with The Hirsch Effekt is very project-based - some phases that are very busy, then some monotonous phases where I work alone. It's hard to avoid constantly questioning whether I’m working enough, earning enough, contributing enough to retirement," explains vocalist and guitarist Nils Wittrock. "As the lyrics state: “Jeden Tag das gleiche, jedes Mal. Wo sind all die Leute, die ich nie sehen wollte? Keiner bleibt zu Hause, außer mir. Hoffentlich merkt keiner: Ich bin immer noch hier.” (“Every day the same, every time. Where are all the people I never wanted to see? No one stays home, except me. Hopefully no one notices: I’m still here.”)"
