RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://pymlicomusic.bandcamp.com/ The classy Norwegian outfit Pymlico never fail to stir the senses and tick all the right jazz prog boxes whenever they gift us with new music, and the upcoming album titled No More, No Less is a perfect example of how to bring inspired and forward-thinking sounds to life in a…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.stevemorseofficial.com/ The supremely skilled Steve Morse, who has delighted us for decades with his vibrant and vigorous work with Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, Flying Colors, Kansas, and not least his solo offerings, is back with a new album that sees him team up with such renowned musicians as bass player Dave LaRue…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://panzerpappa.bandcamp.com/album/landsbysladder It has been a long time since I last sat with a new record by the lovely Norwegian proggers known as Panzerpappa between my hands, but I can honestly that this time around has been the most exciting and stimulating one yet. Landsbysladder, which roughly translates to village gossip, sees the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://apollonrecords.no/products/lorentzen-leave-nobody-behind-cd Apollon Records were kind enough to hand me a copy of Leave Nobody Behind, which was composed and crafted by the talented Eivind Lorentzen (ex-Gentle Knife, Oldenborre, and Synsbedragerne), and the idea behind the album and lyrics seemed a rather interesting and intriguing one on paper. Floating somewhere between atmospheric prog,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://andersbuaas.bandcamp.com/album/trollringen The epic and ambitious trilogy titled The Witches of Finnmark (2017-2019) by the immensely talented Anders Buaas was a captivating musical saga, and I was therefore rather curious as to whether something sporting the intriguing title Trollringen would somehow follow in that same vein or perhaps be more akin to the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://pymlicomusic.bandcamp.com/ Core is the fifth full-length album by Norwegian prog rockers Pymlico to have been released by Apollon Records (and the ensemble’s eighth overall as far as I recall), and it is easily the group’s most organic, accessible, and memorable output to date, which is saying something. The brilliant and intuitive interplay…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://softffog.bandcamp.com/album/focus Considering the fact that these kick-ass Norwegian jazz proggers wrote and recorded such a stunning and unique debut album as they did back in 2022, it should come as no surprise that some of us had high hopes for this sophomore effort of theirs and expected great things. Soft Ffog are…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://donner.bandcamp.com/album/the-van-gennep-gap Being rather infatuated with this entity’s debut effort, namely the evocative Hesitant Light from 2021, I had high hopes for White Willow mastermind Jacob Holm-Lupo’s latest creation under the Donner moniker. Now that The Van Gennep Gap is out and I have had the opportunity to properly immerse myself in…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://wizrd.bandcamp.com/album/elements The musically gifted and delightfully adventurous Norwegian rockers named Wizrd released a stunning debut album titled Seasons back in 2022, and ever since then I have been looking forward to its follow- up. Elements will arrive in early December and let me tell you straight up that this could very…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://the–verge.bandcamp.com/album/the-verge The latest release on the lovable Is It Jazz? Records is a proper tour de force in every conceivable way and a dizzying yet incredibly cohesive output that harbors a raw, authentic power unlike anything else that I have come across. This musically tasty and elegant yet highly explosive…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://laughingstock1.bandcamp.com/album/shelter Norwegian prog rockers Laughing Stock have never been anything but adventurous and many of their outputs possess a creative wanderlust that sees them covering quite a bit of musical ground while showcasing an impressive ability to balance what can only be termed intimately introspective with themes that are larger in…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.apollonrecords.no/ Norwegian art rockers Yobrepus have a knack for crafting richly nuanced songs and albums that are both musically and lyrically absorbing, a prime example being their latest LP entitled A Rhizome Revolution Part 1. Weaving traces and elements of prog, alt. rock, psychedelic folk, and brooding electronica together to stunning…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://mesaverde.bandcamp.com/album/all-is-well I thoroughly enjoyed the debut offering by the eclectic Oslo-based ensemble known as MesaVerde, namely the engrossing KY album that came out in October 2022, and I was very much looking forward to this sophomore effort of theirs. In simple terms, All is Well surpasses its predecessor in every conceivable…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.robbenford.com/ The legendary guitar-slinger Robben Ford is a true master of his craft as evidenced by the quality of his recorded works and live performances be that as a solo artist or a member of various bands such as Yellowjackets and L.A. Express. Also, the number of renowned artists and musicians…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://jordsjo.bandcamp.com/album/salighet Adorned by wonderfully evocative artwork and sporting a most intriguing title, the uniquely skilled Norwegian prog rockers known as Jordsjø are back with a new masterpiece. Just when I thought that it would be impossible for them to top the outstanding and flawless Pastoralia LP (2021), they have in fact…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://erlanddahlen.bandcamp.com/album/racoons Talk about being overwhelmingly surprised by something that turns out to be so much cooler and more captivating than anticipated – yes, that is exactly what this original and uniquely crafted LP by legendary drummer Erland Dahlen (Madrugada, Stian Westerhus, Nils Petter Molvær Group) is. How to describe this evocative…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://bushmansrevenge.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-better-for-seeing-you What a magnificent piece of work this cleverly written opus by jazz rockers Bushman’s Revenge is. Six beguiling compositions that add something fresh and vital to the genre are what lie in store for you, and there is atmosphere and dynamics in spades throughout not to mention that it is…
VENUE: KvarteretDATE: 03.06.2023 ORGANIZER: Karisma Records Photo by J.N. The wonderful people at Karisma Records invited yours truly to attend their one-day festival at Kvarteret in Bergen in celebration of the label’s twentieth anniversary, and I am forever grateful to them for doing so as this superbly arranged event turned out to be heaps of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein Boasting a stellar lineup consisting of Jacob Holm-Lupo (Donner, White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan, Sting), Stian Larsen, Brynjar Dambo (White Willow), and Bill Bressler, it would be fair to say that this exciting new endeavor from the US and Norway does not exactly lack musical…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://sevenimpale.bandcamp.com/album/summit Yes, it has finally arrived! Seven years was a long time to wait for a new musical treat by inventive Norwegian rockers Seven Impale, but how exhilarating it is when it turns out that it was all worth it and that Summit stands tall and proud as a well-written and…
