Album Reviews

Album Reviews

Egg – The Civil Surface

Well, this re-release on Esoteric Recordings is certainly one for the progressive heads. The year is 1969 and Egg emerged from an earlier quartet with Steve Hillage going by the name of Uriel, but Egg founding members were Dave Stewart (No not the one of Eurythmics fame) on the organ, Mont Campbell on bass and […]

Album Reviews

Deep Purple – Made In Japan Deluxe Edition

I’ve had this record on vinyl for years but apart from the odd outing for Child in Time I’d not really given it the respect that others clearly think it deserves. Truth be known apart from Hawkwind my classic rock collection was pretty much confined to the shelves of the music room…this was until about […]

Album Reviews

Natalie Merchant – Natalie Merchant

Now, I have been known to enjoy a bit of 10 000 Maniacs in the past but I never really got into them in any kind of big way and they were never top of my list when it came to choosing what got played next, so when Natalie Merchant’s eponymous album landed on my […]

Album Reviews

Gus Gus – Mexico

Out yesterday in the UK and today in US, this album on Kompakt is one I’ve been looking forward to taking a listen to for a while now. Icelandic band Gus Gus and their Arabian Horse record were what initially highlighted the Kompakt label to me after a long time in the electronic music wilderness.

Album Reviews

InDuologue – Blue Skies

Induologue are Alexandra Lerta (vocals) and Vasilis Stefanopoulos (double bass) and is described as a dialogue between the voice and souble bass…simple enough then. Blue Skies was recorded in a chapel in the woods of a Dutch National Reserve over a couple of days and this adds a really beautiful atmosphere to the record. The […]

Album Reviews

Philipp Gorbachev – The Silver Album

Out now on the Comeme label The Silver Album from this self exiled Russian now living in Berlin is a difficult one to tie down and I must admit that on the first few listens I found it difficult to get my head around. The Silver Album could never be accused of being easy listening […]

Album Reviews

Elekfantz – Dark Tales and Love Songs

This is the first full length album for Elekfants Daniel and Leo who first met over 20 years ago when they played together in a blues band. Daniel is well known in his native Brazil and is something of a local hero where he is considered one of the country’s finest Djs. Leo on the […]

Album Reviews

Rebolledo – Momento Drive

Kompakt is fast becoming one of my favourite “go to” labels when it comes to techno but this release from Rebolledo is a bit different in that it’s actually a DJ mix…yes, remember them?? This is the first major outing for Rebolledo since his first full length debut Super Vato way back in 2011 and […]

Album Reviews

Killer Be Killed – Killer Be Killed

“A perfect blend of a legend, a freak, a beast and a wookie.” –  Troy Sanders. A strange thing happened today: unusually I was stumped at an appropriate way to start this particular review  and was mutely & vacantly staring at a blank document, but the  Mastodon frontman and Killer Be Killed protagonist has provided […]

Album Reviews

Helge Lien Trio – Badgers and Other Beings

What a great title for a record first of all! Badgers and Other Beings is an album of clever jazz featuring pianist, drums and bass. The Helge Lien Trio has been a bit of a hit on the jazz scene since their breakthrough album Hello Troll and it’s no wonder really. Lien is joined here […]

Album Reviews

Jan Lundgren Trio – Flowers Of Sendai

Recorded and mixed by Stefano Amerio in Italy on July 15th – 16th and November 1st 2013 Flowers of Sendai is released on the Bee Jazz label and here it’s been downloaded from HIGHRESAUDIO. The trio is made up of Jan Lundgren (piano), Mattias Svenson (bass) and Zoltan Csors JR (drums). Style wise Flowers of […]

Album Reviews

Sontaag -Sontaag

I was very excited when the post lady pipped and handed me the envelope that I knew would contain what is being heralded as “A stunning new album in the finest tradition of progressive rock and space rock” because being a bit of an ageing hippie I’m partial to both a smattering of prog and […]

Album Reviews

Kaito – Less Time Until The End

I really enjoyed the last Kaito offering, Until The End Of Time which came out in October on the Kompakt label calling it thoughtful and thought provoking and indeed this record could be summed up similarly – in fact it’s the same tunes bereft of their drum tracks. Essentially it’s an ambient album that has […]

Album Reviews

Melphi – Through The Looking Glass

Melphi are a Dutch four piece and say that they are inspired by contemporary Scandinavian pop music. Through The Looking Glass is their first full length album being preceded by an unnamed EP in 2011. The band were formed in 2010 by Rogier Telderman who writes most of the music here (and plays piano) but […]

Album Reviews

Issac Hayes – For The Sake of Love

This is the first of a couple of Hayes releases that I took a listen to this month and this particular album was released in ’78 on the Polydor label. For the Sake of Love was Hayes second studio album for the label and reached #15 on the US R&B album chart. Just the Way […]

Album Reviews

Patrick Adams Presents PHREEK

More funky disco rereleases here and I really make no apology for it…disco is making a comeback in the Hifi Pig household and we’re loving it. And so this time we have the expanded edition of the classic Patrick Adams Presents PHREEK. I think the opportunity to rediscover some of these classics from the 70s […]