Recommended Album

In this issue we feature a selection that will satisfy all tastes – from those looking for avant-garde proposals, to those who enjoy symphonic sounds with a touch of metal or jazz.

In this issue of Phaedrus, we recommend two contemporary bands; one from the USA, the other one from France.

This band offers a unique language that clearly expands the boundaries of progressive rock. The integration of elements from jazz and classical music, the exceptional drumming, tight playing and clever arrangements, clearly show that contemporary bands are indeed capable of offering music that cannot be considered a simple “copy/paste” of the seventies.

This band makes a very interesting integration of classical chamber music with harmonic and rhythmic elements from progressive rock. At times minimalistic, their music is hypnotic and full of clever subtleties.

Occasionally, we will present recommendations that are well known to current prog lovers, but serve as a perfect introduction to those more familiar with the classic bands of the 70’s. This is the case with this excellent American band.

We return to Europe, with a band that only published two albums, both outstanding, on the first decade of the XXI century.

We return to the United States with a well-known artist whose career has been developed mainly within the domains of AOR (Adult Oriented Rock). However, hidden in his catalogue is a small progressive rock jewel that maybe many of you know, but not with the attention that it merits.

The composition, arrangements, performance and overall production of this album is very rarely matched by much better known bands. If you like progressive rock and also enjoy chamber music from the late 19th century onwards, you have to listen to this album!!!

In this issue we return to Europe with a contemporary progressive rock band. Their style, inscribed within the subgenre RIO, is nevertheless quite accessible for any progressive music lover.

We chose their penultimate album because it represents well the style of the band and because of its good balance between complexity and simplicity.

We start this section with a peculiar album. It serves as a statement that good Art Rock doesn’t necessarily have to come out of progressive rock bands. We will include some similar albums occasionally. This album comes from a well-known Pop artist. For some reason, he felt compelled to write something outside the bounds of the mainstream commercial perimeter where he usually lives.

The result is an album full of vitality, clever arrangements, intriguing melodies. An aesthetic landscape different to what we’re used to in progressive rock, yet it has all the elements of an excellent prog album.