Scot Lade 
The Neal Morse Band The Similitude Of A Dream Radiant Records [2016] Fire Note Says: The Neal Morse Band challenge the 70’s concept classics and record one for the ages. Album Review: In the lead up to The Similitude Of A Dream drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater) compared this work favorably to other double concept … Read more
ESP Ohio Starting Point Of The Royal Cyclopean GBV, Inc. [2016] Fire Note Says: With three members of the current Guided By Voices line-up, ESP Ohio offers many rewards. Album Review: When news broke that Doug Gillard was rejoining Guided By Voices earlier this year (after ten years in the wilderness of playing with Nada … Read more
Karmakanic DOT Inside Out Music [2016] Fire Note Says: Explore the universe with Sweden’s Karmakanic. Album Review: Karmakanic began as a side project for The Flower Kings’ bass player, Jonas Reingold. On their debut album, 2002’s Entering The Spectra, the band consisted mostly members of Reingold’s primary band but with each subsequent release (this is … Read more
Biffy Clyro Ellipsis Warner Bros. Records [2016] Fire Note Says: After a decade of steady growth, Biffy Clyro hit a creative wall. Album Review: Now just to get this out of the way – there’s nothing wrong with Biffy Clyro’s latest effort, Ellipsis. And for the record I count myself as an enormous fan of … Read more
Deerhoof The Magic Polyvinyl Records [2016] Fire Note Says: The crazed fun keeps coming at you and so yes – it’s another Deerhoof album. Album Review: Over the course of Deerhoof’s long and strange run of thirteen albums in twenty-two years, they have carved out a unique space under the Indie firmaments. They are one … Read more
Anderson/Stolt Invention Of Knowledge Inside Out Music [2016] Fire Note Says: The voice of Yes and the leader of The Flower Kings team up for an unexpectedly great record. Album Review: There’s just something about the voice of Jon Anderson. While other vocalists from the Golden era of Progressive Rock (Peter Gabriel, Greg Lake, John … Read more
Big Big Train Folklore Giant Electric Pea [2016] Fire Note Says: English Prog band finally deliver on their considerable potential. Album Review: Formed in 1991 in Bournemouth, England, Big Big Train have been flirting with greatness for a while now. 2009’s excellent The Underfall Yard saw the band recruit a new singer (David Longdon, whose … Read more
The Hotelier Goodness Tiny Engines [2016] Fire Note Says: Surprise! The Hotelier have matured into a world-beating rock and roll band. Album Review: There was something about The Hotelier’s 2014 breakout LP, Home, Like NoPlace Is There, that just felt different than your typical, run-of-the-mill Emo band. They were smarter, that’s for sure. Singer/bass player … Read more
Suuns Hold/Steady Secretly Canadian [2016] Fire Note Says: Montreal act deliver their darkest record yet. Album Review: The Canadian four piece who go by the Google-friendly monicker Suuns (pronounced “Soons” by the way) have a penchant for creating hypnotic beats and nightmarish lyrics. On their first two records (both produced by The Besnard Lakes’ Jace … Read more
Knifeworld Bottled Out Of Eden Inside Out Music [2016] Fire Note Says: UK octet perfect their craft on quirky yet accessible third album. Album Review: Knifeworld is the pet project of one Kavus Torabi – a name not many people outside the progressive rock community know but with each release he and his band inch … Read more
Mock Orange Put The Kid On The Sleepy Horse Topshelf Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Mock Orange just might be the best band you’re not listening to right now. Album Review: Evansville, Indiana is not generally considered fertile ground for music elitists (such as myself) but Mock Orange couldn’t have come from anywhere else. An … Read more
Purson Desire’s Magic Theatre Spinefarm Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Purson escape the dreaded sophomore jinx – but only just. Album Review: To say that this has been a much anticipated release for me is a major understatement. Ever since their delicious debut, The Circle And The Blue Door, dropped in 2013 this UK act … Read more
Blood Ceremony Lord Of Misrule Rise Above Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Canadian doom metalists expand their sound on a very solid fourth album. Album Review: So, when last we encountered the Toronto-based four piece Blood Ceremony they had just released their best record to date (the terrific The Eldritch Dark), one which I subsequently … Read more
Cloud Cult The Seeker Earthology Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Wacky Minnesota tree huggers’ 10th LP is easily among their very best. Album Review: Cloud Cult might be the most earnest band in the world. A lot of musicians talk about saving the planet and all that eco-friendly stuff but since Craig Minowa started recorded … Read more
Yuck Stranger Things Mame Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Yuck is still wearing their 90’s hearts on their collective sleeve. Album Review: In what very well might be a make-or-break moment, the London four piece band Yuck have arrived at a fork in the road. With their eponymous 2011 debut Yuck staked a claim for … Read more
Field Music Commontime Memphis Industries [2016] Fire Note Says: The brothers Brewis give in to their funkier inclinations. Album Review: If prog-pop is indeed a thing, then Sunderland, England’s Field Music is the current flag bearer. It is a mantle once proudly held by the likes of XTC, Tears For Fears and Cardiacs – even … Read more
Robert Pollard Of Course You Are Fire Records [2016] Fire Note Says: The Oracle of Dayton flips the script on his 24th(?) solo effort. Album Review: If ever there was a valid complaint about the Guided By Voices legend Robert Pollard’s solo output it is that over the course of his long and storied career … Read more
Dream Theater The Astonishing Roadrunner Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Progressive metal heavyweights push the envelope with a 34 song rock opera. Album Review: Since forming at the Berklee College Of Music back in 1985, Dream Theater have sold over 10 million records world wide and, along the way, pretty much invented an entirely new … Read more
Quilt Plaza Mexican Summer [2016] Fire Note Says: Boston quartet remain lost in a haze of vintage sixties psychedelia – thank God. Album Review: Quilt’s second album, Held In Splendor, was one of 2014’s biggest surprises. I ranked it the #9 album of the year but in the twenty-four months since its release I confess … Read more
The Besnard Lakes A Coliseum Complex Museum Jagjaguwar Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Montreal indie-psych band double down on their Floydian soundscapes. Album Review: Jace Lasek is a sonic junkie. His singular pursuit of recorded perfection led him to build his own space (Breakglass Studios) and invite his friends over to share his vision. Wolf … Read more
Savages Adore Life Matador Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Fiery London four piece prove their debut album was no fluke. Album Review: Right from the start these ladies had something to say. They posted their manifesto on the walls of the London clubs they played and on their Facebook page. Before hearing a single note … Read more
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die Harmlessness Epitaph Records [2015] Fire Note Says: A surprise candidate for Album Of The Year emerges from the post-emo scene. Album Review: I was first drawn to this band by all the hype surrounding their debut album, Whenever, If Ever. The … Read more
together PANGEA The Phage EP Burger Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Santa Clarita’s finest offer up six songs to make your day a little better. Album Review: When this hit my in-box I must admit that I was somewhat dismayed. Twenty months after their third LP, the terrific Badillac, I was disappointed that all I … Read more
The Mantles All Odds End Slumberland Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Bay area band tighten up their sound – just a bit – on their third LP. Album Review: If treading water made a sound (and I’m quite sure that it does) The Mantles may have nailed it on their third proper full-length, All Odds … Read more
Riverside Love, Fear And The Time Machine Inside Out Music [2015] Fire Note Says: Polish progressive metal band drops the metal and releases a gem. Album Review: If you’re like me you’ve probably never heard this band, let alone delved into their back catalog. So enthralled am I with this record that I went back … Read more