Il Cielo di Bagdad - 'Export for Malinconique' (2008)

Il Cielo di Bagdad - 'Export for Malinconique' (2008)

Tracks:

1) Stanno Tutti Bene
2) A Day of Wool
3) First Light of Morning
4) Export for Malinconique
5) Save Your Forest
6) Mr. Butterfly
7) L’ultimo Gesto
8) Magic Bus
9) Sunday Afternoon

This is a post-rock album by Italian band Il Cielo di Bagdad (translating to "The Sky of Baghdad" in English). I'll admit this album isn't avant-garde and doesn't bring any revolutionary ideas to the table, but that doesn't mean it doesn't give me goosebumps.

The band is a five-piece, with guitars, drums, bass, and piano/keyboards as well, that can't be described as ambient, but it has the same effect: it is soothing but at the same time isn't just background noise! There are also some vocals on the album. But the vocals aren't really lyrically focused, they're more for the atmosphere and what the sound of the human voice adds to the music. In this case the vocals fit really well.

The songs aren't very long, they're short post-rock tracks in the same vein of Moonlit Sailor or New Century Classics if you know either of those. The songs are simple, but not in a bad way at all. It's melodic, moving, and no three-minute buildups and quiet interludes are necessary for this band to catch your attention and touch your soul, they can do it from the very first listen.

RIYL: New Century Classics, Moonlit Sailor, Hammock

Blue Effect - 'Nová Syntéza' (1971)

Blue Effect - 'Nová Syntéza' (1971)

Tracks:

1) Má Hra

2) Směr Jihovýchod

3) Popínavý Břečťan

4) Blues Modrého Efektu

5) Nová Syntéza

Blue Effect is a jazz/progressive rock band from the Czech Republic, they formed in 1968. They were also known as Modrý Efekt, M. Efekt, Modrý Efekt and Radim Hladík, among other variations. Radim Hladík is their guitarist, a founding member, and arguably the most prominent member.

Anyways, this album is an instrumental jazz/rock album that the band recorded with the Czech Radio Jazz Orchestra (it's printed on the album in Czech). The album does run a bit long for five tracks at about 43 minutes, but I guess you could expect that from a progressive rock band.

However, don't let that deter you from listening, this album is fantastic. If you thought Jimmy Page was the best, check out Radim Hladík practically front both groups with his roaring guitar solos and riffs. This was released in 1971, and some of the stuff he is playing is so technically advanced when you compare it to other guitarists of the era like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Perhaps you could best compare the guitar on this album to Terry Kath, guitarist of Chicago until his death in 1978. He combined jazz, hard rock, funk and advanced technique but not without the emotion. Take out the funk and you've got yourself a good taste of what Radim Hladík is like.

There are so many sections in the album where the sound is so powerful and driving, with the bass and drums leading the way and the horns and guitar soaring with a huge sound that blows your mind. This album is so underrated, it's practically a crime. For any fans of jazz, classic rock, progressive rock, or good music, Czech this one out.

RIYL: Chicago (early), Wishbone Ash, Jeff Beck

Der Weg einer Freiheit - 'Der Weg einer Freiheit' (2009)

Der Weg einer Freiheit -'Der Weg einer Freiheit' (2009)

Tracks (translations in brackets thanks to Genta):

1) Ewigkeit [Eternity]

2) Spätsommer [Late Summer]

3) Frei [Free]

4) Aurora [Aurora]

5) Zum Abschied [Farewell]

6) Welk [Faded]

7) Neubeginn [Restart]

This is actually a strange pick for me, it's an Atmospheric Black Metal band from Germany. I don't really listen to that much Black Metal, mostly atmospheric Black Metal kinda like Alcest or Amesoeurs if you know them. They blend post-rock and Black Metal vocals, which is really neat.

Black Metal to me has always seemed to be centered around emotion, whether sadness or anger. They screams from the vocalists really express that, and this band really offers that in a cool way. They are a vocalist and then another musician who plays guitar, bass, and programs the drums for the albums.

I don't understand the song titles or vocals, but I could really care less because the music is so captivating, especially the guitar parts, sometimes with the usual non-scalar tremolo picking of Black Metal like in "Zum Abschied", but sometimes in a more triumphant and positive manner like in "Ewigkeit".

If you like any Black Metal, then you should check this out. But even if you enjoy some post-metal or screaming vocals from time to time, it's still worth a YouTube search of some of their tracks, they're really stunning, and the album doesn't exceed 50 minutes like many Black Metal albums do.

RIYL: Enslaved, Alcest, Amesoeurs

Caravels - 'Floorboards' (2009)

Caravels - 'Floorboards' (2009)

Tracks:

1) Iceland

2) Greenland

3) Buddy System

4) Sixty Acres

5) Meat Wave

6) Safety Jobs

It may only be an EP, but this is a fantastic one. Caravels are a hardcore/real screamo band, described as a "loud band from Henderson, Nevada." They are highly energetic, and I'm saying this just based on their studio recordings.

They have roaring guitars that interact with awesome vocals that are screaming, but you can still tell what he's saying. It's not as emotional in a personal way that bands like La Dispute are, but the lyrics are actually pretty poetic.

It's the type of music that you would go crazy to when no one is watching but at the same time could make you think. It's an awesome blend of emotion and just awesome hardcore music, that a lot of "skramz" bands don't always have.

RIYL: Daniel Striped Tiger, Native, Sinaloa

Rare Bird - 'Rare Bird' (1969)

Rare Bird - 'Rare Bird' (1969)

Tracks:

1) Iceberg

2) Times

3) You went away

4) Melanie

5) Beautiful Scarlet

6) Sympathy

7) Nature's Fruit

8) Bird on a Wing

9) God of War

Every now and then you find a band like UFO or Rare Bird that could really play some awesome music back in the day, but never got the recognition of bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, or other "Classic Rock" bands. But let me tell you this: Rare Bird is no average album-oriented rock band from the 60s-70s.

The English quartet play a great mixture of hard rock and progressive rock. But it's not the annoying kind of progressive rock with four or five 9 minute songs on an album; these guys deliver a full set of tracks that adds up to about 40 minutes on this self-titled debut.

The keyboards on this album create a whole new atmosphere that just gives the music an edge over bands with the usual guitar/bass/drums/vocals lineup. You hear it from the beginning of the first track all the way through. Overall, this album is one of my favorites of the late 60s/early 70s era of music, which is one of my favorites.

RIYL: Deep Purple, Warhorse, Armageddon

They and the Children - 'Home' (2008)

They and the Children - 'Home' (2008)

Tracks:

1) Mechanical

2) The Madman

3) Exploding Inevitable

4) Invisible

5) Creatures Who Stopped Living

6) Exit Strategy

7) Stockholm

8) Gift

This was the last album by Connecticut (USA) band They and the Children. They were a hardcore band with D-beat influences, but they broke up in the same year that this album was released after 5 years of activity. Perhaps I'm going to be biased since they're one of the few good bands I have found from my state, but this album is great.

It is a bit long for a punk-influenced album (the average song length is 4:42), but it's well worth the time. I especially like "Invisible", which has an amazing spoken word passage of the song. It's the highlight of the album for me.

The screaming on this album is actually pretty addictive, it isn't really understandable but that doesn't matter for me, because it fits the loud and heavy guitarwork perfectly. The band is in general loud, but extremely believable in all that they do. I highly recommend this album, it's well worth the 38 minutes of your time.

If you really like this band, check out Iron Hand (and their blog). They're of very similar style, largely because they feature some of the same members as They and the Children.

RIYL: Bear vs. Shark, Touché Amoré, Killing the Dream, etc.