The Steve Spiegl Big Band - 'Perspectives' (1982)

The Steve Spiegl Big Band - 'Perspectives' (1982)

1) Hot

2) The Sphynx's Lair

3) Mirage

4) Bacchanalia

5) Spanish Steps

6) Parfait

7) Willie

8) Together Again

9) A Day in the Life

10) The Late Great Planet Earth

This is a relatively old big band jazz album that sounds like Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band could have recorded it. Like the Big Phat Band, the Steve Spiegl Big Band is from California and they perform awesome swing and modern jazz music. Sorry if I compare the two bands too much, I'm not too familiar with modern big bands.

But I am familiar with this album. I first heard "A Day in the Life", which (fortunately or unfortunately) is not a Beatles cover. Rather, it's a really intricate piece that shows off all sections, from the trombone intro to the saxophone/flute riff that comes in later. The rhythm section is extremely tight, and even though that's expected from a studio recording, the groove is still really great.

After hearing just that one song, I had to hear the rest of the album. And after hearing it, it's a really great album and I was surprised that almost 30 years had gone by and there is such little recognition of this band. So I took the liberty of putting the entire album on YouTube. Check out "A Day in the Life" if you wanna be impressed!

Basically, this big band is not big enough in my opinion. But I'm not exaggerating how great the album is. While there are (relatively) a lot of ballads on it, there are also swing songs, songs with a Latin feel, and a cool sound in all of the songs. So listen to this album, it's a hidden gem of modern big band jazz music.

Tunturia - 'Maps' (2007)

Tunturia - 'Maps' (2007)

1) Panic Attack
2) Echoes of the Unmoved
3) Silence is Consent
4) Cast Shadows on Clouds
5) October 4, 1957
6) Satellites
7) Tunturia
8) These are the Words
9) Robots Building Robots
10) Lost in the Hidden Forest

Tunturia is a Canadian instrumental post-rock band. 'Maps' is the only album I've heard by them, so keep that in mind when I talk about them.They tend to be focused on soundscapes but they can't really be described as ambient. They're repetitive, but not in a bad way. They do little things to change it around to prevent you from being bored.

I admit it's better if you aren't focused on the music (with a few exceptions like beginning track "Panic Attack"); otherwise the album seems to drag on very long, especially when you get to the later tracks. But the first two tracks are stunning. The reason I don't give this album the credit it probably deserves is probably I like the first two tracks so much that the rest of the album doesn't hold up to what I thought it'd be.

As for the actual music, the album is standard post-rock but with a laid back feel that is somewhere between Hammock and Explosions in the Sky. The drums are very prevalent, as well as clean guitar melodies that build upon keyboards/ambient sounds. It's overall a great sound that's great to relax to. The album starts off with an energetic-sounding guitar riff that repeats for a lot of the song, but it's a bit of a misleading start, because their songs aren't of the energetic type.

But if you're bored of your extensive collection of Mogwai and This Will Destroy You, give some of Tunturia's songs a listen on Youtube, you'll enjoy it.

RIYL: Daturah, Laura, This Will Destroy You

Kauan - 'Lumikuuro' (2007)

Kauan - 'Lumikuuro' (2007)

1) Alku

2) Aamu ja Kaste

3) Lumikuuro

4) Savu

5) Koivun Elämä

6) Syleilyn Sumu

7) Villiruusu

8) Syleilyn Sumu (Akkustika)

Kauan are a folk black metal band from Russia. Well, you could say there were a folk black metal band. Nah, they didn't break up, but their last album was most atmospheric folk/post-rock. I have yet to listen to it, but right now I'm very satisfied with this debut full-length.

It has the black metal elements mostly in the vocals. But don't take that as if they don't fit, because they do fit very well with the music. It's more towards atmospheric black metal, where the drums are much more laid back (almost like doom metal drumming) but with heavy distorted guitars with interludes of clean guitars, synthesizers, and other atmospheric sounds.

There's a ton of piano on this album which gives it a neat feel. You can just hear the heavy emotions in the song. It's really cool how they attain that with such little layering of music and sounds.

If you like post-metal like Agalloch that's melancholy, but also really heavy at times, check this album out. I might go so far as to say that it's the most unique black metal album I've ever heard. Of course I'm not too well-versed in black metal, but this still warrants a listen.

RIYL: Enslaved, Amesoeurs, Alcest

Betterment - 'Defined' (2010)

Betterment - 'Defined' (2010)

*free here*

1) Energy

2) Brotel Rwanda

3) Ded

4) Defined

Betterment is a cool emo/hardcore band from Florida (USA) that has this free EP out and are working on new material as well, to be recorded in April 2011. [As a side note, the new stuff is most like "Ded" on this album]. They have both clean guitars playing chords and distorted guitars putting the hardcore sound in.

They've also got some great vocals, I like them. They're harsh but you can understand a lot of it and hear the emotion in it. The band is tight, they all blend together well and get a great sound. The energy in the music is great - I'm sure they'd be awesome live.

They're showing that it takes a lot more than for some influential bands to break up to take down this genre. And the recording quality is not bad at all and the EP is less than 12 minutes. I actually made a list of my top 80 favorite emo/screamo songs and "Brotel Rwanda" was at 28, just above Cap'n Jazz's "Ooh Do I Love You". I hope that's a testament to just how awesome this band is. They're a fresh listen, and free at that, so definitely worth a listen!

RIYL: Sinaloa, mewithoutYou, Hightide Hotel

Yage - 'Anders Leben!?' (2003)

Yage - 'Anders Leben!?' (2003)

Tracks:

1) We Lost Beauty

2) Ohne Form

3) 128

4) Lange Luegenbeine

5) Anders Leben!?

6) Leben Leben

7) Situations are Like Cells

8) Save the Fear Slave

Yage is a hardcore emo/screamo band from Germany. But unlike some other bands I've heard from Germany that could be called "screamo" (like June Paik, for example), this band isn't as doomy sounding and has more clean vocals. It's like a medium in between Empire! Empire! I Was a Lonely Estate and Saetia if you can imagine it.

Actually, instead of imagining it, just listen to this album or some of the songs off of it that are on Youtube. It's not a long album, and although it can be background music, it's hard to listen to and not notice any of the interplay between drums and guitar. There are parts where there is unison, but there are other parts where the guitarist is playing a riff while the drummer is almost soloing. That's in a lot of hardcore music like this, but this band does it well.

The vocals are tough to describe, they're clean but raspy like Tim Kinsella (of half of all emo bands ever to exist) but when he screams it's more like most screamo bands, where it's not as understandable but it sounds emotional so you don't really care. Anyways, this is a great German band and I wan't expecting to find anything new in them but they were a pleasant surprise, and you'll probably think so too.

RIYL: Saetia, Loma Prieta, Raein

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