Kumm - Moonsweat March. 2000 Romania

Certainly one of the more interesting albums I've heard in some time, Kumm combines neo psych, indie, and progressive rock seamlessly. Their sound is distinctly of an earlier era, and that's where the allure lies here. It's an impeccably recorded album, and there's plenty of vintage gear to savor. I'm not an indie rock fan, and I have to admit that's where they get a couple of demerits here. The style mostly shows up in the vocal sections (all sung in English BTW) which aren't overly prominent. When learning of their heritage, the story become clear - one of their earlier incarnations was Talitha Qumi, which was one of my favorite new discoveries of the last decade. Had Kumm stayed out of the era from which they came, this too would have been a near masterpiece. As it stands, still very much worthy of ownership, given its unique style.

Ownership: CD: 2010 Soft Records. The CD is housed in a fine mini-LP package. This is the second press and includes one short bonus track.

Promenade - Noi al Dir di Noi. 2016 Italy

Promenade are a band from Genoa, and Noi al dir di Noi is their debut. The album has been pitched as an Italian prog take on Canterbury, similar to perhaps the first Picchio dal Pozzo. So I had huge hopes this would fall in line with similarly minded new groups like Moogg and Homunculus Res. Uhh... no. The opening move 'Ahtletics' is a barnburner with that wacky RIO strain of circus/cartoon styled music. References to anyone from Samla Mammas Manna to Miriodor to Yugen wouldn't be out of place. And while that wasn't exactly what I was hoping to hear, it turns out to be their best style that they revisited a couple of other places throughout. Otherwise, this is pretty much straightforward indie rock. Seriously. I fear to say that I vigorously disagree with some of the reviews I've read. There is very little classic Italian progressive rock within, if at all. I've given this one a few really detailed listens (when you have a 20 hour flight to Thailand, there isn't much else to do...). It's very rare these days for me to thumbs-down a new release - primarily because all the reviews and tools we have at our disposal to research - but this one passed the filters only to find out it wasn't at all to my taste. File under indie avant-prog. Sell bin. Sorry.

Personal collection
None... sold the CD (2016 Fading)

Too bad it has to be sold, as the CD is housed in a wonderful thick tri-fold digi-pak. The album was released on Alt Rock's Fading label, which is geared towards more traditional progressive rock. IMO, this should have been on the parent label.

Ampledeed - BYOB. 2016 USA-California

BYOB is the second effort from Ampledeed of Los Angeles. The Canterbury edges are beginning to get rubbed out, though there's still plenty of excellent instrumental progressive rock to be had, especially on the bookends of the recording. But creeping in the middle is that annoying whiny indie psych that just doesn't resonate with me, and one can only hope it goes away quickly. I think they're trying to do more of an Art Bears thing, and it comes out more like Of Montreal. As Steve of Wayside says about a potential title for the 3rd album: "C is for Canterbury". That would be my vote too. In any case, still a fine effort overall, but they're targeting a different audience I fear.

Ownership: CD: 2016 private. Digifile sleeve. 

3/18/16 (new entry); 11/15/23 (removed)