The Trunk 8/7/2018: 2018, Part Deux

Last week, we looked back. This week, we look ahead. Thus far, we've announced three more albums to be released before the end of 2018; there'll be more new music than that, rest assured, but in the meantime let's review what we know.

Unidentified Dying Objects

This one's close. So close we can taste it. In less than two weeks, Argos will unleash Unidentified Dying Objects on the world, and you've only heard a snippet of what the full album has to offer. Oh, and in case you haven't:

Don't just listen to the music, though - get a load of that guest list! Argos have enlisted some of progressive music's best and brightest, including Andy Tillison of The Tangent contributing his dazzling keyboards to the very track featured in this trailer. Unidentified Dying Objects is a none-more-prog continuation of Argos' bold, broad-church approach, with influences from across progressive history combining in a weighty, satisfying chunk of just plain good music. It also sees their permanent lineup expanding to five people, with the addition of keyboardist Thilo Brauss.

Unidentified Dying Objects releases on July 20th. Preorder here.

Dial

Announced last week, Dial is the next chapter in the Shineback saga. While we don't have preview tracks yet, we can offer you this rather good digital single, 'We Rescue', released in celebration of our fifth birthday:



After the critical and commercial success of Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed, BEM's first outing in what's turned out to be a very prolific run, living up to the hype might seem daunting, but we can confirm that Godfrey has risen to the challenge, bringing back his signature rock-tinged "intelligent dance" style with some of the heavier elements seen on the Minotaur EP and an impressive laundry list of guests (we'll spare you the full list here, but you can find them all on the store page).

Dial releases on September 14th. Preorder here.

Now We Have Power

Matt Baber has already featured on the label with his Suite for Piano and Electronics, and now it seems the rest of the band want in too. Welcome aboard, Sanguine Hum, and, the rest of you, get ready for Now We Have Power! Again, there's no preview track yet, so enjoy this piece from Baber's solo album instead.



Sanguine Hum's previous album, the double CD Now We Have Light, began a "future parable", following a man named Don through a strange, surreal tapestry of songwriting and storytelling. Now We Have Power is set to continue this story with over an hour of new music, featuring guest performances from Mark Kesel, Kimara Sajn, and the band's former drummer Paul Mallyon.

Now We Have Power releases on October 12th. Preorders are forthcoming - and, in the meantime, you can catch a special acoustic performance from the guys at EppyFest later this month.

Review Roundup

Our thanks to Anil Prasad for this excellent writeup of Suite for Piano and Electronics, which you can still pick up here.

And to Stuart Maconie - yes, that one! - for featuring The Bob Lazar Story on this episode of Freak Zone! We're pretty close to the middle this time around, but we do recommend giving the whole thing a listen, as Stuart's tastes are fascinating and generally right on the ball. Baritonia is available to buy here.