29th June: Old Town
Between this and Six Questions, Twelve Answers, it's been a good year for silhouettes.
Evenflow is a BEM double act, a dream team of instrumentalist Stuart Stephens (from Whitewater) and vocalist Mike Kershaw (from, er, Mike Kershaw). This compact little EP, only just breaking twenty minutes but deserving of every one, is a great exhibition of both musicians' talents, a mellow, thoughtful collection of smart tunes and Kershaw's signature slightly unsettling stylings (of which we shall see more later in the year).
6th July: Synchestral Works Vol. 1
Anyone else getting Rez vibes from this? Just me? Okay.
When Jordan Brown isn't playing up a storm as part of The Rube Goldberg Machine, he's jamming out in homage to the majestic soundtracks of sci-fi classics. This album is the culmination of a longstanding love affair with 80s science fiction. Close your eyes and picture the blazing neon and gritty retro-tech of the cyberpunk golden age, and you really can't go far wrong - there's even a track specifically labelled as "Montage Music". Synths are the order of the day here, whether soaring lead riffs or booming pads, and aficionados of sci-fi grimdark or just damn good electronica will find much to like here.
20th July: Unidentified Dying Objects
Don't look at the water, don't look at the water, don't look at the -
This hotly anticipated return from German prog legends Argos was a pretty exciting release for us, as several in the BEM camp were already fans, and it's an excellent continuation and evolution of form. With many comparisons drawn to the 70s but enough diversity and weirdness to keep it distinct, Unidentified Dying Objects is about as progressive as they come, complete with a near-20-minute epic to close it out, but this is a rare prog album that can evoke the past without feeling overly tethered to it, and continue carving out what's becoming a very recognizable signature sound.
17th August: Arms Open Wide
Don't look at the brickwork, don't look at the - wait, I've done that one already.
If you like your music thought-provoking and absolutely dripping with atmosphere, they don't come much better than Mike Kershaw. Arms Open Wide is his second solo release with BEM and it only reinforced how glad we are to have brought him on board back in 2016. Mike has a genuinely uncanny talent for knocking listeners off balance with thoughtful critiques and open questions. We often compare music to music, but Arms Open Wide draws the strongest comparisons to The Twilight Zone or the better episodes of Black Mirror: it's good entertainment and good food for thought rolled into one.
Status Update
Ooh, new music! Every Night Something Happens, the debut from psych-pop supergroup Lost Crowns, is now available to preorder, complete with an instant-access preview track. The album drops on January 25th, so, if you've ever wanted to hear Vox amplifiers and harpsichords in the same place, or if you just can't get enough of Charlie Cawood (making his fourth appearance as part of a BEM act), don't miss out!
Review Roundup
Jerry Lucky rates The Great War - well, he doesn't give it a rating, but presumably he would rate it highly if he did, is my point, because he likes the... ah, never mind.
And here's a big one: Sanguine Hum got a four-page feature in the most recent edition of PROG. Here's page one - buy the magazine for the other three, featuring some great musical insights from Matt and the team!
