Trip (Maciej Meller, 2020)

Maciej Meller is a staple in Polish prog scene since the early 1990s, having been a  founding member of Quidam and being a current member of Riverside, not to mention the supergroup Meller / Gołyźniak / Duda. This stunning guitarist only released his first solo album, titled Zenith, in 2020 and I especially like this track, Trip, full of atmospheric and dreamy moods. Trip is co-written by Meller and Duda with lyrics by  Krzysztof Borek and really is a riveting track to me, combining an enthralling sung theme and a rich electronic background. 

This is the cover art for the original album released in 2020.

Some well placed tempo changes and the beautiful instrumental second half (including a slow and piercing guitar solo) grace this track and raise it to the highest level. Just a final note: Meller also released in 2021 an acoustic version of his album and there you'll find a version of Trip featuring an instrumental finale with trumpet and sax. Also beautiful, of course.

Space Cowboy (Gazpacho, 2020)

Gazpacho refined their own kind of prog all along their career, mixing atmospheric mood, some majestic arrangements and bits of heavy rock from time to time. They're always enjoyable and highly professional, but you need more to set up a beautiful song. And when they find these bonus ingredients they really are perfect to me. The "bonus" are, of course, good melodies. You'll find at least two in this suite titled Space Cowboy and coming from the 2020 album Fireworker. And that's not all. 

Another beautiful cover art by Antonio Seijas. 

The band master here some interesting (and sometimes dangerous) elements like a powerful choir and a strong diversity between the track's different parts. Both these peculiarities demand a solid sense of proportion, but Gazpacho have the experience and the right taste to succeed in such a task. That's why this suite flows like a beautiful river passing through many different landscapes and growing more and more stimulating each time you listen to it. The lyrics about the hidden animal insinct inside men (the concept of the whole album) and the way this human trait goes through eras and generations adds some more food for thought. What else should we ask?

Friends I + II (Turdetans, 2020)

 Turdetans are a Spanish prog band from Alcalá de Guadaíra, in the Seville area, a very important prog province, I daresay, home of Triana, Guadalquivir, Smash and many more. And after all their name comes from the ancient  inhabitants of their region. This time, don't expect a resurgence of rock andaluz: these musicians like to blend with skill all the faces of prog rock to create a fascinating sound, rich and diversified. Acoustic blue skies, fluid and captivating, are suddenly perturbed by electric and even metal storms, folk rains or symphonic winds. 

The album's cover beautifully refers to the work's main topic of dreams.

A treat, as this little suite called "Friends" will easily prove. You'll be surprised to discover how Turdetans set up a consistent and well balanced track in spite of all the changes in time, volume, mood and instrumentation they play out. Such an achievement comes from the perfect fusion of excellent melodies and genuine energy. "Suite of Dreams" in their only album to date, but we can only hope it will soon be followed by more releases

Merry Macabre (Wobbler, 2020)

Wobbler surely are one of the most interesting bands worldwide when it comes to classic prog and vintage sounds. Their 2020 release titled "Dwellers of The Deep" is worth its promising title and includes this 19 minutes song, an amazing journey through different progressive references and styles. Not only this track is full of good musical themes, mood changes and irregular tempos, but it's also a technical tour de force, thanks to the band's instrumental skills and the song's daring architecture. 

                                                        As usual, a wonderful cover!

Even if Wobbler follow well known musical tracks, they mix them up in their own original way and - what's more - seem to enjoy what they're doing. That's why the listener is fully involved in their devilish rythms, intricate vocal harmonies and atmospheric breaks. I especially like the piano driven sections, actng as respite and launching the following sections. Wobbler really dwell in the deepest rooms of music and there's a yellow brick road leading to their beautiful house somewhere in the centre of Progtown. 

Sepia And White (Abel Ganz, 2020)

The readers of my blog already know I like Abel Ganz very much. The first reason of this is that these Scottish musicians always improve and their music sounds richer and more interesting each time they release a new album. 2020's "The Life Of The Honey Bee and Other Moments Of Clarity" is another turning point in such a progress. This song, the longest one from the album (virtually a suite), is possibly the brightest gem of a brilliant collection. It displays charming arrangements, many time changes and beautiful melodies. 

A splendid cover art, isn't it?

The (electric) piano adds here and there a moving touch, while David King offers a beautiful guitar solo, Mick MacFarlane sings putting all his soul in each and every word from beautiful lyrics about passing time and new horizons. Of course, the keyboards duo provide the usual amount of magic and the rythm section keeps it up. This is exactly that kind of song I recommend to those who distrust neo-prog bands. They usually change their mind.

Isolation (Jonny Ong, 2020)

It is a pleasure I'll never give up to put into this blog not only straight-prog songs but also open minded tracks like this one coming from Singapore born and London based multi-instrumentalist Jonny Ong. Sometimes such an unusual approach to music is quintessentially prog as Jonny Ong knows no boundaries when it comes to musical genres and moods. "Isolation" includes sad and claustrophobic passages and also sudden melodic openings, suggesting other worlds and brighter skies. Released durng the Covid-19 virus lockdown, those moods were even more widely shared, but they surely belong to every human's wealth of experience.

"Isolation" was released via Sound Portal Studios.

It is a fascinating, spiritual journey where Eastern and Western influences walk side by side, exalting each other. The clever choice of instruments our musician makes is another highlight of "Isolation" and I especially like the handpan, whose celestial sound is simply perfect in this track, setting up a beautiful contrast with the acid bakground. That's why I dare say (relying on Mr. Ong's kind understanding) that where emotions spring from music, there will certainly be prog.