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So here it is... the best Progressive Rock released in 2019.. OK, we only have 2 hours here, but there's some fine music squeezed into these 2 hours! This is our second show highlighting the best progressive rock of 2019 and what a year.

For the video version on Vimeo go to the bottom of the blog. If you can not access this in your country then click on the audio of the show through MixCloud immediately below.

We started the show with a track from a beautiful album that will appeal to lovers of bands like Pink Floyd, although I have to say they are by no means a Floyd rip off. The band is Warmrain and the track we took from the album 'Back Above The Clouds' was Equilibrium. It's the last track on the album which has the vibe of a concept album, which is absolutely is.

As you listen to the tracks it touches on many aspects of the human condition of loss and loneliness. Tracks like Absent Friends and New Dawn seem so personal and poignant. It's a double CD with nearly an hour and a half of wonderful music that transports you to a world above the clouds.

This their debut album which follows the release of the four track EP which came out in 2011. Great album and the track we chose for the show is a great example of the quality throughout.

The Psychedelic Ensemble are one of those bands that worm their way in to your brain. Smooth progressive rock that oozes quality, complex enough to keep you interested but never harsh.

The weird thing is a few days after listening to the Mother's Rhymes album you start to get that feeling that you'd like to experience it again, especially tracks like Little Bo Peep and the one we chose for the show Farewell.

To me, the album has a sort of 'Canterbury' feel. I thinking Hatfield & The North or some aspects of Soft Machine, but maybe that's just me. 

This is the debut album from a quartet of young musicians from Sao Paulo, Brazil and the self titled, fully instrumental Status Luna album has grabbed me.

It's like listening to early Camel but with a little more sophistication in composition, the track we chose O Centro Do Labirinto is typical of what I'm talking about, It uses 70's keyboard sounds amazingly well, I'm talking Hammond Organ, Mellotron sounds mixed with synth and then layered on top with some wonderful soaring guitar work.

I first came across Kaprekar's Constant when I put together my Rockin Rebel Radio Christmas Extravaganza when I featured a track called All You Wish Yourself which slotted into the show quite nicely. It wasn't long before I got hooked into the Depth Of Field album.

The track I included in the Best Progressive Rock Of 2019 was a track that is lovely to listen to on headphones. The track Rosherville Part 2 has a section of spoken work that really draws you in and feels so English. The track seems to float through the English countryside with a cloak and top hat.

The mix of vocals from Bill Jefferson and Dorie Jackson blends so well throughout the whole album and when entwined with acoustic guitars and subtle keys the result is pure magic. I do love this album which has the vibe of recalling distant memory through music.

When I put the show together I know I'd be including a track from the self titled debut album from Rosalie Cunningham. I'm a bit of a Stoner Rock fan and I loved old Queen. This has done one thing and that's to prepare me to love the Rosalie Cunningham album.

I resisted the urge to put the track Ride On My Bike, which I think is probably going to be pushed as a single and plumped for the last track on the album A Yarn From The Wheel, which I think has so many great parts that it really shows the vibe of the album at its best.

She moved on from Purson to go it alone and I think has made the right choice. This album has more presence than Desire's Magic Theatre, the last Purson album (which I love BTW). It feels fresher and follows a clearer path.  

First, Jan Akkerman is a bloody hero of Prog... There I got it out the way. Now this guy has been producing solo albums for decades starting in 1968. This, unbelievably is his 22nd solo album and a must have in the Best Progressive Rock Of 2019 show. The track we took for the show was the first track on the album Spiritual Privacy. 

It's one of those moment, you put the needle on the record to have a listen to a new album and right from the outset you are hooked. The guitar work is this first track is incredible, not just because it's well played, that sort of goes without saying.. No the track is mesmerizing, pulling you into a world Akkerman creates as if just for you. Again, like all these albums I urge you to set some time aside and just listen on headphones.

The Close Beauty album is a testament to Jan's playing with most tracks simple and beautiful. Jan on acoustic and subtle electric guitar backed with drums and keys that support and never encroach. 

Just 4 tracks on this album. 4 wonderful tracks.This is the second album without the amazing Daevid Allen at the helm, but Gong is so much more than a band with a fixed set of member, Gong is an idea, a concept and an ever moving force and this album The Universe Also Collapses is another step on an never ending cosmic journey.

I've been a Gong fan for decades now, living in a smoke filled Gong world for much of my formative years in the 70's and 80's. I thought Gong may struggle post Allen. It's not quite the same, it will never be, but it still Gong and I love it!

I could have taken any track from the album but chose the third track My Sawtooth Wake simply because it made me smile. It reminded me of the Gong of old as soon as it came on. The drums and base laying down a solid path while keys and sax float above the metaphysical ground taking you one one of those journeys!..

Second helping of Warmrain in the show and for good reason. This track comes from their EP Here Comes The Rain Again a introspective cover of the Eurythmics track from 83 which is a bit of a strange concept until you hear it in with other tracks on the EP. 

The rack we've taken for the show is Shadowline Paradigm, a beautiful, dreamy song which is soft and poignant but still comes up with a wonderful chorus. I'm Really getting into this band and their subtle approach. As I said about their latest album Back Above The Clouds, if you like Pink Floyd then give Warmrain a go, I don't think they will disappoint.

BAND: The Far Meadow
TRACK: Sulis Rise
ALBUM: Foreign Land

The Far Meadow are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Their musical style hits all the right flavours as far as I'm concerned. The instrumentation, the dynamics and flow are reminiscent of progressive rock from my youth and yet there is a freshness and uniqueness to the music that makes it compelling.

The track we chose for this show is Sulis Rise from the 2019 release Foreign Land which is the second track off the album. This track is typical of their sound, I get undertones of bands like It Bites and moments that remind me of Genesis especially in the sound and style of Eliot Minn's keyboards.

That doesn't mean they sound like Genesis, far from it, what it means is The Far Meadow have succeeded in creating music, modern progressive rock music that progressive rock fans should lap up. 

We played the first track Travelogue from the Foreign Land album in last weeks show and the feedback we got showed me that prog fans are liking the new album a lot.

What makes The Far Meadow a unique, refreshing experience is the distinctive vocals of Marguerita Alexandrou. Her voice perfectly suits the music and has the ability to draw you into their world.

BAND: Thank You Scientist
TRACK: Life Of Vermin
ALBUM: Terraforma

Big apology to make to Thank You Scientist, on the show I said their album was called Transforma, not Terraforma. brain fart on my part, having said that the track we picked Life Of Vermin is has a very unique vibe to it. It's jazzy, sleazy and makes great use of acoustic guitar and clean clear vocals from Salvatore Marrano.

As you would expect there are complex passages, heavily ladened with metal guitar thanks to Tom Monda, but doesn't fall into the trap of being complex just for the sake of it. 

Karfagen are a Prog band from Ukraine that have been incredibly prolific since their first album Continium in 2006. Echoes From Within Dragon Island is in fact their 10th album and one I've been listening to a lot just recently.

The track we chose is Dragon Island Suite (Part 3) which comes in at 16:33 but is absorbing all the way through with little recurring motifs and a soft easy appeal that takes you on a peaceful journey.

They have already released a new album called Birds Of Passage so now I'm looking forward to getting the headphones out and being transported to a new wonderful world of prog!

BAND: Izz
TRACK: Age Of Stars
ALBUM: Don't Panic