TOM PENAGUIN

1. "The Stove Viewpoint Introduction" (2:44) layers of synthesizer-generated sounds creating a bit of a Patrick Moraz/Mike Oldfield soundscape that moves, in the third minute, into more Dave Stewart territory before bleeding into ? (the next song) (4.375/5)

2. "Housefly Leg" (14:25) though I love all of the instrumental recreations of old, familiar Canterbury sounds, it is the crisp drumming that I find most impressive (and original). The second motif that occupies the third minute sounds more GENESIS-like before shifting into NEKTAR territory for the third motif. Then we're back to the original KHAN/HATFIELD/ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS sound palette for some beautiful and gentle melody making in the fifth minute. An electric guitar moves to the fore for the sixth minute to solo in a style that sounds and feels more like something from American Jazz-Rock Fusion (one of Steely Dan's virtuosi: Larry Carlton, Jay Graydon, Denny Dias, Dean Parks, or Walter Becker). This solo dominates well into the ninth minute with plenty of keyboard support and complementation until the nine-minute mark when Fender Rhodes and electric bass play along side some impressive drumming for a little over a minute. Then "everybody" clears out so the Fender Rhodes can support an extended bass solo--one that becomes more and more impressive (almost MAGMA-esque) as it moves into the 12th and 13th minutes. Tom has certainly become a great drummer! From 12:35 on the instruments are all weaving in and around each other in a very HATFIELD AND THE NORTH fashion, each virtually soloing though still maintaining some modicum of cohesion ? until it stops! Pretty impressive song! Especially the layering of support for the soloists but really the drums the most. Unfortunately, I come away feeling no particular connection to any of the melodies or themes lingering in my brain; more impressed with the highly skilled imitative quality of the music. (27/30) 3. "Aborted Long Piece No. 2" (3:35) though the thick, heavy bass and drum play in this doesn't quite feel accurate, I do feel immediate familiarity with the Dave Stewart-like organ and Fender Rhodes play on this. It could almost fit perfectly among Egg's classic suite on their sophomore album from 1971, The Polite Force. (8.875/10)

4. "Arrival of the Great Hedgehog" (9:16) basically it's gentle Fender Rhodes and organ arpeggiations and gradual bass augmentation and expansion with eventual Moog "flute" (or Casiotone "fantasy") play over the top until the electric fuzz guitars and drums join in during the third and fourth minutes, respectively. The fifth minute is slowed down for a more Andy Latimer/Eef Albers(FOCUS)-like guitar sound to enter and slowly build into an impressive (Allan Holdsworth-like) solo (with those very impressive drums accompanying, accenting, and egging him on). All of the above guitarists would have been proud of this solo--as drummers Billy Cobham and Bill Bruford would be smiling. Great production and performance. I wish the song could have had a little more development and nuance, not just exist as a skills display piece. (17.75/20)

5. "The Stove Packed Up and Left" (7:29) definitely a Dave Stewart composition. (J/k) To my ears, this song feels like the most mature, most developed and refined. (13.75/15)

Total Time 37:29

This young man has the chops, has all the appropriate instruments to create the appropriate sound palettes, and definitely has the ear to help him recreate old style musics (EGG, KHAN, HATFIELD AND THE NORTH, CAMEL, MIKE OLDFIELD), but I believe that he still has some learning to do with regards to fine-tuning his music so that they sound less like imitations and more like originals. After three published albums, I think he is well on his way.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of adroitly Canterbury-styled instrumental music. I would think that every prog lover would find something interesting and enjoyable on this album

1. "Trampoline Overdrive" (5:03) great melodies and sounds--as if early TONY BANKS and modern day (2000s) ANDREW MARSHALL collaborated on another WILLOWGLASS piece--only with a more demonstrative (and modern) drummer. (9/10)

2. "Antigravity Lagoon" (12:53) starts out as a Terry Riley-like multi-track conversation between several programs of Tom's Moog Matriarch. At the two-minute mark drums and "bass" and a few other sequenced lines join in giving this a more ANTHONY PHILLIPS or perhaps Mike Oldfield feel (though, to my ears, more ARNAUD BUKWALDian). Nice melodies coming out of several instruments, including the "bass" and "fairy synths," not just the lead "Stagnation" sound. It starts to drag a little as it auto-descends (and, perhaps, unravels and dampens) in the tenth minute and beyond. (22.25/25)

3. "Diving Bell" (2:27) an étude for an artist experimenting/getting to know a single instrument or sound. (4/5)

4. "Stamping Factory" (5:31) A little more funky like some late 70s or early 80s prog keyboardist's experimentation (very much like Ant Phillips' solo work in those years). Tom is really developing as a musician and composer! (8.75/10)

5. "Flight of an Amphibious Airship" (12:11) Another lovely piece of multi-layered synthesizer experimentation (some of it quite mathematical) has Tom weaving together no less than six tracks from his Moog, each with its own separate melodic journey, and yet they all work magically well together--almost in a dreamy, New Age kind of way (though for much of the song I find myself luxuriating in the beauty of the opening of GLASS HAMMER's contribution to Colossus Magazine/Musea Records' 2005 masterpiece, Odyssey: The Greatest Tale, called "At the Court of Akinoos"). A wonderful piece if obviously an étude toward greater knowledge and proficiency. Tom sure gets the full use out of his 88 keys! (22.5/25)

Total time: 38:05

Tom's drumming (and sound reproduction of such) has a little way to go to reach the impressive levels of his 2024 release, but the rest of the music is very engaging and enjoyable--in very much the same way that Ant Phillips' 1984 has been for me for the past 43 years.

B/four stars; an excellent collection of Moog experiments from an up-and-coming prog talent. An album that I think every self-professed prog lover would absolutely love--especially if you love the work of Andrew Marshall's WILLOWGLASS and ANTHONY PHILLIPS keyboard work in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Tom is from France and started playing guitar at six and then playing other instruments followed until by 15 he was playing guitar,organ, piano and drums at a professional level. He's the guitarist in a Metal band and keyboardist in a Stoner psychedelic group honing his skills. He released an album of drums and synths only in 2020, but he says that this is his true debut released in 2024. While at 17 he wanted to make this record he didn't have the equipment, instruments or knowledge to do it then.

So he's been busy even thanking his parents for allowing him to educate himself in his love of music. So in 2020 he starts building an analog studio in his home and of course picking up instruments along the way. The list of things he plays is woefully lacking on the site here, he has a list of things he plays that is as long as my arm. The songs are complex in structure and certainly EGG and NATIONAL HEALTH seem to honoured by him the most on this his debut. He mentions Stavinksy as well and Zappa as influences but this is 100% Canterbury and it's a beautiful thing. He thanks Ryan(ZOPP) saying without his help this record would not have been possible. He helped Tom secure a record deal with the Spanish label aMarxe and by the way aMarxe the cardboard on my cd case is separating from the plastic. Just sayin'. It's rippled.

So while this is composed, played, mixed and produced by Tom the opener "The Stove Viewpoint Introduction" features some guests adding sounds to this opening under 3 minute collage. Some laughter from Marie, slowed down glassware as it says, and echoed flute along with Inkus the dog helping out. An experimental start that blends into the mammoth "Housefly leg" not that the leg was mammoth but the song is 14 1/2 minutes long. This track has so much to offer from those gorgeous Canterbury sounds, you know those distorted keyboards, and this goes from gorgeous to intense to those "wow" moments. I was thinking of Phil Lee with the guitar. Some distorted bass too. Love the electric piano and the way he changes this song up as it flows out to us so beautifully.

"Aborted Long Piece No2" of course screams EGG how amazing does the opening organ sound. Just another flavour to enjoy. It will come and go and when it turns intense with that rhythm section I couldn't help but think of Dashiell Hedayat. "Arrival Of The Great Hedgehog" is so english isn't it? A mellow start and it doesn't start to move until after 2 1/2 minutes with distorted sounds in tow. Quite the guitar solo too from around 6 1/2 minutes to after 9 minutes. "The Stove Packed Off And Left" ends it opening with a repeated organ line as piano joins in then drums and bass. Punchy sounds then it's all Canterbury the rest of the way.

I can't imagine how proud Tom must be to have finally realized his dream, and I'm proud of him too and so happy to have this music in my hands. And yes Tom, this will help decorate some of the most important moments of my life, as you hoped it will.

One of the newest unlikely Canterbury converts is the French born TOM PENAGUIN whose unlikely origins began as the keyboardist in the world of the heavy psych space rock modernity Orgöne and guitarist of the psychedelic doom and stoner metal band Djin. Utterly smitten by the Canterbury bug, PENAGUIN set out in 2020 to amass an arsenal of vintage analog equipment to create his own studio setting which would allow him to rekindle the past glories of the world of Canterbury to his heart's delight. The result is his self-titled debut release which has emerged in 2024 and a bonafide encyclopedic testament to the world of 70s Canterbury sounds. PENAGUIN is a talented multi-instrumentalist who pretty much plays everything on this album including the electric piano, synthesizers, bass, guitar, drums and tape effects. A few guests add some scant vocal sounds and an echoed flute otherwise this is the TOM PENAGUIN show!

PENAGUIN is the ultimate intrepid time traveler who has crafted his own musical time machine that revisits all those past Canterbury glories in full regalia. Leaving no rock unturned, the astute homage paid to the likes of classic Egg, Hatfield & The North, National Health, Steve Hillage, Khan and pretty much any other source of influence lurking in the fertile Canterbury world of yore is impressive to say the least. With a compositional flow that gleans musical inspiration from the world of classical music as it does the prog pioneers of the past, PENAGUIN exhibits a strong propensity for the guitar dynamics of Dave Stewart while evoking a classic Soft Machine meets Hatfield & The North keyboard flow of Dave Sinclair and Mike Ratledge. Without quitting his day job, PENAGUIN's indie approach has allowed him to simply create the album of his dreams where he reinvigorates the Canterbury tradition with a 21st zeal.

The album opens with the contemplative "The Stove Viewpoint Introduction" that slowly oozes in the proper mood setting attributes that allow the lengthiest track of the album, the seminal "Housefly Leg" with a 14 1/2 minute playing time to really showcase how PENAGUIN can strut his Canterbury creds like the big boys of the past. The passion and dedication to the craft are truly remarkable and PENAGUIN doesn't miss a beat by evoking all the innovative warmth and tone arsenal that the classic vintage equipment delivered in abundance. Through a series of carefully crafted twists and turns that amalgamate into a cohesive wholeness, the album exhibits a beautiful continuous flow that crescendoes with the rather J.S. Bach fugue sounding "Aborted Long Piece No2" which cedes into the atmospheric elegance of "Arrival Of The Great Hedgehog" which unleashes a series of valiant keyboard moves along with some of the best guitar playing techniques on the album.

As the album ends with the time signature-rich congeniality of "The Stove Packed Up And Left" you are left with a sense of deja-vous as if you had just entered a time machine and traveled back to the glory days when the Canterbury experiments were in their birth pangs. This is very much a retro album in every sense of the world with an old school approach steeped in nostalgia and a zeitgeist for the golden years of Canterbury glory. Throughout this debut album's run PENAGUIN exhibits the firmest of command on all the aspects of the wizardry of past glories and proves his worthiness beyond a doubt with his blazing passions for all those masterful moments that led to some of progressive rock's most classic moments.

While delivered impeccably, the problem with many contemporary Canterbury enthusiasts is that more often than not they are too inclined to pay homage to the classics rather than take the style into the brave new world of the 21st century. If you're looking for the next Zopp or Regel Worm who adapt the world of Canterbury to various unexplored terrain then this is not going to be your bailiwick however if a passionate tribute to the engaging charm that endures in the modern era even in its primeval unadulterated form sounds appealing, then you will absolutely adore this modern slice of Canterbury glory from TOM PENAGUIN's because his dedication to the craft is undeniably impressive with beautifully designed compositions that evoke the excellence of all those classic sounds of yore. The attention to compositional flow, the tones and the instrumental interplay as a one-man band and like are exciting and first-rate. I really hope to see PENAGUIN take a more explorative approach on future releases but for now this excellent retro prog is well worth checking out!