RIO/Avant Drop-In Centre

Initial gut reaction on the new Univers Zero:

I can definitely see what DD meant when he was talking about less "noise" in this album. There is definitely less of a tonal palette (they are a quintet + guests of course so not completely unusual/unexpected) and the compositions themselves seem a bit more subdued than the usual UZ record. And dare I say, it sounds a little safe? That said...it does seem like a nearly logical follow up to Clivages, if the goal was to make something less volatile...so it's not like this is a complete "new" sound for them...just perhaps less them (if that makes sense)...at least IMHO.

Oddly, there were parts that reminded me of Miriodor's later/now period (without the circus influences), which I found a little disappointing. At the moment, this would probably be near the bottom of my list for UZ albums. But it was only one listen so plenty of time to change that opinion.

At least it's not 38 minutes long though!

My God these Hoyry-kone albums are fan-tastic.

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: The new Univers Zero album, Phosphorescent Dreams, is now available at Wayside. It's a bit on the steep side at $30 but that's because Daniel decided to go with a Japan only release so this is an import. Ordered http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Products/Univers-Zero-Phosphorescent-Dreams__14-Arcangelo-spc-ARC-spc-1313.aspx

The new Univers Zero album, Phosphorescent Dreams, is now available at Wayside. It's a bit on the steep side at $30 but that's because Daniel decided to go with a Japan only release so this is an import.

Ordered

http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Products/Univers-Zero-Phosphorescent-Dreams__14-Arcangelo-spc-ARC-spc-1313.aspx

See if you guys like this, probably the best RIO stuff to come out of Greece

Hi Udi yeah I think there are probably quite a few fans of them here (including me "Infite Ellipse" is probably one of the few albums that kept me sane during bootcamp :O )

Got the album because of your post in avant progressive on facebook and it's fantastic. So many things going on at one moment it's impressive

My greatest discovery this year was Normal Love's Survival Tricks

Just got the new rereleases of Present's first two albums on Cuneiform. They sound wonderful and there is loads of bonus material. Highly highly recommended.

Finally got around to hearing all the new Altrocks. My initial thoughts:

Empty Days - Empty Days: The instrumental tracks I like a lot...the vocal ones seem a little pointless/don't add much to the overall experience. An entire album of the dark soundscape stuff would have been better IMHO. Also, not a lick of rock here.

Mirthkon - Snack(s): A good step up from Vehicle IMO. Less camp, more...substance for lack of a better word. Definitely worth a listen, even to people who are not fans.

Spaltklang - In Between: Fantastic avant-jazz that certainly reminds me of the Blast/Brown Vs Brown type compositions. Fairly high energy and complex. My favorite of the bunch.

Worm Ouroboros - Of Things That Never Were: Very impressed. Didn't really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Lovely modern prog-rock that looks forward while looking backwards. I like the guy's voice as well. Dips a little towards the middle, but overall very nice job, certainly my second fav from this batch.