What Are You Listening To Right...Now?! Febus MK 9

They're a Canadian band that was reasonably popular in the 90s.

They have been called Alternative/Indie Rock and Funk Metal.

"Dig" is their debut album and my favorite so far.

"Scenery And Fish" is their 2nd album and features guest guitarist Alex Lifeson.

I just got it, so I'm not too familiar with it yet.  But I really like it so far.  Similar to what he was doing with the Soft Machine just before he left (e.g. Neo-Caliban Grides, a Dean-written Softs track, is on here).  Lots of free sections (which I expected) but also some fairly composed stuff (which I didn't expect).

Have you heard the Soft Machine live release with Phil Howard as the drummer? ("Drop", on Cuneiform).

Phil Howard was very much a "loose time" player, and this appealed to Elton Dean very much, as he seemed to want to play more free jazz.  Hugh Hopper and (to a lesser extent) Mike Ratledge had a bit of trouble with this, preferring more tightly composed stuff.  The "Drop" live archival release captures a concert during that short window when Phil was touring with the band, and it's pretty crazy.  Howard just had a totally different way of keeping time, to the point where the usual live repertoire (stuff from "Third" and "Fourth", mostly) was practically unrecognizable.  After a few months, the group decided it wasn't working, and they got John Marshall (a very disciplined, tight player), though it would have been an interesting new direction for the group.  The decision probably had a lot to do with Elton Dean leaving the group, too... Howard was doing the same kind of stuff he wanted to do.