APHÉLANDRA

Aph'landra's sole album was recorded in 1976, right at the tail end of the golden age of prog, but was not released until over two decades later. I'll put my hand on my heart here and say that had it been released at the time, I don't think it would have succeeded that much more than it did in 2001, when at least there was a "lost, obscure album" vibe about it. It's pleasant enough symphonic prog which is competent but never excels; hardly the sort of material which would have found much of a foothold in the year when punk and New Wave were rattling their cages.

It's a pity the band didn't get to release their album closer to the time they made it, but I can't honestly say it's any great loss. There is a whole world of symphonic prog albums you should be exploring before resorting to this one, especially considering that the patchy sound quality makes it sound like barely more than a demo.