Eclectic Vibes

Mathew Haeffel - Rhythm Ethics

Haeffel is very serious and hard working Milwaukee musician that can be seen touring regularly throughout Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. His focused professionalism is evident here as he succinctly pours forth his acoustic rock musical soul into this Rhythm Ethics release that he wrote, produced and did the art for.

Strange Arrangements - Polygraph

Effortlessly stringing together progressive elements of jazz, funk, blues, reggae, and psychedellia are what this Chicago jam rock band does so well. Strong main and harmony vocals really shine as the tangy guitar work and zesty rhythms flow through song after song and have the potential to please listeners for years to come.

Freak Kitchen - Land of the Freaks

Touted as ‘Europe’s best musical secret’ due to limited distribution, Freak Kitchen has just had their back-catalog released and this one from 2009 is the first in line. The progressive power trio consists of three renowned virtuoso musicians - Mattias “IA” Eklundh (guitar/vocals), Christer Ortefors (bass), and Bjorn Fryklund (drums). When these hard-working musicians are not performing in a band, they are out teaching clinics. The music contains creative progressive rock elements with a healthy dose of Frank Zappa influenced humor plus musical shenanigans and acrobatics galore.

Everyone Orchestra - Brooklyn Sessions

Smooth and flowing as well as rich and varied improv jam-rock featuring a bunch of stellar musicians ranging from Jon Fishman (Phish) to keyboardist/pianist Marco Benevento to saxophonist Jeff Coffin (Dave Mathews Band) to guitarist Steve Kimock, and bassist Reed Mathis (Tea Leaf Green), among others. They are all harnessed and conducted by the electrifying Matt Butler, the force and vision behind the group.  By managing to focus the collaborative talent in an ambitious but ultimately gratifying direction he has managed to produce a noteworthy and highly listenable release.

Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death

Wisconsin grown - gurgling, growling, gnarly thrash metal with ridiculous and blistering solos plus breakneck rhythms a la early Slayer, which is appropriate for this 1988 thrash vinyl reissue. Although production values weren’t what they are now, the spirit, energy and vitality of the time soars through every note!

Mörglbl - Brutal_Romance

With a name like this, you may expect punishing death metal, but this is not that. Instead, this French instrumental trio blends a progressive energetic jazzy element with their hard rock and technical metal to create a tantalizing full flavored offering. Additionally, band members Christophe Godin (guitars), Ivan Rougny (bass), and Aurelian Ouzoulias (drums) are each also valued clinicians when not busy crushing and destroying the world as Mörglbl.

Baroness - Yellow & Green

This release has all the trappings of being a landmark, breakthrough album. It debuted at #30 on Billboard’s top 200 and sold over 12,500 records in its first week, making it the highest debut in Relapse Records history. Baroness really show off their vocal prowess and musical composition skills, here. Each song is masterfully crafted to compliment their progressive hard and heavy rock innovations. Bravo!

District 97 - The Trouble With Machines

What a treat! Fronted by 2007 American Idol Top 10 Female Finalist, Leslie Hunt, this extremely melodic and concise prog rock band from Chicago has drawn musical accolades for their adventurous instrumentation and passionate delivery. If you are looking for an excellent contemporary dose of prog fronted by outstanding female vocals, look no further!

Philm - Harmonic

Behold, another side project from legend/drummer extraordinaire, Dave Lombardo.  Although not even remotely as fever pitched as his Slayer days, this is still heavy and his beats are amazing. Overall, this release works best in the noteworthy experimental atmospheric interludes, but resides too often in forgettable post-hardcore or post-apocalyptic delirium. Thankfully, this release has multiple dynamic options. 

Magnum - On The 13th Day

This isn’t a ride into virgin territory. In fact, after 34 years and 17 studio albums, this Birmingham-based melodic hard rock band is continuing to build their long lasting and impressive legacy. That said, this is a solid, highly listenable addition to their history and manages to largely avoid falling into the corny kitsch trap. 

Hidria Spacefolk - Astronautica

Psychedelic space rock never sounded so good! Born out of a hippie commune in Finland and taking their cue from Ozric Tentacles, this non vocal Moog-a-delic experience will sweep you off on a stellar journey to dimensions unknown in the wink of a riff. See ya there!

Unwoman - The Fires I Started

Erica Mulkey is Unwoman, a popular and prolific San Francisco-based cellist-singer-songwriter that spices up the strings with electronic beats and attitude. With seven self-produced solo albums and six successful Kickstarter campaigns under her belt, she is turning herself into a musical icon thanks to all the fans she accumulates at the steampunk, goth, and sci-fi-related events that she highlights. 

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