Gargamel – Watch For the Umbles. 2002. It’s been about awhile since I last slobbered on about a Transubstans label act. Norway’s Gargamel are yet another new symphonic band for the label, though this album has remained in the drawers since 2002. Whereas fellow countrymen Wobbler took the Genesis/Crimson package through the Anglagard axis, Gargamel opted for the darker VDGG through the Landberk filter. The Hammill-esque vocals take on that European slant, perhaps in the manner of Italy’s Garden Wall, but without the histrionics (nor the metal tendencies). Also love the cover – a dreary, gray 1970’s era inner-city apartment building, accented with a snow piled streetlight. In a genre filled with fantasy covers, this can be a startling view indeed. Their follow-up this year will be one of my most anticipated albums to watch for.

Friendship Time – s/t. 1976. No sense letting Transubstans have all the fun, not when Mellotronen digs up an archival find like Friendship Time. Holy Moly, these are the kind of unreleased recordings collectors live for. A full blown professional recording that was slated for release on Virgin (I mean Virgin? That’s big time for a rural Swedish group). Reminded me of the day that the Norwegian post-Host group Deja-Vu was discovered in the mid 90s. Friendship Time play an English inspired brand of prog rock, not necessarily the big 3, but a cousin of that: Flash. I always felt Flash were highly neglected, perhaps not meeting the lofty standards of the mothership band (nor the keyboard heavy approach). There’s also a distinct Swedish rock sound found here – notably Trettioariga Kriget (especially at the time of the second album) and the laissez faire melodicism of the first Lotus album. Beautiful digi-pak release with histories and photos. No brainer pick up for Euro prog heads.

Kenso – Utsuroi Yuku Mono. 2006. Kenso’s career has taken them to many different styles and genres over the years. Starting out pretty much as a standard Genesis symphonic act, they began to introduce fusion around the time of “Kenso II”, thus earning their rightful place as one of the standard bearers of “symphonic fusion”. But, in reality, the band quickly ventured from there more into garden variety fusion following “II” to the point where they were indistinguishable from any known American band by the late 1980s. “Yume No Oka” readdressed the symphonic idea to great success, though it would be 8 years for a studio follow-up. “Esoptron” introduces us to a more hard rock oriented Kenso, which they tempered with a more progressive flavoring on “Fabulis Mirabilibus De Bombycosi Scriptis”. Some would argue that this period may have produced some of their best live material (the hard rock energy adding a much needed boost to the live setting). I bring up the abbreviated history, because “Utsuroi Yuku Mono” is by far the closest album to their most beloved studio “Kenso II”. They’re fully back in symphonic fusion mode here, except with a much better production, taking advantage of 25 years of studio experience. I need much more time with this, but could very well be the best studio album they’ve ever done.