Alters – Mild. 2007. Alters were described to me as a cross between Magma, Nebelnest and Shylock. Which is utterly ridiculous. Un-met high expectations aside, the band themselves were more accurate and listed the usual prog suspects (Yes, KC, Genesis, Floyd), Miles Davis, Stockhausen, etc… But I was pleased to see they give the most credit to Polish legends SBB, a band they do indeed model after. In listening to this, it’s obvious Pink Floyd circa “Dark Side of the Moon” also plays a major role in their sound, especially in the few vocal tracks. One can also hear, especially within the experimental bits, another 1970s Polish stalwart in Niemen. Solo instruments of choice are electric guitar (not overly distorted, but not clean tones either), synthesizers (with plenty of 70s era samples) and viola. Amongst the newer progressive groups in Poland, Alters is closer in spirit (though not sound) to the more cutting edge groups like Indukti and Gargantua verse the more straightforward Satellite and Riverside. Bravo.

Flor de Loto – s/t. 2005.
Flor de Loto – Madre Tierra. 2007. The Mylodon label has been responsible for turning up some great bands from Chile, and it’s nice to see them reach over to their northern neighbors in Peru, where we find the excellent band Flor de Loto. Peru had quite the psych scene in the late 60s and early 70s, and they possessed one of the world’s most exciting music scenes of the day. But political conflicts were particularly hard on Peru, and the country degenerated into chaos throughout most of the 70s and 80s. Stability seems to have returned, and now we’re getting a new crop of music acts. Flor de Loto are very much a modern band, but one with two feet in the past. One foot goes to the heady days of the early 1970s that produced the progressive rock scene. The other foot goes way back to the indigenous tribes, and their musical traditions and folklore. So along with the usual rock instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums, they have a dedicated winds performer who plays on a variety of flutes, both classical and traditional. Somewhere between the aggressive Japanese band Naikaku and the classic Chilean’s Los Jaivas is where you’ll spot the sound of Flor de Loto. And on “Madre Tierra”, there are some mad outbursts of fuzz guitar that even point the French band Nebelnest. Their formula is one that can go in many different directions and still be exciting. Already looking forward to the 3rd album!

Scarlet Thread – Valheista Kaunein. 2006. Another one of those great Scandinavian bands with an organic, rural feel - and completely psychedelic. Scarlett Thread are a Finnish 5 piece with dual electric guitar and violin as the main solo instruments. I loved the first album and spoke of them back in 2004 on OMD. Here’s their latest,”Valheista Kaunein”, which features two guest players on flute, adding one more fantastic dimension. File next to the Swedish groups Grovjobb and Gosta Berlings Saga.