A Secret River

Out of the fertile musical soil of southern Sweden comes A Secret River, a band intent on exploring and creating innovative sounds, while still keeping the song in focus. From its humble inception as a duo some ten years ago to the four-piece it is today, A Secret River is steadily building a following around the world, with songs that are undoubtedly progressive and intricate, yet remain easily accessible to listeners from all walks of life. Lush vocal harmonies, unusual song structures and multilayered sounds are just a few of the things that make A Secret River stand out from the crowd.

PROG magazine compared the band’s sound to that of artists like Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel, and a number of radio shows have been giving the bands debut ep steady airplay.

 The band released their first full-length album, entitled “Colours of solitude” on june 25th, 2014.

The band:

Andreas Ålöv - Bass and lead vocals

John Bergstrand - Drums, percussion and vocals

Mikael Grafström - Guitars and vocals

Björn Sandberg - Keyboards and vocals

http://www.asecretriver.com

Proud Peasant

Proud Peasant is an Austin-based progressive rock band led by multi-instrumentalist Xander Rapstine (guitars, mandolin, ukulele, Melodica, glockenspiel, percussion).
Their debut release is Flight, a set of three fairly long instrumentals with multiple movements:
“The Prisoner” (12:28), “Awakenings” (19:34), and “The Precipice” (13:20).
These three pieces are pastoral soundscapes of sublime dreams and wicked nightmares, something that we have not heard the likes of since the 70s with Mike Oldfield, Gryphon, and the Amazing Blondel.
Flight is an ambitious undertaking for a debut album, but Xander is no stranger to music. He performed for eight years with his pop rock band The Evildoers, and then decided to explore a more rewarding style of music. In the fall of 2011 he formed Proud Peasant and began the long process of recording Flight. He made the conscious decision for this initial release to be all instrumental as he felt it necessary to first find his voice (so to speak) in this new genre. The other band members are David Hobizal (drums), Jay Allen (keyboards), and Kyle Robarge (bass). On Flight there are additional musicians playing tuba, clarinet, violin, trumpet, timpani, percussion, flute, French horn, cello, and trombone, as well as a choir singing wordlessly at various points. The music is majestic and cinematic with a definite Mike Oldfield Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn vibe. The addition of the brass imparts a Spanish accent that evokes Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti western soundtracks. Flight is an extraordinary debut release.

http://www.proudpeasant.com

Napier's Bones

Napier's Bones are a UK band that take the Classic Prog-Rock sound as a foundation and build upon it to create their own challenging and extended form of progressive rock music. Their focus is firmly on dramatic storytelling with subject matter capable of resonating with the listener today. Music that references the past but is very much of the here and now. Their primary musical influences include the great bands of some forty years ago but also span more recent trends in rock, electronica and modernist classical music. Every Napier's Bones track will take the listener on an emotional musical and lyrical journey, passing through dark and introspective territory en-route to resolution and deliverance.  

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Currently FREE download at:
http://napiersbones.bandcamp.com/releases