Woodpecker

"Hi Fiction Science comprises former members of Suncoil Sect and Fuzz Against Junk. Guitarist James McKeown is also known for his solo work released by Fruits de Mer and Reverb Worship. Following their self-titled debut album on own label Negative Drive and a 7" on Fruits de Mer, Hi Fiction Science have signed to Cherry Red offshoot Esoteric Antenna. Curious Yellow, their first release on this label, is a truly amazing synthesis of late 60s/early 70s-style electric folk, psychedelia, and electronica. Think Trees, Liege and Lief era Fairport, Pentangle, or any number of bands on the Erewhon History of UK Underground Folk-Rock compilation albums, combined with vintage electronica and ambient music; as bizarre as that description may sound, it really is a winning formula. Elsewhere they introduce elements of angular art-rock and intense psychedelic guitar work (Vapour), wordless vocal and electronic soundscaping (Komorebi), and in Curious Yellow they set a medievalesque song to mesmerisingly repetitive psychedelic instrumentation. This is a really exceptional album from a band I will definitely be looking out for more from in future." - Bliss/Aquamarine

Raccomdata Ricevuto Ritorno refomed and cut a shockingly good album called Il Pittore Volante.  A lot of these Italian bands from the 70s are reforming and offering up mediocre fare.  This wasn't the case with RRR.  They are now billed as La Nuova Raccomandata Ricevuto Ritorno.  This is a live recording from Elba in which they run through material from Per Un Mondo Di Cristallo, Il Pittore Volante, as well as a handful of covers.  I guess sometimes you can catch lightning in a bottle.

Leprous are an exciting young band from Norway. They made a great album for our label in Tall Poppy Syndrome and have now found a new home at Inside Out. Bilateral is the band's third album. It continues their tradition of mixing progressive rock and metal in equal doses. They serve it up in a way that continually leaves the listener off kilter. This time Einar Solberg sings almost (but not totally) with clean vocals. There is still quite a bit of heaviness. The music constantly challenges you and at times isn't all that pleasant to listen to...but you can't stop. If Van Der Graaf Generator recorded a metal album it might sound something like this. Album of the year candidate...you must own this!

Digipak edition with one bonus track"Fans of gothic metal, rejoice! Tristania, one of the genre’s true pioneering bands, has just released their seventh studio album entitled Darkest White. The Norwegian powerhouse act has a storied fourteen year history stretching back to their 1998 debut – and they haven’t lost a step thanks to some much needed lineup stability. Darkest White contains all the near-theatrical arrangements, darker moods, and diverse tones that fans of the band would expect – delivered with a solid three-singer attack and technically tight musicianship. After numerous line-up shuffles, the now stable group has really hit their stride again, producing an album that clearly outshines their previous effort (2010’s middling Rubicon).Tristania has always focused on delivering solid vocal performances, and continue on with the duet of the angelic Mariangela Demurtas and the theatrical Kjetil Nordhus. Demurtas has a silky, clear voice and she remains her own singer rather than pushing towards the operatic stylings of other Gothic bands. Nordhus delivers with great emotion and depth, whether singing softly and clearly or doing some Broadway-style emoting. Guitarist Anders Høyvik Hidle now contributes a good amount of growled / death metal vocals, giving the band a bit of “beauty and the beast” sound at times. Overall, Tristania continues to deliver the clear and precise metal that has won them a worldwide following. Excellent musicianship backs up the great vocal harmonies, delivered by guitarists Hidle and Gyri Losnegaard, keyboard player Einar Moen, and bottom end Ole Vistnes (bass / backing vocals) and Tarald Lie (drums).“Number” opens the release with growled vocals and a kicky drum line, intense bass and great guitar hooks. Demurtas and Nordhus also contribute well done duet vocals making this track the quintessential example of the rebuilt Tristania. The heavy and intense “Darkest White” showcases the male vocalists. This track has a more conventional heavy metal feel to it, with strong contributions from guitars, bass and drums. “Himmelfall” is a slower, darker rock tune with hooky guitars and a great rolling rhythm line, and theatrical vocals by all. “Requiem” is a sweeping, epic soft track – very different from the previous songs. Demurtas’ voice is at its best here, and the softer keys and guitars combined with multi-layered vocal harmonies make it arguably the best track on the album. The languorous vocal lines of “Diagnosis” contrast nicely with the high speed rhythm lines, and both carry emotional intensity.“Scarling” starts off as almost an old school rocker, but becomes a moody progressive / Gothic track driven by vocals and drums. The vocal chorus, and interplay amongst the three leads is quite impressive. “Night on Earth” features great growl vocals over a simple but effective guitar riff and a real head banging rhythm line. The haunting “Lavender” is a major contrast, filled with soft guitars and mellow, soft vocals – the epitome of dramatic rock. “Cypher” is a somewhat gloomy sounding rocker with very well done male vocals and a brooding rhythm line. “Arteries” wraps up the CD, and features great back and forth between growl and clean voices along with top notch drum and bass.Darkest White is a very good release from a veteran band. The returning lineup now has a good deal more experience working as a team and has gelled into something special. Although the band’s technical abilities were never in doubt, they have addressed the weaknesses apparent in their last album – the song structure is better, the lyrics and themes more consistent, and the members of Tristania now seem more comfortable working together. They are tight and confident, once again pushing musical boundaries. Diversity in song style, tempo, and tone highlight the band’s superb use of multiple singers, and keeps the album interesting throughout. The excellent production values and strong engineering allow the many subtleties and great depths of the music to flow without seeming forced or unnatural.Highly recommended for fans of the genre." - Hard Rock Haven

Though they were a product of the beat group age, Group 1850 were the Netherlands’ first progressive band — in every sense of that word. Constantly changing, constantly evolving, Group 1850 were musical extremists on a do-or-die mission to explode all expectations. Sparks flew, ideas flared, feedback swirled through misty nights, the dead walked, skeletons danced, flies buzzed, mountains fell, words rained fire from angry purple skies. Group 1850 raised all kinds of Hell. My god, were they good.Although the group made two deservedly revered albums, Agemo’s Trip to Mother Earth (1968) and Paradise Now (1969), some of their best work can be found on their singles, where their borderline insane hyper-creativity was focused into highly-concentrated, radically potent three-minute songs like Misty Night, Mother No-Head, Zero, We Love Live (Like We Love You), Don’t Let It Be (We Have to Do It Now), and the magnificent Have You Ever Heard. The A- and B-sides of all their singles can be found on this unique CD in their original mono mixes, mastered from the original tapes. A number of previously unreleased demos are also included. Mother No-Head: Their 45s comes packaged in a breathtaking digipack cover with rare archival photos, memorabilia and liner notes by Ugly Things’ Mike Stax.Track listing1. Misty Night 3:29 – mono 2. Look Around 2:34 – mono3. I Want More (Finger Tips) 2:03 – mono4. I Know (La Pensée) 3:11 – mono5. Mother No-Head  3:25 – mono6. Ever Ever Green 3:17 – mono7. Zero 3:28 - mono8. Frozen Mind 3:39 – mono9. We Love Live (Like We Love You) 4:28 – mono10. Little Fly 4.17 – mono11. Don’t Let It Be (We Have To Do It Now) 3:13 – mono12. Sun Is Coming (So We’re Calling You) 3:00 – mono13. Fire 2:30 – stereo14. Have You Ever Heard 3:34 – stereo15. Mother No-Head 3:29 – French version – stereo16. Mother No-Head 3:36 – instrumental – stereo17. 1.000 Years Before 2:37 - stereo18. Dream Of The Future 2:33 – stereo19. Sun Is Coming 3:06 – demo - mono20. Don’t Let It Be 3:08 – demo - mono21. Falling Mountains 3:34 - demo – stereo22. Liar 2:31 – demo - stereo23. Dream Of The Future 2:51 – demo - stereo24. 1.000 Years Before 2:39 - demo - stereoTracks 19 – 24 previously unreleasedTotal Playing Time: 77:00

New reissue of the band's 1994 release features two new acoustic tracks from Jon Oliva.