Back catalogue: Progressive Rock

Review: Calibro 35 recalibrate with Exploration, a fresh dive into cinematic jazz-funk marking their first full-length LP on the independent since 2023's Nouvelle Aventures, continuing the path set by last year's 'Jazzploitation' EP. Yarning vintage soundtrack stylings with contemporary groove, the Milan group balance reverent covers - like Roy Ayers' 'Coffy' and Bob James' 'Nautilus' with bold, golden originals. Lead tune 'Reptile Strut', not to mention 'The Twang' and 'Pied De Poule', twine round taut rhythms, lush horn lines, and evocative cinematic textures. The band tips its hat to touchstones like Herbie Hancock, Lalo Schifrin, and Italian great Piero Umiliani, whose 'Discomania' appears on the accompanying limited clear blue 7" single, backed with 'Jazz Carnival'.

Review: Studio album number 11 from legendary French outfit Magma, now reissued on 180g vinyl, marking a vital return to new composition after nearly three decades. Written by founder Christian Vander in the early 2000s and performed live for years before recording, the material fuses operatic vocals, rigid minimalism, and the band's signature invented language, Kobaian. 'Ekmah' and 'Teha' move like liturgical invocations, while the choral repetitions of 'Les Hommes Sont Venus' sound as if channelled from another realm entirely. Vander's drumming is restrained but authoritative, a quiet force guiding the momentum beneath 'Zahrr' and the ecstatic climax of 'Felicite Thosz'. There's a sense of ritualised propulsion throughout, as Magma treat rhythm not as groove but as mantra. It remains singular music: hermetic, alien, and undeniably spiritual - a rare return from a band that have always existed somewhere outside of time and genre.

Review: Originally released in 1990 and celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Frizzle Fry was the debut full-length from avantgarde funk metal absurdist trio Primus. Known to normies as the band who penned and performed the South Park theme song, those more in the know should be aware of the bold staying power and creative fearlessness this album exuded, whilst signifying that the heavier realms of alternative rock and metal didn't need to be all leather clad angst. Arriving at a similar time to the self-titled debut from Mr. Bungle, the early 90s began with earnest outsider attempts to push the envelope before grunge would come along and be completely devoured by the mainstream machine. Funded with money from the sales of their initial 1989 live album Suck On This, by the time of recording, original guitarist Todd Huth had departed the group, being replaced by mainstay Larry LaLonde playing many parts written by his predecessor. Boasting the band's breakout single, minor radio hit and longtime fan favourite 'John The Fisherman', this reissue duplicates the 2002 remaster and includes the addition of their double whammy cover of The Residents' 'Hello Skinny/Constantinople'.