DPRP has reviewed over 600 different albums in 2021. Thus, both us and you can be forgiven for maybe missing a few real gems along the way.
Here, DPRP reviews editor Andy Read selects 10 releases from lesser-known artists that he feels may not have got the attention they deserve! We have tried to select a wide range of artists, representing the many different styles of progressive music.
Below is a mini-review plus a link to the original DPRP review of each album, plus a video sample track from each release. Happy listening!
Below is a mini-review plus a link to the original DPRP review of each album, plus a video sample track from each release. Happy listening!
ATRAVAN - The Grey Line
"A cracking debut that that mixes Riverside heaviness with Pink Floyd keyboards and the odd nod to David Gilmour's guitar lines. But Atravan from Iran have absorbed these influences and made them their own. The Grey Line is the most thoroughly enjoyable prog-metal release I've heard for a while." Martin Burns
EXODUS TO INFINITY
Archetype Asylum
" Second Innocence is the jewel in the crown here. This 14-minute composition is a roller coaster of moods, epic and elegiac passages. I have listened to it several times, and failed to track a single unnecessary note. While I find many 15-plus-minute prog-epics to be Frankenstein's monsters covered with abhorrent stitches, Second Innocence is a monolith composition, where themes interweave and flow into each other perfectly. From Enchant's groove to math rock, from jazzy passages to multi-layered vocals; all is here. This is one of the best epics I have heard in a couple of years.
Of the multitude of one-man projects in rock / metal nowadays, Exodus to Infinity is one of the few that actually deserve being expanded to a full-scale group. This shall definitely be my contender for the Debut of the Year." Sergey Nikulichev
OUTRUN THE SUNLIGHT
A Vast Field Of Silence
"Outrun The Sunlight is a band from Chicago, and reading a name like that makes me expect post-rock. I was not wrong, but with that genre becoming wider and wider, that still doesn't say a lot. I was pleased to find this album sits in the centre of the Venn diagram that has circles for modern progressive, post-metal, and post-rock. That is one of my happy places." Jerry van Kooten
LAURE MEADE
The Most Dangerous Woman In America
"Laura Meade's The Most Dangerous Woman in America is a fabulous album of electronica-infused progressive art-rock, prog-pop and all-round superb song writing and performances. The contrast between Laura Meade's warm, passionately-alluring vocals and the cool electronica, reflects the personal engagement with the downbeat political world women find themselves in. This is an album to savour and revisit.
To fall back on a very old cliché: Laura Meade's The Most Dangerous Woman in America is all killer, no filler." Martin Burns
AZMARI - Samā'ī
"It's not often that when I hear a new instrumental album I immediately want to play it again. Ever since I first heard Samā'ī earlier this year, it has been consistently on my musical playlist.
After some six months it still sounds as interesting and fresh as when I first heard it. I am smitten by its blend of afro-jazz, psychedelia, funk, dub and Turkish and Middle Eastern melodies. If you like instrumental music that is progressive in its outlook and draws upon a wide array of influences, I am sure that you will find this interesting, at the very least." Owen Davies
WHAT STRANGE BEASTS
The Maestro's Tale
"The band credits their influences for the album as Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Bob Mould. You can note the influences but the end result sounds like none of those. This is art-rock with elements of jazz, pop and psyche. It's very retro, but with a modern style and production.
My favourite songs would probably be Dear Maestro, Up In The Air and Onslaught, but there really is nothing that I do not enjoy across this ambitious and beautifully-crafted album. Way too good to be ignored!." Andy Read
CAST - Vigesimus
"Music as the backdrop of my life is all about emotion, feelings, passion, melancholy and memories (and much more), and Cast's Vigesimus is a magical 'few in a lifetime'-moment where each and every factor aligns and amplifies each other. It's simply one of the best albums I've heard in years, and seeing that it's their 20th, makes it all the more impressive." Jan Buddenberg
Read the full DPRP review here
THE OSIRIS CLUB
The Green Chapel
"I hardly know how to begin a description of The Osiris Club's album The Green Chapel, and I mean that as a compliment to the band. This is the London-based band's third studio album; I haven't heard the previous two, but I will seek them out. The Green Chapel is, according to the press release, "a journey into the furthest reaches of psychedelia, prog, doom folk and genres yet to be named." OK, that description at least gives me a place to start." Gerald Wandio
THE PARADOX TWIN
Silence From Signals
"Although Silence From Signals is only their second album, The Paradox Twin are gaining a very good reputation among modern progressive-rock lovers.the inevitable comparison is with the lightest version of the great Anathema. The male/female vocals combination helps with that but also the stylistic modern progressive rock. They know how to combine those parts to create emotional songs for all listeners who appreciate good music. "
Ignacio Bernaola
KONOM - Konom
"You never really know what you are going to hear when receiving new material to review. Getting something like this album by Konom is worth all the hours us critics spend listening to music that does not engage us. This album is an absolute gem.
If you like your prog with edge, lavish heaps of melody and stunning musicianship, I can guarantee you will love what Konom have delivered. What they hopefully will produce in the future, should establish Konom as one of the standard bearers of the new generation of progressive rock bands." Steffan Hennig
Do not miss these other features highlighting some of the best releases of 2021
The Top 10 Progressive Rock Albums of 2021
