"Bent Knee are rightly labeled as Avante-Garde and Progressive, but note that those designators refer more to a musical attitude than to a particular set of sounds and structures. That’s good, because the band’s fourth album and first for InsideOut Music, ‘Land Animal’, obliterates any attempt to nail their sounds and structures down too firmly. As lead vocalist and keyboardist Courtney Swain explained to The Prog Report, all six band members have input to the final compositions, with individual bits combined with others’ bits in a manner vaguely reminiscent of a ‘Prog epic’ but with far more conciseness. The result is lots of rhythmic changes, but with a very different feel from tech metal. The drums and bass actually roll through the changes quite smoothly most of the time, while the guitar and vocals punctuate the tempo feints and jukes with frequently angular and staccato bursts. There are elements of indie rock, post-rock, funk, and electronic-ambient, but no one influence takes hold for long before another comes to the forefront.."

All its strengths notwithstanding, ‘Land Animal’ may require a bit of upfront commitment from the listener. In this reviewer’s experience, the first few listens prompted the question “What is this hipster nonsense?” The next few listens, “Is this hipster nonsense?” But by the tenth or so play-through of the album, I was convinced that Bent Knee are one of the coolest things happening in American rock today, within or without the progressive sphere. This band takes the listener on an expansive journey across ever-shifting and frequently unexpected terrain; at no point within the album or even within any individual song can one render a final judgment on the experience. Take it all in; take it all in several times, then see whether you’ve been taken in to what will surely be a rapidly expanding fanbase. For those who prefer their music progressive in spirit and not just in genre, ‘Land Animal’ is an exhilarating gust of fresh air. CEB-PR



Essential Track: "Holy Ghost"

"While the entire album is brilliant, “Holy Ghost” stands out as a truly special, career-defining moment. The vanguard of subdued programming/atmosphere from ‘sound designer’ Vince Welch and the plucked violin give way to delightfully punchy and nimble lines from bassist Jessica Kion as the entire band exercise their funkiest, most soulful muscles. Here as always, lead vocalist Courtney Swain is a force. If we were to match her voice with its spirit animal, it would have to be a dragon: lithe, high-flying, presenting myriad light-bending scales but also possessing a soft underbelly, sometimes roaring flames but other times softly exhaling vaporous mists. In other words, she will command your attention and hold it fast both on this song and through every serpentine movement of the album’s ten tracks. As a conscientious and measured reviewer, I have no fear of over-enthusing when I say that this is one of the best songs of 2017 and is deserving of a nomination in the ‘Anthem’ category at the next Progressive Music Awards." CEB-PR



Read the reviews at The Prog Report.

Buy the CD from Inside Out Music and other fine prog retailers.

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NewEARS Prog Show & WEMF Radio present:

Click on the following link for a complete list of bands that have played for the NewEARS Art Rock Series

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2017-07-22
Boston - Hyper Space Tour at Toyota Oakdale Theatre - Wallingford, CT at 07:30 PM
With Special Guests Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
$46 - $442 VIP

2017-07-23
Primus at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion - Boston, MA at 07:30 PM
With Special Guests Clutch
$29 - $257 VIP

2017-07-25
Primus at Maine State Pier - Bangor, ME at 05:30 PM
With Special Guests Clutch
$49.75 GA

2017-07-26
Australian Pink Floyd Show - The Best Side of the Moon at Stadium Theatre - Woonsocket, RI at 08:00 PM
$25 - $50

2017-07-27
Primus at Lake Champlain Maritime Festival - South Burlington, VT at 07:00 PM
With Special Guests Clutch
$46

2017-07-27
Australian Pink Floyd Show - The Best Side of the Moon at Toyota Oakdale Theatre - Wallingford, CT at 07:30 PM
$25 - $181 VIP

2017-07-28
Australian Pink Floyd Show - The Best Side of the Moon at Twin River Casino - Lincoln, RI at 07:00 PM
$45 - $225 (VIP)

2017-07-30
Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever The F@%k He Wants at Casino Ballroom - Hampton Beach, NH at 08:00 PM
$20 GA - $80 Gold

2017-08-01
Dweezil Zappa: 50 Years Of Frank - Dweezil Zappa: 50 Years Of Frank - �PLAYS WHATEVER THE F@%K HE WANTS� at Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT at 08:00 PM
$65 - $125 (Gold Circle)

2017-08-08
MEW - Visuals North America 2017 at The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA at 08:00 PM
$23 adv, $25 day of show

2017-08-10
YESTIVAL: YES, Todd Rundgren & Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy at Grand Theater at Foxwoods Casino - Mashantucket, CT at 07:00 PM
With Special Guests Todd Rundgren
$35 & $55

2017-08-18
Anathema at Brighton Music Hall - Allston, MA at 07:00 PM
$25

2017-08-24
The Neal Morse Band - Similitude of a Dream Tour at The Wilbur - Boston, MA at 08:00 PM
$35 - $45

2017-08-25
The Neal Morse Band - Similitude of a Dream Tour at Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT at 08:00 PM
$45

2017-08-25
The Machine Performs Pink Floyd at Blue Ocean Music Hall - Salisbury, MA at 08:00 PM
$25 - $29

2017-08-27
Haken 10th Anniversary Tour at Brighton Music Hall - Allston, MA at 08:00 PM
$20

All Events ...>>

Click here for all the NewEARS Prog Show podcasts on WEMF...>>

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2017-07-19: The PM Show #171
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Threshold have released a video for their epic 10-minute track 'Lost In Translation'. The song features on the band�s upcoming album Legends Of The Shires which is set to arrive on September 8 via Nuclear Blast. Legends Of Th

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By the time Pink Floyd � The Wall premiered in U.K. theaters on July 15, 1982, it had become something much different than what Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters first envisioned. Well before director Alan Parker joined the

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