Biota- Invisible Map

From what I’ve gathered listening to an infinitely small sampling of all the music out there, all genres have their highs and lows.  Whether it’s a specific moment or scene, or just a handful of artists and albums, every category (save for an anomaly or two) offers both great and horrible music.    However, for me personally, the range of quality is never as extreme as with progressive rock.  At its best prog is both complex and evocative, offering varied and intricate instrumentation that can still stir up abstract yet potent emotions.  Conversely, emotions and an artistic focus are often eschewed for technical wankery, pseudo-intellectual concepts, and general soullessness.  Whenever I hear an album described as 'progressive rock', I get both excited and nervous, as the potential for both success and failure is massive. 

Spires That in the Sunset Rise - This Is Fire (2006)

This Is Fire is the third release from the all-female Illinois Freak Folk band Spires That in the Sunset Rise. Since 2001 the band has released 5 albums and gone on quite a few tours. I'm not quite sure what the artwork for this album is depicting, but I still find it very fitting with the whole sound of the album and I quite like it. They manage to get a wonderfully trippy, psychedelic atmosphere. The wonderful hypnotic vocals and droning instruments give them their very interesting texture. 

Bill Orcutt - Way Down South (2010)

Way Down South was an EP released in 2010 by Bill Orcutt, who was the former guitarist of Noise Rock band Harry Pussy. It really shows in this noisy and bluesy acoustic Free Folk album. The album is quite hectic and, like I said, noisy. Not to a degree that it becomes more of a Noise Rock (or I guess it would be Noise Folk) album than anything but to a degree in which it feels very textured and psychedelic. And there are, surprisingly, vocals on this album, its mostly just moaning or screaming from Orcutt, but they are vocals nonetheless, and I quite enjoy them, they probably are not for everyone though. The album ends up getting so hectic and noisy, its magnificent that Orcutt could create such a wall of noise with an acoustic guitar. Or maybe guitars, I'm not entirely sure about the production of the album, so it could be layered with multiple instances of him freaking out on his acoustic guitar at once. Either way the sound he pulls off in this album is quite impressive. The recording quality on it appears to be pretty low. I'm almost positive that it's on purpose, to contribute to the fuzzy, noisy sound that this album pulls off so well. All in all this is a really interesting album from a man with a really nice track record.

Way down south where bananas grow, 

A grasshopper stepped on an elephant`s toe.

The elephant said, with tears in his eyes,

'Pick on somebody your own size`

Caroliner - Rise of the Common Woodpile (1991)

Caroliner is probably one of the most unique and most interesting bands I've ever listened to. Claiming to be a memorial band for a singing bull named Caroliner from the 1800's, all of the members of Caroliner remain completely anonymous, and from release to release the band name changes from things like "Caroliner Rainbow Solid Handshake & Loose 2 Pins" or "Caroliner Rainbow Fingers Of The Underworld & Their Unbreakable Bones." It isn't really known whether this means a change in the lineup, or if the band is just doing it for fun. Really we don't know a whole lot about the band apart from their music. And these guys are strange. They are REALLY strange. Combining weird and sometimes downright terrifying lyricism with a mix of Noise, Industrial, and Bluegrass, they are basically in a world of their own. Their music is often simply dubbed "Industrial Bluegrass" but there's much more going on than that. One last thing to mention before I get on to the album itself, is the fact that most of their albums include some sort of custom made packaging which is hand painted, and included random items presumably found in the garbage by members of the band. You can learn more about Caroliner's releases and where to buy their music here.
The album itself, "Rise of the Common Woodpile," was Caroliner 3rd release, this time as "Caroliner Rainbow Open Wound Chorale." This album is probably a good starting point for Caroliner as it's probably their most accessible work. And as of writing this it's still my favorite album by them. The first track of the album, "Hazel Wet Lap" is a fine example of Caroliner, awkward, sloppy, and noisy playing, deranged vocals, and even more deranged lyrics. The rest of the album follows suit in a crazy, over-the-top, and incredibly unique album. In my opinion the best tracks are either Burdensome Blood or Victory Arms Force. All this being said Caroliner is certainly one of the most horrifying yet amazing bands I have ever witnessed, and you should definitely share the madnesswith me.

Walking each day I'm about to burst 
Legs move myself; They feel the worst 
Every knife in the house is mine 
Carving on the leg makes 'em fine