Sublime sonics from Detroit dub techno lord Rod Modell and Taka Noda aka Mystica tribe operating in a somewhat melancholy ambient mode. This is the forlorn sound of wandering rainy city streets at night, lights reflecting in puddles and shiny surfaces. There's an ever-present radiant luminescence punctured by environmental sounds, field recordings and ghostly brittle rhythms that emerge and retreat. If you dig Modell's Shorelights and Waveform Transmissions projects, then make some time for "Glow World". Pure bliss.

Neon Lights is Simple Minds' covers album. Frankly, these projects often serve little purpose beyond announcing that the artists concerned have run out of original ideas. With the Simple Minds' new album of freshly composed material, Our Secrets Are the Same, now shelved due to legal complications, the Minds have opted to doff their caps in the direction of the heroes of their youth, such as David Bowie, Lou Reed, and the Doors. This is the material the band performed when they were scrawny Glaswegian punks called Johnny & the Self-Abusers. The arrangements here are slightly dated techno-rock efforts, albeit without the expansive pomp and bluster of their stadium-straddling 1980s heyday. Even so, Neon Lights is probably too respectful. Many of these numbers–Echo & the Bunnymen's "Bring on the Dancing Horses," Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World"–are identikit presentations, while electro-rock assaults on Them's "Gloria" and the Doors "Hello I Love You" are monotonous and misguided. A very interesting revision of Pete Shelley's "Homosapien" and a faithful, powerful reading of the Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties" are much better.

Emboldened by the popularity of Inner Mounting Flame among rock audiences, the first Mahavishnu Orchestra set out to further define and refine its blistering jazz-rock direction in its second – and, no thanks to internal feuding, last – studio album. Although it has much of the screaming rock energy and sometimes exaggerated competitive frenzy of its predecessor, Birds of Fire is audibly more varied in texture, even more tightly organized, and thankfully more musical in content.

Gilberto with Turrentine is an album by Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer Astrud Gilberto and American saxophonist Stanley Turrentine featuring performances recorded in 1971 released on the CTI label.

Since emerging from the folk scene in Yorkshire, England in 1967, guitarist, and singer Michael Chapman has gained a dual reputation as one of England's finest original singer/songwriters and most restless guitar players, equally comfortable in folk, rock, free improvisation, global music styles, blues, and jazz. With over 40 albums to his credit, this former art and photography teacher has, in the 21st century, been embraced by a host of boundary-crossing younger musicians who credit his influence on their work including Thurston Moore, Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Meg Baird, and many more.

If it never serves any other purpose, this two-disc collection of National Health's complete official output will at least always work as an effective refutation of the belief that all 1970s British prog-rock was overblown, self-indulgent, Mahlerian twaddle. Of course, most British prog-rock was just that, so it would be easy to understand anyone's reluctance to spend much time with it. Also, National Health has to be the least inviting band name in the history of British rock. But if you make the effort, you'll be richly rewarded. Yes, the compositions are long and they have titles like "Borogoves" and "Tales of a Damson Knight." Yes, there are lots and lots of solos. But there's also lots of structure and self-discipline undergirding those compositions and guiding those solos, and the band never seems to lose sight of the fact that they're playing for people other than themselves. That means there are melodies (sometimes even jazzy ones) and rhythmic hooks (sometimes even funky ones…okay, very slightly funky) as well as interesting textures and impressive fretwork. Highly recommended. (This isn't actually a "complete" collection of National Health's recorded output – see Missing Pieces, also on East Side Digital, for a good compilation of outtakes.)

For technical death metal band Allegaeon, sitting still is not an option. The Fort Collins, CO group has never allowed itself to stagnate, prefering to thrive on chaos, change and evolution. Their latest full-length offering, The Ossuary Lens, is their seventh but, importantly, it's the first with original vocalist Ezra Haynes since his 2015 departure following the Elements of the Infinite album. Replacing a singer is no easy task, so the fact that Haynes was in a place to rejoin is something to celebrate.
The cleaner vocal approach on the last three albums was a fascinating artistic maneuver, one that refreshed Allegaeon, but it's undeniably thrilling to hear Haynes' graveled larynx back in the fold on this inarguably brutal and technically dazzling slab of work…

A year after its initial release, Olive's debut album, Extra Virgin, finally produced a number one British hit with "You're Not Alone," a low-key lite trip-hop number with a graceful melody. It's a strong single, and there are similarly strong moments on Extra Virgin, yet Olive don't stand out from the post-Portishead pack. Like Everything but the Girl, they are essentially a folky, pop-oriented group that uses the stoned rhythms of trip-hop as hip window-dressing. Since that rhythm is appealing on its own terms, it doesn't matter that Olive use it as ornamentation, especially since they use it well. What is a problem is their lack of consistent songwriting. Only a few songs match the singles "You're Not Alone" and "Miracle" in terms of memorable, melodic construction, and the weaker tracks tend to float by on their admittedly entrancing production. And that leaves Extra Virgin an intriguing debut, but not necessarily one that promises great things from Olive.

Pampered Menial is the debut album by American progressive rock/AOR band Pavlov's Dog, released in 1975. The album features the band's original line-up, comprising David Surkamp, Steve Scorfina, Mike Safron, Rick Stockton, David Hamilton, Doug Rayburn, and Siegfried Carver (born Richard Nadler). In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & the Story of Prog Rock, the album came number 26 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".

Despite some growth from their King Crimson roots, this album shows Anekdoten still sounding remarkably like Red. "Harvest," opening with a creepily distorted Rhodes piano, establishes the band's somewhat overused pattern of alternating metallic verses clotted with bass, guitar and hi-hat with gorgeously soaring choruses of Mellotron, cello, and ride cymbals. "Here" gives the guitar theatrics a rest and allows Liljestrom's melancholy vocals and the group's delicate playing to come to the foreground. Its mournful lyrics and pensive strings are played over a wheezing pump organ - listen for Nicholas Berg's feet pumping away at the bellows in the background. The concluding "In Freedom" points to a possible path to the future by eschewing gratuitous heaviness for their real talent, which is constructing beautiful interplay between percussion, cello, and the Mellotron.

A previously unissued album recorded in 1967 at Gold Star studios, Houston, Texas. This session teams up Johnny Winter with local Dallas bluesman Calvin "Loudmouth" Johnson on 13 loose blues jams. This record presents a real blues band playing exactly the way they played - raw and to the bone.

On his 1988 solo effort Talk to Your Daughter, singer/guitarist Robben Ford proves himself a master of sophisticated blues-rock guitar playing. The material is quite strong, and all the musicians perform at the highest level, but it's Ford's stellar soloing that makes this release. Fans of flailing '80s rock virtuosos would do well to check out Ford's exceptional work on Talk to Your Daughter. The musician's colorful yet controlled improvising and harmonic mastery is a rare and beautiful sonic treat. The title track is dripping with soulful, well-placed guitar lines that play like a master lesson of up-tempo blues phrasing that guitarists would do well to study. Other standouts include "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues." The fine arrangements and especially Vinnie Colaiuta's sharp drumming are all tightly wound with crisp, clear production that tops off "Talk to Your Daughter," making it a shining success. Listeners fond of Ford's work with the Yellowjackets and numerous side gigs, as well as guitarists and all musicians, should enjoy this very professional, succinctly executed offering. First rate!