HAKEN, Liveforms: An Evening With Haken (2025). If you’re a big fan of progressive-metal masters Haken, welcome home. The band has certainly made the most of their home field advantage. They took the stage of London’s O2 area and proceeded to spend three hours blowing the roof off the place. The two words that best describe this show are complexity and intensity. Perhaps we could throw accuracy in as well. Haken spent its time firing off one wild riff after the next without so much as a fumble. It’s actually pretty scary. Ross Jennings’s voice is in fine form, and the guitar work of Charlie Griffiths and Richard Henshaw are beyond on point. And don’t sleep on the keyboards of Peter Jones. The rhythm section of Conner Greene (bass) and Ray Hearne (drums) provide the muscle with boundless energy. The band does a great job of running through its extensive catalog. Current fans will have a blast, while newcomers might not know what hit them!
SUZANNE VEGA, Flying With Angels (2025). This is a solid collection of tunes from one of the better singer/songwriters to come out of the 1990’s. Her approach here is to write deeply personal songs (as usual) from multiple musical perspectives. There is one stylistic shift after another, and the approach really works. Vega knows how to create and be comfortable wherever her songcraft takes her. More than a few artists struggle with this skill. Spend some time and learn from an expert.
https://www.suzannevega.com/music
HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO, Bees in the Bonnet (2025). Darkness shrouds Hedvig Mollestad and her band over the course of this album. How lucky for us! Mollestad’s dark guitar tone runs roughshod over the viscous grooves set by Ellen Brekken (bass) and Ivor Loe Bjornstad (drums), who are not goofing around. The intensity is matched only by the band’s interplay. They’re locked in from the word go and don’t let up for a second. Even the mellower tunes come with an edge! Mollestad and company are a true force to be reckoned with.
https://hedvigmollestadtrio.bandcamp.com/album/bees-in-the-bonnet
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