Your soundtrack for the summer, rain or shine!

If you’re digging some classic guitar driven instrumentals, New Jersey based multi-instrumentalist Joseph Knecht got you covered this week with the release of his self-titled debut solo EP. The six songs combine some bluesy 70s prog vibes with meatier rhythm guitars and some groovy odd meter riffing. While this is by no means re-inventing the wheel, there’s still plenty to enjoy during the 25 minutes or so runtime. Whether you’re enjoying a cold one in the sun or having a little road trip on the weekend, Knecht makes for a cool summer soundtrack. Dario

While his band colleague Mariusz Duda has been quite active aside from their main band both with his Lunatic Soul project as well as under his own name lately, Riverside keyboardist Michał Łapaj is finally releasing some solo stuff as well. And even though I have heard the whole album just once so far, judging by the two singles that feature the magnificent dark voice of Antimatter’s Mick Moss and my reaction to the first playthrough, “Are You There” is absolutely bound to become one of my favorite albums of 2021. The melancholic atmosphere is seeping through every pore of every note and the melodies are simply gorgeous and thoroughly engrossing. A perfect soundtrack for a rainy summer day. The disturbing cover artwork from none other than Jolly’s Anthony Rondinone is just the icing on the cake of this long overdue solo debut. The Łapaj/Moss collab proved to be just as magical as the Kolyadin/Moss and Oceans of Slumber/Moss collaborations lately. I need more of this, no doubt! Mick Moss doesn’t appear on the rest of the album to be fair, but Tangerine Dream isn’t that bad of a reference soundwise either now, is it? Dario