The time to change the scene is The Kentish Spiers who goes on stage. After reviewing their first album, "The Last Harvest", last year, it is with great haste that I expected to see the performance of the English who had delighted me with a first album in the Canterbury sauce of the 70s.

Coup de chance, it is the album "The Last Harvest" which is put forward in this first part of set with the first piece of the disc, 'Kingdom Of Kent'. After having interpreted all the titles of the album, with the exception of 'The Last Harvest' which will close the set, the English give pride of place to their second album released recently, "Sprezzatura". At first listen, the songs seem more concise than those of the first album. After a brief check on the Internet, no song actually exceeds 8 minutes, when two titles reached 11 and 13 minutes on "The Last Harvest". The influences seem to have changed somewhat as well. Maybe more control over this second album? In any case, one thing is certain: the singer Lucie V has a crazy chest and a real stage presence, just like her colleague guitarist Danny Chang. Musicians, in the broadest sense, are not left out and play with remarkable ease and mastery. While the Kentish Spiers tracks are filled with a good dose of saxophone and flute, it is with joy that we see the presence of Paul Hornsby, playing both instruments, while some groups are satisfied with have this kind of instruments in the studio. His interventions have no doubt brought a freshness and an ideal complement to the game of the group.

Click here to link to the actual review

Acapela Studios added yet another top quality Prog Band to it's roster as John Hackett brought his band to South Wales to play the Chapel.

In an altruistic move, John handed over part of his set time to new band The Kentish Spires to play their first gig in Wales and only their second gig as a band.

Featuring some Welsh talent, the band consisting of:

Lucie V - Vocals

Paul Hornsby - Woodwind

Danny Chang - Guitar

Rik Loveridge - Keyboards

Phil Warren - Bass

Tim Robinson - Drums

They have just released their first album - The Last Harvest. Very much in the vein of The Canterbury Scene of Prog, the band warmed the audience up nicely and were self assured as they worked their way through several tracks from The Last Harvest.

It was great to hear some of those special Canterbury phrasings and instrumental sections, bringing to mind those classic bands such as Caravan, Matching Mole and Hatfield & The North.

And being only their second gig - they were pretty darned impressive. Keep your eyes and ears open for more gigs and you could do a lot worse than investigating The Last Harvest.