Rascal Reporters - Redux, Vol. 2: Rascals Revenge and the Great Reset (2021) [Hi-Res]

Rascal Reporters return on March 5th with an album of new music for the Avant-progressive / Rock In Opposition canon - 'Redux, Vol. 2: Rascals Revenge and the Great Reset'!

This release follows on from 2019's appropriately titled 'Redux, Vol. 1'. The Redux series focuses on pieces written at various points of the band's 30+ year career that remained incomplete, being finished with additional accompanying instrumentation by the current line-up of the band, which consists of Steve Kretzmer & James Strain.

With Redux, Vol. 2, the band took on the goal of presenting completed versions of many of Steve Kretzmer's 1970s college recordings - long-form and intricate piano compositions like 'Moments', 'Egg Soup' & 'Hubert Greenery Peck', reminiscent of the likes of Henry Cow, Egg and National Health, but altogether something else entirely.

Complementing these tracks are two shorter Kretzmer pieces: the aggressive 'The Unfettered Way' & almost Prefab Sprout-like 'Fallen Mind'. Between these lies the colourful 16-minute 'Cashew Medley', which is constructed from a collection of short Steve Gore ideas and songs, arranged and sewn together with additional instrumentation by James Strain. The album has been mastered by renowned engineer and musician Bob Drake.