Album of the Day

The Hard Quest, by Univers Zero (1999): When I reviewed this album for Ground and Sky back in January 2003, I asked the question, "is this even rock music at all?" There's nary a guitar or bass to be found (except on one track) and the predominant tones are strings, winds, and percussion. It sounds, in lots of places, more like chamber music than rock music. Not that it really matters, of course. It's still pretty good and weird and rhythmic stuff. It's all the breadth and depth of my Belgian prog collection.