Cairo will be playing Boston Music Rooms on 31st March with the prog-metal power trio Kyrbgrinder as support, billed as “Scarab Spring”. The band also confirm that Lisa Driscoll, who stepped in at very short notice for the November launch shows is now a permanent member of the band.

We are pleased to be playing this London show in advance of the Nineteen-73 Promotions Stephen Lambe Birthday Special at Bilston on 2nd April.

We are even more pleased that the mighty Kyrbgrinder, who are enjoying something of a renaissance, will be launching proceedings with their powerful sound and massive drumming from one of the best in the business – the inimitable Johanne James, also, of course, of Threshold fame. With Lisa Driscoll now a permanent fixture in Cairo – this will very much be a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ show, although whether that reflects band playing order will be for others to decide…!”.

We’ll start with 25 to 11. Except that they’re not ranked in any order, because that would be next to impossible.

Update Because I missed out one record by mistake, this year’s list now goes up to 26. You will have to guess which one it was yourselves.

An Endless Sporadic – Magic Machine

Like the late, great Frank Zappa at his most inventive this instrumental album mixes disparate genres with gleeful abandon. You can sense the musicians enjoying themselves whilst making this record. The result resembles a soundtrack for an imaginary space opera adventure, and the ever-changing music certainly takes you on an exhilarating journey through many musical moods and styles.

David Bowie – Blackstar

There is pretty much nothing I can say about this enigmatic and sometimes bonkers record that hasn’t already been said by plenty of others. Let’s just say that David Bowie was part of something that held the fabric of the universe together, and his passing is the reason 2016 has gone increasingly pear-shaped.

Cairo – Say

The new project by former Touchstone mainman Rob Cottingham featuring the now-departed vocalist Rachel Hill combines melodic rock and metal with touches of electronica. While there are obvious parallels with Touchstone, the feel is closer to a heavier version of Rob Cottingham’s 2014 solo project “Captain Blue”.

Duski – s/t

Aiden Thorne’s Cardiff based quintet blend contemporary jazz with elements of progressive rock and ambient soundscapes, sometimes very mellow, sometimes times rocking out. Most of the music is still recognisably jazz, especially when the saxophone is dominant, but there’s also much in the melodies and textures for a more adventurous rock fan to appreciate.

Dave Foster – Dreamless

The second solo album by the guitarist of Mr So and So, Panic Room and The Steve Rothery band is a more song-focussed affair than his first, with Dinet Poorman on vocals for most of the album. With the same rhythm section it has a similar vibe to The Steve Rothery Band with Rothery’s guitar swapped for female vocals. A couple of songs also feature his Panic Room colleague Anne-Marie Helder.

Ghost Community – Cycle of Life

The début album by the supergroup made up from past and present members of The Reasoning, Also Eden and Crimson Sky is an ambitious blend of prog-metal and melodic rock. There are definite echoes of The Reasoning in the melodies and song construction, though it has an overall coherence the last couple of Reasoning albums lacked.

Haken – Affinity

A record that’s clearly identifiable as progressive rock, but reinvented for the twenty-first century rather than a reverential pastiche of the music from a generation ago. It’s the sort of thing that should appeal as much to those bought up on Muse or Elbow as to old-school fans of Pink Floyd or King Crimson. This is state of the art modern progressive rock at its best.

Josh and Co – Transylvania Part 1: The Count Commands It

Essentially a solo album by Bryan Josh of Mostly Autumn with guest appearances from Olivia Sparnenn and Anna Phoebe amongst others,it’s a very different record from the earlier “Through These Eyes”. It’s a somewhat tongue-in-cheek saga about vampires, complete with an end-of-level monster, set to music with more than a touch of Scandinavian folk-metal about it.

Knifeworld – Bottled Out Of Eden

Kavus Torabi’s completely bonkers eight-piece psychedelic rockers take things to the next level with their third full-length album. This time they bring the horn section centre-stage and make them the focus of the record, with nstrumental passages that recall Frank Zappa’s early 70s big band work. There is nobody else quite like Knifeworld.

Maschine – Naturalis

The second album from the project led by guitar virtuoso Luke Machin is a step up from their first. One part progressive rock, one part jazz and one part metal, there’s a far greater maturity of composition on display here; the undoubted technical skills of the musicians serve the songs rather than the other way, with great use of dynamics and atmospherics.

Metallica – Hardwired to Self-Destruct

The thrash-metal veterans bounce back with their strongest record for many years, long after many had written them off as has-beens living off past glories. It’s a return to the killer riffs approach of their early years, with a production than mercifully isn’t compressed into oblivion this time around. It could have done with a little editing, but they haven’t sounded this good since The Black Album.

New Model Army – Winter

The veteran folk-punks still have something to say, burning with the energy of punk and the musical substance of hard rock. “Winter” is a dark, angry record that sums up the state of the world in 2016. “Burn the castle down”, sings Justin Sullivan, railing at the elites who do not care about the ordinary people except as a resource to exploit.

Paradigm Shift – Becoming Aware

The british four-piece create a blend of progressive metal and jazz-fusion driven by propulsive but melodic basslines and enveloping piano textures that never descends into self-indulgent noodling. The result is a hugely melodic record that represents a modern and forward-looking approach to progressive rock rather than a homage to decades past.

Radiohead – A Moon-Shaped Pool

Despite swapping guitars for string arrangements much of the time, this is Radiohead’s most accessible album for a while, with a greater emphasis on songs and tunes than on avante-garde experimentalism, and some of the cinematic string arrangements are gorgeous. It almost makes you wonder if they’ve been listening to The Pineapple Thief or Halo Blind.

Suede – Night Thoughts

A dark concept album about death nnd water that bears more than a passing resemblance both in theme and in mood to Marillion’s “Brave” as well as their own career-defining “Dog Man Star”. Even though it’s not quite in the same league as either of those records it’s still the best things they’ve done for years.

Voodoo Vegas – Freak Show Candy Floss

An album of no-nonsense twin-guitar hard rock that does what it says on the tin. When working within a fairly traditional form, you have to be very good at what you do to avoid sounding like a derivative pastiche of other, better bands that came before. Voodoo Vegas pass that test with ease. To put it simply, they rock.

To promote the launch of the album “Say”, former Touchstone mainman Rob Cottingham’s new band Cairo embarked on a short three-date tour taking in London, Rotherham and Leicester over the course of a long weekend.

The support for all three shows was Luna Rossa, playing as a duo rather than the expanded four-piece that performed a few headline shows last year. Playing a set drawing heavily from their second album “Secrets and Lies”, their stripped-down less-is-more sound was as beautiful as ever. “Fly Away” was still a highlight even with Jon playing the harp parts on piano, as was the cover of Todd Rundgren’s “Tiny Demons” with Jon teasing the audience with a couple of bars of “No Quarter” on the intro. They ended with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”, commemorating the legend who’s passed away just days before.

Cairo’s set began with an announcement from Rob Cottingham that there was bad and good news. The bad news was that vocalist Rachel Hill, who’d sung on the album, had stepped down from the band for health reasons. The good news was that a new singer, Lisa, had joined and had learned the set at very short notice.

You’d never have known. The whole band delivered a tight performance both on Friday in London and on Sunday in Leicester, a mix of melodic rock and metal with the odd touch of electronica. Lisa impressed as a vocalist given how recently she’s joined the band, sharing twin female/male lead vocals with Rob himself. Paul Stocker’s propulsive bass riffs drove many of the heavier songs, with the fluid guitar work of the youthful James Hards adding colour and textures.

The five-piece band played the album “Say” in full, though not in the album running order, rounding out the set with “Chasing Storms” from Rob Cottingham’s earlier solo album “Captain Blue”, and another song from his much older solo album from pre-Touchstone days. The older material fitted seamlessly into the set, which confirms the feeling that “Say” is closer to a heavier version of Captain Blue than to Touchstone’s sound. They saved the best till last, rocking out with the dramatic and dynamic “Nothing to Prove” and ending with their nearest thing to a single, the title track of “Say”.

Cairo started their live career with a bang. For a brand new band theu have gelled extremely well, especially give the last-minute change in lineup. They were good even at their very first gig together in London, and even more powerful two nights later in Leicester, pulling appreciable crowds on both occasions. They have more plans for 2017, so watch this space.

The title track from Cairo’s new album “Say”, which is released today.

Some brief samples of songs from Cairo‘s forthcoming album”Say”, the new projecr from former Touchstone keyboard player Rob Cottingham.

After what I can only describe as amazing support from the industry, I am proud and delighted to announce my new band, CAIRO.

The band comprises Rachel Hill on vocals; James Hards on guitars; Paul Stocker on bass, Graham Brown on drums and myself on vocals and keys.

I was after a new sound with the same sensibilities as in my previous writing but with heavier passages, as well as more ambient, electronic soundscapes – plus more time spent on crafting the blend of male and female vocals within the overall production of the music.

We have just recorded our debut album “Say” at Outhouse Studios, with the mighty John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Lonely Robot, Arena) at the helm, and we will be releasing the album in October. Album launch shows are scheduled in the UK for November with our special guests, Luna Rossa.”

The band have announced three live dates in November, in London, at the CRS in Rotherham, and in Leicester.