Packaged with Gondry-esque sleeve artwork that can only be described as baffling, The World Could Turn Around is music to accompany a dream. While a pleasantly melodic flavour dominates the mood of the music, there is a noticeable Discordian unease, like a pleasant dream that has you inexplicably sweating in terror when you wake up.

This phantasmic ambience is driven home by the record's lyrical content, running the gamut from frustration and despair to hopeful optimism. "Dreams & Delusions" explores discomfort in one's own mind, even mental illness, mirrored by the jarring transition from soaring, clean vocals in the beginning of the song to screaming and shouting towards the end.

And in "A New Day", the words speak for themselves:

"It seems when everything is alright
I wake up.
As my eyes become the window
I feel the world tremble."

But lyrical content aside, The World Could Turn Around is a breath of fresh air. Upbeat, dynamic and bombastic, it's true that the first comparison triggered is with pre-Black Holes Muse, but upon closer inspection there's a lot of originality, and a lot to like, in the Melburnians.

Beginning with the ornate tinkle of a lone piano and escalating into driving alterna-rock with passionate, soaring screams, "Prisoner" introduces the range of moods to follow. The bridge section and final chorus, thumping and crashing and booming, dripping with angst, provides one of the highlights of the album.

The title track is slightly less overtly aggressive, but with notes not normally heard in your standard rock music fare, this is where the chaotic uneasiness first makes its presence felt. More jazzy and less heavy than the album opener, "The World Could Turn Around" makes great use of floral piano lines but ends up being the song on the EP most easily compared to Muse.

Moving sharply away from Muse territory, the intro to "Dream & Delusions" is moody, broody and angry, with a driving bass line and understated vocals. As soon as the chorus kicks in, in all its Dream Theater-style majesty (no pun intended), the real power of the song is unleashed. The highlight of the entire record for me is where vocalist Brendan West is singing the lyrics "running from the monsters / ravishing my head", and the accompanying music perfectly provokes the feeling of running, with bouncing guitars and percussive lyrical enunciation. Brilliant.

Slowing things down somewhat, the intro to "A New Day" begins with solo piano and elegant vocal harmonies, eventually joined by a cello, bass and a subtle drum beat. At almost six minutes long it is the longest track on the record, twisting and turning, ducking and diving, building to a grandiose finale, but is by no means the centrepiece of the album.

That title belongs to "Don't Let Them Break You", the album's conclusion. A bipolar tale of hopelessness and optimism, it's an exploration of the duality evident in the mind: choking with despair on one hand, but surviving, finding inner strength from somewhere deep down that tells you to hold on, no matter what happens.

It brings the EP to a fittingly optimistic close only 25 minutes after it began. With only six tracks on the record, my only real complaint is that it ends all too soon... just like a dream.

For those unfamiliar with your band, could you explain the philosophies and ideals of A State of Flux?

We see the band as being strictly a musical and creative entity, and we're obsessed with creating the best music we possibly can. Our philosophical ponderings are definitely explored within the songs themselves.

Where do you see your music on the sonic spectrum?

Somewhere in the vast musical landscape between industrial, electronic and progressive art rock!

Your live shows blur the line between rock music and performance art, with a distinct performance/theatrical aspect. What led you to develop that part of the band much further than most other bands do?

We had already written and recorded a large amount of music before forming the live band, so in many ways we were working with a 'script' from the beginning. I think this allowed us to be more focused in deciding how to present the material live. Also, the music just tends to lend itself to a cinematic setting, the lyrics tell a definite story and are often sung from the perspective of an assumed character.

Which artists, musicians or other entities inspire you in that regard?

Local acts such as Mushroom Giant and Long Walk Home have definitely inspired us in that regard, with fantastic, cinematic shows. Internationally, acts such as Nine Inch Nails and Dead Can Dance have been very influential. David Lynch has damaged us all with his unique take on the world.

You launch the single "Surface Tension" on July 11th at Revolver Upstairs. Tell me about that show and what people can expect from A State of Flux and the other bands playing that night.

We've put a lot of effort into our set to create a theatrical show that ebbs and flows and that shows all aspects of our music. We don't often get the chance to do that and it's very exciting for us, I think it's going to be great to watch. We're very happy to have great bands like Alaska Ratio, Cloud City and Nucleus (NSW) performing with us, bands that we not only respect musically but compliment what we do.

Will you take the show on the road away from Melbourne following the single launch?

We're heading to NSW immediately following the launch. We're playing around Sydney and Newcastle, and doing our Sydney launch at Trash Nightclub on Saturday the 19th of July. We'll be touring more extensively at the end of the year, following the release of our debut EP!

Could you decribe the single and how it fits in (or differs) with your previous work?

Being our first official release, it kind of stands alone in that regard. With that in mind we chose a single which gives a relatively broad snapshot of our sound.

Who did you work with and how did you find the process of creating the single?

The process of recording the single was an interesting one. It was produced and mixed by Red Black at Red Lodge studio in Melbourne. We worked with Jarrad Hearman (Heavy Weight Champ, Trial Kennedy) on the mix and mastered with Joseph Carra at Crystal Mastering, both lovely guys and consummate professionals.

The production process itself was extensive and was done in parallel with the production of our upcoming EP. We did several different versions of the songs and refused to let anything through that we weren't completely happy with. Red worked extensively for months on the programming, textures and aural details of the tracks. Red also recorded live drums at Studio 52 that ended up being replaced with programmed drums, as a more original electronic production style was sought after. The whole process was long and hard and extremely rewarding!

Are you, as a band, intimately involved with every aspect of recording, mixing, mastering and producing your CDs?

We have been involved with every minute detail of every aspect of the recording process, from engineering to mastering. With the exception of the mastering, everything was produced in-house at Red Lodge studio here in Melbourne. We're obsessive-compulsive anally-retentive control freaks, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

There are some incredibly impressive still shots meant for the song "Pulse, Impulse" on your MySpace page. What happened with that video clip? Will it see the light of day?

Ahh... That clip is technically still in production, we did however put it on hold to work on the clip for "Surface Tension". The "Pulse, Impulse" clip is being produced by an extremely talented young visual artist by the name of Heath Freeland, and may yet see the light of day! Either that or we'll turn it into a short film and score the music!?! We'll see...

Any plans for a video to accompany "Surface Tension" or any other songs in the future?

The clip for "Surface Tension" is being animated as we speak! I just got off the phone to the director and I think it's going to be something very special. That's all I can say for now!

You've spent the better part of four years developing the impressive live aspect of the band, with little in the way of recorded material. How important is it for a band to develop a live following compared to releasing tangible products?

Funnily enough, and I can see how this isn't apparent to anyone outside the band, but we've probably put even more time into the recorded aspect of the band than we have into the live show. We've written and demoed almost 30 songs for the project.

Personally, I feel it's a lot more important for a band like us to have high quality releases with which to spread our musical seed, especially with the industry heading the way it is. With that said, I do like to think we can back up our recordings with an impressive and engaging live show that not only captures the spirit of the recording, but adds a new spin on it.

How has the band matured, evolved, devolved or otherwise changed from the early days?

I think the songwriting has definitely become more focused, without losing the air of experimentation that permeated our earlier material. The live show has taken a big step up in the year since we finalised our current lineup, and will definitely continue to get better.

We're much more confident and I think that's a testament to the dynamic we have within the band, not just as musician's but as friends as well. We really enjoy playing these songs together and I think that comes across live. We also spend way too much time with each other. Way too much. I hate these guys...

Will "Surface Tension" find it's way onto an EP or full-length album any time in the future?

"Surface Tension" will feature on our self-titled debut EP to be released at the end of the year. It will be followed by the release of a collection of re-mixes/re-interpretations of songs off the EP, performed by some of Melbourne's most talented electronic artists, including Justin Ashworth and Milique. We also have a DVD coming out, which will feature the clip for "Surface Tension" amongst other fun Flux-themed goodies!

A State Of Flux officially launch "Surface Tension" on Friday, July 11th at Revolver Upstairs in Melbourne. You can hear the single and other songs on the Flux MySpace page at www.myspace.com/astateofflux.

"I was completely humbled and taken aback to have [Porcupine Tree] say they personally chose us for their first Australian tour, and as the one and only support. Then, to jump straight off the back of that tour and onto 3 weeks of Cog's "Sharing Space" tour...needless to say, we are pumped!

"The responses from both crowds have been massive, but as the one and only support for Porcupine Tree, we played great venues that were packed when we came on. I think the highlight for me was standing on stage at The Enmore Theatre in Sydney after our set, with over 2000 people giving us a genuinely deafening applause."

Nice work if you can get it, but it's back to business-as-usual for the hard-working, hard-touring three-piece, currently about to start a double-header with fellow Melburnians Bushido. The transition from the aforementioned 2000 screaming Porcupine Tree fans to smaller pub venues might take a bit of getting used to, but it's not all bad.

"As a support act," Livesy explains, "it's all about the headlining band, and I completely respect that, [but] it will be nice to have some more focus on us when we headline our own shows. We just love touring and getting our music out there to as many people as possible, whether it's headlining or supporting."

And their choice of touring partner was a no-brainer.

"We've always wanted to play shows with Bushido, but due to a clash in recording/touring schedules, it hasn't been possible until now. This tour has been a long time coming in my opinion, and with us taking in most of the east coast, it's going to be a cracker of a run."

"I remember the first time I heard of Bushido, through bands in our scene, and with the massive amounts of hype and publicity with the release of Mercina in 2006. I went to the album launch at Ding Dong and was blown away by such an intense sound and performance. I went away thinking, 'man, we have to play with these guys!'"

The tour will be one of the most extensive tours Sleep Parade have been involved in, taking them through four states up and down the east coast, territory that has been good to them in the past... mostly.

"We have been up and down the coast quite a lot lately, and what I love seeing is every time we return, there are more and more people at our shows supporting us.

"I remember, on our album tour in March this year we drove Leigh's van all the up to Brissie - 23 hours straight on a dodgy radiator, we had to keep stopping - and on the way back the radiator blew up, so we went and brought a new radiator which I replaced in a car park in Coffs Harbor. There were car parts everywhere, we got some pretty weird looks!

"We then headed towards Dubbo, but Dan forgot to re-fuel, so we just slept on the side of a road until a servo opened in the morning. It took us three days in the van to get back that time! "Gilmore", as we affectionately know the van, has since retired, and we don't let Dan drive anymore!"

Sleep Parade tour the east coast with Bushido through June and July, presented by OzProg.com. Things Can Always Change is out now through SHOCK Records Australia-wide.

So the effect that Bushido felt when their MySpace profile was unceremoniously deleted for a number of weeks in 2006 cannot be overstated.

Luckily, though, it was restored and the hard-edged prog rock trio have gone from strength to strength ever since. Such is their popularity now, that when rumours surfaced amongst the modern progressive rock scene that they may be disbanding, the reaction was dismay from a who's who of Australian prog.

As guitarist and vocalist Guy Shenfield explains, it made them feel a little warm and fuzzy to know that they had that support behind them.

"You bet, especially when fellow bands started to contact us, that really hit home. We have so much respect for the bands that we enjoy playing with and listening to, and to have those people contacting us directly to make sure we weren't throwing in the towel was humbling to say the least."

"Things get shaky in most bands from time to time, I think we just wear our heart on our sleeve a little too much, and let's just say we tend to make irrational decisions. All is well now, in fact things are stronger than ever and we are all very excited about the record coming to fruiton."

That record is the follow-up to Bushido's 2006 EP Mercina and their recent single "Eye Of The Storm", two releases which garnered significant positive vibes from street press and fans alike.

"[Work is progressing] slow but steady. We all work full time so progress is slow. We are lucky though, each time we rehearse the creative juices seem to be flowing, so work is productive when it is being done."

And as Shenfield explains, the new tracks will take the Bushido sound in a new direction, while still rooted in their signature sound of hard-rockin' tunes and multi-part vocal harmonies.

"We have demos for five new tracks which are sounding pretty solid. We're happy with the direction of the songs, which will see the next Bushido record demonstrate a more mature sound. Some songs are quite heavy with a slighty different angle to previous heavy Bushido songs, they have a slighty more sinister, seethy element to them and are somewhat more abrasive.

"Jaymz is really starting to find his true vocal ability, he is really just finding his voice now, singing better than ever. And we are of course embracing harmonies where possible too."

Punters will get a taste of this new direction on the band's upcoming tour with fellow Melburnians Sleep Parade, on their double-header tour up and down and east coast. Bushido and Sleep Parade started gigging around the same period, and though their careers have taken slightly different routes over the years, they remain close.

Ask Bushido about Sleep Parade's debut album Things Can Always Change, and the hyperbole starts flying.

Bassist Jaymz Phillips and drummer Alex Dinic call it "simply awesome", with Jaymz adding that it is "the best Aussie release of 2008 hands down".

Adds Shenfield: "Let's just say it hasn't left the car stereo since its release, although [Cog's latest album] Sharing Space has done some miles too.

"I remember seeing the lads way back at Revolver one night," Shenfield continues, "and I was impressed straight up by their unique sounds and layers, Leigh's voice and the catchy melodies were a standout too. I've kept an eye and ear on the band since.

"Sleep Parade always impress live but you couldn't go past Leigh playing a Revolver gig with a broken finger. I couldn't believe it, there he was up in lights playing that axe like nothing was different! I think the finger had a big-ass bandage round it too! He played really well I heard no bum notes, it totally blew me away. I would always be a Sleep Parade fan from that night on."

As for what to expect from the upcoming shows, he jokes that the prog nerds might be in for a treat.

"Solid performances, we feel these will be our best shows so far especially with Sleep Parade raising the bar each night. Self Is A Seed do a great cover of "Dinosoar" by King Crimson, maybe the boys can rock down to the Excelsior to finish the night off with some Crimson magic!"

Bushido tour the east coast with Sleep Parade through June and July, presented by OzProg.com. Mercina and "Eye Of The Storm" are out now.

First things first, what have the reactions been like to your EP since its release?

They've been great, particularly critically, which is really awesome. It's nice to know that there are people other than ourselves who enjoy our music. We've got great reviews home and abroad, and for me one of the most pleasing aspects is that people are picking up on the EP's diversity and originality. We're by no means reinventing the wheel here haha, but I like to think there's a garnishing of originality in our music. But aside from the journos, the feedback on MySpace and at live shows has been extremely positive as well. It's definitely vindication of our hard work.

You've recently recorded a new single that will be available to download for free next month. Can you describe that song for me?

Yeah, a few weeks ago we went into the studio to record a relatively new song for us called "Arrested". We wanted to release this for free to allow everyone to have a copy of the song and try and spread the Paper Champion name. We've never done something like this so it'll be interesting to see not just the reaction to the song, but what effect it has on getting us out there to a wider audience.

The song is more direct compared to some of the tracks on the EP. The song structure is a bit more solid, and some might even say more conventional! We focused strongly on hooks and melody with "Arrested", but also we didn't want to lose that sense of dynamics because we love doing the soft/loud thing. It's probably not as progressive as our earlier stuff. Plus it has a glockenspiel in it! I have to admit that's my doing. I just want to be more like Arcade Fire.

Who did you work with in the recording and production of that single?

We worked with a great producer called Chris Gray, out of his studio called Graylabel Studios in Sydney. We've known Chris for many years. Myself, Dave (drums) and Denis (bass) were in a band together prior to Paper Champion called Otium and we recorded a handful of tracks with Chris around 2003 I think it was. And even prior to Otium, Dave and Grant (vocals) were in a band called Meaneither who recorded with Chris. So we've got a lot of history with him.

How did the recording session for the track go?

Really, really well. We knocked it over in two days. Being friends with Chris for a long period of time, it was such a relaxed atmosphere in the studio, but having that relationship also meant he wasn't afraid to push us more than someone who hadn't built up that same rapport with us. I think we got a stronger product out of it because Chris wasn't afraid to say, 'Nope, not good enough. Do it again.' He was also great at helping us achieve the right sounds as well.

For example, Denis tends to play fairly abstract bass lines that run the gamut of the bass, so capturing both the clarity and bottom-end of his bass lines can be difficult, but I reckon Denis' bass has never sounded better on a recording, and Chris is definitely to thank for that. But that's just one example, because he really worked hard on everyone's sound.

How has Paper Champion changed or matured since recording the EP?

Denis constantly matures because he has a one year old son. Grant has matured because he's got a full time job. I've matured because I have a full time job now, and Dave was always mature. If anything, he's matured less. What's the opposite of maturation?

What were some of the differences, challenges, positives and negatives of recording the single compared to the EP?

Recording the EP was a blast, one of the most fun two weeks of my life. So that sense of being all-consumed by music, hanging out with the Treasurer's daughter, drinking far too many Coopers Greens (sponsorship, anyone?) was missing. But that's a personal thing really. In terms of recording, the challenge was time. Since 'Arrested' is still a fairly new song for us, there were still some things we were a little unsure of in the song. But I think both experiences were comparatively similar– both Rick Hollis (who produced our EP) and Chris are fantastic producers, though they work differently. Rick was the right producer for the EP, while Chris was perfect for achieving the sound we wanted with 'Arrested'.

You must be chuffed to be on the bill for Come Together festival this year?

'Chuffed' doesn't describe it, Brad! It's our first ever festival as Paper Champion so we're extremely excited.

What does it mean for a band like Paper Champion to be able to play to a festival crowd like at Come Together?

More than anything, it's just going to be a truckload of fun. Whatever else comes with it is a bonus in my eyes. But in terms of exposure, you can't really beat it. To play to a 1000+ crowd, I hope, will be awesome. We're on first (11:30am on Sunday, a time when Grant's usually not even awake), but it's better than not being there at all! I hope people are keen enough to come along and check us out.

Are there plans to take your show on the road to other states in the future?

Definitely, it's something we really want to do. I've been trying to organise it for a couple of months but – and not to get too narky here – there's quite a few bands who haven't even replied to our messages about playing gigs in their home town. So that makes it tough, but when you're in a band you can't rely on other people constantly to help you out. Also, all of us are so busy with jobs and family that it can be hard to find time to get away. But yes, the plans and the desire are definitely there. If anyone wants us, let us know!

The city of Sydney doesn't have much of a reputation for its prog output, but is highly regarded in the indie and electronic scenes – why do you think that is?

There's a multitude of factors at play. When it comes down to it, there's probably a lack of good prog bands in Sydney. Don't get me wrong, there's a handful of excellent bands that you watch and think, 'Dude, why are you guys bigger?' but overall there's a lack of inspired bands. I tend to find a lot of them can be a bit mundane. But then you've got bands like sleepmakeswaves (who can thank me for their moniker, by the way), Nucleus, The Third Cycle, The Evening Son, Many Machines on Nine, Ash Phoenix all producing killer tunes. No doubt there's heaps more that I'm missing here!

On the flipside, there's just a stack of great indie and electro bands coming out of Sydney. Sydney is garnering a reputation for producing great bands of those genres because the music is great. Most of my favourite bands would be classed as indie.

Thirdly, I think the Sydney scene is geared a lot more to nurturing indie and electro bands. More venues cater for that kind of music, and so how do you breed quality prog acts if there's only a handful of opportunities for them? It's hard, but there's always new and exciting bands emerging, so I'm constantly keeping my ears out for new tunes.

Do you hope Paper Champion will have a hand in changing the tide in favour of prog? And if so, how?

Haha that would be nice, but there's bands doing it far better than us who are more likely to enact social change. The success of bands like Karnivool, Cog and Dead Letter Circus show that people want that kind of music. It can be done.

Who else do you think will be at the forefront of Sydney's rock scene in the coming years?

The Evening Son. They'll be your new favourite band once you hear them. Stupidly good, it's almost criminal. We played two shows with them over the weekend and they just blew us away. Plus they're awesome guys to boot.

What are your plans for the future in Paper Champion? Will we see you recording/releasing another EP, or is it time for a full-length album now? What will that decision be based on?

I think the future of the band is dependent on how fast we write songs! We're not very quick when it comes to writing music, so our next recording may be a EP out of necessity because we don't have any other songs to record! But I think we'll gauge the response to 'Arrested' before we think about any future recordings. For us, the immediate plans are to take the band out of Sydney and play moiré shows in Newcastle and Wollongong, as well as travel to other states to play shows. The live element of the band is the most important thing to us now, so keep your eye out for us in your town!

Have a listen to Paper Champion on their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/paperchampionband, or read our review of their debut EP. "Arrested" will be released for free on Monday, June 9th. Paper Champion play at Come Together festival on Sunday, June 8th, on the main stage at 11:30 am.

• 1 ethereal name (all lowercase if possible)
• 1/2 cup verbose song titles
• 2 cups guitar effects (delay preferred)
• 1 violin bow (if you have it)
• 750g central rhythmic theme
• 1/2 cup self-raising melody
• 200g electronic effects (can be replaced with samples)
• Pinch of vocals to taste (may be omitted)

Method

Combine guitar effects, violin bow, central rhythmic theme and self-raising melody in a large mixing bowl. Add electronic effects, samples and a pinch of vocals if desired. Bake for 40-60 minutes and cut into jagged shapes. Top with verbose song titles.

Serves millions of indie kids.

Variation

sleepmakeswaves adhere to most of the the accepted conventions of modern post-rock: they have the strange name, the ridiculous song titles, and the beautiful cover artwork. It could also be argued that their music conforms to the "post-rock standard" devised by the likes of Mogwai over 10 years ago, but that would be oversimplifying things, not to mention unfair to their skills as musicians and writers.

Within a post-rock framework sleepmakeswaves have created an EP that is dynamic, bombastic and above all, mesmerising. The music sweeps from delicately-textured ambience to shattering metallic riffage and back again in the blink of an eye, held together and underpinned by driving rhythms and delicious melodies.

This is best exemplified on the opening track "I Will Write Peace On Your Wings And You Will Fly Over The World". The song starts out demonstrating sleepmakeswaves' heavier side, building up with a rolling, forward-moving distorted guitar riff and occasionally exploding to reveal tiny slivers of full-blown noise metal.

The metal subsides, and the listener is given a glimpse of the exquisitely-crafted textures to come. A simple melody from a single guitar is slowly joined by keyboards, drums and eventually bass, thrusting the melody slowly but surely headlong into a massive wall of sound, a technique employed so successfully by Explosions In The Sky.

"Exits To Nowhere", by comparison, begins more sparse, with clean guitars and soothing dolphin-esque sound effect suddenly being overcome by thunderously heavy guitars and a liberal dose of bass drum. At less than four minutes long, it is the shortest track on the album, but still manages to carve its own unique space in that time, acting as a bridge between the epic six-minute plus tracks either side of it.

On the other side of that bridge is "One Day You Will Teach Me To Let Go Of My Fears" (also available on sleepmakeswaves' self-titled demo, released for free online through netlabel Lost Children). A faster-paced, uplifting journey utilising strings to project a more cinematic mood, the decision to include this older song on the EP was inspired, with the track forming the emotional centrepiece of the record.

The pace is slowed down once again towards the end of "One Day You Will Teach Me To Let Go Of My Fears", and in fades "So That The Children Will Always Shout Her Name", a surreal, dreamy track that seemlessly blends Mogwai with the electronic influence of 65daysofstatic. Dripping with intensity and aggression, a static effect over much of the track gives the song an old-timey feel, the aural equivalent of a sepia filter.

With an electronic back-beat again reminiscent of 65daysofstatic and a light sprinkling of piano blanketing "It's Cold, It's Dark, It's Winter", the next song perfectly embodies the mood implied by its title. With what sounds like a heartbeat we are led into the final track, "What We Cannot Speak Of Must Be Passed Over In Silence", and suddenly you realise that you've unconsciously lost yourself in music for 30 minutes.

At over eight minutes in length, it brings the EP to an epic, forward-looking and optimistic close. The heaviness and dynamism is given a rest to begin with, concentrating more on a subtle, dreamy music-box melody before suddenly exploding once more into a wall of jarring guitars, driving drum beat and the occasional flurry of electronic sound effects. But they subside just as quickly as they came, with the album shrinking to an understated close, gradually fading out into nothingness.

As the final song on the album, "What We Cannot Speak Of Must Be Passed Over In Silence" book-ends well with the first track, lending the EP a feeling more like that of a complete album than merely a collection of songs.

sleepmakeswaves are a band that defy their years, having formed in 2006 and already released two collections of songs that have received grassroots acclaim all over the world. It is obviously very hard to break into the over-crowded, under-inspired worldwide post-rock market, but if given half a chance, sleepmakeswaves could take over the world with their evocative, emotionally-powerful and dynamic sound.

You can listen to sleepmakeswaves for yourself on their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/sleepmakeswaves.

No one could have known it at the time, but with albums from fellow alternative metal acts Karnivool and The Butterfly Effect to follow in quick succession, Cog turned out to be the catalyst that began Australia's progressive music explosion, which would surge in popularity in the years that followed.

Two and a half years later - after debuting at #1 on the AIR chart, #19 on the ARIA chart and conquering the local touring scene (by now populated with the likes of Dead Letter Circus, Mammal and Sleep Parade, all of whom owe Cog a huge debt of gratitude) - returning to Weed and Massy to record The New Normal's massively-anticipated follow-up must have seemed like a great idea at the time.

But after running out of money, falling out with Massy and having to stick out the final two weeks of the session on their own, they must have wondered how it all went wrong.

Luckily they pulled through in the end, and the resulting album Sharing Space is a deep and confronting release, befitting the trials that Cog went through in creating it.

While the lyrics show a move towards the more direct and hard-hitting, there is a definite shift away from the driving riffery that underpinned The New Normal, as bassist Luke Gower explains. Liberal use of keyboards, strings, vocal effects and harmonies make for a far more, dare I say it, progressive album, at least musically.

"I think it was a bit of a natural progression for us, we love experimenting," says Gower. "[But] it's not like we set out to say 'oh in this song we want to put down three different keyboards' or anything like that. It could be, you know, you're tracking a song and making a cup of coffee in between doing something and you see an instrument sitting on a shelf that you've never seen before, so you go over and flick it on and fuck around with it for a while, and it's like 'fuck, that might actually work in that song'.

"We're very open to experimentation in terms of instruments and we all write on each other's instruments as well so there's a huge diversity of what we can come up with. All egos aside, it's just all about the song and what's best for that. I mean we put some things down and they don't work so we piss them off, but that's just the way we work."

Lyrically filled with overt political statements such as "I don't listen at all to the Government / the Government has gotta go", and written mostly in the lead-up to Australia's 2007 federal election, you'd be excused for thinking that the Cog trio had set out to write a protest album. But as it turns out they were actually almost completely unaware of the situation back home for the 10 months they were stuck in the studio.

"I suppose to the outsider, they would be like 'yeah they're talking about John Howard' ... but we didn't set out specifically to write about the situation that was going on in Australia. To tell you the truth we didn't really watch any TV and we weren't getting any newspapers, the only form of news we had was when you log in to Hotmail, and you know what that kind of news is like, they're more worried about Megan Gale and fucking 'the actor from Home and Away's been caught on the beach wearing a new bikini', you know."

Regardless of the lyrics' inspiration - the bushy-browed Howard, the bushy-tailed Gale, or neither - the candidness on Sharing Space may come as a bit of a surprise to existing fans used to Cog's extensive use of metaphor and allegory. That, though, was a conscious decision.

"(Politics is) something that we feel strongly about, it's hard not to with the things that are going on these days I think. I wanted to try and target specific issues, whether it be political or whatever the song was going to be about, I really wanted to try and hone in a bit more so as not to be as sparse as the last album."

Given that background, Sharing Space is a title as appropriate as it is poetic. Exploring themes such as time away from loved ones, fear as a tool of government to quell dissent, and the more obvious theme of political change, the one idea holding the album together is that we're all "sharing space", and that with the right to indivuality comes a responsibility to ensure you're doing the right thing by your fellow man.

"Instead of saying 'thanks for having me' or 'thanks for hanging out', [Weed locals said] 'thanks for sharing space' ... and we all thought that was a fitting title for the album. It's applicable to the time we're living in at the moment on all sorts of levels, it can work on a macro or a micro level I think."

Cog will be sharing space with Jakob, Kora, Melodyssey and Sleep Parade on their "Sharing Space" tour, taking in five states throughout May and June. Sharing Space is out everywhere on April 12th through Difrn't Music.

Diseases caused by prions, which includes mad cow disease in animals and its human brother Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, are completely untreatable and always fatal. When Gajdusek put a halt on the Fore people's cannibalistic practice of consuming the brains of dead people, the disease was completely eradicated within a generation. Humans normally have a natural genetic defence against kuru and other prion-caused diseases, suggesting that cannibalism has been so prevalent in human history that we actually evolved a gene to protect against it.

What's this got to do with anything? Well, Kuru is the title and one theme of the new album from Mushroom Giant, a prolific group of Melburnian instrumental rockers. A strange theme for an album, certainly, made stranger by the fact that the record is completely devoid of lyrics - meaning the only way anyone would know that it's about cannibalism, evolution, death or rebirth is by reading the short blurb inside the album that tells Gajdusek's story.

In similar fashion to Sigur Ros' seminal post-rock album ( ), the sparsity of the album's artwork encourages the listener to insert their own meaning into the music. The closest one gets to an explanation of the album's subject matter apart from the vague cannibalism-themed blurb is a single subtitle for each song, and a collection of quotes from historical figures such as Albert Einstein or the artist Edvard Munch. Everything else is up to you.

But once you get past its creepy subject matter and the foreboding artwork that envelopes the CD, the music contained within it has much the same beauty and dignity as death itself.

Mushroom Giant have been quietly perfecting their art over the past five years, and their proficiency is evident on Kuru. Evoking comparisons to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mono - bands who often teeter on the edge of out-and-out metal but also have a quieter, subtle side - Kuru is a rollercoaster ride from start to end.

In the album opener "Graven Image", one of post-rock's signature techniques is employed: gradually threading a melody into a repetitive rhythm, building closer and closer towards a crescendo. The difference here is in the upbeat, pounding drumbeat that drives the song at a speedy pace, making the song more dance-rock than post-rock. A crushing, distorted guitar effect in the final 20 seconds of the track offers one of many headbanging opportunities to come for those so inclined.

Putting a subtle spin on tried and true musical techniques is one of the album's hallmarks.

"Autumn Leaves The Dead", awash in the soothing sound of a violin, is decidedly more laid back in mood than its predecessor. Its subtitle, "Shedding Skin", evokes images of a transformation or rebirth, and that is exactly the mood projected by the song. "Sirenthia" is similar, though the violin is much higher in the mix, much more angular, much more off-key, turning the usually pleasant-sounding instrument into something much more uncomfortable to hear. The contrast between pleasant and unpleasant is perhaps an exploration of the dignity of natural death and the indignity of murder, although the listener is once again left to place their own meaning in the music.

The theme of death is revisited later in the song "Poor Tom", subtitled "Murder Scene". Simply harrowing to listen to, merely two minutes long but so perfectly projecting the mood of a violent murder that it would be quite at home on any serial killer movie score. Schitzophrenic in mood, it breathes in and out between pounding, rapid-fire heaviness and near silence, as if telling the story of a killer who blanks out with rage one minute and is totally calm the next, with no recollection of what had happened seconds prior.

This is what Mushroom Giant do best: project moods, paint scenes and tell stories, all purely using music, and without any lyrics. This is a rare skill.

Kuru is a truly deep album, one not easily judged after a single listen, but one that becomes more rewarding with each listen. Give it the time and space it needs to show itself to you, and the album's beauty will make itself evident.

If you buy this album, and I suggest anyone with an interest in post-rock or progressive metal should do so, when you bring it home you should close the door, turn out the light, turn up your stereo and let your mind wander. Kuru will take you places.

Check Mushroom Giant out at their website www.mushroomgiant.com or listen to more of their tunes on their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/mushroomgiant.

The album, released on Roadrunner Records midway through last year, tells the haunting story of technology's effect on the malaise of today's youth, more concerned with X-Box and the internet than social interaction. It received its fair share of acclaim, being named Classic Rock magazine's album of 2007 and receiving a nomination for Best Surround Sound Album at the Grammys.

More importantly, though, it cements Porcupine Tree's place at the top of the heap of "nu-prog", a collection of bands that combine complex compositions in the progressive rock tradition, but with a "21st century, modern, post-Radiohead approach", as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Steven Wilson describes it.

But it hasn't always been awards and worldwide tours for Porcupine Tree. Normally, it wouldn't take 15 years for a band to tour Australia, but Porcupine Tree spent the better part of a decade in absolute obscurity, releasing albums that are not only challenging to listen to but also to find. Until their 2001 breakthrough In Absentia, their material wasn't even available in Australia, and even then it was difficult to locate any store that would stock it.

However, in the years since the success of In Absentia, Porcupine Tree have found themselves in the possession of a sizeable fan base primarily through word-of-mouth, which has allowed them greater scope to release their music. Fear Of A Blank Planet was released on Roadrunner Records, home to Opeth and Dream Theater, which has meant their reach is greater than ever before.

"We and Dream Theater were both on the same label [before Roadrunner], which was Warner Bros, and it's fascinating to discover that actually leaving a major label and signing to an independent, albeit a very big independent like Roadrunner, will actually take your profile higher.

"It's really quite sad in a way for the major labels like Warner. I just don't think a label like Warner really understands the power of the fan base. They're so used to dealing with the entertainment end of the industry and the media, things like MTV, that they just don't understand this concept of fan power and street teams, and I think for bands like Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater and Opeth, those things are the lifeblood.

"Labels like Warner Bros will never understand that, and that's why I think they're all going to go down, because with download culture kicking in now, nobody really wants to pay for Britney Spears albums or Mariah Carey albums any more, but people will always want to buy Opeth records and Dream Theater records and Porcupine Tree records, because they know they're buying into something special."

And that fan base has also finally made it possible for the band to embark on their first ever tour of Australia, at the tail-end of the Tour Of A Blank Planet. With a new album to promote the setlist should be packed with more recent tunes, but he hasn't forgotten the old-school fans either.

"I'm getting the impression that a lot of people will have heard about the band for the first time in more recent years, so the emphasis probably will be on the new album or the more recent work, but we are also aware that wherever we go we have people that have been with us since the beginning back in the mid-90s and will probably expect to hear some of the older material too. So we'll try and create a good balance for people hearing it for the first time."

And Wilson assures us that they won't be skimping on any aspect of the show, with Dutch filmmaker Lasse Hoille's twisted creations - he has worked on Porcupine Tree's album artwork since In Absentia - being beamed to a big screen at the back of the stage.

"Porcupine Tree have developed quite a complex multimedia aspect to the show. Although we're a rock band and we can rock at times, we also have more visual elements to the show than a lot of bands. We have films for all of the songs on the new record, so there are times during the show when the emphasis is very much on the projections, the movies, as opposed to the performance aspect. And we like to create a nice balance between that so there is a sense of musical journey and visual journey too throughout the show, so that it has a nice flow to it.

"Certainly when you come to a Porcupine Tree show you don't just get four guys standing up there belting out their latest album. It is conceived very much as an audio visual experience."

The press release I received with Paper Champion's self-titled debut EP says that the album is for fans of The Butterfly Effect, Cog, Incubus and A Perfect Circle. I wouldn't say they actually sound like any of those bands, but they all undoubtedly have one thing in common: they're not easily categorised.

Heavy and soft, complex and simple, acrobatic and consistent; Paper Champion is all these things. Be aware, though, that the album never comes close to any of those bands in the heaviness stakes, filled more with emotion and nuance than pure chunkiness.

Named after a song from the Oceansize Music For Nurses EP, Paper Champion formed in 2005 and in the time since have built up touring credits including Birds Of Tokyo, Mammal and Dead Letter Circus. The EP was recorded with Rick Hollis, who has previously worked with Sunk Loto, but don't let that deter you. It actually sounds pretty good, production-wise.

"This Mute Tide" starts the record off safely, with a slow bass groove gradually building up to a chorus filled with vocal acrobatics from singer Grant Spencer, pushing the song ever closer to the cliff, but never quite going over the edge. The song builds up and the listener anticipates a mighty heavy crescendo, but the song subsides before the moment of truth. After the second verse the promise of an arse-kicking is finally fulfilled, with driving guitars and evocative vocals bringing the track to a close.

The second track ("Blindingly Confident") puts a stronger focus on the vocals, which is OK if you have Kim Benzie for a singer, but in this case I found myself hoping for something a little more interesting from the instrumentation. Spencer clearly has the chops to hit all the notes, but there's something about his tone which doesn't work as effectively when he is the sole focal point of a track, and the music doesn't have enough to hold the song together.

This is exemplified perfectly by "Teeth", which is a flurry of angular guitars, wandering bass, a constant, driving drum beat and vocals reminiscent of Mammal's Ezekiel Ox. Spencer really shines on the track because he's not so focussed on the aerial acrobatics, and his natural range is given room to shine.

"Undone" borrows the vocal talents of Erinn Swan (of Brisbane band Nina May) for a few well-placed vocal harmonies, starting out with an up-beat and sunny introduction and erupting into an epic second half. Guitarist Dom Alessio is given a lot of room to demonstrate his ample abilities throughout "Undone", and Spencer again provides incredible emotion through the high-rise vocal lines.

Swan's voice is once again heard on the final track, "Arithmetic", which is also the track most easily compared to another band. Its rolling guitar riffs, driving drumbeat and liberal use of vocal delay are reminiscent of The Butterfly Effect's "Always", but it does provide a little variety with a mammoth climax. The slow-building orchestral vocal chorus threaded with Swan's impossibly high operatic accents abruptly gives way to the most aggressive, pounding riff on the EP to bring it to a headbanging close.

Overall it's a good album with a dash of brilliance thrown in every now and then, and is undoubtedly a debut EP of which any band would be proud. It's packaged in a gorgeous digipak (yellow should definitely be used more often in cover artwork), and contains some good, solid rock songs; but it's clearly a first effort and Paper Champion will definitely be better for the experience. I'll be keeping an eye on them for the future.

If you're a fan of The Butterfly Effect or Mammal but want something more focussed on subtlety and emotion and not so much on heaviness, I strongly urge you to give Paper Champion a go.

You can hear Paper Champion on their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/paperchampionband.