Datura Lodge are the first act to have material released by newly founded Arquen Records, an imprint formed by a collaboration between Astronomy Recording Music and áMARXE Música, the latter, of course, very familiar to regular visitors to this website.

The protagonists are Nicky B & “W” from New Jersey, and the album features contributions from Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson) and Ben Karas (Thank You Scientist). I have played a track from the album on my show of 31st October 2026, which you can download and listen to from the Progzilla website.

So, nine pieces of brand-new rock music to consider. Let’s get to it. I have embedded a couple of videos here, but the band have made most of this available on YouTube, and, of course, you can “try before you buy” on the Bandcamp page.

We open with Mummy, lyrically a dark affair, the future wishing us all farewell as we place our heads in the sand. The production values are the first thing to hit you, the guitars creating a strong wall of sound, the vocals crystal clear, and the addition of Adam Holzman on the keys immediately counts as a wise decision, Nicky B & Adam’s son, Russell, forming a superb rhythm section, the riffs developing into a glorious noise as the track progresses, the two main protagonists giving us some haunting voice melodies, but with the guitar solo screaming dissonance as it closes. A very strong start to the album, with some serious rock music at play.

Stone follows and fascinates me. This is a portion of the lyrics:

“She won’t eat pork

But she’ll smoke any pipe found in greater New York”

We all live by our Stone, or as they put it, “how eccentric to chain to commandment in Stone”, those tablets which still bind much of human society. Lovers of the expressive bass guitar as a lead instrument will drool over this, and in parts, we get a massive rock noise, heavy progressive rock, but with a distinctly funk foundation, blistering guitar solos, all with a commercial sensibility that draws the listener in. A likely contender for this website’s “Observational track of 2026”, for sure, and the violin solo from Ben Karas, who did all the engineering, adds context and texture.

98 and 94 is up next, which I believe references, not positively, the end of our analogue world, and the move to digitalisation, with all of us gawping constantly on our phones, even whilst running through a meadow, with barely any of us remembering what is healthy and right. The track is a dystopian delight, the bass again so gorgeously prominent, Holzman adding delicate soundscapes, so not taking over, a track dripping with heavy blues music, and a wee little nod to The Lamb with them seeing faces and traces.

Them finds that we all go through the stages of life, loathes generic LinkedIn posts, the banality of much of our lives, and I believe the reference to 70’s Yes is the fact that great musicians such as Squire & White died not vastly wealthy, but in relative penury. This is simply a very old-fashioned heavy rock track, and it fairly thumps along, the keyboards adding textures to the riffs and vocals below in a track which does remind one of later-period Rush. I feel their pain at the video conference they are dreading – the best thing about finishing work is the fact I no longer have to bother with that tedious nonsense and therein lies the genius of this album – it is rooted in the real world, with life experiences and observations. This is the track, incidentally, I played recently on my radio show.

Floor urges us to pick ourselves off our childhood bedroom floor and rediscover what makes us alive. I struggle to think of many rhythm sections working together so well as on this album in 2026, leading us to music that insists upon not sitting still, but joining in with the sheer joy of it all. The vocals are slightly distorted in parts but rising up present us with a glorious American Rock timbre. There is a great synth solo on this, and as we move along, the bass simply takes you between the ears and drags you along with intensity and melody, the rhythm guitar gorgeous. A song which is made for classic rock radio airplay, quite brilliant.

Can is a great, old-fashioned political polemic, and amusingly references Roger Waters, the curmudgeonly old “commie” (my quote) living in The Hamptons – I made similar references to him in my recent YouTube documentary. The haves and the have nots, with special attention to the generational divide all western societies are struggling to cope with at present. Good harmonies on this, the occasional growl (not enough to impact greatly), in a track which contrasts vocal commentary with racier riffs, a dark guitar solo in the midpoint screaming out the frustration with our world, the vocals wondering whether they are immature for feeling like this (no, is the answer to that).

We have an official video for Hole, and it is embedded here. It was directed by Samantha Feyerabend-Muljat, alter-egos never met and dealing with a sense of failure, modern society letting down an entire generation, voices urging actions unwanted. This is dark and reflective stuff for sure, a dark, dystopian, and disturbing rock ballad which has echoes of Porcupine Tree at their finest. The guitar solo is superb, albeit brief. Video of the year for me, and a fine piece of music alongside it.

Beam is the penultimate track, Jim at its heart, no money, but trying to hope. The start is as good as it is surprising, a wall of funk hitting you, and I love the unexpected like this. It shows thought, versatility, and even a sense of playfulness in the artist. It takes me several listens to really appreciate an album (one of the reasons I have such a large queue of albums to review), but I must say I was hooked on first listen because of this track. Just listen to that guitar shredding, then giving way to a lush, Floydian sense of musical space. This could well get “track of 2026” in next month’s awards – it is embedded below for you to enjoy.

A fine album closes with Lodge, anthemic in its cry to contemporaries that they are not alone with acute disillusionment with the society that my generation has created. It is the longest track here at six-and-a-half minutes. It is a bright affair to close, and that probably sounds strange reading this, but it is a call out to a generation, that they are not alone, and that things can get better if they can find a common voice. There are some more funk grooves in here, classic heavy prog, thumping riffs as commentariat, a great mix of the resounding and thoughtful, Holzman pulling out a swirling solo, the bass solo incredible, but “W” not outdone, because he pulls out an emotional rollercoaster with the guitar solo that follows. A stunning rock track which soars to the atmosphere as it closes.

This website loves new music, it loves new artists who make an impact upon our world, and Datura Lodge, I hope, have a long and healthy future ahead of them. This is a stunning album which is very highly recommended.

You can purchase the album at https://arquenrecords.bandcamp.com/album/datura-lodge

Datura Lodge Is:
Nicky B (Bass, Vocals)
“W” (Guitar, Vocals)

With Help On This Album From:
Adam Holzman (Keyboards)
Russell Holzman (Drums)
Ben Karas (Engineering, Mixing, Violin Solo On Stone)

Tracks 1-5 Recorded At Frightbox Recording In Passaic, Nj
Tracks 6-9 Recorded At Frost Gauntlet Recording In Lyndhurst, Nj