Stalagmite Steeple from Returned to the Earth wins its second award of the year, which I think is unprecedented in the history of this wee little website.

Covid was a dreadful time. This album deals with it in such a mature, thoughtful way. The winner of my “mortality” award is Die for Me.

To quote from my review:

Die for Me. Did our leaders deliberately ask this of sections of the population? Not merely the elderly, but also frontline workers so inadequately protected against the impact of those they cared for? This is not a loud, angry, post punk noise, but the inherent unfairness is portrayed just as effectively by one of the finest melodious prog acts around now, with some more orchestration setting the mood, but with the pace picking up considerably halfway through when the lyrics inform us that the dream is over, and a piano and solitary bass notes bring us all to a thoughtful considered place, the guitar very expressive introducing us to the final third which begins to bring together the family and societal themes very well, the riffs darkening and providing an anger – it shouldn’t be this way, and Peachey is right, the drums thumping underneath that simple message, the guitar solo screaming at the bastards who let us all down. Simply incredible.