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cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-strainge-case-of-steve
cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-strainge-case-of-steve

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"For anyone familiar with Rascal Reporters, this is a welcome addition to their quirky legacy, and for newcomers, it’s an excellent entry point into one of the strangest musical worlds in existence." - Expose.org

"The sixteen tracks of the new album take us back to the glories of a world that shuns any compromise, to seek the path of absolute freedom for the musician, capable of imagining adventurous compositions that are only vaguely inspired by a past musical season. Ranging from electronic sounds to jazz, always maintaining an irony and lightness that is typical of both Zappa and the Canterbury scene." - OndaRock.it (translated)

"Complex compositions imbued with a great sense of fun allow the intrepid duo plus a highly skilled supporting cast to weave keyboard-led magic across sixteen (count ’em!) tracks and nearly 78 minutes on a caravan of dreams." - TheProgressiveAspect.net

"The Strainge Case of Steve takes listeners through a musical landscape that defies convention [...] a tapestry of sound that pays homage to the band's roots while pushing the boundaries of their musical exploration. Anyone seeking melodic and accessible progressive instrumental rock that challenges the norm should give it a listen." - ProgRadio.com

"A crazy and strangely fascinating album where the boundaries between the instruments and the compositional approach are laying the foundations of something new, music without genre definition and without structural or formal limits, it is a complex architecture that, even in all its extreme approaches, still manages to be accessible." - New Dawn of Prog

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The Strainge Case of Steve is the latest offering from the avant-garde progressive rock duo Rascal Reporters, currently comprised of Steve Kretzmer and James Strain. The album features 16 tracks of eclectic, inventive and adventurous music that showcases the Reporters’ compositional dexterity and idiosyncratic creativity.

The album heralds a new chapter of the Rascal Reporters' long and prolific career, which spans over four decades and (now) eight studio albums. The band was founded in 1974 by high-school friends Steve Gore and Steve Kretzmer in Oak Park, Michigan. Inspired by progressive rock giants like Frank Zappa, Gentle Giant, Henry Cow and King Crimson - along with the then-burgeoning Rock-In-Opposition & Canterbury scenes in prog - they recorded hundreds of songs in their basement studio throughout the 70s and 80s using an array of instruments, tape recorders and synthesizers.

The Rascal Reporters developed a unique style that combined complex compositions, quirky melodies, odd time signatures, humorous lyrics and experimental sounds. They gained a cult following among deep-diving crate-digging progressive rock fans around the world for their originality and eccentricity.

The Strainge Case of Steve is their eighth studio album and heralds the full return of group founder Steve Kretzmer, who had taken a step back from composition after 1995’s Purple Entrapment. It is also their first to feature James Strain as a full-time member. Strain joined the band in 2019 and completed the group’s first new release in some years: Redux Vol. 1, followed by Vol. 2 in 2021, a semi-archival series which featured up-cycled versions of lost compositions with new arrangements and overdubs from Strain. The album was well-received by critics and fans alike for its fresh spin on the classic Reporters DNA. Strain shares writing, performing and production duties with Kretzmer on this new album.

The album was recorded between 2017 and 2023 at Kretzmer & Strain's home studios in Michigan, USA & Carlow, Ireland respectively. It features guest appearances from returning favourites and members of classic avant prog groups such as long time collaborator Dave Newhouse (The Muffins, Manna/Mirage) and Guy Segers (Univers Zero), along with members of some of today’s most exciting new groups such as Jessica Martin Maresco (Pili Coit, Le Grand Sbam) and Dario D'Allessando (Homunculus Res).