During the late ’90s, it seemed like prog rock had finally achieved extinction. But fast forward ten years later and the genre was thriving once more — as evidenced by the arrival of such groups as Astra and their 2009 full-length debut, The Weirding (which includes some very Roger Dean-inspired cover artwork). Hailing from an area not exactly known for spawning prog goliaths (San Diego), The Weirding is not all about fingers flyin’ on the fretboard, however, as the group touches upon the spacy sounds of early Pink Floyd and King Crimson on the title track. And this same approach carries over throughout the entire album, as evidenced by such ditties as “Silent Sleep” and “Ouroboros,” both of which follow the “prog prerequisite” of songs that stretch over ten minutes in length (and in this case, over 15 minutes). Unlike many other modern-day prog rock revivalists, Astra recall a day when the genre was more about creating sweeping mood shifts than mere mind-numbing instrumental acrobatics. – Greg Prato