Album review: OLLOCS – Outer Edge

Ollocs - Outer Edge

Self released  [Release date: 24.10.15]

Okay, let’s get the issue of the name out of the way first. Ollocs. What were they thinking of?

Ollocs, whilst lending itself to a myriad of infantile jokes (I was thinking of giving it a ‘B’ as my rating…), would be the band-name of choice for a Cockney ‘Oi!’ pub band, not, as is actually the case, for a rather fine progressive rock band from New York.

Had they called themselves ‘Celestial Voyage’ or something similar they could well have attracted a modicum of interest from the prog cognoscenti – as it stands, ‘Outer Edge’ is the band’s third studio effort and they are definitely hiding their considerable light under a band-name bushel.

Describing themselves as a heavy prog band, ‘Outer Edge’ is anything but, being a mostly pastoral and delicate acoustic outing saving any heaviness until the closing track.

Checking out their back catalogue, it would appear that the band’s first album, ‘Life Thread’ was a heavy(ish) album but this was followed up with another laid-back affair in ‘Cosmic Shift’.

Citing acoustic guitar virtuoso Erik Mongrain as a major influence, Ollocs have delivered an exquisitely intense and fragile instrumental work that will easily stand comparison with any similar album in the genre – check out ‘Reflection’, its chilled-out spaciness bringing to mind Fleetwood Mac’s classic ‘Albatross’.

Although each track is basically picked guitar overlaid onto swelling keyboard and piano flourishes, each is sufficiently different and intriguing in its own right to sustain interest throughout, and – certainly if played through headphones – the coherent whole transports the listener to a faraway place, limited only by the boundaries of his/her imagination.

If there is a downside it’s that the album’s five tracks clock in at a paltry 26 minutes, but there’s good stuff in little parcels and if time is limited to a quick shot of tranquil progressive rock, you’d go a long way to find much better than this.    ****

Review by Alan Jones

Alan sequences “The Eclectic Mix” on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, third Sunday of the month at 16:00. Expect some prog.


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Josh Taerk Sunday Sessions 2024

Latest session: Sunday 25 February
Next session: Sunday 14 April

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio



David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 25 February 2024.


UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 27 February 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com


Power Plays w/c 4 March 2024

COLLATERAL Glass Sky (Big Shot Records)
THE ZUTONS Pauline (ICEPOP)
THE GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS Rise Above It All (Mascot)
MATT PEARCE & THE MUTINY From Here To The Moon (indie)
THE BLACK VULTURES Never Say (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 4 March 2024

09:00-12:00 LEE AARON Tattoo Me (Metalville)
12:00-13:00 THE END MACHINE The Quantum Phase (Frontiers)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023


To see our Tweets you need to be logged in to a Twitter account



Popular (last 10 days)


This entry was posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply