Like, we’ve done it before, but what started off yesterday as a desire to have my second-favorite work playlist followed by something louder* took me down a memory hole that ended abruptly at one of the few idol projects booted up on Bandcamp, which is xoxo(Kiss&Hug) EXTREME, who are simultaneously also idol’s sole absolute devotee of old-school prog rock and therefore a glorious thing.

And it was in the moment when I was two glorious, flute-enhanced minutes into what immediately follows that I decided that yes, a post needed to be blogged, and the closest thing that idol has to Jethro Tull needed a more recent moment of celebration:

As it turns out, xoxo EXTREME went on a little splurge a month ago and uploaded not just new(er) stuff, but some older favorites as well. Dive into the channel for a while. Immerse yourself in songs that go in epic directions without so much as a flirtation with power metal. Settle down with one of the few greatest-hits kinds of releases that I’ve ever seen from chika idols:

While I can wish until I’m blue in the face that this wildly divergent little project had more going on (and I do), I also think that maybe they’re right where they both need and want to be — just listen along, or look at some of their live video, and you’ll walk away with the strong impression that this is a labor of love more than anything else, and making some coin out of it is more a benefit than a goal.

*Sincere apologies for everything involved there; Homicidols Dot Com is not responsible for third-party creative choices!