Two of the more reviled bastard genres in popular music are jazz fusion and progressive rock. Each tends to suffer in comparison with the sources it's inspired by, seemingly making the worst of both worlds rather than the best. However, not everything put out under those banners is an interminable wankfest or a syrupy swamp of denatured "lifestyle" sax. One of the relatively obscure musical territories of the past thirty years - the Canterbury School, exemplified by acts like Gong, Soft Machine (whence Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers), Hatfield and the North, and National Health - effectively joined both jazz fusion and progressive rock, and generally yoked the best of those genres' tendencies in doing so. From jazz, these bands took a certain rhythmic grace and openness, an airy feel, and from the progressive wing of rock, an interest in extended song structures, unusual time signatures and textures, and a general willingness to move beyond the confines of the three-minute single. But they also valued the notion of song - melodies, coherence, and a willingness to use simplicity when appropriate - and disdained pretentiousness in favor of good humor. The aptly named Helio Sequence often uses sequencers as a rhythmic bed, but the choice of tone and scale often renders their lines open and sunny rather than cold, dark, and dystopian. The opening track "Stracenska 612" is a good example: the sequence has an almost woody, upright-bass-like tone, and its oscillation on the harmonically ambiguous but warm pentatonic scale (the black notes on a piano are an example) makes it both propulsive and exploratory. The song continues with a blitz of sunspot-distorted irradiated guitar that builds then subsides back into the sequencer riff. In some ways, the Helio Sequence produces a more song-oriented version of the classic Spacemen 3 approach, a sound particularly apparent in the opening of "My Heart." Credit is due to drummer Benjamin Weikel (he also plays keyboards), whose judicious use of his kit, especially the hi-hat, imbues the synthetic aspects of the songs with a sense of vitality and animation. Textures are another strength, as the band cites My Bloody Valentine's layered production as an inspiration, audible in the gliding guitars and drifting confluence of vocal lines in "Demographics." Olo, with its electric pianos, octave-doubled clean electric guitars, and spacious arrangements, is closer sonically to the Canterbury aesthetic than the Helio Sequence, but both bands share an interest in making electronic sounds work in an organic context. Olo also favors rolling, propulsive cyclical patterns as the backdrop to their songs, but they overlay those patterns with a more open, improvisational feeling. "To Me You're Like the Setting Sun" features relaxed vocals, oddly reminding me of the slower, shorter songs Pink Floyd was doing circa Meddle, but its dark synth swells add some coloration that makes the song sound more contemporary. The band displays a fine touch for texture as well, with "The Multitudes" featuring both a string chart and some industrially corrosive guitars. Both releases show that it's possible to avoid nostalgia while still mining past approaches for innovative and pleasing music.

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