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No less than new music advocate/Henry Cow/Massacre guitarist Fred Frith once hailed Gaithersburg, Maryland's Muffins as "America's finest progressive band." I know. For some of you, that's like finding the best Italian restaurant in Antarctica. In a genre dominated by mostly European artists, The Muffins were one of the few US acts respected overseas. 

Their challenging display of tight-twisting themes and freestyle improvisations sought out the sophisticated cream of prog-rock (what most lorists refer to as "Canterbury rock"). Unfortunately, except for Frank Zappa- who was altogether in a different musical universe- there were few working examples of tightly-constructed inertia back in the '70s. Oddly enough, while The Muffins sound tame compared with the noisy slagheap of math/rock/skronk/ eclecticore marvels that have poured through the pipes, the band preceded the whole John Zorn/Knitting Factory/Tzadik label validation for such outside instrumental fusion. 

With interest generated by several reissued CDs comes Bandwith, The Muffins' first album in over twenty years. As with most reunions of this caliber, there are familiar vibes to remind you what made this band so special (like the self-bemused, Stax-like horn lines and  groaning fuzzbass of "Walking The Duck"), as well as venturing into current phases of exploratory sound (like jazzy, groovebound "Military Road") to balance the old times with new ideas. While the band's long hiatus may have stilted their association with  the progressive movement (and some may consider that a blessing), keyboardist Dave Newhouse has continued to grow as a composer- mixing complicated themes and graceful counterpoint with a fiery rock presence that once made- and still reinforces- the band's unique appeal. Frankly, I'd even rate this new album even higher than most from their respected prog-era heyday (starting with Manna/Mirage"), since I feel the music flows smoother and the players (saxist Thomas Scott, bassist Billy Swann and drummer Paul Sears) don't fall back on extending their chops (after all, what's to prove after two decades?).