ETERNAL SNAPSHOTS

The album this week is "Eternal Snapshots" by Swedish proggers Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion (HFMC). Regular readers of my features may recall that Hasse Fröberg, was prominently mentioned in issue number 4 of #scottssongbysong about the Flower Kings. Hasse has been involved with the band since the beginning, but became an official member beginning with the Flower Kings' third album "Stardust We Are." He is the longest running permanent member other than FKs founder Roine Stolt.

Hasse Fröberg started the band in 2008 while the FKs were on hiatus. Fröberg stated:

"Old fashioned as I am, I don't want it to be like a project, I want a band with a certain sound. The key to that, I believe, is to find enthusiastic musicians who love to play my music and are willing to rehearse and to create a unit that really works well together."

"Eternal Snapshots," is the band's sixth studio album. It was released on June 6, 2024. The lineup is:

- Hasse Fröberg / vocals, electric & acoustic guitars - Sampo Axelsson / bass - Kjell Haraldsson / keyboards, piano, organs - Anton Lindsjö / guitars - Ola Strandberg / drums, backing vocals

The only non-original member is bassist Sampo Axelsson, who replaced original bassist Thomas Thompson who left in 2019.

Let's check it out!

Track 1 - All I Wanted to Be, Pt. 1

This song and part 2 of it bookend the album. A clean electric guitar part playing an arpeggiated pattern opens the song, soon joined by accents from the rest of the band and a melodic lead guitar line. At around 50 seconds, the music changes to a 7-4 pattern. The keys and lead guitar play countermelodies off of each other, nice! The instrumental parts calm down and the vocals enter at around 2 minutes in. The accompaniment is led by piano and acoustic guitar. There is a nice turnaround between verses at around 2:30. The drums and bass return at around 3:30 at a moderately slow 4-4 pace to lead us to the end of the opening track. Well done!

Track 2 - Deserve to Be Happy This one has an energetic intro that reminds me of Kansas' "People of the South Wind." The music quickly changes and becomes mellow for the vocals to begin. After the first verse at 50 seconds, the band begins to crescendo, and a part similar to the opening comes in. The rhythm gets steady and the vocals return. There is an outstanding guitar fill at around 1:20 The sound gets smoother and has a half time feel for the pre chorus. Then the chorus is in a similar style to the intro and back to the full tempo. I love the harmonies on the word "happy," at 2:07. The next verse has a little harder rock feel. We go back to half-time with beautiful harmonies at around 3:15 for the bridge. I like the contrasting feels in different sections. At around 4:15, a shifting meter accompanies the guitar solo. There is a wonderful sweep-picking arpeggio at around 4:50! Nicely executed, Anton Lindsjö! The music begins to slowly get quieter as the guitar solo brings us to the end of the song. Excellent track, lot's to dig into in just 5:45.

Track 3 - Wherever You May Go

The song begins with the sound of a distantly strummed guitar, with lots of echo. At least I believe it is a 12-string of some kind, but it could also be a harpsichord. Hasse begins singing to acoustic guitar accompaniment. His high notes are fantastic! More instruments join in as we proceed. The harmonies on this album are spectacular. The full band joins in briefly at around 1:25, before a new section, led by an acoustic guitar strumming pattern begins. The band settles into an easy-going 6-8 groove. There are occasional meter shifts as we proceed. I like the guitar fill that leads the band back in around 2:45. The keyboards provide a warmth to the sound. At around 4:00 there is a marching pattern on the snare drum. The keyboard solo that starts just before 4:30 and its accompaniment remind me a bit of Styx' "Lights." It is a well-done keyboard solo indeed. I like the heavier guitar runs that happen around the 5 minute point following the keys solo. Awesome sustained note from Hasse at 5:30! There are more to follow. I love the choral style vocals and the overall arrangement in the coda section as the song reaches its conclusion. Beautiful Track!

Track 4 - No Messiah

This is the longest track on the album at 7:17. Acapella harmony voices start this track with one part singing an accented melody. 12-string acoustic accompaniment and piano join in. The band begins to enter fully with a lovely keyboard ascending run by Kjell Haraldsson. There is a dramatic entrance section then the acoustic strums a triplet pattern that leads the band in, and they follow suit with the rhythm. The vocals enter with an effect on the voice and the bass keeping an urgent eighth note pattern while the drums accent. At around 1:50 the groove changes and gets slightly less urgent. The chorus hits at 2:05 with wonderful harmonies. The verse returns to the urgent pattern with smooth keys on top. Meters keep changing, keeping this prog fan happy. At 3:30 there is a quieter instrumental segment in which I think I hear flute and mellotron. Then the triplet rhythm returns. A drum fill takes us into a half-time guitar solo. That feel remains as the vocals return. The buildup in the harmonies here reminds me of "There Is More to this World," from Hasse's other band! I like the transition into the keyboard solo at around 5:45. Great high note at 6:12! Even higher a bit later! The guitar ad-libs as the music begins to fade before stopping abruptly. That was quite a ride!

Track 5 - Once In a Lifetime

There are some shoreline sound effects at the beginning that lead to a big deep note that reminds me initially of a fog-horn on a ship but becomes apparent as a synth. Hasse's vocals enter in dramatic fashion. The band begins to lock into a groove around 45 seconds into the song. The tune transitions into a melodic section at around 1:10. A cool guitar riff takes us to a mixed meter chorus. The next verse/chorus is in 7-4. At 3:00 though, we get whacky! The song goes into cut-time and it almost sounds like a slower polka with a tuba. The guitar plays a tune and the piano has some nice jazzy chords. A set of power chords brings us back out at 3:45. The music gets very dramatic and the voices (or synth voices) sound like a choir. The 7-4 groove returns for a chorus with nice lead guitar lines over the top. The polka beat returns at around 4:40. There is a tight little riff that ends the song on a sustained chord. I didn't see that middle part coming! Cool track!

Track 6 - Only for Me

This is one of 4 short songs on the second half of the album. It clocks in at 2:39. This begins with similar sound effects to the previous song. A high pitched floaty sound comes in before piano chords begin playing. The vocals have an interesting effect when they enter. There are harmonies, but I'm not sure if they are done through the effects. The song has a very ethereal quality to it. More coastline effects follow. I just checked a map of Sweden and I see that Uppsala, where Hasse is from, is a port city, so he must have grown up with these sounds. Hauntingly beautiful track.

Track 7 - The Yard

This is the second shortest song on the album at 1:46. Sampo Axelsson kicks this one off with a great, upbeat bass riff. Other instruments join in with a unique tone in the synth. I believe this one is an instrumental. I love the groove. Nice drumming from Ola Strandberg. Cool track, wish it was longer!

Track 8 - Searching for the Dark

Hasse leads the instruments in on the words "I just heard the news?" Electric piano is the primary accompaniment. I like the flourish at 45 seconds that ushers in harmony vocals. Clean electric guitar joins in, along with a few lead fills . There is another flourish at 1:55. The rhythm section kicks in with a slow beat at 2:14. There is a slide guitar on this one. At 2:45, what sounds like a mellotron comes in to accompany the wonderful guitar solo. The music is gradually growing in intensity. This one would not be out of place on a FKs album. Brilliant vocals from Hasse. More port sounds continue at the end of the song. Wondering if these past few tracks are meant to be a suite. Great track.

Track 9 - A Sorrowful Mariner

This is the shortest track at only 1:10. An organ and choir sounds begin this one. By 30 seconds there is an organ run into a more rhythmic melody. A nice 16th note run happens at around 45 seconds. And the short track ends with more coastline sounds.

Track 10 - Blind Dog

This one is longer at just over 6 minutes. The first few organ chords immediately remind me of Jon Lord from Deep Purple (may he RIP) and "Space Truckin'" The band comes in with a big blues rock riff. Lovin' this. The vibe is somewhere between Deep Purple and Zep. At around 1:35, the music slows down and chills out. The beat kicks back in about 30 seconds later for the chorus. Hasse is singing very gritty on this one. This song rocks hard. I like the dynamic shift for the guitar solo. Anton Lindsjö is a fine soloist and I love the way he slowly builds this up. At around 4 minutes Kjell Haraldsson takes over on the organ. Hasse comes back in soon after. I like the delicate contrasting bridge sections. This is a great classic hard rock style song. The backing vocals and guitar solo over the vocals near the end are awesome touches. HFMC ROCKS!

Track 11 - All I Wanted to Be (Part 2)

The album has come full circle with the other half of the opening song. It begins with a restatement of the opening guitar part. A big fanfare follows. Anton Lindsjö is really making the guitar scream (in a great way) on this one. Hasse comes in with high notes right off the bat here! By 2 minutes into the song it quiets down to an acoustic guitar and vocal duet.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Brilliant album! Hasse and his "companions" have made some fantastic songs here. The playing was fabulous by all involved and the vocals were exquisite. The songwriting and arranging and production are all top-notch. Lovers of any type of melodic rock music would find something to like here. My only complaint is that some of the songs were too short! Not quite CTTE or DSOTM level but damn good! 4.75 Stars.

Clicked 5 stars even though it it a 4.75, because 4 is too low.