FRÅN EN PLATS DU EJ KAN SE

Från En Plats Du Ej Kan Se ( From a Spot that You can´t see) is Swedish band Beardfish debut album. It´s a retro prog rock album with that special Swedish touch that a band like The Flower Kings also posses. Beardfish is a bit more simple in their approach to the genre that the elaborate compositions of The Flower Kings. This doesn´t make them any less exciting though. There are both songs that are sung in Swedish and songs that are sung in English on Från En Plats Du Ej Kan Se. This might be confusing to some and it´s of course an aquired taste if you can appreciate the Swedish lyrics. As I am a Dane this is not a problem to me. In fact I think the Swedish lyrics are rather charming and brings something different to the sound of Beardfish.

The music is as mentioned retro prog rock with lots of organ and other vintage keyboard sounds while the guitars mainly play seventies hard rock riffs. There are more subtle moments too though. There are a few more modern sounds in the songs which reminds me just a bit about Pain of Salvation. The two bands are very different though. It´s only glimpses. There is a reggae part in the song A Good Excuse but other than that most riffs could have been on any seventies prog rock album. With retro prog rock albums it´s alfa omega that the compositions work and that the band are well playing and to this I can only add that yes this works perfect. I think it´s a really enjoyable album. I am never bored, as there are lots of different parts in each song to keep it exciting. The singer/ guitarist/ keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom has a very strong voice and he can sing in many different styles. One of the great features in Beardfish music is that there are two guitarists which is very evident at times. They compliment each other well. This is really excellent retro prog rock IMO.

The musicianship is very good on Från En Plats Du Ej Kan Se and especially Rikard Sjöblom stands out as being an excellent musician.

The production is very good which is a typical feature on Swedish prog rock releases. They know how to make music sound good those Swedes.

I know it´s an aquired taste if you like retro prog rock and yes there is nothing new on Från En Plats Du Ej Kan Se that I haven´t heard before, but the music is excellent and very well composed so I´m gonna give this on a small 4 star rating. To the seventies prog rock purists this is of course blasphemi but this album is recommendable to anyone else who likes good music now matter when it is made.