THERE ARE NO ORDINARY MOMENTS

Keeping prog rock relevant in Minneapolis since 2012, this four piece who became instrumental because the singer didn't show up to rehearsals has been cranking it out and turning it up for over a decade now and returns in 2024 four years after 2020's "StarStuff." Lucky to keep the exact same lineup of Rikki Davenport (drums, percussion), Kyle Lund (bass), Mark Ilaug (guitar) and Chris Malmgren (keyboards) for 12 years now, OVRFWRD is back with its fifth studio album THERE ARE NO ORDINARY MOMENTS. This album is the band's longest yet and features 10 tracks that add up to over 68 minutes of playing time.

THERE ARE NO ORDINARY MOMENTS pretty much follows in the footsteps of the band's previous canon with knotty instrumental rockers that offer a series of twists and turns usually culminating in energetic guitar solos accompanied by dynamic keyboard runs and the relentless rhythm section of the bass and drums. The band's general mix of jazz, classical and prog is on full display once again with another set of competent tracks that take you on an instrumental journey of a never-ending rotisserie of timbres, tones and stylistic shifts. From mellow yellow to heavier energetic deliveries, the album is fairly consistent in keeping things from stagnating.

While nearly 70 minutes of playing time for an album usually makes me run the other way my desire to review newer music has me checking out albums i probably otherwise would avoid and while perhaps the album could've been edited a bit, THERE ARE NO ORDINARY MOMENTS never seems like it misses a beat or indulges in musical ennui. Somehow this band is adept in crafting various tracks that while firmly in the same camp, differ enough to keep it all interesting. The music is dramatic and boldly drifts through moments of jazzy segments to piano driven prog and then to heavier rock that is just shy of metal. The retro aspects are in the forefront with heavy doses of mellotron and nods to bands like King Crimson and other master instrumentalists of the past but OVRFWRD has developed its own style and therefore stands on its own in the less treaded avenue of all-instrumental prog.

While most tracks are on the shorter side of under five minutes, a few are over eight and the 12 1/2 minute "Eyota" wins for being the longest. This track features the most dynamic shifts of any album with an almost Rachmaninoff playing style of the piano, the most complex on the entire album with more thematic changes than the rest of the lot. Overall OVRFWRD has delivered an excellent playlist of beautifully designed instrumental tracks on THERE ARE NO ORDINARY MOMENTS. The beauty of this album is all about control and OVRFWRD takes special precaution not to let any particular style to drift too far in any particular direction. The musical styles while diverse are tightly reigned in to craft an hour plus' worth of stellar atmospheric prog with heavy moments. Special kudos to the keyboard playing as his ability clearly is on a completely different level.

Typically this style of prog played for this much time would leave me bored to tears but OVERFWRD has mastered the art of subtle melodic flow with all the instruments achieving a complete unity that allows any particular line to create the perfect musical flow where it needs to be. The music isn't rushed therefore it's a rather relaxing album especially with the soft pacifying atmospheric backdrops and even when the guitars get all fiery on ya, there's still an underlying chill to the entire experience. Definitely a unique band that doesn't seem to be on par with many out there and while instrumental prog outside of the more knotty angularities of avant-prog is rarely my bailiwick, i have to surrender to the irresistible charm that OVRFWRD has dished on THERE ARE NO ORDINARY MOMENTS.