BREAKING THE CIRCLES FOR A WHILE

Nomads of Hope is the new project from progressive music veterans Ingemo Rylander and Johan Hedren, who hail from bands Kultivator and Ur Kaos in their past. Together since the 1970s, the pair have over the years "collected more or less fragmentary ideas of songs, which eventually gave birth to Nomads of Hope. This history explains the mixture of progressive rock, world music, folk music, ancient music and grunge."

This is a very interesting recording that sounds like few others I've heard. At first play I didn't like it but I'm glad I returned to try again later. The album is very intimate sounding with a somewhat eerie, haunting production. Difficult to describe but it is an unusual sound they mine here. The music covers different styles but the base is an avant folk mixture with a wide variety of unusual instruments being employed. Certain moments can remind me of Peter Gabriel at the beginning of "Don't Give Up" before the vocals begin. Vashti Bunyan. Laura Nyro. Happy Rhodes. Joni Mitchell. Pererin. Ragnarok. Samla Mammas Manna. Those are all very complimentary comparisons whose main theme would be complete freedom and an eclectic spirit. Traditional song structure is not employed here but rather a willingness to experiment and a seeming affinity for trance friendly sounds. Often the two musicians seem connected in vision and the mood of the track but are willing to drift in to their own improvisational spaces from time to time, it makes for fascinating repeated play as one hears new things each time. At times it can seem quite sparse and minimalist with two people using acoustic instruments but at other times it can be just opposite, with so many sounds happening all around, it borders on chaotic frenzy. A wide variance of energy levels. The mood of the music is another pleasure in that the material is for the most part relaxing, uplifting, and quite ethereal. While I think the music itself is every bit as interesting as everyone's favorite underground band Comus, it is hugely different in that this is a positive vibe rather than dark one.

This is rather poor review writing on my part because I can't figure out how to articulate this band properly--it drives me nuts when I can't find the right words to describe a sound. But if you enjoy a very unique prog-folk that is not dark, and has some world music flavor, this is really one to check out. Another highlight of 2014 for me. Thank you Nomads for releasing such a beautiful album.

Share this NOMADS OF HOPE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Finnforest
• Report this review (#1316014)
• Buy NOMADS OF HOPE music online with PA partners
• Show all NOMADS OF HOPE MP3/Stream
• Go to NOMADS OF HOPE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Breaking the Circles for a While page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for NOMADS OF HOPE related discussions