SLEEPING IN TRAFFIC - PART TWO

Another highly talented group from Sweden. This land really seems to be place of rebirth of prog. Not only Beardfish reveals ability to associate symphonic sounds and prog music of new millennium on such intelligent way.

Result is a concept album with huge variety of ideas and considerate construction. Every song is a little story with strong lyrics. The narrative voice of Rikard Sjöblom makes the listener curious of the next action and creates an interesting fable for the record. Of course you need some special sense of humor to consider this work as funny and it's not always obvious to understand all the jokes. I would say the sense of humor of the band is as eclectic as their instrumentals.

Anyhow, the strongest point of the band is the instrumental work. I really enjoy the old-sounding keyboard which reminds unforgettable sound of ELP. Gentle Giant influences are also present since the group mentioned them as big inspiration for their activity. There are also various experimental sounds like "Cashflow" which surprise us in many places but overall they are part of the concept and reveal the genius of the band to make music combined of many different styles. This is the strength of Beardfish and a big plus for the album. The work owns a good structure. We are travelling from dusk till dawn and at the end we are pleased with astonishing epic. The 35 minutes track tells another fascinating story. Repeating, catchy sound holds this song together. This is one of the best structured epics of the modern prog. You always know where you are due to characteristic music compositions during this song. You get never bored of it, really memorable work. Beside The Flower Kings this is my favorite of the Swedish bands, because of this unlimited amount of ideas and music creations. Indisputable five star rating for this release.

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