ANGLING FEELINGS

Angling Feelings has been one of the most pleasant surprises in my personal experience of contemporary progressive rock development. It is one of those albums you may keep returning to it without fear it will leave you with indifference and disappointment. My first contact with Kaipa was through 'Notes from the Past' - not a bad album, but far from making me interested and attracted to Kaipa's music. Fortunately, a friend offered me Angling Feelings and it totally changed my perception not only of Kaipa, but of the whole potential of recent progressive rock production. I have suddenly become interested in FK, Spock's Beard, Karmakanic, The Tangent and lots of other new stuff. This may sound strange, but I strongly believe that one of the major reasons of Angling Feelings' unique quality is the absence of Roine Stolt - a very good guitar player but a man whose pretensions overcome his musical capabilities. On the other hand, the extraordinary voice of Aleena Gibson is one of those distinctive elements which make the album so outstanding. Keyboard and guitar work (Lundin and Nilsson) are also very good and inspiring. The album has a strong rhythmic component, very energetic and progressive, even psychedelic in moments, with dramatic and unexpected shifts, beautiful melodies and atmospheric perspectives. Typical examples: Path of Humbleness and The Fleeting Existence of Time. Angling Feelings is flawlessly produced. The listening deserves relevant equipment. More than four stars.