LIQUID SCARLET

Following the steps of ANEKDOTEN and LANDBERK,LIQUID SCARLET are a new Swedish act,formed in mid-90's in the small city of Kalix in northern Sweden.Covering songs of famous artists,the band initially featured a female vocalist and a smooth sound,before getting more progressive on the way to the new millenium.2000 finally finds the band with a stable new line-up and after a great number of shows in their country and a few demo tapes,LIQUID SCARLET signed with Progress Records.2004 sees them releasing their eponymous debut after several delays.

STYLE: Contemporary progressive rock with strong roots in the 70's is the exact description for LIQUID SCARLET.I think an experienced ear could bet that they come from Sweden due to this strong Scandinavian flavor and sometimes dark atmosphere of the music.On the other side,the vocal lines are excellent,quite melodic yet very soft.The musicianship actually alternates between guitar-driven intricate instrumental parts,calmer electric passages with a symphonic taste and vocal-based acoustic stuff with Swedish Folk touches.All this material is supported by heavy mellotron waves,which are the band's biggest ace along with the alternating guitars.

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: The tracks differ so much,but every one of them has a recognizable approach.So from the dominating ANEKDOTEN/KING CRIMSON adventure and the harmonic symphonicism of GENESIS/YES,the band jumps to the modern face of RADIOHEAD,the psychedelic nature of PINK FLOYD and the Scandinavian Folk tradition.

PLUS: Fantastic vintage use of mellotron with nostalgic undertones.Carefully arranged vocals with beautiful harmonies.Varied musicianship where the band succeeds to play well every style.Fine changing moods between more intricate/less melodic material and more relaxed arrangements with folk and jazzy touches.

MINUS: Not an obvious one actually.Only that all tracks are really great but I can't find a real stunner to make my day.

WILL APPEAL TO: Fans of contemporary progressive rock as well as old-fashioned lovers of KING CRIMSON (mainly),YES,GENESIS,PINK FLOYD.

CONCLUSION/RATING: When I listen to the term ''modern sounding prog'',I usually turn my back.But this time LIQUID SCARLET made me of thinking of it again.Despite the definite modern echoes,the band filtrated amazingly the old sound to toay's standards and came up with one of the best releases of 2004.4 solid stars and highly recommended!