FREMMEDE TONER

LUMSK is a Norwegian group which was unknown to me until the publication of this new and fourth album (the first album dates back to 2003) and which offers us a mixture of folk, rock and metal, hence a compulsory membership in so-called progressive music.

Many line up changes since 2003, only three original members remain, Espen WARANKOV GODO on keyboards, Eystein GARBERG on guitars and Espen HAMMER on bass guitar and especially sixteen long years since the release of their previous album in 2007 which fact that for many the formation had indeed disappeared... nay because the recordings of this "Fremmede Toner" began in 2009 but the vicissitudes of everyone's life meant that this fourth album only seems in the spring of 2023. Nevertheless, we must specify that the violinist and the drummer were also present in 2007.

"Fremmede Toner" is the name of a collection of poems by the Norwegian author Andr' BJERKE, poems translated and for some rewritten by poets from all over the world. The singing on the vast majority of the work is in Norwegian which could possibly put off a certain part of our readership, nevertheless the singer Mari KLINGEN is doing overall with honors, the rare male vocals with singing in English are less fascinating (Mathias R. SAMUELSEN childhood friend of Espen, recognized literary authority) as in the eighth title "A Match" (7/10), or the concluding piece "The Day is Done" (8/10), a piece that reminds me of the old incarnation of KAYAK with Edward REEKERS and Cindy OUDSHOORN...the latter nevertheless has an interesting quasi-instrumental second half (remarkable use of the piano) by Espen WARANKOV GODO.

Only two titles exceed eight minutes, all the others oscillate between 2:20 and 6:13 (including six around four minutes). Among these ten titles (I mentioned the two sung in the language of SHAKESPEARE a little higher), the most pleasant for me are the first "Det D'de Barn" (9/10) and its highly symphonic finale, the second "En Harmoni" with its Bushian intro (the "little girl" voice of Mari KLINGEN) which evolves towards a metallic and memorable rhythm (8/10), the fourth "Under Linden" for its violin at midpoint supported by six strings biting and its disheveled conclusion with multiple keyboards (8/10), the sixth "Dagen Er Endt" the pearl of the work if it is necessary to designate one (10/10) of the high level symphonic progressive where everything sounds perfectly ( this violin in the finale! all the octaves must pass there), the seventh "Das Tote Kind" a track with climates that are alternately soft and playful, even energetic, almost metallic in the good sense of the term (9/10), the eleventh " Das Veilchen" too short unfortunately, perhaps for a radio passage? (8/10).

On the other hand, I didn't appreciate the short "Avskjed" which sounds almost "punk" (5/10) nor the too basic and frankly metallic one but in the wrong way.... "Abscheid" (6/10) as well as the tenth title the rocknrolling "Under Der Linden" too sung for my taste (7/10). In general I would have appreciated that certain tracks were more developed, several of them would have deserved a more extensive instrumental treatment, a very good disc nevertheless which will probably have a place in my annual top 15.