HYPNAGOGIA

Always difficult to give a detailed opinion when a group claims to be of the "experimental" genre, a term which means everything and says nothing... However, this is the niche chosen by the Scandinavians of PIXIE NINJA with their third album (after 2017 and 2020). The founding duo of 2015 Jostein HAUGEN and Marius LEIRANES is still in place and the omnipotent but remarkable Mattias OLSSON is still behind the barrels.

We are therefore dealing with a totally instrumental and particularly adventurous opus, "Hypnagogia" describes the transitional state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleep, a tortuous subject which fits perfectly with the music. When listening to this album, you will have to be extremely concentrated, fortunately I would say it only lasts forty minutes...some tracks are nevertheless more accessible than others.

The inaugural piece "Thanatosis" is the most exciting probably thanks to the grace of Jorgen MUNKEBY's saxophone which softens it considerably, it is very cinematic music which will not leave you indifferent, to make it short I would say that PIXIE NINJA only resembles 'to PIXIE NINJA on this particular track. "Silver Paper Unicorns" is lighter, more lyrical too, with a main theme that is easy to memorize, which I really like. ''Dance Macabre'' is aptly named, the percussive work of Mattias OLSSON is at its peak here, it is he who carries and propels the piece towards the upper echelons of progressive music, the term experimental takes on its full meaning here. ...it's still listenable, don't worry. "Ora Antarctica" which follows, sounds like a tribute to our planet and to the decline that is looming on the horizon, a piece apart because it is relatively calm. The concluding piece "Oneironaut" wanders from the northern mists to the desert confines of another undetermined place on Earth, also very adventurous, not to be put between everyone's ears, in all sincerity it is necessary to follow, it is seriously disturbing in the like......until 4:50 it flows slowly, after...

I didn't like "Pandaemomium" fortunately less than three minutes, a bit messy nor "Alpha Waves" in the same register but unfortunately much longer....

Avoid listening on a depressed evening!