HINTERLAND

WOW! Man . this is the kind of music I really enjoy! Yeah, you may want to check my review on Anekdoten that I really enjoy all of their albums especially "From Within". Why Anekdoten? Because the music offered by WOBBLER is pretty similar with what Anekdoten offers even though I do not claim any sense of plagiarism. No, not at all. All of them are in the vein of early King Crimson music. Wobbler gives a taste of symphonic combined with a bit of avant garde even though still in "accessible" boundary. I kept smiling when I listened to this album - especially "Hinterland" epic track - at the first spin because finally I got the right album to enjoy. No wonder, this debut album is in Progarchives Top 5 albums of Year 2005. They deserved it.

"Hinterland" is a strong debut album that took the prog music industry by surprise. It's true their music is not original and heavily influenced by its predecessor prog bands like Anekdoten, Anglagard, Sinkadus and early proggers like Genesis, King Crimson and Gentle Giant. The unique thing about the band is that their music does not sound like any of early prog bands but it's close to Anekdoten, Sinkadus and Anglagard.

The opening epic - after short opener of "Serenade for 1652" (:41) - which is the album title track "Hinterland" (27:46) was I thought would be a boring one looking at the duration. But I don't have that kind of feeling when I first listened to it and repeated many times. The music flows wonderfully with many style changes as well as tempo changes. In each segment the band crafts the music in such a way that each instrument, be it guitars, mellotron, or flute plays its part in such a distinctive way. AT the beginning the music resembles Anglagard and Anekdoten. But the next segments especially those with flute remind me to Sinkadus music. It's so touchy. Some parts remind me to the fast tempo part of King Crimson's "21st Century of Schizoid Man" around minute 18-20.

"Rubato Industry" (12:44) starts off with a combined works of guitarist Morten Andreas Eriksen and keyboardist Lars Fredrik Frøislie. It sounds like Anekdoten with mellotron packed sounds and keyboard sounds. The music moves into a bit complex arrangements with King Crimson style. The song is a wonderful adventure with some paradoxes stemming from different sounds of keyboards, guitars augmented with bass and synthesizer solo. It's a beautifully crafted song.

The album concludes with an instrumental "Clair Obscur", which sounds like Änglagård's with complex composition. The band positions this track at the end of the album with an intention - I think - to give an impression to the listeners that this is the culmination of their hard work in composing the music they offer.

I agree, there is nothing new you hear with this album as most the music style and approach, I'm sure you have ever heard before. However it's a very enjoyable album at least it fits my personal taste. If you enjoy King Crimson, Anekdoten or Anglagard it's most likely that you would favor this album. It's an excellent addition to any prog music and it's one of best releases of the Year 2005. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW