A GIANT'S LULLABY

Finally, complete agreement with our beloved Sean Trane, (I was wondering...) but we sure picked an exquisite band to trumpet, because Kvazar (Quasar in Norwegian) already had a stupendous birth with their first album , an original mix of deft, quirky and intelligent compositions supported by skilled musicians, in particular a brilliant drummer in Kim Lieberknecht, an obvious student of Bill Bruford, Mattias Olsson (Anglagard) and a few others . This highly anticipated sophomore release took a long time but was well worth the effort. Allegedly, the band suffered through crisis upon crisis, erasing all and beginning anew, personnel changes on guitar and bass but all for a very good cause. This album is great, perhaps even a classic prog monument: gorgeous artwork (what a great pic!) , a clean, straight production so typical of the Scandinavian School of Prog, shimmering orchestrations, again featuring savvy usage of the ubiquitous Mellotron , the incorporation of various jazzy tonalities by giving the piano a pool of light , inventive guitar contributions dueling with lots of hot sax (I almost wrote sex!!!) but all kept together by the stupendous percussives of Mr. Lieberknecht. He really deserves a studious ear as another new original phenomenon. Each piece is intrinsically different from the next, a multi-ethnic menu with Gregorian choirs, Arabian motifs, Spanish guitars, medieval mandolins, gritty brass and Scandinavian folk tinges . Never boring or dull, A Giant's Lullaby keeps you constantly on the alert, playing with aural emotions, never quite knowing what will come next. "Sing along Neo prog" this is not. Damn good symph-prog it is. Certainly among my top albums of the last 2 years. I cannot even try to figure out what their next move will be and er... when? This is as close to a unanimous review yet in Progarchives, must be a strong hint to recommend , no? Pentastar rating, hands down. 5 quasars