THE GREAT BEYOND

Danish composer and musician Lars BOUTRUP has been releasing solo albums since 2005, in addition to being involved in various rock bands and composing music for other arenas from what I understand. "The Great Beyond" dates back to the spring of 2020, is the fourth album by Lars Boutrup's Music for keyboards, and was released through Danish label Ex'cess Records.

Instrumental albums where one instrument is given a clear dominating presence isn't a creation that will ever have a vast and broad appeal, not even in a progressive rock context. But those who love and treasure such creations should find this most recent album by Boutrup to be an interesting one, and then especially those who have a strong affection for such bands being a trio consisting of a bassist, a drummer and a keyboard player. A certain affection for music of this kind to explore landscapes that also appears to look beyond the 1970's for inspiration will probably be useful though, and a taste for expressive keyboard performances can be noted down as needed.

This is a new name to me, although Boutrup has been active in the scene for quite some time, and then formed this band 15 years ago. I also cannot think of another group where they put their musical style into the name, so even someone coming across these for the first time would know not only who the band leader was, but also what instrument he played. This is their fourth album, and they have had a fairly stable line-up during that time although drummer Fredrik Sunesen, who had been there since the debut, has now been replaced with Spike Nior while long-time bassist Niels W. Knudsen is still involved.

As one can surmise from the title, here we have an instrumental progressive rock trio where the rhythm section set the foundation which then allows for layers of symphonic keyboards. The issue for me is a lack of consistency, as although there are times when the music is pulsating, driving and dominant there are others when it is meandering and looking for ideas. During "Dripping Cycles" I found myself wondering how much longer the song had to do, and not in a good way, which is not something a listener wants. This then led me to find more and more flaws in the album, which part of me felt were unjustified on my part, whereas I also felt annoyed that some of the promise and style just didn't live up to my expectations. There are also far too many times when the drums appear programmed and not nearly vibrant enough, and the result was for me an opportunity missed.