WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS

MEER revelation of new prog in 2021; fresh sounds of symphonic, classical, innovative and complex rock. A captivating and astonishing music.

"Chains of Changes" seems to pick up where the previous album left off: a piano, an evanescent synth, an ambient western guitar air; amplification of the sounds and the fraternal vocal duo gets going telling their story about the crisis of peoples; the tempo is set, the typical choirs are helped by the orchestration with the BANKS break; velvety, invasive like a pure product of new prog pop rock. "Behave" muffled bass accompanying Knut on a tune by TEARS FOR FEARS; piece featuring the vocals supported by the violins, the guitar bringing a powerful revisited 80s sound; the break development gives pride of place to the orchestration before the apoplectic finale. "Take Me to the River" monolithic morning piano, ethereal vocal duo smelling of LEPROUS, on a vintage folk air also leaning towards WOBBLER, full of sensitivity; the break with the string instruments and the Genesis air on a powerful, orgasmic and bucolic sound, easy and intense; finale on the church organ recalling the works of YES. "Come to Light" bis repetita with this redundant ambient air, simplicity of the piano, of the voices; a musical sweetness, a candy of notes, the melancholic violin helps to regress, the explosion of the choirs seeming to come from the ether; piano latency and pads which launch into the grand optimistic finale with this grandiloquent, shivering chorus. "Golden Circle" begins dream pop par excellence, melting pot of SIMPLE MINDS, BRONSKI BEAT, EURYTHMICS; a wild pop disco rhythm with the guitar with a jerky riff bringing back to contemporary rock; the sound settles with the velvety voice. "To What End?" minimalist atmosphere, latent on a fruity pop; we talk about Eden, freedom, end of war; the rhythmic base syncopates the air making the piece swell with the choirs drowned in the violins, a real osmosis sound-voice-rhythm that screams like a powerful call; the strings decline on a languorous climate proven progressive; return to the redundant finale that can shock by its similarity.

"Today Tonight Tomorrow" with Knut on the piano arpeggio; a melancholic nursery rhyme amplified by delicate notes of the piano and violins; a little XTC, NO-MAN for a solemn, sad, moving exploration defying the conception of the prog drawer; Eivind's guitar solo supported by epic strings as desired. "World of Wonder" for the piano interlude with marked notes; ethereal choirs from a world of wonders, restorative cinematic moment introducing "Mother" with the plaintive vocal duet, ode to the Mother, the instruments imprinting a divine aura; an intoxicating lullaby tune, in the lineage of the BEATLES for this melancholic piece with its dazzling beauty, a pregnant oxymoron. "Something in the Water" pleasantly reminds me of 'Playing House' and its dark melancholic side; evolution of the timbre with keyboards and violins very present; the drums imprint an atmosphere of military march, the sound swells; the aggressive lyrics on our inability to recharge our batteries, Johanne brings out her grumpy voice to warn us one last time. "This is the End" by the DOORS, no the metronomic piano refers to the djent of HAKEN, the flight of symphonic strings assists the heavy electric guitar; Johanne then Knut in an intense duet that can disturb and this heady, sulfurous zeppelinian guitar. The crystalline piano arpeggio, the sweetness of the wandering of the spleen break, a contemplative moment before the orchestral finale, a mixture of tumult and riff coming from the orchestra as a whole; hope of a new flight.

Original review on Profil prog(4.5). Just, someone who puts a star really doesn't understand anything about music for info!

These fairly recent newcomers to the Prog Scene display their unremitting growth and fearless instincts to explore styles and sounds that they'd not expressed before on this their third studio album release since 2015.

1. "Chains of Changes "(6:20) the confidence and ambivalence of the long-held opening keyboard chord of this song conveys a lot about the growth and state of increasing maturity of the band as a whole as well as of the brother and sister team in its leadership role. The song then bursts into a fairly standard-feeling crossover symphonic song in order to convey a rather compelling wish for "the good old days." Adequate power vocals from Johanne-Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal in the lead position. (8.75/10)

2. "Behave" (5:48) great sound texture with deep bass below and the power of THE REASONING or PURE REASON REVOLUTION in the choruses. Knut Kippersund Nesdal does a great job in the lead singing role while Johanne- Margrethe is even better in the background second lead position. The instrumental passage filling the fourth minute is replete with tons of potential energy, which is then realized with the wonderful final chorus. (9.3333/10)

3. "Take Me to the River" (5:05) Not the Al Green/Talking Heads song. Instead, this is a pretty and steady song with lots of space. There's almost a GEORGE MICHAEL quality to the opening piano as well as to Knut's breathy-lead male vocal performance (not so much his work on the background vocals). In the beginning of the fourth minute there is a slight pause before a guitar riff starts up that sucks the rest of the band into a high speed instrumental chase to the rest of the song. It sounds a bit like TOTO with The Brothers Johnson's famous riff from "Strawberry Letter 23" set to Ben Morley's bombastic orchestra arrangements. Nice! (8.875/10)

4. "Come to Light" (5:08) a finely crafted pop song that sounds a bit like TOTO's "Africa" in the start. Johanne- Margrethe enters singing in a very delicate, almost passive torch song vocal while the pop music instrumentation supports. Nice piano and multiple voice buildup in the third minute before more Toto chords and orchestra build for a bombastic Broadway musical choral vocal return at 3:25 (to the end). (8.75/10)

5. "Golden Circle" (4:34) plucked electric guitar chords open this one before the rock band jumps in, creating a weirdly awkward MYRATH-like kind of prog metal. Knut and Johanne-Margrethe sing the vocals side-by-side giving it a PURE REASON REVOLUTION or THE REASONING familiarity. The MYRATH synths and pulsing metal rhythm track continues to flourish beneath the powerful performances of the vocal sibling tandem. (8.875/10)

6. "To What End?" (5:34) fine BENT KNEE-like composition that draws one in from the opening notes and keeps you hooked in. Johanne-Margrethe really shows her skills as a power belter in the chorus sections. Definitely a favorite. (9/10)

7. "Today Tonight Tomorrow" (6:04) a great character showpiece for Knut as if from a huge hit Broadway musical. The comparisons I've read to Leprous' Einar Solberg and Britain's That Joe Payne are not unfounded. One of my top three songs. (9.25/10)

8. "World of Wonder" (1:32) a kind of orchestrated continuation of the previous song but adding nothing new or different (except for taking up space). (4.375/5)

9. "Mother" (5:32) again an orchestrated song for Knut to sing in his theatric form something with very tender emotion. It's not until 1:54 that bass and guitars enter and take over giving the song a very MICE ON STILTS-like sound. Johanne-Margrethe does a great job duplicating Knut's singing, a performance that cries out to be called co-lead vocal if not a duet. It's as if BEN MORLEY and COURTNEY SWAIN joined forces. Powerful. (8.875/10)

10. "Something in the Water" (5:42) opens like a prime early BENT KNEE symphonic wonder, complete with the marvellously-nuanced Courtney Swain-like lead vocal from Johanne-Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal, violins, power chords, and male background vocals. The music builds in the second half to heights crying out "Prog Metal"--very similar to Denver's OK GOODNIGHT and SOUL ENEMA/SCARDUST's Noa Gruman. Great performance from Johanne- Margrethe. (9/10)

11. "This Is the End" (9:32) heavy and metallic but very simple with vocals almost sounding forced. Again bands like MYRATH, ORPHANED LAND, SOUL ENEMA, and SCARDUST come to mind. (17.625/20)

Total Time 60:51

the craftsmanship is top notch it's just that the musical intention and goals are sometimes unclear (more uniquely their own but less proggy than their previous works). Both Johanne-Margrethe and Knut Kippersund Nesdal have really come into their own power as vocalists--and their work together is every bit as good as their individual performances.

B+/4.5 stars; Though this near-masterpiece of an album does not evoke the excitement and praises I'v e felt for Meer's previous albums, I do like and appreciate the growth these artists have achieved and I definitely support and commend the direction they've chosen. Highly recommended.

This unique 8-member Norwegian Symphonic progressive pop collective has delivered a strong and powerful follow-up to their wonderful previous album, Playing House (2021), as this is bigger and bolder, more emotional, dramatic, and theatrical, as well as with more Prog elements than the prior album. Led by the brother-sister vocal duo of Knut and Johanne-Magrete Kippersund Nesdal and a large supporting cast of multi-instrumentalists (including violin, viola, guitars, keyboards, etc), they have big bold songs with great vocals from the siblings and big pop orchestral arrangements. Powerful, melodic, and impressive throughout, although my one main complaint about the album is that there is a bit too much sameness in the style and approach from song to song (not as much variety and diversity as the previous album), as they all basically start out softly with melodic themes and then build throughout the song to a big dramatic (and usually orchestral) conclusion (sometimes featuring somewhat overwrought vocals). Although this works extremely well for most songs, in some cases it is just too much and the songs would have worked better if they had remained more understated and gentle, and this would have helped the overall feel and flow of the album, as it is just sometimes a bit too much, and this also would have made the concluding powerhouse songs more effective, instead of just more of the same. So, although a great band with a great sound and some great songs here, and an overall very strong album, at least for me, I still prefer the previous album over this one. Best Tracks: Chains of Changes, Come To Light, Today Tonight Tomorrow, Take Me to the River, Something in the Water. Rating: 3.5