TAMMATOYS

Tammatoys is an ambient, progressive, alternative rock metal band.

"I Will Follow." Entrance to Pink Floyd just for 3 notes which have gone around the world, slow and airy rhythm, a few notes also which take me back to the last Coma Rossi, a little OMD or Ultravox in the synth, crystal clear guitar chiseled, solemn air to capture the sound and the reminiscences, good as an intro. "Downfall" is the first of the pieces of more than 10 minutes for a more nervous title, depressive prog metal on one side, ambient on the other and melodic on the 3rd side! Title in two parts with chorus-verse then more symphonic- cold derivation; expressive guitar for a solo, two then three in a row all uphill, in short a 2020 prog monument which doesn't look like much. "Politics" with a start from Vangelis for the vocals, then "The Wall", just the intro since it starts with some good supercharged alternative rock; a frantic pop rhythm, a prog drawer with dark then lit synth, good but without much progressive development. For now 3 songs, 3 different atmospheres!

The 2nd side begins with "The Conflict (part 1)" which melts from the first notes: everything is there, well I'm starting to speak Padawan there, in short the ambient, the sound effects, everything to pleasantly panic us ; well- established atmospheres, rises, new wave pop climates, a voice à la Brian Ferry, the atmosphere passes over a nervous metal riff, oriental sound, progressive drift in the term, percussions which get involved, the solo of enjoyable guitar; halfway through you enter "The Wall", you close your eyes, a few moments later, it's Borsalino who arrives, it rises then you will dream of "Kashmir", it hits the drums, it scratches on the strings, immensely accurate and above all innovative. "Time" concludes with a very gentle title, a ballad bordering on spleen, a melancholy but fresh atmospheric line, a voice like Nicolas Dewez from Light Damage or Midge Ure which reminds us that new wave is always a breeding ground for progressive sounds; a piece that rises slowly to better recover, a well-placed title which provides a moment of serenity, of appeasement until the end with these numbers still thrown.(4.5)

TAMMATOYS is another band from Norway totally new to me which has offered a new challenging album in 2020. But they aren't newcomer at alI in a strict sense, since already founded about 20 years ago. In the early years the crew could record two EP's, but then went on a long hiatus. Now Kjetil Bergseth and Øystein Utby are back again with an updated line up consisting of six musicians. What is a bit unusual somehow, besides bass player Utby they are having three regular guitarists aboard actually. Plus lead singer and keyboarder Bergseth, who handles the acoustic version on top of that. Therefore, in the consequence, one might expect a guitar dominated output for sure. Though it's all nicely balanced, due to diverse mellotron respectively synthesizer layers. Oftenly coming close to orchestral strings, as for that a strong symphonic respectively neo progressive orientation is to state.

The usage of diverse samples comes as another band trademark then. And some typical nordic melancholy won't be missed too. Just a side note, the vocals are not the strongest point on this occasion. Outstanding tracks are the cinematic title track and Downfall, both at, respectively beyond the 10 minutes playing time. The latter telling an accusative story which is dealing with the usage of military drones. I would say their music evolves based on diverse influences coming from such prog flagships like Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis and Porcupine Tree. No problem, as long as it is not a simple copy-cat case. And when the compositions are able to convince, are showcasing a unique band flavour in one way or another. It definitely is a worthwhile attempt to check this. 3.5 stars on the PA scale.

Safe and Stately

No Rough Edges

TAMMATOYS is a Norwegian septet founded in 1999; this is their third release- two EP's preceded this, their first full- length album.

Current members are Kjetil Bergseth - Vocals, acoustic guitars, keyboards; Øystein Utby - Bass; Ragnar Utby - Guitars; Simon Dolmen Bergseth - Guitars; Bjørn David Dolmen - Guitars; and Martin Utby - Drums. Guest: Ørnulv Brun Snortheim - Guitars on "I Will Follow".

Good, Not Great

I wanted to like this album, and symphonic progressive rock is one of my personal sweet spots. "Conflicts" is certainly a timely topic, and from what I could catch of the lyrics (I still don't get why lyrics aren't made readily available to listeners), this album was somewhat conceptual:

War is bad, there are innocent victims, there is insanity, and those who wage war hide behind those they put in harm's way.

At least I THINK that's what I was hearing.

Plenty of Keyboards

Again, one of my personal sweet spots- the growling Hammond organ, synthesizer leads, string sounds, bass pedals, lush walls of sound.

Keyboards were utilized throughout.

Great Rhythm Section

I thought this was a highlight- those solid, commanding drums; that punchy, full bass guitar, and how these two worked together. Definitely a foundation and platform was created, upon which to build the edifices of these tracks.

Tasty, Not Flashy Guitar Work

There were many textures and tones utilized, and melodic leads, violin-effect guitar sounds, chiming chords. A few times, there were some fairly potent power chords. Frankly, I wanted more.

Vocals

One of the weak spots, at least to my ears- adequate, not distinguished, not commanding. Good uses of harmony.

Compositions

Several average length, and several longer tracks- another sweet spot for me, since I enjoy twists and turns, changes in tempo and mood, a chance for a band to stretch out and develop themes.

There were several outstanding, elegiac, classical-tinged symphonic sections- but too few.

So What's The Problem, Dude?

No edge. No fire. Nothing to grip the heart and move the soul or the body. Sometimes the compositions seemed stitched together, as if to say "let's make this a ten minute track, so let's go here," rather than developing a coherent theme that needs time to grow.

I'm not really a fan of sound effects either, and the use of battle sounds, or radio transmissions has been done to death. Perhaps had I had access to lyrics I'd have made more sense of these additions.

So...

For me, this album is 'good, not great', 'safe and stately', and unfortunately, 'no rough edges'- all of which I hope can be added for future albums from TAMMATOYS.

I rate this three safe, stately stars, "Good, but non-essential".