KLOSSA KNAPITATET

Come 1974 and this genuine Swedish group would move on to the recordings of a new album.The destination was clear, the Decibel Studios with Anders Lind as a producer, the title was ''Klossa knapitatet'' and this work was recorded in just three days during November 74'.The artwork was now partly created by Tage Asen (who was responsible also for the cover of ''Maltid'') with the help of Anders Lind and Pelle Engman.The album was released again on Silence Records.

Gone are the discreet symphonic orientations of the debut in the name of an even more adventurous and complex sound with an evident R.I.O. approach, while an increase appears in the humoristic edges of the album, either being some playful tunes or the wordless falsetto vocals of the band.The role of the accordion and the acoustic piano is more dominant and so are the jazzy and folky orientations.The album was structured through some short instrumental introductions and longer, complicated pieces with endless tempo and mood changes, always fronted by a Nordic flavor, main reason setting the band part from other R.I.O.-driven groups of the time.To my ears they sound like a cross between RAGNAROK and GENTLE GIANT in this album, delivering intricate and highly technical musicianship full of sudden breaks, swirling around romantic tunes and jazzy arrangements, highlighted by the monumental accordion performance by Hollmer, a man who definitely introduced the instrument to Prog music.And then there is Apetrea's flawless and schizophenic guitar executions, supported by Hollmer's often atonal piano lines.The music sounds often chaotic, but it has a weird charm with all these twists and turns, listening to the 10-min. ''Liten dialektik'' is enough to understand the band's evolution, passing through Jazz, Folk and Rock themes in a blink of an eye.

An album created for those who dare to listen to frenetic, multi-influenced Rock music.Folky Prog/Jazz Rock with a clever addition of Scandinavian nuances.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.