VISIONS

Norwegian veterans of 18 years and six albums are back for another shot at increasing their fan base. Having really loved their 2018 release, Remedies, with their great sense of haunting melodies, and then after hearing Eav's AMAZING Giant Sky project's album release from earlier in 2021, I was filled with HIGH hopes for this unexpected windfall.

1. "Burning Bridges" (15:02) a song that really never is given a chance to get going--is stop and go for the whole of its first ten minutes! I don't get it! Not even Radiohead or Sigur Rós can get away with this! And then the final five minutes is just too repetitively monotonous despite all of the creative additions (violins, trumpets, flutes) and reminds me more of an average Post Rock song. (24.5/30)

2. "Crystalline" (7:02) the flutes and picked acoustic guitars in the opening 2:30 is a nice change--more like the Indie- Pop/Prog Folkiness of the Giant Sky album--or even ANATHEMA's albums of the 2010s. The lyrics seem like quite a little lament for the loss of the world as it was before COVID-19. I just wish the chordal structure was a little more interesting, not so endlessly repetitive. (Though, I get the inference that the world is building up to a big crescendo and blow up.) (13/15)

3. "Skins Pt. 1" (1:19) nice little post-apocalyptic, post-civilization piano epitaph. (4.25/5)

4. "Kingdom of Color" (9:11) gently picked acoustic guitar matched up with piano are nice. The heavily-treated vocal is annoying (and totally unnecessary?) Drums, bass, and keys come in giving it even more of an Indie-Pop MICE ON STILTS sound and feel. Later, violins are a very cool addition--and the arrangement for the rest of the band improves nicely. At 4:35 the Post Rock Sigur Rós explosion and Jonsí vocal is unleashed. But then everything just drops away and is replaced by an arpeggiated chord sequence picked nylon string guitar joined by piano, bass & drums, flute, and bright strings. Simple gorgeous! And the dénouement finishes with some gorgeous piano chord play. Definitely the high point of the album. (19/20)

5. "Skins Pts. 2-3" (7:23) begins as if a continuation of the previous song but quickly establishes itself as something totally separate (at least, musically). The loose, almost acoustic instrumental arrangement seems but a haphazard and perhaps unsettling background for Eav's message-filled vocal. (It seems to be about the struggles to maintain mental health and healthy relationships during the fear-filled time of the pandemic.) But then it all coalesces into a beautiful, cohesive whole--as an instrumental. Very Pink Floydian. Nice finish to the album. (13.5/15)

Total Time 39:57

B/a solid four stars; an excellent contribution of melodic prog to the Prog lexicon; strongly recommended.