RESA MOT OKÄNT MÅL

After Mecki Bodemark left Mecki Mark Men to pursue other opportunities Kenny Håkansson took over and reorganized the lineup to match it with the much more Folk Rock inspired music at the time. The band also changed their name to Kebnekaise/Kebnekajse, according to Håkansson he prefers the latter, although traditionally the mountain in northern Lapland is spelled with an "i".

The music on the debut album Resa Mot Okänt Mål (Trip To An Unknown Destination) is a very joyous trip through the outskirts of the Swedish music scene of the time. There might not be any direct stabs at the Swedish Progg movement of the late '60s but the spirit is definitely there on tracks like Tänk På Livet and Kommunisera! that both try to engage the audience in a discussion of some very difficult topics. This trend isn't incorporated throughout the entire album since Jag Älskar Sommaren and the album title-track try to be generally joyous compositions where the former mainly consists of a long jam with the lyrics about singing and dancing repeated all throughout its almost 11 minute running time.

I guess that I'm not really the target audience for this type of material but, even thought, there are a few instances where the band manages to create some really nice prog rock moments. The instrumental tracks like Frestelser I Stan and Förberedelser Till Fest show that Kebnekajse could write some excellent music. Unfortunately these moments are few and far in between which is why I can't award this debut release anything more than a very shaky good, but non-essential album rating.

***** star songs: Frestelser I Stan (4:48)

**** star songs: Orientens Express (2:07) Resa Mot Okänt Mål (7:15) Förberedelser Till Fest (3:37)

*** star songs: Tänk På Livet (5:00) Jag Älskar Sommaren (10:50) Kommunisera! (5:15)