GREEN ASPHALT

The culmination of a 17-year practice and refinement process by Swedish musician/songwriter (and longtime member of the Gentle Giant tribute band, ON REFLECTION), Dan Bornemark. That's a long time to practice and work out all the bugs. Enough time for your children to grow up ? and join the band.

1. "The Green Asphalt" (4:03) a meek environmental commentary delivered over some wonderful Prog Folk music that is quite reminiscent of the sounds and stylings of the great GENTLE GIANT. (9/10)

2. "'Xcuse Me" (6:33) what sounds like a long lost GENTLE GIANT song that carries a very humorous lyric and vocal performance. Absolutely brilliant! Something that could very well have come from the Free Hand album. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are also prominent sounds, themes and motifs borrowed from the realms of Canterbury and "melodic" prog. (9.5/10)

3. "Walking Her Dog" (6:21) quite a nostalgic sound and feel to this one--at times reminding me of BIG BIG TRAIN and JOE COCKER, at others like THE TANGENT and IONA, others GENTLE GIANT and GRYPHON, and even Fredrik Larsson (FREDDEGREDDE) and Damon Waitkus (JACK O' THE CLOCK). It's quite a lovely, melodic, and emotional song with many unexpected stops and starts, shifts and turns, as well as many superlative contributions of individual instrumentalists. Brilliant! There are not too many people making such interesting music as this. (9.25/10)

4. "She's a Cow" (7:17) Some very engaging music over which male and female vocalists (Dan and former band-mate Helena Josefsson, respectively) take turns giving their respective perspectives (human and bovine, respectively) of a life dedicated to being a cog the domestic food industry. Completely delightful--both lyrically and as a musical listening experience. (14.5/15)

5. "Suit Yourself" (6:46) the heaviest, densest, and least melodic and least exciting song on the album is still peppered with all kinds of odd and interesting folk instruments, rock and jazz riffs and bridges, and interesting lyrics. (13/15)

6. "200 Girls" (6:05) one of those songs that begs some questions: Would this be the kind of music The Beatles would have made in the 1970s had they not broken up, and, If The Beatles and Led Zeppelin had ever collaborated would the resulting music sound something like this? (8.75/10)

7. "Time in Your Face" (10:27) such an original and excitingly theatric folk song--as if we're following a troubadour/bard through the woods as he sings his stories--or else a storytelling troupe one might encounter at the annual County Fair. Such refreshingly new constructs and arrangements. (19.25/20)

Total Time 47:32

A band I stumbled upon because the Epileptic Gibbon (Ian Fairholm) featured them in his Top Albums of 2022, Part 2, show (meaning he'd included this in his year-end list somewhere between the numbers of 20 through 11) and because of the Gentle Giant references. As to the latter, I definitely hear the GG style song constructs, riffs, and instrumental choices in several of the songs (but not all) and I definitely understand why EG regards this album with such high praise. Though these are all wonderfully unique, unusual, and refreshing compositions, I'm wondering what they would have sounded like with A) a little better sound engineering (it's not bad, just inconsistent) and B) a younger singer in the role of lead male vocalist.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of eclectic progressive rock music. Definitely an excellent addition to any true prog lover's music collection.