FIRE FORTELLINGER

Wobbler is probably one of the most popular modern prog acts right now, especially in the field of retro prog. With five consistently great albums and many more to come, their inventiveness on more symphonic prog textures of Genesis and ELP, with combined elements of Gentle Giant, Renaissance, Anglagard, and Gryphon create a very familiar, yet really unique sound on their part. So, it is great to see their lead vocalist and keyboardist, Lars Fredrik Frøislie, being highly successful in his first solo endeavor of Fire Fortellinger.

While Lars is no stranger to making really stellar music, as he has been involved in numerous bands, his first solo album definitely shows off his talents in a more upfront and personal way, having him being the main musician here with Nikolai Hængsle of Elephant9 helping out on bass.

For what this album is worth, I say it is absolutely stellar. It has two 16 minute epics at the front and back with two smaller 6 minute tracks in between, creating for this really nice order of things in my opinion, but besides that I say all the tracks here are just immaculate.

The music on here, which is definitely shown a lot more in the big epics, are a lot less compositional than what is shown on Wobbler, and while it does have that Wobbler-esque ideals to it, I can say it feels a lot more energetic, with Lars creating these dynamics and improvisational ideas that feel right at home with an early 70s prog venture, though with the high quality production and mixing of the modern day.

I also noticed a bit more focus on the prog folk sounds, notably in the smaller tracks, which both have this sort of Strawbs like feel to them, mixed with a bit of Anthony Philips' The Geese & The Ghost and Harmonium's Les Cinq Saisons being a backing element. All of these different dynamics and moods in Lars' sound really does give this album a very different flavor of symphonic retro prog that I have not quite seen anywhere else in this sphere of music, as most bands usually take a more Yes, or Genesis route, but with Lars he isn't afraid to show his, more or less, lesser known inspirations on his sleeves with this release, and I really appreciate that.

I also love the heavy pastoral flairs on here. Wobbler in themselves were already pastoral as a bed of flowers, but Lars cranks that up to 11, having these moments that feel medieval, epic, and down right agrestic. If he releases an instrumental version of this record, I bet it'd fit really well as background tunes for a lot of DnD sessions.

I do not really think this album has much of any flaws really, maybe some moments of Lars' keyboard might not be as strong as other parts, but even then I feel like even the worst this album could offer is still really good, and for a debut solo album to be of this caliber is honestly a surprise, but definitely a welcome one.

It is honestly really hard to not rank this a five stars, in fact I'd say it is impossible. I really love this record with all my whole heart, with its boundless and energetic symphonic prog dynamics, its multitude of prog folk musical ideologies, and its perfect length and structure, it all becomes this really stellar experience in my book. If you love Wobbler, or just symphonic prog, prog folk, and or retro prog in general, there is no better time than now to check this record. I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed.