PRIMA MATERIA

On "Prima Materia", Agusa once again prove themselves to be one of the most consistent and canny instrumental prog bands of the 21st century. If you're unfamiliar with their sound, it is centred on lush Hammond organ, jazzy guitars and airy flute melodies. Comparisons to Focus are thus inevitable, but frankly well earned - they may be following in the footsteps of one of the greats, but they're doing so with considerable confidence and apparent ease.

On this, their fifth album, Agusa serve up four chunky slices of retro-prog that radiate with warm 70s style production and old school charm. On a first listen it may melt into the background a little, but if you tune into the subtleties there's plenty to get your teeth into. I also appreciate that the band manage to gently push into uncharted waters here, beyond the safety of their typical psychedelic, jazz and folk influences. Album closer "Så ock på Jorden", for example, brings a good dose of funk to proceedings, and "Ur askan" is one of the only times I've ever heard a prog band convincingly incorporate elements of reggae into a track.

If I were to grasp for a criticism it would be that "Prima Materia" is, for the most part, simply more of the same from Agusa. It's telling that the sections where they broaden their musical scope are the ones that I find most compelling, and my hope is that they continue to experiment and find new sonic avenues to explore. But for now, this is another fine addition to their discography.