PAST THE EVENING SUN

Ring Van Möbius is one of the many new Norwegian retro-prog bands, a category that has been becoming more prevalent in many prog rock rankings and end-of-the-year-lists. Much like other similar acts (like Wobbler or Arabs in Aspic), RVM showcase a strong affinity for 70s classic prog, more specifically Pawn Hearts-era VdGG or early ELP. And they do like to wear their influences on their sleeves!

'Past the Evening Sun' is the band's first proper studio album, released in 2018, featuring the core three members playing respectively keys, drums, and bass guitar, with a guest player on the saxophone, a key instrument in this album. And much like the two classic 70s bands mentioned above, RVM do not use any guitars, which is cool! The record opens up with the nearly 22-minute multi-part epic 'Past the Evening Sun', a rampant exploration of the band members' Van der Graaf Generator lucid dreams, incorporating some hypnotic psych-prog patterns, with a tasty and memorable main riff that could have easily served as the main album theme. Unfortunately, this main riff is only used here. Next up is the shorter track 'End of Greatness', a more mellow and less explosive piece that once again strongly reminisces something like 'After the Flood' or 'Take a Pebble'. Finally, there is the 12-minute composition of 'Chasing the Horizon', a psychedelic trip that tries to recapture the spark of the main album piece, the title track, but turns out to be much more forgettable.

The album is good but it's nothing like the records serving as its blueprint. The vocals I would not highlight as particularly strong, while the keyboard works and the sax parts are especially tasty, most often in track one. The band follows the example of many other contemporary artists of trying to entirely imitate some classic retro bands, but the end results are rarely too exciting because many of these bands get lost in the exercise, and hardly manage to present their own musical personality. Unlike acts like The Flower Kings or Spock's Beard, to give examples of bands that have a distinct personality despite the music they play. A fine album, well played and nicely composed, but nothing too special by today's standards.