THE CENTURY OF THE SELF

Here is finally the worthy successor to the magnificent 'A Day at the Beach' of 2020. Airbag is back in 5 tracks and 46 minutes with the album 'The Century of the Self'. The Norwegian group further asserts its personality with this album by offering music that appears simple but in which treasures of details are nestled. The style is rather spacey and "Floyd-ian", but it would be simplistic to extract only this component. To give an image, I will compare the group to a kind of sculptor: starting from a very basic raw material (in this case it can be a riff of two notes or three simple chords), the musicians will little by little shape a work by adding a multitude of details for which each sound, each note, each rhythm is perfectly thought out and worked. Of course, appreciating the full dimension of the work will require several listenings in order to become familiar with the structures and appreciate every nook and cranny.

Opening track "Dysphoria" is a perfect example of the band's method for creating an impressive build-up. The basic foundation is made up of a guitar riff of only 3-4 notes, then the drum entry makes us realize that this riff was in fact played off-beat. Well seen. It's very airy, the development really takes its time via the addition of discreet layers of keyboards, then the entry of Asle Tostrup 's vocals , so characteristic, gives a false impression of fragility. The whole thing is completed by some sharp chords from Bjørn Riis' guitar , and the first bass notes only appear after 2'40, giving a new groove to the track. The music gains in thickness until the bridge marked by a bass sound as fat as a duck liver overfed with grain, and a drum rhythm which at a certain moment evokes "Sabotage" of the Beastie boys . At the end of the piece it is again the bass, whose sound has become perfectly round again, which gives a new direction to the title by making it brighter and allowing some guitar incisions.

At this stage, a word on the theme of the album: presenting a less than enthusiastic image of our times, the lyrics evoke the influence of technologies on our lifestyles, cancel culture, the rewriting of personal stories and our dependence to this environment. This is perfectly supported by the music of the group which knows how to develop atmospheres that are sometimes worrying, even depressing, or open to reflection.

"Tyrants and Kings" is carried by a more dynamic approach with a slightly more synthetic sound leading to a particularly effective chorus. Once again, we find remarkable sounds on the bridge, opening the door to a second part which is harmonically enriched until the traditional final guitar solo.

The mood of "Awakening" is given by the acoustic guitar, on which we find the known markers of the Airbag style . A little gem of musical refinement, it is also a call to vigilance, particularly on the chorus ( "Wake up and feel again").

The recipe for musical construction is once again applied on "Erase" which begins with an almost single-note bass plan enriched little by little by the different instruments (note the admirable rhythmic placement), all perfectly served by a high-end production range. The chorus unfortunately seems a little weak to me in comparison with the rest of the album, and that's the only small criticism I can make of the whole record.

For once, it is the drums of Henrik Bergan Fossum which opens the last track "Tear it Down" and its 15 minutes of sumptuous development. The vocals are particularly lively, the keyboard sounds are silky as can be, and the increases in intensity on the chorus are perfect reminders to maintain the dynamic throughout.

There is a fine line between simplicity and ease. In this little game, Airbag comes out with flying colors by offering with 'The Century of the Self' an album which manages to get to the essential, masking a large volume of work under false obviousness and whose repeated listening only reveals shine.

Review originally posted on www.progcritique.com.