UNDERJORDISK TUSMØRKE

Ian Anderson playing with The Moody Blues. Richard Sinclair palying with Genesis. Arthur Brown playing with early King Crimson. Camel playing Canterbury. Imagine those combinations and you get a feel for the songs coming from this album. A Richard Sinclair-like vocalist singing over the presence of flutes, Hammond organ, and a kind of militaristic early-Genesis-/Michael Giles-like drumming--it all connotes "retro!" Though Tusmørke has done quite an admirable job blending the styles and sounds of earliest prog rock, they have, IMHO, fallen a bit short in terms of "meat" or, rather, substance. There's just not enough interesting, engaging, mind-blowing new music here to keep the listener coming back.

What follows are my impressions of where these songs sound like they originate as well as my usual ratings.

1. "FImbul" (6:29) JETHRO TULL (6/10)

2. "Watching the Moon Sail out of the " (5:59) CARAVAN + GENESIS (7/10)

3. "The Quintessence of Elements" (7:53) early KING CRIMSON + ARTHUR BROWN (7/10)

4. "A Young Man and His Woman" (5:00) ARTHUR BROWN + J TULL (7/10)

5. "A Nightmare's Just a Dream" (7:39) J TULL + MOODY BLUES (7/10)

6. "Hostjevndogn" (7:50) (sung in Swedish) BLACK SABBATH (7/10)

7. "Salomonsens Hage" (5:03) (sung in Swedish) in the second half we get some Hackett-like volume controlled electric guitar. (7/10)

8. "Singers & Swallows" (4:16) CAMEL + CARAVAN with a J TULL ending. (8/10)

9. "Ode on Dawn" (17:28) Is almost embarrassing. Did the group compose and record this one on their first day together? Back in sixth grade? (5/10)

Excellent recreation of many key sounds from the dawn of prog rock--and all composed and performed at a very high level of competency. What seems to be lacking, however, is within each song there is not enough variation and development, the songs seem to plod along far too long without really exciting or hooking the listener in. There is excellent clarity of all instruments, great players all, but the soloing (or lack of) coupled with interminable repetition tend make the songs grow old quickly. The music throughout lacks those emotional, adrenaline-pumping soli, dynamic key and tempo changes that make us want to come back. However, this is a band I will watch: They could mature to the next level in which they could produce something enduring and original. Talented ears, talented instrumentalists, ambitious composers. Keep on progging!