The debut by the young cousins Sondre and Bastian Veland was discussed on these page not so long ago. But that was a re-release from their 2012 self released album. So while their follow up seems quick, in reality they had a couple of years to work on it. But that does not take anything away from this album. It is meant as a concept, both in storytelling as in music. That is why it is also meant to be played as a whole. Besides the 2 Velands playing all instruments and singing, there are guest appearances by Erlend Furuset Jenssen on sax and Karin Mäkiranta on vocals.
And while I already was impressed by the Mantlepiece album, this goes a few steps beyond and totally belies the age of the gents. Truly progressive in approach and execution, using any style necessary to get the message across, this has turned out to be an amazing album. And again, it are the songs that do it for me. The melancholy never is far away, resulting in songs that range from dreamy to fierce albeit without ever getting really heavy. But the richness and freshness of these songs is awe inspiring. The fact that they are also not afraid to experiment with production tricks really is the icing on the cake. Call them the bastard children of Steven Wilson, call them what you like, but I think anyone serious about progressive rock should get this album.
I predict that everyone who gives it a listen, will fall in love with it!
