Izdavač: Insideout Music
Datum izlaska: 1. 11. 2024.
Produkcija: Beardfish
Trajanje albuma: 57.30 min
Žanr: Progressive Rock
Ocjena: 9.5/10
An English version can be find below – please scroll down the bar
Hrvatska verzija:
Beardfish, švedski progrockovski revitalisti brojnih glazbeno-pustolovnih vrlina, nakon devet godina
privremene ‘hibernacije’ ponovno su među nama, iako su im u međuvremenu sigurno već nekoliko puta pošteno narasle
njihove vikinške brade. Vijest o povratku grupe Beardfish ‘iz mrtvih’ mnoge je sljedbenike njihova lika
i djela pošteno iznenadila, pogotovo jer je poglavar sastava, to jest gitarist/klavijaturist,
pjevač i glavni skladatelj Rikard Sjöblom, u međuvremenu bio pošteno zaposlen djelovanjem u
engleskim progrockovskim veličinama Big Big Train te vlastitim solo projektom Gungfly.
Postava sastava i na “Songs For Beating Hearts” ostaje nepromijenjena (i to već od 2003. godine),
jer Sjöblomu ponovno društvo prave vrhunski gitarist David Zackrisson, dok tradicionalno
eklektičnu ritam sekciju čine basist Robert Hansen i bubnjar Magnus Östgren. Sjöblom je ponovno stvorio
svu glazbu na albumu, a konačni rezultat nova je poslastica za sve ljubitelje eklektičnog prog rocka po
‘starinskom’ receptu. To znači da se i ovaj put povremeno čuju brojni utjecaji prog titana poput
Genesis, Yes i Camel, dok Beardfish svakoj kompoziciji na albumu dodaju osebujan
aranžerski i ambijentalni šarm. Istodobno je zanimljivo da su se ovaj put gotovo posve odrekli raznoraznih,
canterburyjskom scenom nadahnutih trenutaka ekscentričnosti i šegavosti, tipičnih za većinu
njihovih prijašnjih albuma.
“Ecotone” je iznenađujuće spokojan, otužan i akustično obojen uvod u album. Vrlo solidno, no
“Songs For Beating Hearts” zaista se razvije u prekrasnu pustolovinu kroz meandre progrockovske
eklektičnosti tek nakon uvodne četiri minute. Od posve drugačijeg je tijesta od melankoličnog uvoda epski “Out
in the Open”, koji je ‘razlomljen’ na pet dijelova. Spojen bi činio više od dvadesetminutni superep u
pravoj starinskoj progrockovskoj maniri. Tu si Beardish ‘daju oduška’ složenim harmonijama,
slikovitim simfonijskim aranžmanima te pustolovnim vremenskim prijelazima, što znači da album
dobro oživi i ovaj put uistinu zamiriše na one klasične Beardfish, na koje su sljedbenici morali čekati čak
devet godina prije nego što su ‘ustali iz groba’.
Tijekom sekcije “Oblivion” se, ponajprije zahvaljujući višeglasjima, čuju i neki hardrockerski utjecaji predvođeni
sastavom Uriah Heep, dok Sjöblomove ‘orgije’ na klavijaturama pošteno podsjećaju na stare dobre Emerson,
Lake & Palmer. Valja spomenuti da je Sjöblom svoj glazbeni put započeo kao metalac, no kasnije se zagrijao za progresivni rock, pa nije čudno ako se u skladbe grupe Beardfish povremeno
‘prikradu’ i elementi teškog rocka. Na “Hopes and Dreams”, koji ima dosta sličnosti s Yesovim
evergreenom “And You And I”, Zackrisson se preko tužnih pasaža na akustičnoj gitari nakratko pretvara
u Steve Howea iz sedamdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća. Slijedi još eklektičnija i zanimljivija
obnova središnjeg “Oblivion” motiva. Izvrstan dojam koji iza sebe ostavlja novo epsko ostvarenje,
zapečaćuje povremeno gotovo svečana završna sekcija “Around the Bend”.
I 11-minutni mini ep “Beating Hearts” ambiciozno je ostvarenje s naglaskom na gudačkim aranžmanima
te složenim instrumentalnim dionicama među kojima se čuju simfoprogrockovski, jazzovski
i hardrockerski zvučni elementi. Sve to izdašno začinja Sjöblomova odlična pjevačka izvedba. “In
the Autumn”, koji je izašao kao prvi singl s albuma, na dodatnom vokalu ima gostujuću pjevačicu Amandu
Örtenhag. Za razliku od česte prakse ženskih-muških dueta, ne radi se o nekoj slatkastoj ljubavnoj
baladi, nego o još jednom impresivnom simfoprogrockovskom ‘vrtuljku’ s brojnim eklektičnim ritmičkim
nijansama i blagim folk prizvucima. Istodobno, ovaj put, zahvaljujući dodatnom ženskom pjevanju, Beardfish nas više nego
na Yes ili Genesis povremeno podsjećaju na ostavštinu puno ‘ženstvenijih’ prog sastava predvođenih
Renaissance i Curved Air. “Torrential Downpour”, koji sadrži podosta bluesom začinjenih gitarskih
pasaža te nešto blagih elemenata alternativnog rocka, povremeno zvuči kao da su za istim stolom
sjedili The Pineapple Thief, Steven Wilson odnosno Porcupine Tree, Nektar i Deep Purple. Za bonus
skladbu Beardfish su iznova snimili uvodno ostvarenje “Ecotone”, ali u obliku instrumentala s
elektronsko-sintetičkim teksturama na sintisajzerima te produkcijom tipičnom za osamdesete godine
prošlog stoljeća, pa nije čudno da zvuči kao da je snimljena 1982.
“Songs For Beating Hearts” povratak je u epskom stilu za bradate švedske riboljupce (trenutačno
bradu nose sva četvorica članova benda, dok su njihovi hobiji i prehrambene navike manje-više
nepoznanica). Činilo se da će Beardfish na progresivnorockovskoj ‘vremenskoj crti’ zauvijek pripadati prvim dvama desetljećima novog tisućljeća, no razveselili su nas i snimili još jedan izvrstan album, vrijedan njihove
većinom izborne diskografije. “Songs For Beating Hearts” bez sumnje spada među najbolja progrockovska ostvarenja 2024. godine, koja je inače donijela podosta očekivanih i neočekivanih
glazbenih bisera. Barem do izlaska novog albuma njihovih sunarodnjaka, progmetalskih prvaka Opeth, ostat će
i najljepše iznenađenje švedske prog scene u spomenutoj godini.
Autor: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
English version:
Beardfish, Swedish prog-rock revivalists of many musical-adventurous virtues, after nine years of temporary ‘hibernation’, they are back among us again, although they have certainly grown a fair few their Viking beards. Return from the dead seemed unlikely to happen ever, especially since the band’s leader, i.e. guitarist/keyboardist, singer and central composer Rikard Sjöblom, has been fairly busy in the intervening period with his involvement in English prog-rock greats Big Big Train and with his own solo project Gungfly.
The band’s line-up remains unchanged on “Songs For Beating Hearts” (and has been since 2003), with Sjöblom once again being accompanied by top guitarist David Zackrisson, while the traditionally eclectic rhythm line is formed by bassist Robert Hansen and drummer Magnus Östgren. Sjöblom has once again created all the music on the album and the end result is a new treat for all fans of eclectic prog rock with an ‘old school’ recipe. This means that even this way you can occasionally hear the many influences of prog titans such as Genesis, Yes and Camel, while Beardfish adds a unique arranging and ambient twist to every composition on the album. At the same time, it is interesting to note that they have almost completely abandoned the various Canterbury-inspired moments of eccentricity and quirkiness that are typical of most of their previous albums.
“Ecotone” is a surprisingly calm, atmospheric and acoustic introduction to the album. Very solid, but “Songs For Beating Hearts” really develops into a wonderful adventure among the meanders of prog-rock eclecticism only after the opening four minutes. From a completely different dough than the melancholic opening, the epic “Out in the Open”, which is ‘split’ into five parts. Combined, they would make up a super-epic of more than twenty minutes in true old-school prog-rock fashion. Here, Beardish ‘let their hair down’ with complex harmonies, picturesque symphonic arrangements and adventurous time passages, meaning that the album comes alive and this way it really smacks of those classic Beardfish that followers have had to wait for for quite a while nine years before they ‘rose from the grave’.
During the “Oblivion” section, especially at the expense of the polyphonies, some heavy-rocker influences can be heard, led by Uriah Heep, while Sjöblom’s keyboard ‘orgies’ are honestly reminiscent of good old Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It’s worth mentioning that Sjöblom started his musical career as a metalhead, but later warmed up to progressive rock, so it’s no wonder if elements of heavy rock occasionally ‘sneak’ into Beardfish compositions. On “Hopes and Dreams”, which contains some similarities with the Yes evergreen “And You And I”, Zackrisson briefly turns into Steve Howe from the 1970s through wistful passages on acoustic guitar. This is followed by an even more eclectic and intriguing revival of the central “Oblivion” motif. The great impression left behind by this new epic is sealed by the at times almost solemn closing section “Around the Bend”.
The 11-minute mini-epic “Beating Hearts” is also an ambitious creation, with an emphasis on string arrangements and complex instrumental sections, among which one can hear symfoprogrock, jazz and hard rock influences. All of this is abundantly rounded off by Sjöblom’s excellent vocal performance. “In the Autumn”, released as the album’s first single, features guest vocals from Amanda Örtenhag. Contrary to the common practice of female-male duets, this is not some sappy love ballad, but another impressive symfoprogrock ‘carousel’ with many eclectic rhythmic nuances and slight folk undertones. At the same time, this way, at the expense of additional female vocals, Beardfish occasionally recall the legacy of much more ‘feminine’ prog bands led by Renaissance and Curved Air more than Yes or Genesis. “Torrential Downpour”, which contains some blues-spiced guitar passages and also some slight elements of alternative rock, at times it sounds as if The Pineapple Thief, Steven Wilson or Porcupine Tree, Nektar and Deep Purple were all at the same table. For the bonus track, Beardfish have re-recorded the opening track “Ecotone”, but in the form of an instrumental with electronic-synth textures on synthesizers and a production typical of the 1980s, so it’s no wonder that it sounds as if it was recorded in 1982.
“Songs For Beating Hearts” is an epic-style comeback for the bearded Swedish fishermen (at the moment all four members of the band are bearded, while their hobbies and eating habits still remain unknown). It seemed that Beardfish would forever belong to the first two decades of the new millennium on the prog-rock ‘timeline’, but they delighted us and recorded another excellent album worthy of their mostly select discography. “Songs For Beating Hearts” is undoubtedly one of the best prog-rock achievements of 2024, a year that has thrown up some expected and unexpected musical gems. At least until the release of the new album by their compatriots, prog-metal champions Opeth, it will also remain the most beautiful surprise of the Swedish prog scene in the year.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Popis skladbi:
1. Ecotone
2. Out In The Open, Pt. 1 – Overture
3. Out In The Open, Pt. 2 – Oblivion
4. Out In The Open, Pt. 3 – Hopes And Dreams
5. Out In The Open, Pt. 4 – Oblivion (Reprise)
6. Out In The Open, Pt. 5 – Around The Bend
7. Beating Hearts
8. In The Autumn
9. Ecotone (Reprise)
10. Torrential Downpour
11. Ecotone – Norrsken 1982
Postava:
Rikard Sjöblom – vokal, klavijature
David Zackrisson – gitara
Robert Hansen – bas gitara
Magnus Östgren – bubnjevi
