A JOURNEY ON THE INSIDE

This mid period release by Norway's national progressive folk treasure was the first to include English vocals, including a few welcome guest spots by the bell-like Heidi Drengsrud Jahren. Moreover, it's the only entry in their discography with lighthearted, even humorous moments, while at the same time pushing the folk aspects to the fore. As a result, this is their most diverse effort, occupying new territories while remaining steadfast to their singular spirit and drive.

The 18 tracks in this typically extended KERRS PINK project are divided almost alternately into instrumentals and songs, with one preternatural epic that is alone worth the price of entry. It's called "Rubicon", and it is a pivotal climactic piece which unites the loose late coming of age concept of the opus. Musically, it alternates between simmering emotive vocals not dissimilar to what CLANNAD achieved on their classic "In a LIfetime", tender acoustic guitar figure bolstered by a tasty syncopated rhythm, and a tense hard rock riff, still backed by jangly acoustic guitars, and occasionally overlaid by organ.

Other powerful vocal tracks include the admonishing "Kingdom of Nothing" and the Celtic rock influenced "Showdown" with superb tin whistle atmospherics by Tore Johansen, Offsetting them with the lighter fare in the form of "The Voice Inside Your Heart" and the caution to the wind of "Downtown Happy-Go-Lucky Bunch" renders both more poignant and eloquent. Among the smorgasbord of instrumentals, "The Initiator" plays to the acoustico-electric strengths of the band better than any other, but many of these pieces serve more to bridge the narrative and capture atmosphere.

"A Journey on the Inside" may be the most complete effort to date by KERRS PINK, and it marks an assertive step out of the shadows of some of the better known bands to which they are indebted, worthy of its own followers.