MAJOR PARKINSON

With 17 songs and a playing time of more than an hour, this is an album which is heavily dominated by keyboards and huge production, with arrangements and sounds that are very much rooted in the Eighties. Jon's vocals are gravelly and dominate proceedings, with the rest of the band set to allow those vocals to always be front and centre, and while there are progressive elements here, there is also plenty of pop. At times they come across as being heavily influenced by Depeche Mode, while the drums often sound as if they are generated by a drum machine as opposed to drummer Sondre Veland which is obviously quite deliberate. What lifts this away from being merely something I would dismiss (as I did with much of the pop scene in the 80's) is the quality of the material on offer and especially the vocals which lift this to new levels. It is not an album to which I can see myself often returning, but that has far more to do with my personal tastes as opposed to anything particularly poor with the album. There is no doubt there is something quite special going on here, with Jon being a star in his own right, and fans of this style of music will find much here to enjoy but I confess to not liking it as much as the last album of theirs that I heard.

There are a ton of guests helping out including a female vocalist who has an almost squeeky high voice which contrasts with Jon Ivar's rich and powerful singing. I always put a check mark beside a song I really like and circle it if it's really amazing but I also put an "x" beside a song if I really don't like it. So a few check marks on this one but several "x" marks too. I can't get past the plastic. Synths dominate this and there's also a keyboard percussion instrument that I lament. Now it's not all like this as we get some tracks without all the 80's and Disco sounds but I can't get past the prejudice I have towards Disco being a teenager when it was popular and detesting it at the time.

I know some Avant bands who've implemented some of these Disco sounds to great acclaim but not from me, it's just too much to get past. I loved that they added "Jonah" to this record, a track introduced on the "A Night At The Library" album. It's a little different here plus they actually talk about Jonah a few tracks before on "Live Forever" which is so cool. "Behind The Next Door" is such a good track and I have to mention "MOMA" which is CARDIACS-101. Like a tribute to them because this is supposed to be set in the 80's?

I'm not going to say much more but 3 stars is all I got. Jon Ivar is one of those vocalists that is the price of admission. Just so impressed by him but as far as the music goes just not my scene for the most part.

7 real titles mixed with interludes for a new concept: "Goodbye Blue Monday" cinematic intro, current fashion between film and 'The Wall' sequence, violent orchestral crescendo before "Behind Next Door" voice à la Cohen warm, languorous on a melancholy piano, air of the 1st 'Top Gun' and it takes off on a live where it's more Garou (yes I know) or Joe Cocker who seems to take the microphone, astonishing, divine and solemn on this tune? heady; well we are far from what they did before. "Saturday Night" not the disco though; tribal synth pads, a bit of ethereal, strange new wave pop; the soaring keyboards, the childish voice of Claudia, all that disconcerts, sounds grandiloquent, symphonic with the stunning organ finale. "Ride In the Whirlwind" for the pre-Foxtrot nursery rhyme piano interlude? It denotes the start, it puts the ear on alert and launches "Live Forever" always on heavy, catchy synths, a little on the MEAT LOAF in more pop than rock; syncopated tonal air which boosts the title and brings the vocals naturally, the crystalline choirs then a bass drum machine that will have to be ingested, yes danceable. It rises and advances towards synth-pop, dream-music, you have to listen and go up a floor to swallow "Sadlands" on a live sound, cinematic country-rock air again, stadium atmosphere, it would put chills behind the back of the neck, what a voice anyway from Jon; singular unstoppable interlude and "Intermezzo" follows on an 'electronified' DEAD CAN DANCE, dark Wallian musical trance again; latent ambient cinematic with forward-thinking F1 racing. "Jonah" and the return of the late Leonard COHEN, air to the JOY DIVISION, THE CARS, KILLING JOKE for a gospel atmosphere with appropriate choirs; the languorous synth; the piano break Nick CAVE for a while. We arrive at the first half of an album for the moment unclassifiable, the eclectic genre at its peak; I even read reminiscence at the PET SHOP BOYS it's to say, come on, we'll close and we're going to "Velvet Moon" for a short intimate piano-voice title Jon abusing his suave atonal voice.

"Irina Margareta" follows for the title even more hilarious in the good sense of the word, it is warm, solemn, grandiloquent; it's nostalgic, cinematic, epic. It goes up with the haunting synth now recognizable, Jon raises his voice lowers it on that of the Archangel, we are conquered. "The House" returns to the dark classic atmosphere before leaving on a Genesis charisma air... before leaving on a disconcerting post new wave sound you will have understood; it's dancing pop, I know that many won't understand the chronicle on this site... but it's very progressive like a TEARS FOR FEARS, a SIMPLE MINDS, a TALK TALK. "The Room" shifts, it changes and it's in the same line, the strength of the bass synth with the melody choirs; a violin on a TANGERINE DREAM melody throws even more trouble if possible, the synths are more shrill and dancing in the tune of 80's BUGGLES now. I note that this album is excellent to avoid falling into Alzheimer's in view of the memories generated. "Posh- Apocalypse" raw cinematic interlude on KRAFTWERK for example, on the soundtracks of the 'Supercopter' or 'K- 2000' series, much longer than it seems and "Moma" for the ultimate break in this album, downgraded noisy punk hard trance, a shrapnel of sounds before continuing on Claudia surfing on the synth notes, drowning us a little more in this musical maelstrom. "Lemon Symphony" another cinematic interlude on a fast beat, choirs, confusing, progressive. "Fantasia Me Now!" Here's QUEEN now with 'Radio Gaga', well the last real title with Claudia and Jon on a more or less frantic air, the style: a little brass à la BRAND X, hop the voice à la Kylie MINOGUE now. 3'40'' sudden break and it starts again; the finale becomes aggressive on the voice, soft on the synth, an unclassifiable cinematic musical melting pot bringing "Heroes" finally, at the end also to deliver the coup de grace, Jon delivering his last dark phased song on the piano while Claudia gives the la to aerate the air, an important moment to come back from this dreamlike hour.

MAJOR PARKINSON I've read it and it captures the effect just released an album more like driving a convertible down an ocean boulevard through a scorching, psychedelic sunset with mushrooms receding at the far'!

You should hang on if you don't know yet, otherwise you know you're going to listen to a unique unclassifiable musical genre that won't leave you indifferent. Let's wait for Chapter 2.

The lyrics are so meaningful on most of these songs and the vocalist Jon Ivar has this deep voice so rich and full of character, the perfect voice to convey these powerful words. Towards the end of the show which is an hour long he gets emotional and somewhat dramatic I believe because he knows that they have just given the performance of their lives. The water in my eyes kept rising throughout this record to point I'm saying "What's going on!". My buddy Avestin gave this 4.5 stars as well so I'm in good company folks. My top five includes the opener then four of the last five tracks making this such a perfect record to listen to, I mean all the songs are good but I love the order of the set list. The female violinist adds backing vocals which adds so much here as well.

"Lover Lower Me Down" is one of those songs where I'm asking why is this so emotional? Piano and violin early then vocals at 1 1/2 minutes as the violin steps aside making his words the focus. He speaks "See my guitar gently weep" over and over around 5 minutes in as it blends into another great song called "Black River". But lets talk about "Baseball" another moving track like the opener and I should mention that the first four of my top five are from "Blackbox". Some good contrasts here and urgent fast paced singing at times. The guy is such a rhymer. It's almost experimental around 3 1/2 minutes then a calm with female backing vocals. How about that repeated line "I got his baseball" why does that move me?

"Night Hitcher" opens with upfront drums as slicing violin joins in along with piano. I have to mention the inventive violin work here each time the singer stops. The band was on fire this night. "Before The Helmets" is again so moving and meaningful. Gosh! Those fragile vocals. I mean when he returns singing after 4 minutes I'm broken as female backing vocals help out. "Jonah" was a new track early from 2020 and this was performed in May of that year. It's the final 4 minutes or less that have me almost having to pull off the road at one point. Including some fist pumps for this man who's going to be the king of the world. He was a loner you know and I remember his rifle. When his voice rises to an emotional and powerful level that's when I'm fist pumping.

What a surprise this album was. Totally unexpected but man how happy I am to own this treasure.

On the first side of the vinyl the band plays its dark pop without much interruption. Every song has its own specific elegant nightmarish vibe. Compared to ordinary progrock the music sounds quite electronic/produced and is slightly more repetitive. The album never becomes boring, because Major Parkinson keeps adding layers and the atmospheres are really sufficient. On side two 'Baseball' is the most cabaret-influenced song in which the band's humor runs wild. This was the song that took me longest to get into, but I started to like it eventually. The ending song 'Blackbox' is another highlight for the album. Love the wind-section in the end.

The gold vinyl (on Karisma Records) I own should never have been released, because it doesn't sound at all like the sharp and perfectly produced digital version. The vinyl sounds flat and compressed. This is a bit of a letdown, but I won't blame the band for it. This is a pleasant four star progressive album that friends and family might also like.

If I was going to think of just one prog band, then the approach does remind me in some strange way of classic Twelfth Night, but of course they sound nothing like them at all! This really is an album where the more attention that is paid to it, the more rewards can be obtained as the music is incredibly dense, multi-layered and faceted, and the more I listen to it the more I find within it to enjoy it. There is a darkness thrown in, as if instead of performing on a stage, the guys are on a becalmed sailing galleon at night, with lanterns providing the only lighting. There is so much happening in each song, with switches in tempo and musical approach taking place so frequently that one often loses track as to what is going on, but who cares? It is a staccato abrupt journey both into the absurd and the unknown, and I am all the richer for having heard it. Miss this at your peril.

So how does Blackbox measure up? Very well! While it's a pretty low threshold to cross these days, I feel pretty good saying that Blackbox will be my 2017 album of the year. Blackbox is consistent all the way through and I don't feel there are any "duds" on the album. The album streams seamlessly from dark, to poppy, to melodic, to circusy. The sounds (instruments, mood, tempo, style, etc) change very rapidly throughout the album, not dwelling on any sound or instrument for too long, and keeping you engaged throughout the entire experience. For one example of catchy tunes and interesting instrumentation, near the end of the track "Isabel - A Report to an Academy" the climax includes a catchy melody that involves the rhythm of a type-writer. Every time I hear that part, my mind is blown how well it brings together the other layers in the track to bring the song to a close. The band has countless examples like this in their catalog that demonstrate how unique their sound is.

Blackbox has excellent tracks throughout including Isabel, Madeline Crumbles, and Baseball. Compared to previous works, it did take me a while to fall in love with this album, as there is more of a focus on building up to a climax throughout the major tracks and throughout the album. While Blackbox is perhaps not as immediately accessible as their previous works, Blackbox may be Major Parkinson's best work yet.

If you are wanting to listen to something that is unique, engaging, eclectic, circusy, dark, and yet catchy with a broad array of instrumentation, then by all means check this one out, you won't regret it!

While I am one of many swayed by the charms and music of Major Parkinson, I'm still a bit unsure about just how broad a reach a band like this have. They are creative, make challenging compositions that are still easy to enjoy and listen to, managing to be challenging without being overly demanding, but they also create material that is very much their own and a few left turns away from most other bands out there. Eclectic progressive rock with synth pop tendencies and a bit of classic Gary Numan style sounds at that, flavored with cabaret tendencies and a dark circus atmosphere. If that description sounds enticing, Major Parkinson might well be the band you never knew about that you always hoped to discover.

1. "Lover, Lower Me Down!" (4:47) drums and, of course, vocals/lyrics on display here despite it being 70% instrumental. (8.5/10)

2. "Night Hitcher" (5:46) the synth/keyboard work is my favorite thing about this song. The chorus is so out of a 1980s film soundtrack! Something by John Hughes or Pump Up the Volume. Again, the percussion/rhythm work is remarkable and there is a rather wonderful buildup and synth chord sequence as it approaches its end but, otherwise, there is nothing so extraordinary about this song--nothing that draws me back to listen to it repeatedly. (9/10)

3. "Before the Helmets" (1:25) melodic piano with incongruous singing voice. (3/5)

4. "Isabel - A Report to an Academy" (9:41) (8.5/10)

5. "Scenes from Edison's Black Maria" (1:46) minimalism!? (4.5/5)

6. "Madeleine Crumbles" (5:06) upbeat pop noir! with nice performance from female singer Linn Frøkedal. A modern, goth noir take on The Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way." (9/10)

7. "Baseball" (10:20) prog cabaret! entertaining! All we need are the Cirque du Soleil acrobats.(8.5/10)

8. "Strawberry Suicide" (2:57) classical/Kurt Weill/Leonard Cohen! (8/10)

9. "Blackbox" (5:48) 80s underground synth pop! I do like it better when the band alternates a female vocalist with that of the melodramatic atonal voice of Jon Ivar. (9/10)

A little too simple and repetitive, musically, and, being deaf to lyrics, the lyrical messages are lost to me, this is just not what I'm looking for in progressive rock music. But I can see how some might like it.

Four stars; an excellent addition to any adventurous prog rock music collector.