ANGLING FEELINGS

I'm not really familiar with other Kaipa albums, this is the first album I have listened to in full. It starts off strongly with the title track, in fact what more could you want of a prog rock track, this one has it all: syncopated rhythms, busy drumming, folk melody played on pipes, emotional vocals, fantastic harmonies, virtuostic solos, swinging middle section, etc...The album has a strong affinity to the Flower Kings, even though Roine Stolt is now gone. In some ways it is even stronger than FK, the compositions are much more compact, and have better harmonies. However there are some musical links that sound like they weren't carefully elaborated, and some less inspired parts. In fact the album sounds like it was a bit rushed. The guitarist in particular sounds like he could have been a session player who recorded his parts over the weekend (even if he is excellent technically). The production is really excellent, although I question the reverb used on the drums (although Morgan Ågren is one of the best drummers I've ever heard), it sounds weird when drums are playing solo. One of the main highlights for me are the vocals of Aleena Gibson - what a powerful voice! All in all the album stradles the line between good and excellent, because of some of the flaws I mentioned. 3.5 stars really.