RETROSPECTIVE

Retroheads is a very true band name when it comes to the musical ideas on Retrospective. The music is heavily influenced by seventies progressive rock. The first thing I thought about when listening to this album was The Flower Kings. Retroheads have a similar sound even though they are more simple sounding in the end. The comparison between those two bands is boasted even more by the fact that Tore Bø Bendixen has a very similar voice to Roine Stolt. So I think Retroheads are a retro band inspired by another retro band. This is potentially dangerous, but Retroheads does pull it through without too many problems.

The music is as mentioned heavily influenced by seventies symphonic prog and generally the songs are very pleasant to listen to. Tore Bø Bendixen has a very pleasant voice. He is assisted by Ann-Kristin Bendixen who sings mostly some Pink Floyd inspired background vocals. I must admit this is not to my liking, but it is an aquired taste for sure. The songs are all more or less in the same vein and for me personally this is a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting more after listening to the first good song called Earthsong but it seems Retroheads are satisfied with playing this limited style. They do it well I´ll have to give them that. But this is the kind of album where you only need to listen to the first song to know what the rest of the album will sound like.

The musicians are very competent, and there are many solos and other instrumental interludes that demands just that. It´s all done in a slow to mid tempo though, I´d even go as far as calling this a bit stoned at times ( but I feel the same way about The Flower Kings).

The production is pretty good, yet nothing special.

So the conclusion must be that this is a good album, that never rises above the mediocre though and very much lacks a personal style. It deserves 3 stars though as it is professionel sounding and the compositions are well composed and played.