LOVE

Love, the latest Flower Kings album, finds the band in a gentle and low-key mood. Whereas the band's back catalogue is full of energetic, rambunctious, extremely busy and intricate music, Love finds Roine Stolt and company not averse to kicking back, calming down, and keeping it simple. That isn't to say they've stopped being prog by any stretch of the imagination - after all, think of how Yes, one of the Kings' major influences, wove moments of gentle beauty into their music in between the outbursts of technical wizardry, something which has always been something of a factor in the Kings' music.

Just because the pendulum's swung towards a quieter and more introspective approach doesn't mean this has become easy listening, mind - this is an album of melancholic contemplation of the state of the world, shot through with a strong vein of optimism and hope which is just the message we need to hear in the present moment. It's not a top-flight classic, but it surprised me at a point in the band's career when I wasn't expecting to be surprised, and that counts for something.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to Warthur
• Report this review (#3185892)
• Buy THE FLOWER KINGS music online with PA partners
• Show all THE FLOWER KINGS MP3/Stream
• Go to THE FLOWER KINGS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Love page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for THE FLOWER KINGS related discussions