BLOMLJUD

Sweden has been at the forefront of progressive rock since the 90's and has been consistent ever since. Moon Safari continues this trend with the epic double album Blomljud. Here we see a major Yes and Genesis influence, with a sound very similar to their Swedish cousins The Flower Kings. Despite this, Moon Safari acquire a very unique sound on this album.

The album is very cheerful, and upbeat; so much so that some people may be turned off by it. You won't find the intricacy of bands like Gentle Giant or Dream Theater. but they more than make up for that with very symphonic and melodic sections. Perhaps the thing that drew me most to the album is the vocals. I find many prog groups have less than amazing vocals that are often annoying. The vocals on this album are very unique, multi-layered and in a format not unlike Barbershop. The best way to describe the vocal style is a combination of The Beach Boys, Queen, and perhaps even a hint of Brad Delp from Boston. Overall, the vocals add more to the album than most other prog groups do.

The album is also great instrumentally, focusing heavily on melody. The best example of this is on the purely instrumental "Moonwalk." Like most of other double albums, Blomljud does suffer slightly from longevity, especially in the second disc. "Lady of the Woodlands", "A Tale of Three and Tree", "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" and "In the Countryside" are average tracks at best, but the remaining songs more than overshadow this.

Although I usually don't pay too much attention to lyrics, they are mostly positive and coincide with the happiness of the album.

Definitely a well-made album with great melodic passages and strong harmonic vocals which should please any fan of happy symphonic prog. 9/10