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Karmakanic - In a Perfect World CD (album) cover

IN A PERFECT WORLD

Karmakanic

Symphonic Prog


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memowakeman
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Swedish symphonic delicacy!

The name of The Flower Kings will spring to our minds while listening to Karmakanic, it is obvious, because this is the project of gifted bass player Jonas Reingold, member of TFK. Karmakanic saw the light in the early 00s, and so far have released four studio albums. This one is entitled "In A Perfect World" and actually is about to be released in a few days, but fortunately and thanks to Freeman Promotions we could listen to it before.

While listening to the album, we will find evident Flower Kings reminiscences, but also the Yes influence is noticeable in several parts, mostly for the vocals and bass sound. So with that combination, as you can imagine here you will have a feast of pure symphonic progressive rock. Be prepared to this seven-track album and enjoy almost one hour of this first-class Swedish music.

It starts with "1969", which is an ambitious introduction, a long epic that reaches the fourteen minutes and serves as the explanation of the album line. Here I like a lot the rhythm, it is always constant, producing exquisite sounds and creating wonderful passages. The bass sound is pretty good and noticeable, I dare say is the first thing you actually listen here. Keyboards play a main role here, as background or with solos, they give a special flavor to the sound. I like the different moments of this epic, the bombastic ones, and the calmer ones, all together create a strong unit, a strong introduction.

"Turn it up" has a softer sound, nice melodic rhythms and a catchy chorus. Here I cannot help but thinking of both, Spock's Beard and once again, Yes. The music here is not that complex as the previous one, the sound tends to be friendlier and easier to dig. A good song, but by no means the best of the album.

"The World is Caving in" starts with 45 seconds of a capella, then piano joins and create a soft melody for two minutes. Then there is a change when drums and keyboards enter, so the music changes direction and becomes heavier for moments, though it always slows down and keep that gentle sound. After four minutes there is a very nice keyboard solo. And in the rest of the time the song repeats itself, making an interesting piece, but for some reason I am not that enthusiastic with this track in particular.

"Can't take it with you" is a very curious track, seems that the progressive rock element is forgotten due to that introductory piano and percussion sound that creates a kind of latin- american or bossa-nova sound, but it is a tricky one because later it becomes chaotic and with the rock element on it, more interesting. This shorter song may have been a risked experimentation, because I believe you either love it, or hate it. The normal voice is pretty good, but what I totally disliked were those vocals saying la la la, horrible.

"There's Nothing Wrong With the World" is one of the finest tracks of the album. The bass sound is lovely, always present as a main character, creating good lines and helping building up the structure. The keyboard work is also excellent, adding different atmospheres that at the same time create images and mind passages. The keyboard solo at half the song is short but great, and greater the way the song changes and introduces new elements.

"Bite the Grit" has a dreamy atmosphere and a peculiar sound at first, but later it changes to a tense and maybe dramatic sound that lasts only for some seconds. Then the song returns to its original proposal, and keep making some changes every once in a while. The guitar work is great here; too bad this is the shortest song, I believe it could have been more exploded.

Finally "When Fear Came to Town" completes the album. In this ten minutes you will have a different Karmakanic sound, not that symphonic one we are used to. It is complemented by some other unusual rhythms. Like in the beginning, we listen to a soft acoustic guitar accompanied by delicate vocals, giving the impression of being a ballad. At first I thought it would eventually explode, but I was wrong. The same soft rhythm is kept until four minutes where it makes a change. Vocals disappear and a dreamy sound prevails, sharing a melancholic feeling. The last two minutes have nice guitar and drums, and open the exit gates, I mean, you know the album is finishing.

Well, I did not find this album as extraordinary as I though. The opener track gave me high expectations, but in spite of the cool songs, in moments I felt it inconsistent, so it did not catch the attention, nor the love I would have liked to have for it. For that, my final grade will be 3 stars..

Enjoy it!

Report this review (#473468)
Posted Friday, July 1, 2011 | Review Permalink
3 stars Strangely enough and despite of this type of music being my favorite music, this is my first exposure to this Swedish band's music.

Karmakanic is a band run by the bassist in Flower Kings and is regarded as a family member of the Flower Kings family. Something which is pretty evident on parts of this album. In particular on the opening track 1969. But then this album takes some strange twists and turns away from this Flower Kings formula and venture into modern rock, a bit ska and Bad Company like hard rock. Yes, Bad Company. One of the tracks here, The World Is Caving In, could had been lifted from a Bad Company studio album. I thought this sound was totally out of fashion now, but Karmakanic proves me wrong. A not too shabby song, btw. Shabby is what I would use on some other cliche ridden, almost europop sounding songs here. In short, this album suffers, and suffer big time, from being too fractured. It is like an ill conceived family album from last year with pictures of their new car, their beloved auntie's funeral and Las Palmas holidays thrown together on one album. I am all for variations, but this album takes variations too far.

The quality of this album goes from the directly cringe worthy bad Can't Take It With You to the great opening track 1969. From europop to symphonic prog. I am not impressed at all, but this is still a good album. I do recommend using the fast forward button over Can't Take It With You to avoid a far too high concentration of blood in your facial area.

3 stars

Report this review (#484237)
Posted Sunday, July 17, 2011 | Review Permalink
Rivertree
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator / Band Submissions
3 stars KARMAKANIC are Jonas Reingold's special musical project, where he's responsible for the whole thing, speaking of song-writing, recording and production. So if you will, in this case, you may also call him the boss in the factory again. 'KARMAKANIC is always a result of everything that I enjoy in music' he explains ... well, then you have to await a very private insight of course. Being a member since 1999, no wonder that The Flower Kings influences are to recover overall. But there is much more to explore, one should not expect a strong symphonic rock effort. I can't get rid of the impression that he doesn't care much about the question if he's offering a pure prog album or not.

Besides his skillful bass handling 'In A Perfect World' proves that Jonas is a prolific songwriter too. And he's supported by an excellent crew as usual where I first of all want to point out Göran Edman's wonderful vocal contributions. I was very impressed by the forerunner album ... inspiration is still existent after three years, however dressed in new clothes so to say! 'We shall overcome ... how the world is changing' - 1969 - this song is pointing to the very start I assume. I surprisingly hear strong Yes reminiscences again and again. An epic one and album highlight for sure.

With the melodic Turn it up they turn away into more popular fields similar to Asia for example. On The world is caving in I hear some strong Whitesnake/Deep Purple hints and the excellent Can't take it with you surprises with a mix of Latin/Merengue and hard riffing guitars - very ambitious - don't know why but this immediately reminded me of the Pain Of Salvation song 'Disco Queen'. There's nothing wrong with the world then returns back to the symphonic Flower Kings approach, this time including nice guitar and keyboard solos.

It took some time to sort out this cornucopia of impressions. What I hear are more song oriented compositions with less soloing instruments, not that complex as usual, a conglomerate of various music influences which Jonas works out in his own manner. With Göran Edman on top the balladesque When fear came to town rounds up a good album, compared to the masterpiece 'Who's the boss in the Factory?' less challenging though and a bit inconsistent in order to range on the same level - 3.5 stars.

Report this review (#488032)
Posted Thursday, July 21, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars A trully masterpiece in nowadays prog !!! Mood changes, heavy and sweet. Good lyrics. I love the Sweeds. This is almost like a rhyme. Buy this album, you won't regret it. I Saw this band, in a different line-up in a double concert at De Boerderij in Zoetermeer, Holland, together with Agents of Mercy. Guitar works were done by Roine Stolt of the Flower Kings. It was a concert I will not easy forget how good it was. Mind the second set with Agents of Mercy I found better than the Karmakanic set, but this cd has changed my appreciation of the band. It's solid and as I wrote above with a lot of mood changes. You won't buy a mis with this one. Highly recommended in other words.
Report this review (#492438)
Posted Friday, July 29, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars

I have always been a fan of progressive rock, but I came at it from a more commercial angle with the more mainstream tones of Genesis in the late 70's and the ever-changing sound and line-ups of Yes from this time. As I have got older my tastes have changed somewhat. I have listened to a lot of the more modern sounds of progressive rock. It has become very difficult to effectively label some progressively-orientated music as truly progressive.


Karmakanic is a superb example of what I would consider essential modern-day prog. The album "In A Perfect World" introduces a more eclectic approach with the clearly progressive and hugely impressive "1969" starting off the album. There are also some obvious Yes influences in this one as well. It is a fantastic opener.


The next track "Turn it Up" is very much more rock/ pop. It's got a big sound, it is very catchy and it (almost) makes you want to dance! This is not prog as we previously knew it.


"The World is Caving In" starts off slow, builds up and then subsides again. It is a great track.


"Can't Take it With You" is quirky and jumps all over the place! But it is clearly made with tongue in cheek and is great fun. The throaty "yeah, yeah yeahs" drive my girlfriend crazy so it must be good!


"There's Nothing Wrong With the World" is not one of my favourite tracks on the album but it is engaging and showcases some very effective drumming.


"Bite the Grit" is a hard-edged track with an emphasis on heavy guitar riffs interspersed with some flowing piano, all over-laid with the usual excellent vocals. Nice.


"When Fear Came to Town", like "The World is Caving In" starts off slow with vocals overlaying a nice acoustic guitar with a hint of synth floating in the background. The texture of this ten minute track begins to change after five and a half minutes, but it maintains its steady rhythm. It's melancholy but it's great and it points to even greater things to come from this band.


I cannot emphasise how much I enjoy the music of this group. Much of their music is clearly influenced by other older prog groups, but the sound they create is entirely their own. There is some great modern prog around at the moment. Magic Pie and Haken are also among those with massive potential. Seriously, Karmakanic are one of the best modern prog groups around at the moment. I would buy any new material from them without even thinking about it. They are that good!


I see Karmakanic as an excellent addition to any modern day prog collection. Their 2008 album "Who's the Boss in the Factory?" and this one, I consider to be an essential part of any modern prog collection, so roll on five stars!

Report this review (#501557)
Posted Thursday, August 11, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars To hear one of my biggest Swedish favourites from the nineties, Nils Erikson, on a Karmakanic-album is like a gift from heaven! He's so very welcome back!! IAPW is a grower which is finding its way into my cd-player almost every day right now. It's not as challenging as WTBITF? but equally very good! The jazzy feel has changed to a more AoR-oriented style throughout the album. This isn't a bad thing at all since it's done with so much taste and warm generosity towards us listeners. And again - the sound quality is absolutely top-notch! Jonas is not only brilliant bass-player but also a fantastic producer!! 4 stars no problems!!
Report this review (#508050)
Posted Wednesday, August 24, 2011 | Review Permalink
Nightfly
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars In A Perfect World, album number four from Karmakanic, while being a solid effort pretty much finds the band treading water and is somewhat of a disappointment after the excellent Who's The Boss In The Factory?

It's business as usual as they churn out more Flower Kings like (not surprising given band leader Jonas Reingold's also a member of that band) modern symphonic prog though with a more commercial approach at times. The epic Send A Message From The Heart was a great opener and career highlight on the last album. They try it again here with 1969, some Yes influences coming through, but it lacks the strong melodies and exciting instrumental work of the former and has to be content with being just above average and never really takes off. There are stronger moments however with Turn It Up having an insistent melody and The World Is Caving In after a quiet start turns into quite a powerful piece. Can't take It With You combines latin influences with heavier elements to quite good effect. When Fear Came To Town from a tedious acoustic opening, despite its ten minute length never really goes anywhere as it develops into a mellow and tasteful instrumental.....and so it goes, you get the idea.

Overall an average album from great musicians but with nothing to set it above hundreds of other modern symphonic albums it's unlikely to widen Karmakanic's fanbase to any great extent. 2 ˝ stars.

Report this review (#512732)
Posted Thursday, September 1, 2011 | Review Permalink
Evolver
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
4 stars Up ontil now, I only knew this band from "Who's The Boss In The Factory", a good, but not great album. This one takes a step up in a few places, with an occasional step back. But overall, I like it a bit more than the previous album.

First, the good parts. 1969 is a beautiful prog epic, that sounds very much like a Flower Kings piece. I don't consider that a bad thing. I find that it surpasses Send A Message From The Heart from the previous album, by containing all of the wonder, but avoiding the schmaltz of that song. Can't Take It With You is another high point. This latin flavored song is just so much fun, it's irresistable. And Bite The Grit is a nice heavy prog piece.

As for the bad, Turn It Up leads the charge. It sounds like something Trevor Rabin might have pushed Yes to do during their pop years. And to make matters worse, there is a radio edit of the song at the end of the album that has any parts that held any interest in the full version lopped off.

The other aspect that bugs me is placing When Fear Came To Town at the end of the album. I prefer albums that end with a bang, not a whimper. This song, while not bad, is too light, and doesn't leave me wanting to come back for more.

My CD also has a video, a documentary piece called Send A Message From The Heart. It's a not bad overview of the band, but it's not the type of thing I'd watch repeatedly.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Report this review (#522079)
Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2011 | Review Permalink
3 stars Karmakanic is a great prog band and after hearing Who's The Boss In The Factory, I anticipated much. The good thing is, that with In A Perfect World the band went on to explore new grounds and and didn't try to recreate what had been done by them before. This album has its heavy parts and dissonances, which may please some of the listeners, but the best tracks are the first three. 1969 is an excellent opener, great prog 'epic' with modern and tasty arrangements. The main melody of Where Earth Meets The Sky, one of Karmakanic's best songs (from the album Wheel of Life), finds another usage here. I am not exactly sure, if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe there is some deeper connection between these epic tracks. Turn It Up is a really good uplifting song, very colorful. Well written, well played, well sung and produced with care. The World Is Caving In is another stunning track with memorable melodies. I love the almost silent beginning, which makes the listener want to pay attention to every single breath of the singer. As the piano and other instruments join the party the song builds up quite impressively. If the following songs maintained the quality of these three, my rating would be higher, I guess. However, as I said before, band takes its time to explore new grounds and there is a noticeable twist after the third track.

The result is a great, colorful album, which shows what the band is capable of. Sadly, I must admit that many times I play only the begging of the album, instead of listening to this release as a whole, which is something you typically do with progressive music. But if the mood is right, I enjoy all of it. I certainly recommend this album to those who love the unique sound of Karmakanic.

Report this review (#2188378)
Posted Friday, April 26, 2019 | Review Permalink

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