Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Detektivbyrån - Wermland CD (album) cover

WERMLAND

Detektivbyrån

Prog Folk


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Bookmark and Share
kenethlevine
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Prog-Folk Team
3 stars The danger in building play lists composed of multiple artists and then playing the tracks at random is there always seems to be one group that doesn't fit in and leaves you reaching for the next button whenever they appear. It was with an understanding that DETEKTIVBYRAN might be one such artist due to their quirky novelty sound that I only selected a handful of tracks from this album. They turned out to be one of the acts I looked forward to hearing, particulary to jump start a glum day or keep a long road trip on the rails.

A series of bright, whimsical instrumentals rooted in the northern European folk traditions, "Wermland" conjures some of the zippy ditties for which MIKE OLDFIELD (try "054" as an example) became known. Far from earth shattering, their use of odd instruments and non instruments alike and their penchant for melodic development make them worthy of consideration by fans of prog-lite. The beginning and rhythm of "Life/Universe" is reminiscent of CAMEL's "Pressure Points", and the track does not disappoint in its astonishingly well developed three minutes. "Generation Celebration" is not for the oom pah pah phobic to be sure, but even it deviates from any rote formula. The overall effect of listening to this entire offering is like that of attending to the rags of SCOTT JOPLIN. They admittedly all blend one into the other, but it hardly detracts from their enjoyment; in fact the massed effect improves upon the experience.

This is a solid album which is probably of limited appeal to most people here. But for those who like it, beware its ability to werm its way into your conscious and subconscious and keep you humming and toe tapping all day. Your co-workers won't understand, poor souls.

Report this review (#614686)
Posted Saturday, January 21, 2012 | Review Permalink

DETEKTIVBYRÅN Wermland ratings only


chronological order | showing rating only

Post a review of DETEKTIVBYRÅN Wermland


You must be a forum member to post a review, please register here if you are not.

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.