THE THIRD SLEEP

OAK, a dynamic and melancholic sound reminiscent of RIVERSIDE, PORCUPINE TREE, OSI, and ANATHEMA on the one hand, with the major psychedelic wanderings of AIRBAG and GAZPACHO on the other. Symphonic and neo- dark metal with soft, atmospheric, hypnotic rhythms bordering on pop from TEARS FOR FEARS and TALK TALK, heavy wanderings from ULVER and MASSIVE ATTACK, and finally, classy cinematics from CHOPIN, BACH, HORNER, and WILLIAMS.

"No Such Thing (Place)" kicks off with a crossover to anchor itself, an ethereal, alternative, and icy pop tune, a captivating melody with a melancholic trumpet, syncopated drum beats, and distant piano, like those NASA voiceovers. A hint of clarinet to stroll through a decidedly bucolic atmosphere. "London" and its electric reverberation, a purely Wilsonian feel in the writing; cold, cinematic rock, leaning towards the 80s for its dark wave and progressive spirit. Reminiscences of ANTIMATTER for its languorous side. "Run Into the Sun" delves even deeper into this coldness with a drift of piano and rock guitar, polyrhythms between the vocals and the instrumentation, a sound reminiscent of OPETH's progressive experiments drifting between progressive and melancholy. A bit of PINK FLOYD or even DREAM THEATER from their album 'Systematic Chaos'. "Shimmer" is a nod to the first album 'Stars Under Water', with the captivating, melancholic ostinato enhanced by traditional instruments, amplifying the austere, icy folk spirit that emanates from it. A sparkling, gloomy sound that ends with a new age coda and the captivating chorus.

"Shapeshifter" with the drum giving a little more intensity to the basic piano and Simen's desperate vocals. Electric piano for the break, rolling pads, the weighted intensity swells with a stereo effect like in the good old days. The guitar flirts a few notes with that of PINK FLOYD, ANATHEMA, bands inscribed in memories today. The final solo is almost heavy, violent, on another dreamlike coda with the haunting keyboard. "Borders" amplifies the basic sounds letting the guitar sound develop until then in the background, the air forming an osmosis between SOEN, KATATONIA, ANTIMATTER. A beautiful dark spleen rise on a languorous keyboard of time and an intimate fade before the nervous guitar riff tumbling on "Sensory Overload" with again this expressive martial pad; reminiscences of Steven WILSON for this confrontation sweetness and violence. This vocal romanticism with orchestral deluge, latent is truly captivating. The derivation seems simple, basic, and demonstrates a modern progressive exploration with the introduction of a hysterical sax followed by distant screamed vocals. The atmosphere builds to a final, explosive, Opethian growl, conducive to apoplectic trance. Originally on Profilprog.(4.5)

After falling in love with their 2022 studio album release, The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise, the Norwegian quartet's third album, I have been waiting with great anticipation to see what might follow. My hopes are raised further by the knowledge that the band's membership remains the same since guitarist Stephan Hvinden joined the founding trio for 2018's False Memory Archive.

1. "No Such Place" (6:06) strumming acoustic guitars, loud snare drum, and Simen Valldal Johannessen's deep crooning voice makes for a welcome and comfortable sound--like something by Richie Havens or John Martyn. A solid, quite likeable song--even with the uncredited soprano sax. I especially like the clear out at 4:45 for solo arpeggiated guitar before slowly bringing the band back together to finish. (9/10)

2. "London" (4:20) good music that opens with some cool odd sounds and then moves into an insidious, relentless motif that takes a few measures to establish itself before Simen joins in with his vocal. The sound palette is pretty cool, especially with the creative guitar sounds and play, and a cool chorus, and some powerful STEVEN WILSON /PORCUPINE TREE-like territory to the song's end. (9.125/10)

3. "Run Into the Sun" (5:34) a weave of muted/compressed instruments provide the base for Simen to sing. It's a fairly standard song that is based a progression of four chords; it truly sounds as if it could come from a ROBBIE ROBERTSON or Richard Thompson album. Nice but definitely nothing groundbreaking (especially without access to the message of the lyrics). (8.75/10)

4. "Shimmer" (7:36) moving further into the world of distorted perception, Simen gives another powerful Jon Ivar Kollbotn (Major Parkinson) (verses)/Mark Hollis (chorus)-like vocal performance. Uncredited soprano saxophone solo appears briefly in the first half of the fourth minute. Though guitar starts the song out, this is another piano-based composition--as evidenced by the extended soft-jazzy piano solo playing out from the fifth minute to the end. Again, how Mark Hollis like! (13.375/15)

5. "Shapeshifter" (7:58) another song whose opening reminds me of Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik's 2018 Viking Folk masterpiece, Hugsjá, but then deep bass and drums join Simen in the second minute to give it a more insistent, urgent feel, almost metal-like. The wonderful tom-tom play sounds quite electronic (and why not?) while the instrumental fifth minute relies mostly on MIDIed electric piano layers before the toms and bass rejoin. Cool to have the toms acting as the "lead" instrument (as it turns out, not unlike Nick Mason's roto-tom work in Dark Side of the Moon's "Time." The layered vocal "chant" work in the seventh minute is cool--it leads into Stephan Hvinden's finest moment on the album with a searing electric guitar solo to take us to the the instrumental final moments. Very good song. (13.5/15)

6. "Borders" (6:24) more drum and bass lead-ins before PT/SW guitar power strums take us into the main motif. Piano- based with some programmed-sounding tracks (percussive in nature) in the weave leads to a heavy chorus with Simen's urgent vocals and some Viking choral phrases as well while the instruments ramp up their volume and noise. With the fourth minute the band presents some brief divergent passages to alternate with the power chorus: tuned percussion, piano, Mellotron, muted "background" drums, all carrying forward the main melody only in a softer, more minimalist weave. At 5:45 the heavier passage returns but sans vocals: only guitars, piano, and jaunty rhythm section. Interesting but nothing to write home about. (8.75/10)

7. "Sensory Overload" (8:12) bled over from the previous song, the same instrumental sound palette continues but the vocal performance is very different: there sounds to be either multiple vocalists or multiple tracks performed by Simen on which he transforms his voice credibly in several different ways. The tripart weave is remarkable but unfortunately, it fails to live up to what it seems to promise: fails to develop into anything more elevated or interesting. An instrumental mid-section explores keyboard electronica with some more creative drum pounding turns psycho-political with arrival of SEVEN IMPALE-like "saxophones" and then death metal growls. Not what we were expecting! And then crescendo and space-drone to end it all. (13.5/15)

Total Time 46:13

The music is still as melodic and accessible (and creative sonically) as their previous album (which I loved) but I feel as if there is less risk, less creative ideas being tried out on this one.

B+/4.5 stars; another excellent album of refreshingly creative music from one of Norway's up-and-coming artists. Definitely a band to keep following!

Originally born as a folk-rock duo, the Norwegian art/post-rock band formed in 2013 by four members. Now their new 2025 album, titled "The Third Sleep," is here!

Their previous work featured a post-rock sound with a somber tone and a clear yin-yang dynamism, with vocals directly expressing introspective emotions and a solid guitar and bass that issue a warning to society based on the human state of mind. This time, the theme is further developed, addressing social complacency and personal conflict.

While their previous work had an aggressiveness similar to that of progressive metal bands like Opeth and Anathema, the band was more impressed by its somber outlook, which delved increasingly into the inner world. This work is characterized by a poetic and extroverted narrative that openly expresses a critique of modern society. Based on post- rock with a cool, Scandinavian feel, the development and arrangements are eerily consistent, encompassing a wide range of genres, from electro and melodic rock to classical and alternative music.

This is a great work that evolves the band or makes it more compelling. Highly recommended.