Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

DISCONNECTED

Airbag

Neo-Prog


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Airbag Disconnected album cover
3.75 | 253 ratings | 9 reviews | 26% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

Write a review

Buy AIRBAG Music
from Progarchives.com partners
Studio Album, released in 2016

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Killer (9:18)
2. Broken (7:07)
3. Slave (8:39)
4. Sleepwalker (7:05)
5. Disconnected (13:09)
6. Returned (5:10)

Total time: 50:28

Line-up / Musicians

- Asle Tostrup / lead vocals, keyboards, programming, co-producer
- Bjørn Riis / guitars, keyboards, bass, backing vocals, co-producer
- Anders Hovdan / bass
- Henrik Fossum / drums

With:
- Per Øydir / Hammond (4,5), piano (5)
- Geir Bratland / piano (6)
- Anders Møller / percussion (1,6)

Releases information

Artwork: Asle Tostrup

2xLP Karisma Records ‎- KAR111LP (2016, Europe)

CD Karisma Records ‎- KAR111CD (2016, Norway)

Thanks to mbzr48 for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
Edit this entry

Buy AIRBAG Disconnected Music



AIRBAG Disconnected ratings distribution


3.75
(253 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(26%)
26%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(44%)
44%
Good, but non-essential (23%)
23%
Collectors/fans only (5%)
5%
Poor. Only for completionists (2%)
2%

AIRBAG Disconnected reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by BrufordFreak
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I appreciate the incredible sound engineering of Airbag albums. I appreciate the dextrous facility Asle, Bjørn and the other band members have with all of the Pink Floyd 'tricks,' and I am one who (usually) loves long, spacious, slow building musical passages and songs, but the way songs 2-4, "Broken" (7:08) (8/10), "Slave" (8:39) (8/10) and "Sleepwalker" (7:05) (8/10) seem to find the band on cruise control as if they were driving 45 mph through the Nebraska cornfields is only disappointing. The opener, "Killer" (9:18) (9/10) is above this melancholic malaise because it has some power and emotion to its music and its message, and the title song, 5. (13:10) (9/10), also rises above because of its non-Pink Floyd, somewhat Steven WILSON feel and its variety of sounds, pacing, and structure. And the sparse and simplistic 6."Returned" (5:11) (7/10), feels like a slightly Post Rock epilogue, after-thought, or space filler. Too bad, guys. After you had reached the top with 2013's Greatest Show on Earth I thought you had figured out the keys to perpetual perfection.

A solid four star album recommended to prog lovers--especially Neo Progheads and lovers of the Pink Floyd sound.

Review by Rivertree
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Band Submissions
3 stars Since 2009 AIRBAG from Norway are periodically arriving with a new album nearly every second year. Hereby their approach has not essentially changed over the course. They are providing highly melodic neo prog songs in a rather mellow outfit. This is garnered with psychedelic leanings, first and foremost Pink Floyd comes into mind here of course. Besides the keys I would say guitarist Bjørn Riis, also known for his acclaimed solo album 'Lullabies In A Car Crash', is predominantly responsible for that, while radiating some gilmouresqe references over and over.

That said they don't define something blatantly new every time, no, but AIRBAG again are offering a skilled song-writing and production level with 'Disconnected', that's for sure. Also including the keyboard respectively synthesizer additions this is multi-layered, well-balanced, not overproduced. The excellent album title track proves this as no other. Who is keen on nice atmospheric songs in the vein of Believe, Satellite, the mid-70s Floyd, is in good hands here - 3.5 stars.

Review by Windhawk
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Norwegian band AIRBAG can trace its history back to sometime in the '90s, but didn't actually release an official debut album until 2009. Since then they have released new material at a fairly steady pace, and have become one of the better known of the contemporary progressive rock bands in the process. "Disconnected" is their most recent studio recording, and was released by the Norwegian label Karisma Records in the early summer of 2016.

Those who have a strong affection for the David Gilmour era of Pink Floyd should find Airbag's latest studio album to be warmly appealing, and then especially those most fond of Gilmour's guitar solo passages and the gentler parts of the Gilmour-era compositions. In addition I rather suspect that many fans of bands like Porcupine Tree, Sylvan and RPWL might find this recording to have a strong appeal.

Review by aapatsos
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars The opening "Killer" prepares the listener for a rich, full-layered Neo/Crossover output, embroided with influences by the greats of 70s-90s (melodic) progressive rock. Unfortunately, expectations fall short beyond the opening attention-catching song: "Disconnected", despite being a sound-captivating album, retreats to tried-and-tested patterns of low tempos, nearly hypnotic, and safe structures.

The quintet seem like they have studied sound production and produce a very warm feeling through detailed orchestration, melodic guitar solos and delicate-but-intricate drumming. They blend mostly secondary influences from "traditional" progressive rock i.e. "Slave" shows a keenness to Pink Floyd via recent Anathema works while the rest of the album borrows from Riverside-alike soundscapes, very reminiscent of (the less interesting second era of) Marillion. The title track raises the game again after the opening with richer sounds and a lounge-jazz mood at times. The vocals suit perfectly the music and trodd on low-octaves.

If Hogarth-era Marillion is your thing, then you will most likely appreciate "Disconnected". Avoid if you prefer more exciting up-tempo prog rock.

3-3.5 stars

Review by Rune2000
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars I've been hearing a lot of great things about Airbag over the last few years and I've even given All Rights Removed and The Greatest Show On Earth a couple of spins. Unfortunately, their music hasn't really worked for me so far due to it's lack of originality and it still feels like the band are trying to find their own sound within the vast ocean of influences that make up the bulk of their music.

I was initially hesitant on giving Disconnected a try, based on my previous encounters with Airbag, but after seeing the album on quite a few best of 2016 lists I've finally given it a try. Turns out this album did manage to pull me in with it's charming opening track Killer. The composition has a very a atmospheric approach to it and I especially enjoy the percussion work throughout the track which feels hypnotic to my ears. The rest of the material is also pretty descent but never reaches the heights that were set by Killer. I feel like Airbag is trying to hard to mimic Pink Floyd while still sounding modern and incorporation a Steven Wilson-like sound to their compositions. The most vivid example of this is the 13 minute title track that reminds me a lot of Porcupine Tree's Anesthetize but ultimately lacks a punch to it in order to make the material stand out on it's own merits.

Disconnected is an enjoyable album that gives the listener just the right dose of prog in order to make things interesting but it's not the most daring or challenging album to dig into. Give it a spin if your in the mood for atmospheric prog music with just enough memorable moments in order to make it an enjoyable overall experience.

***** star songs: Killer (9:18)

**** star songs: Slave (8:39) Disconnected (13:09)

*** star songs: Broken (7:07) Sleepwalker (7:05) Returned (5:10)

Latest members reviews

3 stars Airbag is a Norwegian quintet that has been retracing the footsteps of Pink floyd with such confidence and creativity, that so far 2 out of their 3 albums landed on my favourites' list. Their sound is as pure as it gets, successfully mixing long and dreamy guitar solos with a slight retro rock sound ... (read more)

Report this review (#1608119) | Posted by Porcupineapple | Wednesday, September 7, 2016 | Review Permanlink

3 stars Norway's Airbag play Pink Floyd-inspired melancholic rock thematically centered around modern technological dystopia, with a guitar that is often more upfront in the mix than usual for such styled bands, Well, Disconnected is not a bad album, but I think if you're new to AIrbag, you'll be better ... (read more)

Report this review (#1586349) | Posted by Progrussia | Saturday, July 9, 2016 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Norwegian progressive rock band Airbag has released their fourth album 'Disconnected'. The first thing that stands out is the richness of the compositions. The six tracks have great songwriting and fantastic playing which results in a rich, vibrant and modern music. The band blends influences from ... (read more)

Report this review (#1574965) | Posted by maialaia | Saturday, June 4, 2016 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Airbag has released their fourth studio album Disconnected. To quote the band directly, 'Disconnected' "features six songs reflecting on the theme of alienation between the individual and society, what society expects from us as individuals, and our resultant failure to live up to those expectations ... (read more)

Report this review (#1574025) | Posted by guillermo68 | Thursday, June 2, 2016 | Review Permanlink

Post a review of AIRBAG "Disconnected"

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.