BEARDFISH

Sleeping in Traffic part 1: A white background with a sketch of a man walking a beardfish in the center. The music: Smooth, fluid, clean, yet the themes seeming to be in a little bit of disarray (melancholy and anger, putting the pieces back together, or failing to do so). Nicely centered.

Sleeping in Traffic, Part 2: Darker cover, what looks like a coffee ring in the center, a distorted looking man in the lower left corner. Darker, heavier music that seems just a little more disjointed, and seems to convey the feelings of a man who failed to put the pieces together and is now living an insane life.

Destined Solitaire: Seemingly unrelated but chaotic images that somehow still look really cool together. The music: Seemingly unrelated and chaotic but somehow still sounds really good.

The first time through an album, I usually have a good guess if I will like it or not. I may not necessarily "get" it, but I will have an idea what my experience with it is likely to be. This album was one of those puzzling albums where, the first time through, I really didn't think I liked it, yet I wanted to put it on and listen to it again.

Nothing in the music grabbed me in the same, fluid, grab you on the first pass way Sleeping in Traffic Part 1 did. None of it rocked as hard as the heavier or more insane parts of Sleeping in Traffic Part 2 did. Other than the fact that the music sounded like it was Beardfish behind the instruments, this album did not grab me in the same ways the previous two albums had. But, unlike some albums, where after the first listen I feel that there is not going to be much more to hear, I felt intrigued to hear more. I knew that there was something there - that there was some glory behind these mystifying tracks - and so I continued to listen.

I was correct. What I had originally perceived as messy, disorganised tracks that moved from one idea to the next without the fluidity that Beardfish had demonstrated previously quickly revealed themselves to be at least on par with what Beardfish had done before. And then the tracks grew beyond that point, each sticking in my head and begging to be heard again. In each song, so many ideas were intertwining and criss crossing, that I was getting different parts of the same song stuck in my head at various times, and I had to listen to the whole album to figure out what song was stuck in my head.

How did Beardfish do this? How did they turn a single disc into such a collage of interesting, varied sounds? How did they get away with swearing more than they ever have before, without it even bothering me (when swearing in music I usually find unnecessary and annoying)? And how did they keep this album fresh for so many listens?

In the end, I had to listen to this album over 20 times before I really understood how the pieces fit together. But it was not a tortuous, "Once I reach this point, I will appreciate this album" experience like I have had with some albums in the past. I was excited to hear it each time. To hear the parts that I had uncovered the previous time again, to uncover new parts that would intrigue and excite me.

For weeks, I had to listen to this album every day. Some days, multiple times a day. I had high expectations after the sleeping in traffic discs, and yet I never expected this. Beardfish continues to evolve with each disc, changing what it is that makes them intriguing and interesting.

Final rating? I find it hard to consider giving this album five stars, because even after so many listens, there is still a certain 'dirtiness' to the sound here. Yet that dirtiness is part of the charm, part of the appeal that made me have to listen to this album so many times, that drove me to try to understand it. So at the same time, I have a hard time giving this album anything but a five star rating.

I don't even need to describe any tracks. Each track is strong, and while a couple in the middle are not quite as strong as the rest of the album, it doesn't matter.

Now if only Beardfish were to come to Canada, so I could see them play some of this delicious madness live :)

Now I have but to wait for their next album ... on the path that they are on, it will be strange, new, hard to digest, and better than ever.

This makes Sleeping in Traffic: Part 2 both better and worse than part 1. The betterness of it is that each track has more of an identity, and two of the tracks surpass almost anything in Part 1. The worseness is that the album is much more uneven.

The album basically has four song ranks, and two songs from each rank. The first rank is the useless tracks, these being the two keyboard tracks that bookend that album. They don't really seem to gain any meaning or say anything. Luckily, each is short and their inclusion is barely noticeable.

The next rank is the good songs. These songs are on a slightly lower par than pretty much all of Sleeping in Traffic: Part 1: The Hunter, and Downward Spiral/Chimay. Each is a strong track, but they both overstay their welcome by just a bit, and that overlongness is part of what makes the album feel less fluid than the first.

The third rank are the great songs. These songs are on the same rank as the best songs from Part 1, and they are: Cashflow, and Into the Night. Cashflow is probably the biggest contributor to the disjointed feel of the album, as it is replete with sound effects that sound like they could have come from an SNES game. This is not inherently a bad thing, however, and I actually find the song to be a really fun and catchy track that always gives me a boost of energy.

The standout tracks are South of the Border and the title track. South of the Border is an irreverent, hilarious track about a homophobix homosexual who overcompensates to hide from himself what he truly is, and how he discovered that he was gay. The way the story was told is hilarious, and I laugh every time I hear the song. The way that the band loudly announces with glee, "'cause he was Gaaa-aaa-aaa-aaaa-aaa-aa-aaaay" makes me laugh each time, because of their presentation. Truly a humurous story.

Sleeping in Traffic is another song that doesn't take itself quite seriously, with perhaps some of Beardfish's less emotional and more 'trippy' (think: Supper's Ready) lyrics. It is a journey from bed to a pirate infested beach to a disco club to who knows where, but most importantly, I think it is a journey through insanity. It is not quite a flawless track ... the opening takes a little longer than one might expect to get going, and the ending always drifts away from my consciousness so that I am surprised when I hear the first note of the closing keyboard track. But the middle includes some of Beardfishes hardest rocking and catchiest bits on the album. Definitely a fun, irreverent trip, although even after hearing this song, I must admit I am still puzzled about what the significance of "Sleeping in Traffic" is. It is a phrase that both this album and the first were named after, and the track that matches the name is longer than any other three tracks from those albums put together. So clearly the band felt that there was significance to it, but danged if I have been unable of yet to figure out exactly how it ties in to these two albums. Perhaps I am just reading too much into it.

Overall, this album gets a 4 star rating, with the strong parts counterbalancing the weak to make this album roughly as good as part 1.

The buzz was well deserved, I must say. This Swedish outfit really knows what they are doing.

The first track did not really blow my mind when I first heard it. Okay, obviously, it's just a short instrumental that leads into the album. But I still have a strong appreciation for it, because it will appear again on their next album in what was, to me, an unexpected way - very nice foreshadowing. Helps pull the two albums together nicely.

It then moves on to Sunrise, which proves many things about Beardfish and basically acts as foreshadowing for what was to come in the album. What we have here are excellent lyrics ("Sunrise, I think these rays of light will kill me", etc.) to highly emotional vocals near the end ("She won't miss me when I'm gone!"), combined with excellent quiet and loud keys and guitars that give the song a lot of contrast and make it very pleasant to hear.

The album, for the most part, ranges from songs like that, that are pretty much all excellent, with very little music that could be considered filler. The album definitely has highlights, songs that work well on their own, but it plays quite well through as a single unit. The emotion on this album seems to me to be somewhat of an angry/melancholy feel, but with more underneath - and being able to convey that emotion is perhaps Beardfish's strongest feature.

Over time, almost every song on this album has got stuck in my head at least once. This may be Beardfish's most melodic album (of the ones that I have heard), for each song will catch your ear on the first listen through.

High points for me are Harmony and Roulette. Harmony comes across to me as a blues-twinged song that perfectly demonstrates what is so good about Beardfish on this album, from the quiet moments to the great instrumental music. Roullette tackles the theme of not believing in God, yet with a touch of humour that takes the edge off of the topic in a good way.

The album concludes with Same Old Song (Sunset), and it is more of the goodness that we have heard so far, including the great guitar, emotional lyrics, keyboard textures, and great singing. It is definitely a song that left me with a strong desire to hear part 2.

There are really no poor songs on this album, but overall, it is not quite at the masterpiece level. There is nothing here with quite the 'oomph' to push it over the edge.

Keyboards, guitar style, all these other minor elements that make their music, it's here. I even realized that some parts from here were re-written later, re-used (mostly in better way) . And that this is concept album ? All their albums to some extent are to be exact. This is more, that's true (other pointed it out). But what can be applied to both discs presented here is that it's beautiful music. Often melodic, but not pathetic, with a lot of material to involve this atmospheric feeling. But for hells sake, it's not consistent. In contrast to their later work, it's somehow weak. Even it's good, it's paler than their new ones, so I'm left with no other choice than to give

4(-). I love Beardfish, but this feeling is too strong for me. Even it's funny (in classical BF style), it's good and I'm sure I'll listen it many times and often.

I think Beardfish is one of these contemporary bands, that makes an improvement in form with every next release. There isn't exception with the release of Destined Solitaire. It's fresh, profound and really innovative. With Destined Solitaire Beardfish looks like Gentle Giant more and more, but without stealing themes and ideas. They just improve their own art rock style. I'm very attracted by some of the motifs on the album. Especially the bringing in of some themes from different genres (death growls on homonymous song, rap singing on In Real Life There Is No Algebra, frequent use of accordion), a lot of tempo changes, saturated sound, artistic vocals and many more. I'm surprised with the low interest in PA for reviewing this album after successful Sleeping in Traffic Part Two. Only 39 votes after 6 months of its release. In my opinion one of the bests of 2009 - 4,2 stars.

Highlights in Destined Solitaire:

1.Coup de Grâce. /flawless/

2.Destined Solitaire. /true masterpiece/

3.Where the Rain Comes In. /highly recommended eclectic song/

Another highly talented group from Sweden. This land really seems to be place of rebirth of prog. Not only Beardfish reveals ability to associate symphonic sounds and prog music of new millennium on such intelligent way.

Result is a concept album with huge variety of ideas and considerate construction. Every song is a little story with strong lyrics. The narrative voice of Rikard Sjöblom makes the listener curious of the next action and creates an interesting fable for the record. Of course you need some special sense of humor to consider this work as funny and it's not always obvious to understand all the jokes. I would say the sense of humor of the band is as eclectic as their instrumentals.

Anyhow, the strongest point of the band is the instrumental work. I really enjoy the old-sounding keyboard which reminds unforgettable sound of ELP. Gentle Giant influences are also present since the group mentioned them as big inspiration for their activity. There are also various experimental sounds like "Cashflow" which surprise us in many places but overall they are part of the concept and reveal the genius of the band to make music combined of many different styles. This is the strength of Beardfish and a big plus for the album. The work owns a good structure. We are travelling from dusk till dawn and at the end we are pleased with astonishing epic. The 35 minutes track tells another fascinating story. Repeating, catchy sound holds this song together. This is one of the best structured epics of the modern prog. You always know where you are due to characteristic music compositions during this song. You get never bored of it, really memorable work. Beside The Flower Kings this is my favorite of the Swedish bands, because of this unlimited amount of ideas and music creations. Indisputable five star rating for this release.

Their musical foundation is firmly rooted in the music of the 70's, with vintage keyboards and organ dominating the proceedings throughout. Their influences are numerous though, fans of acts like Genesis, Santana and Pink Floyd will all find familiar elements on Destined Solitaire.

But first and foremost Beardfish appear to be following in the footsteps of Gentle Giant this time around. Quirky, shifting compositions with unpredictable, surprising and at times wild developments is the name of the game here, and while they take care to always include passages of a distinct symphonic nature as well as highly melodic and captivating sequences, challenging features are liberally spread throughout the album - more often than not encapsulated in energetic or strong atmospheric sequences where the emotional impact to some extent hides the quirkiness of the proceedings.

Creative, innovative and unpredictable music, strong compositions and excellent performances - this is art rock at it's finest, and a strong contender for album of the year as far as I'm concerned. At least for those who are fond of quirky, challenging art rock.

4(+) for some deaf moments, but after all, who cares when there's the rest.

EDIT: It's not so attractive as later two albums, not so interesting. It is, a lot to be exact, but not so much. Four better is enough.

Overall, this is not a great album. I won't go into a song-by-song lecture. With that said, it's worth noting that the first half of the album is superior to the second half; and, if "Until You Comply" is a worthy track that could have sat well on the last album. I was really looking forward to this album, and now I must admit that it's my first real musical disappointment this year. I hope that they write a better batch of songs for the next record.

All the Beardfish trademarks are in place, the quirky instrumentals, they still sound like they came from the seventies, partly down to their organic production; no processed sounds here and their choice of instrumentation. The Hammond again features heavily and the guitar, bass and drums sound natural. You can imagine the sound you are hearing is the sound coming out in the studio before being recorded. As well as the symphonic touches the Zappa influences are still highly prevalent, particularly in the phrasing of some of the vocal lines and there's still that quirkiness to their sound that makes them sound like...er...well Beardfish actually. There's even a bit of funk thrown in for good measure. Yes there's nobody quite like them and are well placed as eclectic prog.

So why the initial hesitation in liking it? Part of the problem was there's so much music on here to digest lasting 77 minutes and its not as immediate as the past couple of albums, the melodies aren't as obvious, you have to dig a bit deeper for them. It's also more complex than anything they've done before but after 7 or 8 plays it proves to be an excellent record.

Most of the tracks are fairly long, around the 10 minute mark which gives them plenty of space for lots of instrumental moments. None better than title track Destined Solitaire with more twists and turns than a maze but augmented by a great vocal performance from mainman Rikard Sjöblom apart from the 4 lines of death metal vocals! Ah but this is Beardfish so surely tongues are firmly in cheek. Until You Comply including Entropy is another highlight and lasts 15 minutes. Again there's a lot going on here. Jazzy zappa- esque flourishes and surely no Beardfish album would be complete without its 3/4 time Oohm pah pah moment, very Scandinavian. There's a moment on here that sounds like the theme from a classic western with David Zackrisson's guitar soloing on top; The Big Country I think but don't quote me on that.

The only disappointment is instrumental Coup De Grace, which although enjoyable enough outstays its welcome at almost 10 minutes and starts to wear a bit thin.

Overall then, without going into details of every track, if not reaching the heights of Sleeping In Traffic Part Two, Beardfish have produced another strong album at least as good as or better than their first 3 records. This time though it's a bit more demanding and requires a few plays to get under your skin. Well worth persevering with though.