FANTASY ABSENT REASON

The second and most recent studio album by US band Ovrfwrd arrived to my ears thanks to the kindness of keyboard man Chris Malmgren, who I thank for it. This second album has the name of Fantasy Absent Reason and has just as the debut, five tracks, the first is a long 17-minute epic, tracks 2 and 5 are the shorter ones, while 3 & 4 have that 8-9 minute range that the songs of the first album had. The running time is around 46 minutes here.

And well, they decided to open with the majestic title track "Fantasy Absent Reason", an ambitious composition full of energy, explosions, changes and loads of prog rock elements. The first two minutes are bombastic, first with a harpsichord, and later a heavy and powerful sound produced by Malmgren's keyboards, who seems to be free to create whatever he wants to create, which means keyboard followers will have a feast here; just before the fourth minute arrives, an extraordinary guitar solo appears, taking the leadership for a while, while bass, drums and organ keep low profile as background. Just as I learnt on the first album, their instrumental music is full of contrasts so one can be listening to soft and delicate music but a minute later it turns out to be aggressive, heavier, but always enjoyable. There is a clear Crimsonian feeling on some moments here, but well, which band does not have King Crimson blood? And well, the song progresses, increases the energy, decreases the rhythm, makes a lot of changes but it is always (I repeat, always) interesting, so those 17 minutes run without any piece of trouble, everything good.

"Brother Jack McDuff" is one of the shorter tracks here, and again what first caught my attention was the sound of keyboards, its sound has that 70s vibe but I believe it is clear the band comes from the XXI century. Some bluesy hints here, but the lush keyboards keep the symphonic spirit, though later guitars appear with a marvelous solo. This is a wonderful song that due to its length could be named as single and could work as an introductory track to Ovrfwrd's world. "Dust Nova" has a much softer sound, delicate guitars, bass and drums for the first three minutes, just before they become more aggressive and provide much power. Guitars create several notes and sounds, always producing nuances that make the listener pay attention until the very end. The drumming here is also wonderful in all parts, in the aggressive ones and also in the softer ones. Great track!

"Utopia Planitia" brings a new element to the road: flute. And man, thank you for it! The addition of the flute brings new textures and colors than let the listener explore into different musical realms, so the band took advantage of that new element to create a magnificent composition, where Wobbler meets Anekdoten meets King Crimson. As usual, there are different passages or episodes in this one song, so later we can enjoy another great guitar solo than when it finishes, it opens the gates to keyboard fiesta. The song has in fact elements of several bands of the scene, besides the previously mentioned, I could say some Opeth and Porcupine Tree hints are perceived here. An exquisite tune, indeed! The album finishes with "Creature Comforts" whose first minute has electric piano giving a jazzy feeling; later it becomes rockier and the song takes a new direction, and though it is great as always, I could say this is not my favorite at all.

What a great surprise has been listening to Ovrfwrd, so if you have the chance, please go and discover their music because it is worth it and a great addition to your prog rock collection. My final grade would be 4 stars.

Enjoy it!