IBIS

Ibis were no other than the continuation of Swedish Heavy/Jazz/Prog rockers Vildkaktus after their last effort ''Natten''.Actually the main core consisting of keyboardist Gosta Nilsson, guitarist Olle Nilsson and bassist Tommy Johnson was the same as on Vildkaktus with the addition of drummer Petur Island 'stlund.The self-titled debut came out in 1974 on EFG.

Under the Ibis name the band seems to focus more on the jazzy side of Progressive Rock with a bit more loose arrangements without forgetting about the heavy explosions met in the Vildaktus albums.Each side of the LP includes two strong and long jazzy arrangements over 10 minutes each, where the new approach of the band is more evident.''Remrus Selegra'' and '' 'ster och v'ster'' have strong Canterbury influences, especially on Gosta Nilsson's electric piano and keyboard work, with nice and powerful grooves, long slightly improvised solos and fuzz heavy psychedelic guitar performance throughout, not far from the sound of NATIONAL HEALTH or HATFIELD AND THE NORTH.The rhytym section is very solid as well and the album worths some spins for these two tracks alone.The shorter cuts are more varied, starting from fiery Latin-influenced Fusion and exploring also the Heavy/Psych sound of Vildaktus along with some Lounge Jazz moments, decent tracks but far from the quality of the longer compositions.

The reasons the band turned to a more jazzy style are still unknown to me, one thing is for sure, Ibis could do it well even with this specific style, offering a rich Jazz-Rock sound with distinct Canterbury and psychedelic influences and this album should interest any listener fond of any of the above music descriptions.Recommended.