PASTORALIA

Jordsjø doesn't seem to suffer Wobbler syndrome in making us wait six years for a new release and wondered if they fell off the face of the earth (like what happened to Wobbler between Rites at Dawn and From Silence to Somewhere, which made the three year wait between that one and Dwellers of the Deep a big shock). Jordsjø once again only made us wait two years for a new release, and the Elds Mark project didn't seem to get in the way (Elds Mark was essentially Jordsjø in disguise recording all instrumental prog folk). COVID didn't seem to stop them, although I'm sure it affected how they performed live. Pastoralia is the followup to Nattfiolen, a truly wonderful album that, in 2021 still holding up very well. Pastoralia has provided me a new challenge, as it was an album that didn't grab me as fast as previous ones. But as I give it more listens, I find it to be a great album, but perhaps the music is a bit less melodic and less accessible which is the reason this album could get dismissed in some circles. There are songs on this album that cover familiar Jordsjø ground, like "Skumring i Karisuando" and "Mellom Mjørdurt, Marisko og Søstermarohånd". Here Håkon Oftuns provides his usual assortment of guitar, flute, keyboards, and vocals with Kristian Frøland on drums. The Mellotron is the M4000D which is a virtual Mellotron keyboard unlike the M4000 (no "D") was tape driven. Still he uses the M4000D in a very convincing fashion. Speaking of which, the band goes into Gryphon territory on "Vettedans" which helps that what sounds like a bassoon is being used, when in reality it's tron bassoon. "Fuglehviskeren" sounds like a rehash of "Septemberbål" off Nattfiolen until you discover they are doing a more jazzy approach this time rather than doing a Nordic version of "Mood for a Day" (Steve Howe). "Prolog" is a great way to start the album because it's a full piece (they tended to intros that are brief, like some brief flute stuff or electronic bits) and they go a jazzy route on this piece. "Beitemark" has some nice dreamy use of electric piano having a bit of that Canterbury feel with that Jordsjø sound. The title track is different in that clarinet and violin are present so giving it some new ground never heard on a Jordsjø album. Violin is provided by Åsa Ree, who appeared on many other Norwegian albums, including Wobber's Dwellers of the Deep and Tusmørke's epic Nordisk Krim. The album closes with the 10 minute "Jord III". Is Jordsjø following in the footsteps of Focus where Focus recorded a bunch of "Focus" pieces on many of their albums, Jordsjø recording "Jord" pieces. Anyways "Jord III" is showing the band doing more complex music than before. Usually they revisit themes and melodies, here they don't. The band gets more experimental here, even some odd spoken dialog. The piece ends with some unsettling dissonant organ. So what it seems is there are some cuts on here they are covering familiar ground covered on Nattfiolen, but I really enjoy how they covered new ground. But they also took a less accessible path, so it took me quite a few more listens for the album to grab me. The reason for the four star rating instead of the five their other albums deserved is for that reason.