V

This Swedish quintet is one of the better examples of retro-prog. The sound is unashamedly rooted in 1970s giants like Yes and Genesis, and they remind me a lot of the better moments of Spock's Beard. The music is filled with lush synths and organ, and the guitar has a noticeably modern style of distortion to it. While the songs are often in progressive rock's usual serious tone, there are lighter, fun moments sprinkled throughout. I do have some critiques, though. The vocals are competent on most of the album, but a few passages sound weak. Additionally, this album is just so damn long. I know this is a common gripe, but the closing song is nearly 37 minutes long (and that's after the combined 30 minutes of the first two songs), and it is really, really, really difficult to make a song that long consistently engaging. They do their best, but it does leave me looking at my watch occasionally.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/06/20/odds-ends-june-20-2019/