DETTA HAR HÄNT

After an extremely promising debut Gösta Berlings Saga released some three years later this much-awaited for Detta Har Händt. First small deception: the much less charming artwork of this sophomore album, based onto construction shots, which quite a departure to the particularly charming debut digipak package. The group also saw a change of guitarist, Baldur's son stepping in for Daniel's son (too easy, but too hard to resist ;o))). The first impression, once the disc popped inside you deck, is that you'll have no problems to recognize the instrumental world GBS had installed with their debut. Lundberg's keyboard array hasgrown impressively, even if they're considered additional instrument and lmainly quoted on the Rhodes.

I can't help but thinking of the early Anekdoten (Vemod + Nucleus) upon a few occasions on this album, mainly the guitar and mellotron layers, but also at Crimson ('the opening succession of chords on Bergslagen. Sometimes the electronic noises are intriguing almost ambient, like at the start and throughout Svenska Hjärtan; whereas they're announcing a deeply involved frenzy in Tem Trappar. The little flaw detected on the debut, overstaying inside the same groove without foraying around it, is actually increased as we find long moments (such as the closing Vasterbron) where the heroic wails and dramatic weeps from the guitar flatters shamelessly your eardrums with much talent, but might be more concise in its propos. Nevertheless, even an old dog such as me will allow himself to fall into a well-dressed up trap, such as this one.

A bit less brilliant than its predecessor, DHH is maybe more adventurous, but in the greater scheme of prog things, they're both fairly sonically similar, even if I'd advise to start with the debut and move to this one after. In either case, while certainly not groundbreaking (what is still so, in this end of the 00's decade?), GBS offers some orgasmic moments, even though it might have a little too much déjà-vu feel and may sound a tad formulaic, in regards to the Scandic retro-prog plethora.