VILJANS ÖGA

I'm surprised at how low key the promotion for the initial release of this latest offering from Sweden's Anglagard has been. The CD deserves much more exposure than it's received so far. I'm writing this from the perspective of a music lover who spent his teenage years in the 1970's, savoring the original releases within the prog genre. After a decade of musical disappointment in the 80's when I'd pretty much given up on the possibility of there being any interesting music produced again - a friend introduced me to a band he described as: 'An awesome new prog band from Sweden. Imagine someone singing the words to an Ikea catalog on top of odd time signatures with mellotron.' Well, he wasn't far off in his fanciful description but I'd also add the adjectives, brilliant, emotional and melodic to preface his words. So here we are, 20 years since I was exposed to the music of Anglagard and listening to the gift of new music from the band. First of all, Viljans Oga sounds like Anglagard. If I had been played any track from it in a 'blind' listening test I'd know it was them instantly. The unique analog keys, flute and guitar arrangements have that Anglagard feel to them that ties the music to the albums before. But the music on VO is more mature and the movement changes more fluid. The awkwardness that can be found in some of their earlier work is absent here. There are also some beautiful, melodic hooks that stay with me long after I've left turned off my player. I've found myself quietly humming the flute/ guitar theme that flows through 'track 3, Snardom' on more than one occasion. I'm also compelled to mention the beauty of the cover artwork and photography and how appropriate it is in reflecting the mood of the music within. Truly a thoughtful expression that seems to be lacking in contemporary music presentation. So, I've given Viljans Oga, a well deserved 5 stars, as I know his disc will be in heavy rotation in my player for a long time.