BLOMLJUD

Medicine and some exotic cooking have examples of ingredients which in big doses can be lethal but in carefully controlled doses can do wonders. Similarly this album contains ingredients which are potentially dangerous for good prog: it's super-melodic, accessible, with near-poppy melodies, sweet, happy, folky, derivative, regressive, and yet every potentially dangerous element is used just in the right measure and the result works for me to the point that, not without some hesitation, I am giving Moon Safari's Blomljud the highest score.

A sophomore double CD of more than 100 minutes is a bold challenge, even our beloved 70's superbands frequently couldn't help having some filler in their double albums, but Moon Safari managed to fill those 100 minutes with top quality music, nothing feels like filler to me here.

The music is a perfect blend of modern symphonic (think something like the light side of Neal Morse, not the heavy Sola Scriptura but something more along the lines of Lifeline, or Glass Hammer or Simon Says Tardigrade) with clear classic symphonic influences from Yes and Genesis, and tinted with an acoustic folk happy feel. And then the icing on the cake, those trademark wonderful multilayered vocal harmonies all over the place, which depending on the moment can remind of either Queen, Yes, The Beach Boys or ELO. I think that I did not hear such great vocal works since Queen's A Day At The Races.

The abundance of acoustic guitar, piano, sweet vocals and little distortion are deceptive and make the album feel very folky and relaxed on first listens, but when you pay attention the album has much more energy than it initially felt like.

"Methuselah's Children" with its a capella intro "Constant Bloom" are a modern masterpiece, blending energy and sensitivity in perfect balance. "In the countryside" is acoustic and folky, with very good melodies and a lovely final vocal cannon.

"Moonwalk" is a fantastic instrumental, starting with a menacing organ riff and then switching to more melodical forms.

"Bluebells" is again full of acoustic guitar and piano, but it has beat, in some ways it reminds me of Brian May songs in the classic Queen period like '39 and it has also some great vocals sections.

"The Ghost Of Flowers Past" is an excellent good prog song, only hampered by some excessively pop-sounding melodical lines for my taste, some sections remind me of ELO.

On to the 2nd CD, "Yasgur's Farm" is a very energetic track showing obvious Yes influences, and the same can be said of "Lady Of The Woodlands" with a verse reminding of Yes "Machine Messiah", great stuff.

"A Tale Of Three and Tree" is mellow and soft, a good contrast to the previous two energetic tracks and with nice lyrics.

Then we have the 31 minutes suite "Half Side Of The Sky", it may not be Supper's Ready but it's actually a great song with a lot to offer if you listen to it carefully. Simply wonderful.

The album closes with the calm "To Sail Beyond The Sunset", which has some overtones of The Lamb's 'The Carpet Crawlers".

If this double album was released in the 70's it would be undoubtedly hailed as a timeless masterpiece. Of course being a symphonic retro album released in 2008 it can never score high in originality or innovation, I don't know if within 30 years it will feel like Foxtrot or A Night At The Opera, time will tell but I still rate it with 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.