EFTER EFTER (AFTER AFTER)

Reflections on their journey

"Efter Efter" is the 9th studio album of the long lived Swedish outfit known as Trettioariga Kriget (TK), who've been around for about 40 years now. "After After" (in English) is the final album of the trilogy that began with "The Fire of Years." It was recorded in Stockholm between late 2010 and early 2011. The themes of the album deal with the past, looking back on their lives and years as a band, and looking at how those events have shaped the present. While I've only heard two of their albums, TK reminds me most of Dire Straits before their commercial phase, when they played longer and more instrumentally focused music. Their albums have a similar feel to early Dire Straits with melancholic, blue-mood atmospheres rising from the background keyboards and mellotron. Other reference points for me are the Yugo bands LebiSol and Tako. The superb lead guitar work touches on blues and fusion with a refined quality not unlike Mark Knofler or David Gilmour in places. Some of the solos are truly epic and will please guitar aficionados; overall the TK sound certainly presents guitars over keyboards. Occasionally there will be heavier riffs or softer passages but for the most part the tracks are somewhat middle of the road, rocking with good emotion, but nothing mind blowing. TK is a refined and mature project that is of a good quality but unfortunately they have never really excited me in a huge way, though to be fair many rate them higher than I do. Certainly worth investigating if you like the bands mentioned. 3 stars.

"....these masters of dynamics are able to enact the play of sunlight upon waves in the landscape that has formed them and that they have made their own. What do they achieve? I would say: vigorous beauty. What has been the major force behind their years and years of playing together? I think the answer lies in one of the lines of this song: at their best, love itself has been their guest." ---band reflections from their website

The band returns with the last part of their trilogy and the third album since their reunion. Named "Efter Efter", meaning After After, I hope this name and the album being a trilogy closer don't imply the band is done with. Thinking about it, it seems not likely at all, as they have been getting media coverage and enthusiastic responses to their last albums and they've been touring and will continue to do so, in and outside their homeland of Sweden. And so I hope that After After this trilogy will be getting More More of this band's music.

I mentioned in a previous review that while I like their 1970s output, I much prefer their current incarnation and the music they're releasing now. That is uncommon for most, if not all bands I listen to that have reunited, particularly looking at other prog bands like the Italian prog revival currently ongoing as well as the VdGG reunion (I do like and listen to these bands' current music, I'm not dissing them). There is just something that speaks to me more about Trettioariga Kriget's music today than their first time around.

On Efter Efter, Trettioariga Kriget make rock music like it should be: Melodic, powerful and varied. They have their formula, their sound and style and they don't steer away from it too much, but manage to create catchy and warm sounding, in large part due to that lush mellotron sound but also their cool guitar tones and the other keyboards. They also manage some intricacy and variety to come into play in their compositions, spicing things up.

The music, ambitious hard rock with soft edges courtesy of lush keyboards, is accessible and charming. While being somewhat straightforward in their writing and song structure and a little naïve-sounding at times (and that is part of their charm as they come up with wonderful riffs and melodies), their arrangements introduce intricacies, complexity and exploration into their songs, such as the proggy middle section of Barnet, the ending of Tavlan and the solos in Efter Efter for instance. The results are songs that start in a straightforward manner and gradually introduce twists and shifts that capture the ears.

Their instrumentals are where they really shine. In the three studio albums released since they returned to activity, they had captivating instrumentals. With a poignant and catchy melody, wonderful layering instrumentation and gorgeous climaxes. These show the band's enthusiasm at its highest and their musical skills, the most fulfilled. Listen to The Dance on this album and you'll hear the band's emotions as well as their epic side.

The title song, Efter Efter combines their epic side and their skill at creating a catchy song. The song's main riff can get stuck in your head for a while. The keyboards and guitar solos in the middle are a little different than what I heard previously from the band and they're a welcome addition to the band's palate.

Of the current trilogy of studio albums by the band, I still find I Borjan Och Slutet to be the standout album, the one I'm most excited about and gets my enthusiasm spring out as I listen to it. But slowly and gradually, Efter Efter is growing on me; there certainly are several pieces on here that have become my favourites by them. Like in previous albums, this one comes with the lyrics in Swedish and the English translation.

What will be after this album? I just hope for the 30 Years War to remain active.

For PA rating purposes: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

TRETTIOARIGA KRIGET certainly doesn't roll off the tongue for this English speaking Canadian but it's the music that counts and these guys are pros in every sense of the word. A Swedish band who formed while they were still in High School as a four piece and it wasn't until their third studio album that they brought in a keyboardist and this same lineup continues to this day as I noticed they released a new album in 2021. They have disbanded a couple of times previous but unlike so many bands when they return they continue to sound like themselves and they continue to make outstanding music. In fact this album I'm reviewing is the third in a trilogy and this trilogy may be their best string of music. I also really like their 1974 debut. Funny but my oldest daughter really likes this band which is kind of random but she loves PORCUPINE TREE so she's into the more accessible bands of Prog. Great guitarist here and the vocals are in Swedish and they have indeed carved out a nice career for themselves in their native Sweden. And they use melloton! In fact they used Stefan Dimle's mellotron the same guy who's label they have been on since 1992 called "Mellotronen", and he was also in LANDEBERK, MORTE MACABRE and PAATOS to name a few.

We get mellotron on five of the eight tracks creating atmosphere. This band are great at contrasting the heavy and more mellow passages. I have loved the sound of the guitar since the start, just the tone of it but of course the guy can play, and that he does very well. Man this is a consistent album which I like, no duds just a lot of great music. It opens with heaviness as the drums boom and the guitar solos over top. It lightens when the vocals arrive but contrasts continue. Interesting to hear orchestral sounds on "The Child" probably from the keyboardist. A mellow start but when the vocals step aside before 3 minutes and the tempo picks up I'm smiling. Heavier before 5 1/2 minutes until almost 7 minutes. Nice. I'm a big fan of "The Dance" as well which is an instrumental with some great sounding guitar. Another highlight is "Glorious War" opening with bass and reserve vocals it kicks in around a minute including more powerful vocals. Organ rolls in at 5 1/2 minutes with guitar soloing over top. So good and it ends heavily. The closer is the other highlight called "After After" at over 10 minutes. A great tune to sample actually as we get this band at their best including mellotron.

If you don't mind non English vocals and are into some adventerous guitar driven music please check out this amazing band. Hard to believe this was released 10 years ago.