BYDYRA

I wasn't expecting Tusmørke to cough up two albums in one year, but they did, starting with Hinsides in May 2017, and now Bydyra in November. Here they switched labels from Svart to Karisma Records, same label that issued Wobbler's new release From Silence to Somewhere and upcoming releases from Jordsjø, Lars Fredrik Frøslie, credited as The Phenomenon Marxo Solinas provides some great use of Moog and Mellotron, so now children get treated with sounds of such instruments. The group now includes Håkon Oftung from Jordsjø, I guess I can't be too surprised as I get reminded of Tusmørke from time to time with Jordsjø¸ (as well as Wobbler and Änglagård). When I heard Bydyra was going to be a children's album I was suspicious. Here in America (where I live) children's music conjures up images of insipid music from Disney and Barney the Dinosaur. Tusmørke totally avoids that trap big time by creating an honest to god children's prog album! No reminders of Disney, Barney or Elmo here, but instead the lyrics seem to be about urban life, rising housing prices in already expensive Oslo (something that also concerns people in London and Paris, and here in the States with New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu, with smaller cities like Portland and Seattle heading that way), and apparently magic. The band included a children's chorus from some Oslo primary school. Despite the child-like approach, it's easy to see this is basically the same group that brought us Underjordisk Tusmørke exactly five years before, just you hear children singing along with the Tusmørke guys (Benediktator and Krizla share vocal duties). That's an ingenious way to introduce children to prog. The songs are all short, since I doubt children will be ready for Tales From Topographic Oceans at that age. But that totally makes since and they didn't sacrifice prog just because the songs are shorter. The folk elements are still present as before.

It's safe to say American children won't get much out of it since it's all sung in Norwegian, but for those who wonder if a children's prog album can succeed, I'm happy to say, it succeeds here. No Barney, Elmo or Disney stuff here. I've heard my share of American children's music which pretty much scarred me for life (I'm only glad I was born in 1972, Barney was way after my time). Doing a children's album is certainly a very risky gamble, and in this case it paid off well. Well worth listening to, even if you can't get much out of what they're singing due to language barrier. By far the best children's music album by a country mile!

Norwegian band TUSMORKE was formed back in the middle of the 1990's, but didn't actually become recording artists until 2012. Since then the band have grown considerably in status and stature, with half a dozen albums to their name at this point. "Bydyra" is their fifth studio album, and was released by Norwegian label Karisma Records towards the end if 2017.

Music made for children are one of those details of life that can give some people headaches merely by mentioning it. Car vacations with the same album of simplistic, limited musical dandruff repeated over and over again a real life nightmare I imagine a few are still familiar with, even if this is mainly an experience from a bygone age by now. Tusmorke proves quite nicely that music of this kind doesn't have to be as limited as certain international corporations wants us to believe, and that music of this kind can be an interesting listen also for adults. Primarily one for the children this one, but also an album that prog loving parents can safely play in their car or at home without being in danger of getting a migraine. As far as style is concerned, this is progressive folk rock blended with a children's musical. A blend that is rather more appealing than what you would expect.

This album has two preceding reviews, both surprisingly favourable 4-stars. Therefore I feel I have to bring the more negative point of view as a warning to anyone who is trying to decide whether to buy the CD or not. The crucial question is: can you imagine enjoying a happy-go-lucky CHILDREN'S MUSICAL (in Norwegian), with the children's choir backing on most of the openly naiive songs? Because, if you are generally not a friend of children's music, chances are that this music will irritate you too. This is not progressive rock for adult listeners, this is primarily children's music. Yes, the instrumentation does lean towards Prog Folk, there are flutes, Glockenspiel, Mellotrons and vintage synthesizers, but the vocals are VERY central and VERY pure children's music, not only for the presence of children's choir but also for the irritatingly naiive singing style of Benediktator (as the Tusmorke vocalist and multi-instrumentalist wants to call himself). The few vocal-free moments and perhaps also some choir- free moments with B's vocals only, are like glimpses of an album that a Prog Folk fan might wholeheartedly enjoy.

Some background information: the music is taken from two children's musicals staged at flautist-vocalist Krizla's workplace, a primary school in Oslo, in 2015 and 2016. For Tusmorke it "has been one of several long-term plans for expanding the creative output of the band into new areas". The musical was to be "about urban wildlife, the skyrocketing prices of housings in Oslo, the financial crisis, social issues, global warming, and good and bad magic." The main characters in the story are some animals that lose their home tree, or something like that. Some songs like 'Rottekongen' (= Rat King) are extremely irritating in my opinion. The choruses are very very simple and heavily repeated. Moreover, nearly all songs are rather similar with each other. I'm afraid I'm sounding like a children's hater -- which I'm definitely not -- but to me the continuous presence of the kid's choir, and the childish singing style of Benediktator, really eats the music's potential.

Frankly, I have listened to better children's music -- and also more progressive; especially Finnish children's music from the early seventies -- when it comes to the eclectism in compositions. The playing, ie. the Prog Folk arrangement, is charming, but unfortunately it has a minor role in this music. What a pity! Subjectively I can't rate this musical recording any better than two stars as I choose not to re-listen it ever again, and I bet that an average fan of Tusmorke's 'adult' output will be disappointed. But if you're a friend of children's music and enjoy the plain bright naivety in it, or if you wish to find some prog-related children's music for your kid(s), then by all means get it.