AIMLESS MARY

Not solely music-wise another unpredictable collective hailing from Norway. Over the course of time the NEEDLEPOINT musicians are offering a stimulating roundup of styles and skills, which makes them quite impossible to pigeonhole in the end. I would describe this as an eclectic blend of jazz, canterbury, folk, pop, psych/space and avant. Bjørn Klakegg (guitar, vocals) seems to be the founder and head of this formation. But let me also highlight David Wallumrød in the same breath, who is adding awesome keyboard and synthesizer contributions over and over again. Being aware of every release, I would say this is their best work (so far). Absolutely dig that, when an album spiritually unfolds with every minute you're listening.

'Aimless Mary is walking on her daily route from bar to bar' ... eh, to start with, a woundrous cover image, isn't it? Whimsical. A huge cat, no, a wild boar staring at a naked woman in the shower, bathtub, or whatever. Unpredictable, what I'm saying. With certainty this is showcasing the album's tragical protagonist, poor Mary, probably revealing a rather hopeless situation. Don't bother, as it will challenge your sense of hearing most likely. They are offering a lively lift-off, like being on the run, according to the song title. A very jazzy performance somehow, great drumming by Olaf Olsen, later showing some soaring guitar presence. Featuring Klakegg's charming lounge tinged voice followed by the somewhat canterbury pop releasing Why and Soaring. One can say more in the vein of Caravan for example. The latter though is also equipped with a mind-blowing instrumental section later, dominated by a hurried rhythm branch as well as spacy synths and guitar. A fantastic implementation!

Shattered Into Memories then turns out to be Elephant9 reminiscent a bit towards the end. The title track however comes as a bittersweet ballad, turning into a psychedelic direction later on. Regarding all instruments a superb synergy is also guaranteed on the improvisation Half Awake, just another adorable album part, definitely enchanting. And so every particular song will evolve into an unforeseen direction, still. Quirky but sophisticated canterbury infected prog music, far away from the mainstream. So much the more here we are having an extraordinary hammond showpiece available. Seven breathtaking compositions to explore, I'm always delighted when listening again. Can't imagine that they will be able to make it better some day.

The third album release from these nostalgic Norwegians, this is the first with drummer Olaf Olsen, a move that makes a difference. (Not that previous drummers were bad, it's just that Olaf makes the listener stand up and listen. A lot.)

1. "Fear" (5:47) opens with a Motown-like motif and sound before turning Curtis Mayfield and then, with the vocals, a funked up early YES or ELP-like song. (8.5/10)

2. "Why" (6:12) Love the affected accent in the vocal sounding like a Reggae Tim Buckley. Very much like the Boston dream prog-pop band, GHOSTS OF JUPITER. Great melodic hooks in both the vocal and the instrumental threads. Also a great sing-along lyric. Easily my favorite song on the album. (9.5/10)

3. "Soaring" (8:15) sounds like a collaboration between Mark Isahm, David Torn, Ståle Storløkken and The Amazing. (13.5/15)

4. "Shattered into Memories" (5:01) jazzy psych-pop over strong swirling Hammond organ play. Lots of interesting guitar sounds used, as well--jazzy hollow-muted strings, as well as continuous fast-running bass play. Interesting. (8.5/10)

5. "Aimless Mary" (5:44) sounds like a song from some mid-1960s British psych-pop band--maybe The Zombies, The Animals, or The Soft Machine or even the first Yes or Hatfield albums. (8.75/10)

6. "Half Awake" (4:33) deeper into the simple psych-folk world--the first half could be a Tim Buckley, Syd Barrett, or Donovan song, the second Arthur Brown or even Steeleye Span or the Pentangle. Spooky, gripping song. (9/10)

7. "Imaginary Plane" (3:22) opens like something off of THE AMAZING's 2011 album, Gentle Stream--thought the vocal performance is more reminiscent of AL STEWART. Nice. Love the 1972-4 Stevie Wonder-like synths. (8.75/10)

Total Time 38:54

The band's eclectic retro psychedelic sound continues to evolve, to experiment. Organ sounds and the use of more electronic-based soundscapes seem to dominate this album.

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition of dreamy jazz-psych-pop to any prog lover's music collection.

The third LP by this Norwegian band, they combine Pop hook with proggy Jazz Rock, but really only on occasion is it truly progressive, truly compositionally interesting. I was unsure about their second, Outside the Screen with which I started, but I figured I would give them a better chance (and I'm certainly somewhat trustworthy of our community's positivity) [even now...]. Even so, as mentioned below (and in the review for that album), their main M.O. is texture, and not composition: that's where you'll lose me 90% of the time.

Right off though, "Fear" starts out most strongly. The melody, in its softness, is so solid and the instrumentation is just flying forward at 100 mph. Hypnotic rhythm spurned on by the main guitar/bass riff met then with awesome organ, flying off the handle after minute 2. What an opener. It ends then with a beautiful, apparently (at times) glissando-style guitar solo. Something super familiar, super classic occurs on the next, "Why". It's a neo-psychedelia that, I suppose, reminds me somewhat of the bits of King Gizz I do know. Just a super cool Psych, mixed with hints of what feels to me like Roots Rock.

Next, "Soaring" starts off so very sweet, with electric piano interlocking with guitar and a melodic bassline. Around minute 3, there's this Progressive Electronic sort of shift, with thumping (yet low) synths and a rhythm that picks up from the nearly melancholic intro. This continues to crescendo and crescendo, building with organ and a light intensity from the drums, nearly all the way to the end. And the ending is of its own feel. It was a bit much, like the noisescape excesses of Krautrock that just aren't quite for me. "Shattered Into Memories" picks it up next, with more from their sweet, soft rhythm section. From the rolling basslines to the church-readied organ, this feels like innumerous callbacks to the early-70s. Then, in the middle, there are just some beautiful sonic choices from synths and guitar, the latter in a long jazzy solo (and an excellent one at that). It jams on for quite a bit and then there's another end with a progressive and wild ending. I'll take it!

Next, our title track, "Aimless Mary", picks things up from the previous bombast, soft and balladic. I feel like tracks like this (and what "Shattered" appeared to be) have me reflecting on Outside the Screen: it's some decent singer-songwriter matched with really excellent musicianship, but frankly I'm just not interested in that right now (and perhaps nor you) [Wow, the English language really is something, huh?]. Nor am I interested much in that ever, I suppose. Again though, the musicianship, as I reflected on with previous tracks, is there, and yet... the overall focus is just not gripping to me personally.

The Rootsy, classic feel returns on the soft "Half Awake" and then.... around minute 2, the organ (and bass?) comes in low, but with heft. Once again, like their aforementioned sophomore release, this is atmospheric music, music of texture, not necessarily of composition (though they've proved they have that, too). There's even less here for me than on "Aimless Mary"... Finally, we have "Imaginary Plane". The melodies are sweet and once again we're in the low and slow. An interesting form to end your album out with. But I'm not them. And I've certainly never stepped foot in Norway haha.

I think, like one of their contemporaries Krokofant, only some of their material really appeals to me at all. Whether or not they fit the bill of "Progressive Rock" is questionable to me, though it's clear they're capable.