VARIOLA VERA

From Bergen, Norway, this is a band that only debuted in late 2017--to some very favoriable reviews (including one of my own) with vocalist Aleksander Vormestrand earning great praise. The coronavirus pandemic obviously put an obstacle into the path of the band's plans but I for one am glad to see that they made it through and have decided to persist as a band.

1. "Shaping Mirrors Like Smoke" (5:47) (8.75/10) 2. "Heart Listening" (5:21) (9/10) 3. "Blowing Raspberries" (3:43) almost disco-techno pop. (7.75/10) 4. "Brother" (5:02) this one could be an attempt to make a song like MIDLAKE or MICE ON STILTS or even Justin Vernon's BON IVER. (8/10) 5. "Let the Mother Burn" (4:56) My favorite (9.25/10) 6. "Caligula" (4:17) (8.5/10) 7. "Agafia" (5:55) rich sound (8.75/10) 8. "Variola Vera" (3:54) picked acoustic guitar with subtle, spacious keyboard support opens this instrumental. Very pretty in a Pink Floyd or LUNATIC SOUL way. (8.75/10)

Total Time 38:55

The band has certainly grown and changed in their approach and stylistic expression since Myth of Earth. There seems to be a lot more use of simpler, more pop-oriented folk music on this album. After Myths I have to admit to feeling quite some disappointment at the lack of presence or development of Aleksander's voice: his voice is much less prominent or attention-drawing. I feel much more as if I'm listening to other bands--or covers of other bands' music/songs here than I was prepared for.

B-/four stars; an album worthy of checking out in order to create your own determination.

HIMMELLEGEME means "Sky Community" in Norwegian and is actually the perfect name for a modern psychedelic space rock styled band as its music really does take you into a cloudy congregation and offers a modern take on atmospheric spacey prog which DOESN'T sound like Pink Floyd! This is a fairly new band having formed only in 2015 in Bergen, Norway. This quintet consists of Aleksander Vormestrand (guitar, vocals), Hein Alexander Olson (lead guitar), Lauritz Isaksen (keyboards), Erik Alfredsen (bass) and Thord Nordli (drums) and has released two albums thus far. "Myth Of Earth" came out in 2017 and now in 2021 its sophomore release VARIOLA VERA has pierced the veil and made itself known to those of us who are willing to listen!

Something about Norway and Scandinavia in general. When bands are not engaged in full-on misanthropic black metal and extreme noise outbursts, they can be quite seductive in their unique approach to other mellower styles of music. HIMMELLEGEME mostly reminds me of Sigur Ros on its quieter subdued tracks while sounding a bit more like a non-metal Leprous on the upbeat scores. There that glacial fjord feeling that doesn't really come from any geographical area of the world and HIMMELLEGEME nails it perfectly. This is mostly an album on the mellower side with a few tracks like "Blowing Raspberries" generating a rougher rock approach but the track "Brother" really does sound like it could've been on one of the more guitar oriented Sigur Ros albums.

While many of the spacier prog acts are crafting expansive sprawling albums that exceed an hour's length, VARIOLA VERA is traditional LP's playing time of only about 39 minutes. The tracks are on the shorter side fo the equation with none exceeding six minutes and all exhibiting vocals. Aleksander Vormestrand does sound very much like Sigur Ros' Jónsi in the vocal department but also captures the melodic phrasing of fellow Norwegians Leprous on their newer less metal oriented albums. This is somewhat of a damper for my enjoyment of the album since it often strays too close to the aforementioned influences without really putting any distance between them. In fact i never really consider Sigur Ros and Leprous in the same musical family but when i hear this it makes sense how Leprous is really going in the same direction as Sigur Ros only eschewing the post-rock constructs.

Tracks like "Caligula" are a bit more bluesy but offer the off-kilter stop/start chord choppiness of Leprous. Unfortunately i just can't get past the blatant Sigur Ros worship on this one. It's a competent album with excellent production and interesting composiitons albeit a bit poppy for true space rock escapism but nevertheless a pleasant journey into the glacial fjords of the frozen northlands. Existing somewhere between space rock, post-rock and prog, HIMMELLEGEME is definitely a band to look out for but as far as this sophomore album is concerned i find it a decent listen but nothing to get overly excited about either. It's just missing that extra something that makes it stand out.