WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS

These fairly recent newcomers to the Prog Scene display their unremitting growth and fearless instincts to explore styles and sounds that they'd not expressed before on this their third studio album release since 2015.

1. "Chains of Changes "(6:20) the confidence and ambivalence of the long-held opening keyboard chord of this song conveys a lot about the growth and state of increasing maturity of the band as a whole as well as of the brother and sister team in its leadership role. The song then bursts into a fairly standard-feeling crossover symphonic song in order to convey a rather compelling wish for "the good old days." Adequate power vocals from Johanne-Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal in the lead position. (8.75/10)

2. "Behave" (5:48) great sound texture with deep bass below and the power of THE REASONING or PURE REASON REVOLUTION in the choruses. Knut Kippersund Nesdal does a great job in the lead singing role while Johanne- Margrethe is even better in the background second lead position. The instrumental passage filling the fourth minute is replete with tons of potential energy, which is then realized with the wonderful final chorus. (9.3333/10)

3. "Take Me to the River" (5:05) Not the Al Green/Talking Heads song. Instead, this is a pretty and steady song with lots of space. There's almost a GEORGE MICHAEL quality to the opening piano as well as to Knut's breathy-lead male vocal performance (not so much his work on the background vocals). In the beginning of the fourth minute there is a slight pause before a guitar riff starts up that sucks the rest of the band into a high speed instrumental chase to the rest of the song. It sounds a bit like TOTO with The Brothers Johnson's famous riff from "Strawberry Letter 23" set to Ben Morley's bombastic orchestra arrangements. Nice! (8.875/10)

4. "Come to Light" (5:08) a finely crafted pop song that sounds a bit like TOTO's "Africa" in the start. Johanne- Margrethe enters singing in a very delicate, almost passive torch song vocal while the pop music instrumentation supports. Nice piano and multiple voice buildup in the third minute before more Toto chords and orchestra build for a bombastic Broadway musical choral vocal return at 3:25 (to the end). (8.75/10)

5. "Golden Circle" (4:34) plucked electric guitar chords open this one before the rock band jumps in, creating a weirdly awkward MYRATH-like kind of prog metal. Knut and Johanne-Margrethe sing the vocals side-by-side giving it a PURE REASON REVOLUTION or THE REASONING familiarity. The MYRATH synths and pulsing metal rhythm track continues to flourish beneath the powerful performances of the vocal sibling tandem. (8.875/10)

6. "To What End?" (5:34) fine BENT KNEE-like composition that draws one in from the opening notes and keeps you hooked in. Johanne-Margrethe really shows her skills as a power belter in the chorus sections. Definitely a favorite. (9/10)

7. "Today Tonight Tomorrow" (6:04) a great character showpiece for Knut as if from a huge hit Broadway musical. The comparisons I've read to Leprous' Einar Solberg and Britain's That Joe Payne are not unfounded. One of my top three songs. (9.25/10)

8. "World of Wonder" (1:32) a kind of orchestrated continuation of the previous song but adding nothing new or different (except for taking up space). (4.375/5)

9. "Mother" (5:32) again an orchestrated song for Knut to sing in his theatric form something with very tender emotion. It's not until 1:54 that bass and guitars enter and take over giving the song a very MICE ON STILTS-like sound. Johanne-Margrethe does a great job duplicating Knut's singing, a performance that cries out to be called co-lead vocal if not a duet. It's as if BEN MORLEY and COURTNEY SWAIN joined forces. Powerful. (8.875/10)

10. "Something in the Water" (5:42) opens like a prime early BENT KNEE symphonic wonder, complete with the marvellously-nuanced Courtney Swain-like lead vocal from Johanne-Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal, violins, power chords, and male background vocals. The music builds in the second half to heights crying out "Prog Metal"--very similar to Denver's OK GOODNIGHT and SOUL ENEMA/SCARDUST's Noa Gruman. Great performance from Johanne- Margrethe. (9/10)

11. "This Is the End" (9:32) heavy and metallic but very simple with vocals almost sounding forced. Again bands like MYRATH, ORPHANED LAND, SOUL ENEMA, and SCARDUST come to mind. (17.625/20)

Total Time 60:51

the craftsmanship is top notch it's just that the musical intention and goals are sometimes unclear (more uniquely their own but less proggy than their previous works). Both Johanne-Margrethe and Knut Kippersund Nesdal have really come into their own power as vocalists--and their work together is every bit as good as their individual performances.

B+/4.5 stars; Though this near-masterpiece of an album does not evoke the excitement and praises I'v e felt for Meer's previous albums, I do like and appreciate the growth these artists have achieved and I definitely support and commend the direction they've chosen. Highly recommended.