BLOMLJUD

Blomljud is an album which wears its influences on its proverbial sleeve, namely Genesis and Yes. But below the surface is a debt to the baroque soft rock of the 1970s and early 1980s, so alongside the soaring indulgences of symphonic prog, Blomljud includes innumerable nods to the California sound, to Brian Wilson, the Association, the Carpenters, Ambrosia, and many more. The guitar solos echo Steve Hackett and Steve Howe, but Steve Lukather as well. And there are even down-to-earth lyrics (a bit too down-to-earth in some cases; e.g., "hey pretty baby, it's gonna be alright," which admittedly sounds better in context).

You will not mistake Blomljud for the Beach Boys - - not even the multi-layered vocal sections - - yet for all of the complaints about Genesis and Yes "going pop" or "selling out" in the 1980s, there's more pop sensibility on Blomljud than on 90125 or even Invisible Touch. And it's nicely integrated across what is otherwise very clearly a neo-prog record.

But this brings up two substantial shortcomings of the album. First of all, it's a hundred minutes long, which is why there's so much room to integrate all of that sunshiny goodness. There's plenty of quality material here, but not a hundred minutes' worth. So there's a fair amount of repetition and elongation, which waters down the proceedings. Secondly, there's the neo-prog thing: Moon Safari slips into the clichés of "golden era" prog-rock too often for my taste. I love the analog synth patches, the time signatures, the bass-drumkit interplay - - all of it - - but while it doesn't come across as perfunctory, it strikes me as obligatory, which I regard as regrettable given the tremendous talent at work here.

However, be this hero-worship, it's creative hero-worship. There are more then a few unique and oddball moments on Blomljud which remind the listener that this isn't your average bunch of wannabe proggers; these are not only musicians, but evidently, students of music as well. And they sound like they're having a lot of fun.

Blomljud is a sprawling affair which might've benefited from an outside producer. On the other hand, it may be a necessary, warts-and-all stage in this band's development.