Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Beardfish
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2015
Running time: 65:29
Rating: 4.5/5
An unusual album title for an unusual band, though it will only surprise those who are hearing about Swedish oddballs Beardfish for the first time. »+4626-COMFORTZONE« is the eighth studio album from these eclectic prog rock revivalists, and it came together while the versatile singer/keyboardist/occasional guitarist Rikard Sjöblom became the newest member of up-and-coming British prog heavyweights Big Big Train. After the somewhat gloomier, more atmospheric predecessor »The Void« (2012), the Swedish prog wits show up on their latest in a somewhat brighter and more relaxed light. Even so, the individual compositions differ quite a bit from one another in mood, and, true to tradition, they once again pack in a string of complex arrangements and odd time changes, so on that front they don’t disappoint this time either.
»+4626-COMFORTZONE« is yet another superb Beardfish album, and it’ll go down best with everyone who never made peace with the early farewell of certain progressive rock pioneers, Genesis first and foremost. At the same time, individual tracks draw on plenty of other genre influences, mostly from the worlds of heavy rock and pop rock. The album also has a loose conceptual thread: it’s a psychoanalytic cross-section of one person’s life, in which various socially conditioned, exclusively negative vibes became essential companions throughout that life, while with their help the person built up into their very own ‘comfort zone’ (total apathy, nihilism and an escape from any possibility of positive change for the better). All of it sounds like a psychoanalysis of the average citizen of the Republic of Slovenia.
»The One Inside Part One – Noise In The Background« is a short instrumental opener with dramatic symphonic arrangements, while »Hold On«, an intriguing mix of epic and bizarre, is a real treat for all fans of old-school symphonic prog rock who also love unpredictable rhythmic twists and mighty instrumental sections. As for virtuosity, the Beardfish crew once again can’t be praised enough, and Sjöblom’s often theatrical vocal seems to get better from album to album.
»Comfort Zone« opens with a melancholic guitar solo and ethereal synth textures, which together build a mysterious, tense mood. In time a gorgeous piano arrangement kicks in, while Sjöblom once again shows off his emotionally very versatile singing. Here too the song structure is full of clever, witty symphonic motifs that take the listener on a wonderful trip through plenty of different atmospheric worlds. »Can You See Me Now?«, where the influence of the legendary Queen is impossible to miss, has a slight bluesy pulse that blends effectively with the symphonic variations and Rikard’s attentive vocal approach.
The darker-minded »King« takes a somewhat modernist, let’s call it ‘new prog’, approach, with metal-spiced guitar passages and more aggressive singing, while the synth textures are a bit more electronically oiled this time, which yields some very interesting atmospheric results. »The One Inside Part 2 – My Companion Through Life« is a pastoral-flavored acoustic ballad that makes a pleasing contrast with its gloomier predecessor. »Daughter/Whore« is a hard rock/metal-leaning number with razor-sharp guitar passages and a furious vocal delivery that fits the brutal, satirical lyrics well.
»Ode To The Rock’n’Roller« is a symphonic prog rock epic of more than 15 minutes in the best genre tradition, and the pivotal moment of the album, where Beardfish squeeze out their finest songwriting and instrumental virtues, along with a refined sense of humor and melodrama. A longer instrumental intro, ruled mainly by Hammond organ, is followed by a smooth shift into a subtly crafted acoustic section. Besides his excellent, richly varied singing, Rikard shines throughout with all kinds of keyboard improvisations, where the influences of Keith Emerson (ELP) and Tony Banks (Genesis) are impossible to miss, while the whole band repeatedly blows past numerous genre boundaries, so this brilliant epic will appeal to fans of bands as different as, say, Genesis, ELP, Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, The Who and Queen.
»If We Must Be Apart (Love Story Continued)« is one of the bigger surprises on this album, basically a hugely entertaining and complex hybrid of a pop rock ballad and a hard rock banger, driven forward by plenty of melodic arrangements, witty blues-based guitar passages and clever rhythmic variations. The album closes with »The One Inside Part 3 – Relief«, a nostalgic power ballad where Beardfish once again prove themselves masters at forging hypnotic melodies from the finest art rock school.
Beardfish have once again made a thoroughly fascinating album, one where every repeat listen still turns up plenty of surprises and overlooked details, so that amid the excellent atmospheric balance the fun never runs out, courtesy of the instrumental variety and pleasant moments of total, ethereal rapture. Given how different »+4626-COMFORTZONE« is from its predecessor, it’d be hard to say the band is staying in a stylistic ‘comfort zone’ on it.
Line-up
Rikard Sjöblom – vocals and keyboards
David Zackrinsson – guitar
Robert Hansen – bass guitar
Magnus Östgren – drums
Production
Beardfish
Track list
1. The One Inside Part 1: Noise in the Background (1:47)
2. Hold On (7:47)
3. Comfort Zone (9:34)
4. Can You See Me Now (3:44)
5. King (5:43)
6. The One Inside Part 2: My Companion Throughout Life (4:05)
7. Daughter / Whore (5:22)
8. If We Must Be Apart (A Love Story Continued) (7:20)
8. Ode to the Rock ‘N’ Roller (15:34)
10. The One Inside Part 3: Relief (4:33)
