Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Kaipa
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2007
Rating: 3/5
”Angling Feelings” is the ninth studio album from Sweden’s cult symphonic prog heroes Kaipa and the fourth from their second era, which kicked off after 2002. It’s also their third album in total without Roine Stolt, the The Flower Kings guitarist who started his music career with Kaipa back in the ’70s. Roine decided that from now on he’d devote himself exclusively to the Flower Kings. His replacement is Per Nilsson, previously best known as a member of the metal band Scar Symmetry.
With a swap this big, the unavoidable question follows: what kind of wind has the new guitarist, coming from such a different genre, blown into the band’s sound? The difference is noticeable in a good way from the very first listen, and Roine’s fans have no reason to panic. Nilsson is a great guitarist, both technically and when it comes to building atmosphere. Not that I’m questioning the outstanding skills of his far more high-profile predecessor, but I’d say he’s brought a completely new approach to the band’s music, with breathtaking solos and melodic passages that are much closer to jazz than metal. Even though he’s stepped into totally new musical territory, he’s like a fish in water there and he’s the main factor behind the much-needed freshness he’s injected into their somewhat worn-out, repetitive musical language, which leans heavily on the legacy of ’70s symphonic prog, with jazz, folk and pop bits thrown in here and there. Nilsson also pairs up brilliantly with the band’s boss, keyboardist Hans Lundin, who as usual prefers electronic keyboards. I’ve got no further comment on bassist Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, The Tangent), since his outstanding technical skills are well known to most listeners of modern prog rock. On drums, once again, is the master Morgan Ǻgren, who has worked over his career with names like Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Glenn Huges, Tony Iommi, Terry Bozzio, Mike Keneally and Dweezil Zappa. Anyone who’s played with Zappa (who invited him into his band in his twenties) really needs no proof of their musical chops. Ǻgren is also known for his own project, Matts/Morgan.
All the band’s trademark elements are still present on “Angling Feelings” — jazzy rhythms, orchestral arrangements, complex instrumental passages, folk-rock seasoning and melodic vocal lines trading off between male and female voices — but this time they’re played in a much more relaxed way, with less showing off of solo virtuosity. The jazz improvisations are noticeably shorter than before and don’t stray from the main melody the way they used to. That was often one of the main reasons their symphonic and folk-rock-leaning melodic lines got lost in a flood of all kinds of instrumental adventures.
The other thing that, in my opinion, has always dragged Kaipa down is the vocals, which they still haven’t learned to use properly on this album. The solid Aleena Gibson, certainly one of the better singers in modern prog, is underused again, even though there’d be nothing wrong with her singing the whole album herself. Her velvety, warm voice blends into Kaipa’s music far better than the technically competent but tonally totally expressionless Patrik Lundström (Ritual), who, when he goes for angry expression, often sounds like some third-rate version of Freddie Mercury (Queen). Meanwhile Aleena shines with a clearly recognizable timbre that complements the melodic parts perfectly. On the other hand, when the two sing as a duo, they work well together and deliver the emotional peaks of the album.
On “Angling Feelings” Kaipa have gained mostly in melodiousness and also upped the sensitivity created by individual “pop” motifs, which means only the 12-minute-plus “The Fleeting Existence of Time” and the folk-rock-flavored “Path Of Humbleness” (where fans of Mostly Autumn and Heather Findlay will get their fill too) come close to the old school of complex symphonic prog epics. So there’s no shortage of shorter, instantly accessible pieces, like the dreamy semi-ballad “Liquid Holes In The Sky” and the almost completely straight-ahead pop of “Pulsation”, which will also please fans of other melody-friendly prog revivalists like Spock’s Beard. The standouts are mostly the pieces where you can easily spot the legacy of the classic prog masters, who had already made their best work back when Kaipa was just being born (that is, in 1975). That goes above all for the title track, which owes a lot to the legacy of Yes, “The Glorious Silence Within”, which has the Celtic arrangements on guitar, keyboards and flute that Mike Oldfield once made his name with, and “The Fleeting Existence Of Time”, where the perfect harmonies between guitar and keyboards even sound like they rest on Genesis’s musical stamp. Still, Kaipa have enough of their own recognizable virtuosic electronic and jazzy finesse on keys and rhythm, backed by a unique vocal approach, that they can’t be mistaken for The Flower Kings or other Scandinavian prog revivalists, which is something old hands like Lundin, Reingold and Ǻgren make possible. A nice example of this classic Kaipa fusion is the solid “Broken Chords”, where only Lundström’s vocal spoils it, in one of his “I wanna sing like Freddy” moments that just doesn’t gel with the overall pulse of the composition.
My final impression of “Angling Feelings” is pretty mixed, even though it’s without a doubt one of their best albums (including the ones from the ’70s). There are quite a few very likable pieces on it, which means you can thoroughly enjoy more than half the album. Unlike most of their Scandinavian peers, who are smitten with technical superiority, Kaipa have a sense for poetry and for creating multicolored moods, which come mainly from the good female vocals and a fitting blend of melodiousness and virtuosity. On the other hand, some of the instrumental experiments just don’t hit the mark, and after repeated listens a spoiled fan of classic symphonic prog and jazz fusion gets sick of them fast. If Kaipa had used female vocals across the whole album, it would surely have earned a much higher rating, since it’s their most mature album since their comeback, finally presenting them again as a competent band that, mostly thanks to experience and a feel for melody, can stand toe-to-toe with the young prog revivalists led by Spock’s Beard.
Lineup
Hans Lundin – electric, acoustic & virtual keyboards,
backing vocals
Per Nilsson – electric guitar
Jonas Reingold – bass guitar
Morgan Ågren – drums
Patrik Lundström – vocals
Aleena Gibson – vocals
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Fredrik Lindqvist – flute & whistle (1, 2, 8-10)
Production
Hans Lundin
Track list
1. Angling Feelings (6:43)
2. The Glorious Silence Within (7:17)
3. The Fleeting Existence Of Time (12:37)
4. Pulsation (4:01)
5. Liquid Holes In The Sky (4:42)
6. Solitary Pathway (4:05)
7. Broken Chords (6:26)
8. Path Of Humbleness (9:29)
9. Where’s The Captain? (4:23)
10. This Ship Of Life (4:40)
Trajanje albuma: 64:23
