Label: Insideout Music
Release date: November 1, 2024
Production: Beardfish
Album length: 57.30 min
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 9.5/10
An English version can be found below – please scroll down
Slovenian version:
Beardfish, Sweden’s prog-rock revivalists with no shortage of musical-adventurer chops, are back among us
after nine years of ‘hibernation’, though in that time their Viking beards have surely grown out more than once. The news of Beardfish rising ‘from the dead’ caught
plenty of their followers off guard, especially since the band’s chief, guitarist/keyboardist,
singer and main songwriter Rikard Sjöblom, had been seriously busy in the meantime
with the English prog-rock heavyweights Big Big Train and his own solo project Gungfly.
The line-up stays unchanged on “Songs For Beating Hearts” too (and has since 2003),
with Sjöblom once again joined by top-notch guitarist David Zackrisson, while the traditionally
eclectic rhythm section is made up of bassist Robert Hansen and drummer Magnus Östgren. Sjöblom wrote
all the music on the album again, and the end result is a fresh treat for all lovers of eclectic prog rock done
the ‘old-school’ way. That means you can occasionally hear plenty of influences from prog titans like
Genesis, Yes and Camel, while Beardfish add their own distinctive
arrangement and atmospheric charm to every composition on the record. Interestingly, this time they’ve almost completely ditched the
assorted Canterbury-scene-inspired moments of eccentricity and playfulness that were typical of most of
their earlier albums.
“Ecotone” is a surprisingly serene, wistful and acoustic-tinged way to open the album. Very solid, but
“Songs For Beating Hearts” only turns into a wonderful adventure through the meanders of prog-rock
eclecticism after the first four minutes. The epic “Out
in the Open”, ‘carved up’ into five parts, is cut from completely different cloth than the melancholy intro. Stitched together, it would make a more than twenty-minute super-epic in
true old-school prog-rock fashion. Here Beardfish let their hair down with complex harmonies,
vivid symphonic arrangements and adventurous time changes, which means the album
really comes to life and finally smells like those classic Beardfish that fans had to wait
nine whole years for before they ‘rose from the grave’.
During the “Oblivion” section, mostly thanks to the multi-part vocals, you can also hear some hard-rock influences, led by
Uriah Heep, while Sjöblom’s keyboard ‘orgies’ are a dead ringer for good old Emerson,
Lake & Palmer. Worth noting: Sjöblom started out as a metalhead before warming to progressive rock, so it’s no wonder that
elements of heavy rock occasionally ‘sneak’ into Beardfish compositions. On “Hopes and Dreams”, which has quite a few similarities with the Yes
evergreen “And You And I”, Zackrisson briefly morphs into 1970s Steve Howe through wistful passages on acoustic guitar.
That’s followed by an even more eclectic and intriguing
revisit of the central “Oblivion” motif. The great impression left by this new epic is
sealed by the at times almost solemn closing section, “Around the Bend”.
The 11-minute mini-epic “Beating Hearts” is another ambitious piece, with the emphasis on string arrangements
and complex instrumental sections where you can hear symphonic prog, jazz
and hard rock all at once. It’s all generously spiced up by Sjöblom’s excellent vocal performance. “In
the Autumn”, released as the album’s first single, features guest vocalist Amanda
Örtenhag. Unlike the usual run of female-male duets, this is no syrupy love
ballad, but yet another impressive symphonic prog ‘carousel’ with plenty of eclectic rhythmic
shades and slight folk undertones. Thanks to the extra female vocals, Beardfish here sometimes bring to mind the legacy of far more ‘feminine’ prog bands, led by
Renaissance and Curved Air, rather than Yes or Genesis. “Torrential Downpour”, which has quite a few blues-flavored guitar
passages and a few slight alternative-rock touches, at times sounds like The Pineapple Thief, Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Nektar and Deep Purple
all sitting at the same table. For the bonus track, Beardfish re-recorded the opener “Ecotone”, but as an instrumental with
electronic synth textures and a production typical of the 1980s, so no wonder it sounds like it was recorded in 1982.
“Songs For Beating Hearts” is a comeback in epic style for the bearded Swedish fish-lovers (right now all four members of the band
sport beards, while their hobbies and eating habits remain more or less a
mystery). It seemed like Beardfish would belong forever to the first two decades of the new millennium on the prog-rock ‘timeline’, but they’ve delighted us and recorded another superb album, worthy of their
mostly stellar discography. “Songs For Beating Hearts” is without a doubt among the best prog-rock achievements of 2024, a year that has thrown up quite a few expected and unexpected
musical gems. At least until the release of the new album from their countrymen, prog-metal champions Opeth, it will
also remain the loveliest surprise of the Swedish prog scene this year.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
English version:
Beardfish, Swedish prog-rock revivalists with no shortage of musical-adventurer chops, are back among us after nine years of temporary ‘hibernation’, although they’ve surely grown a fair few Viking beards in the meantime. A return from the dead seemed unlikely ever to happen, especially since the band’s leader, i.e. guitarist/keyboardist, singer and main songwriter Rikard Sjöblom, has been pretty busy in the intervening period with his involvement in English prog-rock greats Big Big Train and with his own solo project Gungfly.
The band’s line-up remains unchanged on “Songs For Beating Hearts” (and has been since 2003), with Sjöblom once again joined by top-notch guitarist David Zackrisson, while the traditionally eclectic rhythm section is made up of bassist Robert Hansen and drummer Magnus Östgren. Sjöblom has once again written all the music on the album, and the end result is a new treat for all fans of eclectic prog rock with an ‘old-school’ recipe. That means that this time around too you can occasionally hear the many influences of prog titans such as Genesis, Yes and Camel, while Beardfish add a unique arrangement and atmospheric twist to every composition on the album. At the same time, it’s interesting that they’ve almost completely abandoned the various Canterbury-inspired moments of eccentricity and quirkiness that were typical of most of their previous albums.
“Ecotone” is a surprisingly calm, wistful and acoustic-tinged introduction to the album. Very solid, but “Songs For Beating Hearts” really develops into a wonderful adventure through the meanders of prog-rock eclecticism only after the opening four minutes. The epic “Out in the Open”, ‘split’ into five parts, is cut from completely different cloth than the melancholic opening. Combined, the parts would make up a super-epic of more than twenty minutes in true old-school prog-rock fashion. Here, Beardfish ‘let their hair down’ with complex harmonies, picturesque symphonic arrangements and adventurous time changes, meaning that the album comes alive and really smells like those classic Beardfish that fans had to wait nine whole years for before they ‘rose from the grave’.
During the “Oblivion” section, especially thanks to the multi-part vocals, some heavy-rock influences can be heard, led by Uriah Heep, while Sjöblom’s keyboard ‘orgies’ are honestly reminiscent of good old Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It’s worth mentioning that Sjöblom started his musical career as a metalhead, but later warmed up to progressive rock, so it’s no wonder if elements of heavy rock occasionally ‘sneak’ into Beardfish compositions. On “Hopes and Dreams”, which has quite a few similarities with the Yes evergreen “And You And I”, Zackrisson briefly turns into 1970s Steve Howe through wistful passages on acoustic guitar. This is followed by an even more eclectic and intriguing revival of the central “Oblivion” motif. The great impression left behind by this new epic is sealed by the at times almost solemn closing section “Around the Bend”.
The 11-minute mini-epic “Beating Hearts” is also an ambitious creation, with an emphasis on string arrangements and complex instrumental sections, among which you can hear symphonic prog, jazz and hard rock influences. All of this is generously spiced up by Sjöblom’s excellent vocal performance. “In the Autumn”, released as the album’s first single, features guest vocals from Amanda Örtenhag. Contrary to the common practice of female-male duets, this is no sappy love ballad, but another impressive symphonic prog ‘carousel’ with many eclectic rhythmic nuances and slight folk undertones. At the same time, thanks to the additional female vocals, Beardfish occasionally recall the legacy of much more ‘feminine’ prog bands, led by Renaissance and Curved Air, more than Yes or Genesis. “Torrential Downpour”, which has quite a few blues-spiced guitar passages and also some slight alternative-rock elements, at times sounds as if The Pineapple Thief, Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Nektar and Deep Purple were all sitting at the same table. For the bonus track, Beardfish have re-recorded the opening track “Ecotone”, but as an instrumental with electronic synth textures and a production typical of the 1980s, so it’s no wonder it sounds as if it was recorded in 1982.
“Songs For Beating Hearts” is an epic-style comeback for the bearded Swedish fish-lovers (at the moment all four members of the band sport beards, while their hobbies and eating habits remain a mystery). It seemed that Beardfish would forever belong to the first two decades of the new millennium on the prog-rock ‘timeline’, but they’ve delighted us and recorded another excellent album worthy of their mostly stellar discography. “Songs For Beating Hearts” is undoubtedly one of the best prog-rock achievements of 2024, a year that has thrown up quite a few expected and unexpected musical gems. At least until the release of the new album by their countrymen, prog-metal champions Opeth, it will also remain the loveliest surprise of the Swedish prog scene this year.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Ecotone
2. Out In The Open, Pt. 1 – Overture
3. Out In The Open, Pt. 2 – Oblivion
4. Out In The Open, Pt. 3 – Hopes And Dreams
5. Out In The Open, Pt. 4 – Oblivion (Reprise)
6. Out In The Open, Pt. 5 – Around The Bend
7. Beating Hearts
8. In The Autumn
9. Ecotone (Reprise)
10. Torrential Downpour
11. Ecotone – Norrsken 1982
Line-up:
Rikard Sjöblom – vocals, keyboards
David Zackrisson – guitar
Robert Hansen – bass guitar
Magnus Östgren – drums
