Label: Self-released
Release date: 2005
Production: Beardfish
Album length: 112.06 min (2CD)
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
Swedish prog-rock revivalists Beardfish, who only came together not so long ago, in 2021, first got people’s attention in 2003 with a very solid debut, »Från en plats du ej kan se…«. At times it still sounded pretty rookie, and the band’s central musician, keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Rikard Sjöblom (who later ‘moved over’ to Big Big Train), wasn’t yet at the vocal level he’d reach later.
Things improved fast with their second album, »The Sane Day«, which had nothing but English lyrics, and the band’s songwriting had clearly matured, even if at this stage of their career they still weren’t at the level of their most celebrated work. Sjöblom, who on »The Sane Day« hadn’t yet fully shaken his Swedish accent when singing, was also already starting to shed his skin here, going from an average vocalist to one of the best singers on the modern prog-rock scene (and not just the Scandinavian one).
From this album on he also played all the keyboards completely on his own, since Beardfish never went looking for a replacement for former keyboardist Stefan Aronsson, who left soon after the aforementioned debut. The Beardfish lineup, formed in 2003 and made up of Rikard, guitarist David Zackrisson, bassist Robert Hansen and drummer Magnus Östgren, stayed together right up until the band split.
»The Sane Day« was a double album with a good two hours of music, which was a very bold move for such a young but already seriously ambitious band. The most noticeable influences on »The Sane Day« among the ‘old-school’ prog bands are Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant and Camel, though even back then Beardfish couldn’t be counted among your typical symphonic-prog revivalists, since their music at times also threw in elements of progressive metal, hard rock, art rock, folk rock, pop rock, jazz fusion and avant-garde rock. On top of that, their lyrics were often socially critical and satirical, with a generous dose of black humor.
The album’s musical direction is signposted perfectly by the twelve-minute opener »A Love Story«, which is bursting with rhythmic and arrangement eclecticism and constant mood swings. Rikard’s often theatrical, chameleon-like vocal approach was already his trademark back then, and not even an overly obvious Swedish accent, which he’d almost completely shake off by the very next Beardfish album, could spoil it. With that kind of vocal acrobatics, ranging from calm to wild to furious, plenty of listeners will be reminded of some of Spock’s Beard’s work while listening to »The Sane Day«.
After that epic, bombastic opening, Beardfish serve up a pinch of humor on the short art-rock number »Sun Is the Devil«, which also has some folk-rock elements and feels like the soundtrack to some old Eastern European cartoon, the kind they used to show here in Slovenia as part of the kids’ show Živ Žav On the melancholic »Mudhill«, Beardfish also bring in elements of jazz fusion, especially in the combination of dynamic bass lines and piano arrangements in the opening and closing sections.
On the prog-metal-spiced and rhythmically wound-up-as-hell »The Gooberville Ballroom Dance«, Beardfish show why they were once one of the most energetic young prog bands around, with no shame about the occasional comic interlude. Some will argue that the insult ‘filthy motherfucker’, which Rikard and co. treat themselves to in the chorus this time, and which we haven’t heard much in progressive rock since the days of Frank Zappa, is proof of infantility rather than genius. But anyone who digs into the lyrics of that song will quickly see and understand why the band allowed itself a bit of toilet humor in such a relaxed way here.
The excellent instrumental »Igloo On Two« has well-harmonized elements of folk rock and jazz fusion and fun baroque arrangements that, despite the absence of strings, Gentle Giant and Gryphon wouldn’t have been ashamed of. The almost ten-minute epic adventure »Tall Tales« continues the baroque-jazzy-eccentric style of the previous track in its opening section, with a strong emphasis on the sound of cymbals, thick bass lines and complex drum fills. Later, though, it grows into a melodic piece with superb vocal harmonies and subtle symphonic arrangements.
The mystery-soaked »The Basic Blues« has, as you’d expect, a misleading title, since the track has nothing to do with the blues, but that makes it all the closer to ‘old-school’ symphonic prog rock. The first half of »The Sane Day« wraps up with the epic treat »The Summit«, whose dramatic, somewhat dark atmosphere and occasional use of the mellotron bring up some comparisons with Beardfish’s countrymen Anekdoten. Here again Rikard’s vocal charisma takes center stage, with a hefty pinch of theatricality that Beardfish’s music is unimaginable without.
The second half of the album opens with the title track, a melancholic instrumental with hypnotic symphonic and jazzy harmonies. The art-rock/pop-rock hybrid »Blue Moon« provides a perfect contrast: it’s an energetic, strongly melodic number with a cheerful chorus, mostly thanks to Rikard , who this time has some fun with falsetto too. You can also hear some influence from the unforgettable Beatles on this fun, bouncy track.
»Do You Remember Fun Mom« is a short jazz-fusion-based instrumental that serves as a warm-up for the far more complex and interesting instrumental »Return To Mudhill«, which, thanks to its exceptional rhythmic and arrangement eclecticism and ambient playfulness, ranks among the album’s highlights. With its variety, energy and occasional flashes of humor, »Waiting Room« is pretty much the prototype of the specific Beardfish standard. »Mystique of the Beauty Queen« is bursting with vocal eccentricity and theatricality and jokey arrangements, which makes the totally unexpected, epic ending come off even better.
The instrumental »Love Revisited« is an effective showcase of Rikard’s solo skills on the piano. The instrumental masterpiece »Ask Someone Who Knows« is another high-energy, eclectic prog-rock adventure, packed with solo acrobatics, and all the prog gourmets will have a blast with it. Not even the unexpected, sinister laughter at the end of this splendid track will bother them.
»Now« is soaked in an unusually upbeat mood and Rikard’s organ wizardry, which is pushed to the front this time. The closing instrumental adventure »The Reason of Construction And Or Building a Pyramid«, which tells you by its title alone that it’s going to be a thoroughly experimental piece, doesn’t lack avant-garde and jazzy rhythmic elements, while certain arrangements come off as pretty comical and keep this complex masterpiece nicely varied.
»The Sane Day« was a big step forward in maturity in the development of Beardfish’s recognizable sound. Despite its huge length, it has no boring or uninspired moments; the musical ‘action’ on the album stays interesting and atmospherically intense the whole way through. Mostly thanks to the already exceptionally charismatic and versatile Sjöblom, and the fact that they didn’t take themselves too seriously and were skilled at gallows humor, Beardfish had a big edge over most of the prog-rock peers who emerged at the start of the 21st century. Today this album, much like the Beardfish debut mentioned earlier, is quite a rarity, since it came out before they moved over to the famous prog-rock label InsideOut Music. With its help, over the following years, especially with both parts of the »Sleeping in The Traffic« saga, and right up to their premature split in 2016, they became one of the most popular and respected prog-rock bands of the younger generation.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Track list:
CD 1
1. A Love Story (12:50)
2. Sun Is the Devil (2:11)
3. Mudhill (5:39)
4. The Gooberville Ballroom Dancer (6:58)
5. Igloo On Two (6:35)
6. Tall Tales (9:29)
7. The Basic Blues (5:21)
8. The Summit (7:12)
CD 2
1. The Sane Day (6:06)
2. Blue Moon (4:40)
3. Do You Remember Fun Mom (1:49)
4. Return To Mudhill (4:24)
5. Waiting Room (4:38)
6. Miss Gooberville (0:33)
7. Mystique of the Beauty Queen (7:04)
8. Love Revisited (2:55)
9. Ask Someone Who Knows (7:55)
10. Now (6:39)
11. The Reason of Construction and Or Building a Pyramid (9:08)
Lineup:
Rikard Sjöblom – vocals, guitar (left channel), organ, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion
David Zackrisson – (right channel), synthesizers, Fx, backing vocals
Robert Hansen – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
Magnus Östgren – drums
Guest musicians:
Rasmus Diamant – flute on track 2
Christer Jägerlund – backing vocals on tracks 2 and 11
Lisa Marklund – backing vocals on tracks 2 and 11
