Search - Beardfish :: Sleeping in Traffic, Pt. 1

Rock with imagination

ProsaicParadise | Laurel, MD United States | 07/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of Beardfish since seeing them at ProgDay 2006. I would call their previous release, The Sane Day, the best album of the new milennium so far! Why do I feel so great about their stuff? Because the music is intricate while still being incredibly fun, the themes are engaging and imaginative, and because it's so obvious that the band works together well as a unit. This music is dynamic and really grabs you. Highly recommended."

Can't wait for Part 2

todd | WA USA | 02/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another prog band from Sweden? What era of Genesis do they sound like?



Actually, this band takes its cues from acts like early Zappa, Gentle Giant and Focus. They are very reminiscent of another Swedish prog outfit, Ritual, and like those guys, they touch on Swedish folk, canterbury scene prog, and some fusion style rock ala Gentle Giant. They wear their influences on their sleeve, but at the same time, perform it with edge and energy.



While the afore mentioned Ritual leans more towards canterbury and folk, Beardfish leans towards bluesier performances on some of the material here. Its very believably done, as the lead singer, Rikard Sjoblom, is a very credible vocalist, sounding like a cross between Steve Miller and John Popper (Blues Traveler). The keyboard work here is standard prog, but on some of the pieces here they are reminiscent of old blues rock acts of the early '70s. That is not to suggest that this isn't polyphonic prog, because it is.



They also explore darker themed material than traditional Swedish prog and they are excellent writers. But just when you think they're delving deeper into traditionally goth-rock territory, they swing out with a folky, story-based song that they whole-hearted sell out to, with playful abandon and a real love for their roots, not unlike, once again, Ritual. They can be whistful when they want to be, and they can really smoke. And the vocals, for a change, are excellent. Sjoblom can really belt a tune when wants to. On the song Harmony, he wails like no prog vocalist I've heard in recent memory. The song Harmony itself is superb, but its a traditional blues-rock tune bookended by polyphonic, prog flourishes.



Sure, you get a sense these lads are showing off as they do flex their prog musicianship, but there aren't any protracted solos or extended jamming. Yes there's the 12 minute Roulette with its old-fashioned, electric piano and atmospheric organ play, but they don't get carried away with it. And there are two very good ballads which show how good the singers range is. There is also a tastey space-funk laced instrumental, The Ungodly Slob, that while over 6 minutes, seems short. Despite the blues motif than runs throughout this album, you never forget its a prog album.



Think of them as a younger, brasher, bluesier, Zappier version of The Flower Kings or Kaipa, without the utopian/hippy lyrics or self-conscious seriousness. Beardfish, although they may seem derrivative at first, draw in you in as they play with an unconservative passion and abandon as if they'd just discovered this 'prog thing'. I can't wait for Part 2.



P.S.> I've heard parts of Sane Day and that's next on my agenda."

More Swedish Prog Worth Hearing

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 12/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I hadn't heard of Beardfish until fairly recently when a posting on the Procol Harum forum "The Beanstalk" sang its praises. Though the keyboards on Sleeping In Traffic:Part One sound nothing like those in Procol Harum, it is obvious that the guy making the post was jazzed merely because keyboards figure so prominently in Beardfish's music. I like keyboards as well and am keen on some of the great prog rock that has emanated from Sweden in the last twenty years, so I took the plunge and ordered this.

There are a couple of tunes here that stand out immediately, the rest take a few more listens. The short accordion intro, oddly reminiscent of something I've heard by R Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders, neatly segues into a very meaty Sunrise. That alone is enough to grab your attention. Then the McCartneyesque Afternoon Conversation completely changes the mood and illustrates the band's versatility.

The heart of the CD is the epic Roulette, a lyrically bleak but musically interesting treatise on the future of humanity, which evokes the cultural attitudes of the avant-garde of the late 1960s. After that high point, the rest of the album is decent but mostly not as impressive with the exception of The Year of the Knife and the last segment of Same Old Song.

Overall, I'd sum it up by telling you that this CD is another example of modern Swedish Prog that is worth hearing. The music is imaginative and the lyrics intelligent. What more can you ask for?"