Eyaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………..
EyaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH………..
And so begins another stunning effort from veteran prog outfit Kaipa of Sweden, and no better way than with the passionate belting of Aleena Gibson, her raspy bliss bleeding from her heart. Having a massive legacy behind them, Kaipa enters into this one without hesitation, delivering another flawlessly executed album of their unique brand of progressive folk rock. The personnel are the same that delivered 2012’s brilliant Vittjar, starting off with founding member and keyboardist Hans Lundin. With him for another delve into the musical forest Jonas Reingold on bass, Per Nilsson on guitar, Morgan Agren on drums, and duel vocalist Patrick Lundstrom and Aleena Gibson (sigh <3 ).
Sattyg is a seven track album, with three shorter tracks sandwiched between four monsters, the opener A Map Of Your Secret World being the longest. After Gibson’s pace setting screams, the band jumps right into it’s trademark instrumental work, a heavy-ish prog style laced with heavy folk rhythms, paced by the brilliant guitar work of Nilsson. Though all the instrumentalist and vocalist shine on this album, Nilsson is far and away the highlight, his work is what sets the bar that all the others play up to. The basics of the album are true to form for Kaipa, complex and soaring melodies and stunning dual vocal work, all laced over a blissfully positive message and vibe, with the noticeable difference being a base much more grounded in the folk aspects. As with Vittjar, this album as well ignores the rules and simply plays and has fun. There are some more somber moments, such as Screwed-Upness, which opens very dour and melancholic. Nilsson’s guitar here is superb, with a tone that sounds of a soul being stretched and torn. As with the other songs, there is no set pace or predictability here, it skips and moves about at will.
The title track, Sattyg, is a short but extremely beautiful folk instrumental that would have even the most bitter and gruff of people tapping the feet. A Sky Full of Painters plays exactly as the title suggest, bringing a visualization of the heavens being streaked with colors by each stoke of the musicians brush, a wonderful job of stimulating the imaginations eye. Unique When We Fall is a harder edged song, almost attacking as it moves through. The album finishes with Without Time-Beyond Time, which does a stellar job of bringing the many elements of the album together. The folk element lightens a bit here, and is replaced with an almost eclectic jazzy vibe, really accentuating the myriad talents of the band. An excellent finish for sure.
With as much history and skill that is present here, it’s of no surprise that this album delivers. Though there are no shockingly new twists from Kaipa, the things that have made them such a long term success in the prog world are again done in a fantastic fashion.
No Comments