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░ ██ ██ Artist: Kaipa ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Children of the Sounds █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2017 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2017-12-22 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Inside Out Music ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Legendary Seventies Swedish proggers Kaipa █
█ reformed back in the early years of the new █
█ millennium around two of the original members, █
█ founding keyboardist Hans Lundin and future Flower █
█ Kings guitarist Roine Stolt, with the duo █
█ delivering `Notes from the Past' in 2002. Since █
█ that time, Stolt has departed once again after █
█ 2005's `Mindrevolutions', even going on to form a █
█ related splinter group Kaipa Da Capo in the last █
█ couple of years, but Lundin has carried on forging █
█ a whole new unique sound for this modern Kaipa. █
█ This distinctive fresh identity is especially █
█ aided by Ritual's vocalist Patrik Lundstrom, █
█ Flower Kings/Karmakanic/The Tangent bass player █
█ extraordinaire Jonas Reingold and spirited female █
█ singer Aleena Gibson, and it is mostly this █
█ line-up that has remained in place for several █
█ years now, delivering another fine symphonic folk █
█ work here, `Children of the Sounds', in 2017. █
█ Both opener `Children Of The Sounds' and the █
█ seventeen minute `On the Edge of New Horizons' █
█ instantly call to mind plenty of modern Kaipa █
█ songs of the last decade, as well as setting the █
█ template for much of the disc, with luxurious █
█ acoustic guitars and grandiose synth passages █
█ weaving bombastic folk-flecked prog-rock █
█ symphonies. The prettiness is ingrained to █
█ propulsive electric guitar soloing (sometimes █
█ briefly drifting into jazz-fusion territory), █
█ Jonas' fluid and thick bass backing and Morgan █
█ Agren's busy complex drumming, and Patrik's █
█ Freddie Mercury-esque tone remains commanding with █
█ conviction while Aleena retains her boisterous █
█ hippie-chick colour and spunk! Stolt's replacement █
█ for several albums now, talented guitarist Per █
█ Nilsson, brings a heavier attack than his █
█ predecessor of many albums back, perhaps █
█ unsurprisingly due to his heavy metal background █
█ with Scar Symmetry and more recently Meshuggah, █
█ but he offers a very unique, curiously weighty █
█ backing to the fanciful acoustic folk passages █
█ here. Lyrically, there's a welcome positivity to █
█ the words that constantly focus on nature, █
█ nostalgia and spirit, with examples like `We are █
█ descendants of the sound cloud', `We are universal █
█ soldiers of art, the guardians of light' giving a █
█ good idea to the mindset the modern version of █
█ Kaipa operates from. █
█ But the album really climbs to a higher level once █
█ guest Elin Rubinsztein's violin is introduced for █
█ all the remaining pieces. The near-thirteen minute █
█ lyrically reflective `Like A Serpentine' is an █
█ overall highlight of the disc, where carefully █
█ executed heavier rushes blend with a sweeping █
█ prettier whimsy of orchestral-like █
█ instrumentation, and it reminds how frequently █
█ lovely it is when Patrick and Aleena sing sweetly █
█ in unison or offer softly sighing harmonies. The █
█ shortest piece `The Shadowy Sunlight' fuses █
█ prancing violin and romantic moods with some █
█ heavier guitar bite, giving its bookended folk █
█ whimsy (the best parts of the piece) a touch of █
█ weight, conviction and light gothic flavours. █
█ Closer `What's Behind The Fields' is pounded with █
█ blustery symphonic Hammond/Mellotron blasts, with █
█ plenty of drawn out breathy vocals in between the █
█ twirling violin, jangling acoustic guitars and █
█ rambunctious drumming infiltrating the harder █
█ edged bursts, and a suitably grand extended guitar █
█ solo from Per perfectly farewells the album. █
█ What we have with `Children of the Sounds' is █
█ another reliable and impeccably performed modern █
█ Kaipa album, however it does admittedly sound █
█ exactly like...pretty much the last six Kaipa █
█ albums in a row. The biggest diehard fans of the █
█ band likely won't mind, and newcomers discovering █
█ the group with this album will greatly enjoy it, █
█ but for others, it kind of renders the LP as `just █
█ another Kaipa album', which lets down the always █
█ superb efforts of the various performers here, and █
█ it runs the risk of some listeners becoming more █
█ disinterested in the group in the future. A █
█ definite rethink is in order here, where Lundin █
█ and his Kaipa friends need to shake up their sound █
█ and take a few more chances - perhaps they could █
█ deliver a purely acoustic work, or maybe a concept █
█ album with branching lyrical themes? Still, taken █
█ on its own merits, `Children of the Sound' remains █
█ a fine folk-flavoured symphonic work, and there's █
█ endless things to enjoy about it. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ A band of the seventies, rejuvenated and reformed █
█ in 2002, Kaipa are back again with their 13th █
█ album. One that makes no bones about paying homage █
█ to the trademark sound that mark Kaipa as nothing █
█ less than classic progressive rock. █
█ Kaipa mastermind Hans Lundin has talked of being █
█ filled with the energy of the Summer when he sat █
█ down in November 2014 to write the songs that █
█ make up Childrenà. It shows. An essentially bright █
█ and fragrant set of five lengthy pieces ranging █
█ from just under seven to the seventeen minutes of █
█ On The Edge Of New Horizons û something that the █
█ openly progressive flavour has always advocated to █
█ be. █
█ ItÆs an album thatÆs overtly optimistic and █
█ positive, packed with the contrast of the vocals █
█ of Patrick Lundstrom and Aleena Gibson and catchy █
█ hooks and melodies. Proceeding with the medieval █
█ opening of the title track, talk of the sonic █
█ (sometimes ethereal) universe, songs sung by █
█ songbirds from the paths of souls and gardens of █
█ light, all come accompanied by a healthy trad prog █
█ rock garnish. Per NilssonÆs electric guitar tones █
█ start on the first of a series of flying solo █
█ accompaniments that weave a constant and sweetly █
█ melodious path throughout the album. █
█ Midway through On The Edge Of New Horizons comes a █
█ wonderfully quaint section û musically a █
█ combination of Hammond, rhythmic acoustic guitar, █
█ twanging bass and fleet fingered keyboard soloing █
█ alongside lyrical images of birds soaring high, █
█ sun shining bright etc. On the other hand, The █
█ Shadowy Sunlight is the one piece that, as the █
█ title suggests, has a darker feel despite the █
█ welcoming classical string overtones of the intro █
█ that develops into a folky reel (or it could be a █
█ jig û both describe the urge to perform a lively █
█ dance). ôWhereÆs our sun? Feel the change, see the █
█ clouds dark and denseö comes the call as the mood █
█ changes to an overcast and ominous front. One that █
█ soon passes as the Nilsson guitar wizardry █
█ combines with some cutting widdly synth to cast █
█ its spell yet again. █
█ While thereÆs a strong argument that Children Of █
█ The Sounds has its roots strongly embedded in █
█ seventies prog rock it feels like a pleasant █
█ change to sit back and appreciate Kaipa as a band █
█ who fly the flag for melody and elegance and █
█ composition over dazzling technique. Sometimes █
█ thereÆs nothing wrong with a bit of nostalgia û █
█ the grass isnÆt always greener on the other side. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Children of the Sounds 11:32 ░
░ 2. On the Edge of New Horizons 17:11 ░
░ 3. Like a Serpentine 12:52 ░
░ 4. The Shadowy Sunlight 6:58 ░
░ 5. What's Behind the Fields 9:32 ░
░ 58:05 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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