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██▌ Artist...: Rikard Sj÷blomÆs Gungfly ░▐██▌
░▐██ Album....: Alone Together ░██▌░
▓▐██ Year.....: 2020 ▓▐██▓
▓▐██ Rel.Date.: 2020-12-08 ░▐██▓
▐██ Genre....: Progressive Rock ██▌░
░ ██▌ Label....: Inside Out Music / Sony Music ██▌
▐██ Source...: CD ▐██
░▐██▌ Type.....: Album ▐██▌░
▓▄████ Quality..: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo ████▌░
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1. Traveler 13:04
2. Happy Somewhere in Between 6:16
3. Clean as a Whistle 6:18
4. Alone Together 9:32
5. From Afar 2:48
6. On the Shoulders of Giants 14:52
7. Grove Thoughts (Bonus Track) 3:24
8. Shoulder Variations (Bonus Track) 5:16
------
61:30
On July 11th, 2016, the prog community received bitter news regarding
the separation of the now-legendary prog band Beardfish. Since its
dissolution, the multi-instrumentalist madman known as Rikard Sj÷blom
has not stopped at all. He has continued to release brilliant and
celebrated records aboard the mighty Big Big Train or with his own
project, Rikard Sj÷blomÆs Gungfly, making these years highly productive.
However, it is Rikard Sj÷blomÆs Gungfly (RSG) which has been used as the
outlet for his inexhaustible ability to compose personal and evocative
music where his impressive vocal range, along with his distinctive
keyboard tunes and mesmerizing guitar craftsmanship, are brilliantly
displayed. For the release of their new record titled ôAlone Together,ö
RSG performed as a trio, in which previous collaborators and brothers
Petter and Rasmus Diamant, respectively, played drums and bass, while
Rikard took care of every other instrument.
Thematically ôAlone Togetherö is primarily focused on relationships. It
acknowledges that every one of them is complex, with their own
background and circumstances, and how suddenly they can drastically
change for better or worse. Once again, Rikard portrays real-life
situations, with delight and sorrow to be found in a raw, sincere, and
emotional way.
Musically, Gungfly opted for a progressive rock approach, with rock
being the focal point. Such approach is evident on tracks like
ôSomewhere in Betweenö and ôTraveler,ö which finds the trio hitting
stronger than ever before. Despite the mentioned rock focus, ôAlone
Togetherö still has the intricate, unexpected, experimental but still
catchy melodies that Rikard is well known for delivering.
ôTravelerö opens the album with progressive style, being a 13-minutes
epic that quickly introduce the listener to the ambivalent nature of a
traveler that hates to leave. Just as the traveler should come back to
the place where he once put down roots, this track returns to its main
motif after the several sonic journeys it took. On some occasions, these
journeys feature frenetic atmospheres created through urgent guitar
riffs layered with intense keys. Also, they present cathartic
experiences derived from the subtle Hammond organ phrases, thunderous
bass lines and hypnotic drum beats.
Rikard keeps exploring human interactions with ôHappy Somewhere in
Between.ö Such a song portrays the harsh reality about the relationships
that tend to become dysfunctional when people involved are unwilling to
make concessions. Despite the significant subject, the music takes an
upbeat road creating an amusing vibe with snarky lyrics, melodic hooks,
entangled structure, and a catchy chorus. The contribution of the
Diamant brothers in such piece is crucial, especially at the closing
instrumental section, where their brilliant rhythm base elevates the
quirkiness of Sj÷blomæs guitar and keys extravaganza to sky-high levels.
The most mellow and soft facet of RSG is represented on ôCleans as a
Whistle.ö However, donÆt be surprised when such track becomes proggier
while Rikard gradually adds a bunch of keys to the initially acoustic,
folky and melodic tune. From a vocal perspective, this song showcases
the gentler side of Sjoblomæs vocal spectrum, including the use of
tuneful falsettos that collide with what the next piece delivers.
ôAlone Togetherö is the central piece of this new album and one of their
best songs yet. Get your guts ready to be shaken by this experimental,
crazy, massive, visceral, and anxious sonic coup. It starts and finishes
calmly, but in the middle there is a lot of room for Rikard to set free
a grimly subject towards the desperation of parents with mentally ill
sons and the heartbreaking choice to leave them at a mental facility. It
also marks the first occasion since the Beardfish days that Sjobl÷m gets
to growl. The exceptional combination of multiple vocal ranges, as well
as the blend of musical approaches which are at times serene and subtle
and others brutal and harsh, which make perfect sense when derived from
the song┤s troubling subject.
The next track ôFrom Afarö is the shortest song from ôAlone Togetherö
and the only one with a singer-songwriter vibe. Through Rikardæs voice
and acoustic guitar, RSG keeps exploring how different circumstances
affect relationships. It focuses on how we could sell a false image of
ourselves to those millions of strange eyes that can see us through
nowadays technological facilities.
ôOn the Shoulder of Giantsö presents Rikardæs sonic testimony of his
musical journey as a musician that aims to write and sing music that
really means something. It is also an opportunity for Rikard to honestly
point out his experiences and thoughts about the prog scene in general.
It also allows him to include one of his main influences, meaning Frank
Zappa, and the inclusion of the title of the music-legend second album
ôAbsolutely Freeö into the lyrics. Through its almost 15 minute runtime
RSG travel through a wide-ranging musical passages that go from
reflexive and contemplative atmospheres to vibrant riffs and omnipresent
keyboard tunes, where the grand finale is reserved to Sjobl÷mæs
spectacular and emotional closing guitar solo.
ôAlone Togetherö is an introspective and evoking album, which
masterfully presents an emotive musical landscape exploring the twists
and turns of the foundation of our human nature. Some of our
relationships may be dysfunctional, and others might be as reliable as
the pillars to which we can hold whenever we feel we are falling. We
must seek them, work on them, and make them grow while we can because
they are our most precious gift and the key to our existence.
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