Tusmørke - Underjordisk Tusmørke. 2012 Norway

One of my pet peeves is that every time a band features flute in rock music, then they must be compared to Jethro Tull. I mean seriously - there isn't a hint of Jethro Tull in the music of Gotic, Solaris, or Mythos - and I could site hundreds of examples here. So having said that, Tusmørke have a flute driven progressive rock sound that will remind you of... Jethro Tull. That is exactly what they're trying to accomplish - early 1970s Tull. But the abundance of mellotron and the dark nature of their music (they're Norwegian, they can't help it) will suddenly make you realize that the music is distinctive enough to not sweat the obvious comparison. In fact, if you're a deep diver of the 1970s Scandinavian progressive rock scene, then a couple of bands leap to mind. First is the Finnish band Tabula Rasa, especially at the time of their debut album. But even more to the point, is the archival release from Colours by a band called Hades, who released 20 minutes of really fine flute driven material that had as much in common with those zany Italians Osanna as it did with Jethro Tull. Most of Underjordisk Tusmørke is sung in English, with that gnarled-tree-Ian-Anderson inflection. But the final track and one of the bonus tracks feature their native Norwegian, which sounds more natural - and mysterious - and something I hope they stick with on their followup. This band has enormous potential.

Ownership: CD: 2012 Termo

1/25/13 (new entry); 1/14/14