Riset Bak Speilet sees Tusmørke beginning to carve out their own identity, and the strong Jethro Tull influence of the debut has subsided significantly. Tusmørke have moved towards a distinct Scandinavian folk rock sound, with more vocals, less complexity, and Viking styled anthemic choruses. Even though the album seems to use only analog instruments, the style of music has a certain modern sheen to it - similar to some Scandinavian heavy metal bands - but minus the metal guitars (if that makes sense). It's not until we get to the title track, which happens to be almost double the longest, clocking in at nearly 15 minutes, that the familiar progressive rock of the debut returns. Here we get multiple shifts in theme, meter, and dynamics, along with more instrumental time for Hammond organ, flute, woody/fuzz bass, and Mellotron. The lyrics are in both Norwegian and English, though it's interesting to note that while they took the time to translate the Norwegian ones, they did not the English (presuming, I'm sure, no one in Norway needs them translated anyway). And just to add to the confusion, or fun as they probably would have it, 'Gamle Aker Kirke' is sung in English. OK, I give up! As for the bonus tracks, once again its curious to label them as such, as the music is exactly like the album proper. Of course, since it is being released on LP, it's fair to consider the extra tracks on the CD as bonus I suppose. In conclusion, I feel Tusmørke has stepped in a direction that's moving away from my personal interest area. As stated prior, this has more in common with folk rock than progressive rock, or even progressive folk rock. It's very lyric heavy, and as such, instrumental flights of fancy are rare.
---11/25/24
Not too much to add to the above. Track 5 is definitely the highlight and almost good enough to consider a higher rating. I'm hearing the last two bonus tracks better this time, more instrumentally progressive oriented, and that's 20 minutes total. Combining these three is 35 minutes of high quality material, which has improved my rating by +1.
Ownership: CD: 2014 Svart. Jewel case. Thick booklet that doesn't fit the case.
Former ownership: LP: 2014 Svart. Gatefold. Purchased this later because it was cheap. But it doesn't have the bonus tracks, so there wasn't much reason to keep it.
7/6/14 (first listen / review / new entry); 11/25/24
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