Superfjord - All Will Be Golden. 2018 Finland

This one took awhile to penetrate. Two full listens over 2 nights - with the always illuminating craft beer by my side - yielded nothing but confusion. OK - need to take this one to the car where I'm sober-as-a-judge and hyper critical. Most albums don't survive that. This one did. On a purely superficial level, Superfjord come across as your modern progressive rock band, demonstrating more ennui than enthusiasm. Nihilism at its finest, a philosophy I abhor. But wait, there's way more here than that. Which is why I was confused - otherwise it would have found itself at Purple Peak Records faster than a cat on a chicken bone.

In the mid 1970s there was an obscure Belgian band called Womega - an LP I own and which I have written about here prior - that trail-blazed what Superfjord are doing here. Here's what I said about Womega: "In a nutshell, the album could be characterized as an all-over-the-map type release.  But - here's the interesting part - all within the confines of what normally constitutes progressive rock, rather than the usual kitchen sink mentality that represents all facets of music in general. Presented here are pomp, Canterbury, proto, symphonic, fusion, and Zappa styles." And that's what Superfjord is about. Add in post rock, space rock, and Latin fusion, and that's the sum of it.

All Will Be Golden isn't as strong as Womega, mainly because it's not as crisp and succinct. The last two tracks in particular have a great premise, but they just drag it out, verse moving it in different directions. Opener 'Cut and Paste' is the epitome song here (including the name...). Starts off in boring (very boring I might add) post rock territory with even duller vocals only to catch absolute fire about 4.5 minutes in with a brilliant guitar break, recalling Camel at their very best.

In summary, it's a frustrating listen, with some fantastic ideas. Would be great if the band could zoom in a bit more though. Seems they're not sure of their own strengths.

Former ownership: CD: 2018 Svart. Comes in a digifile sleeve.

8/6/20 (review / new entry); 4/9/24