Member:
matma_84
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by matma_84)
Date:
5/4/2011
Format:
CD (Album)
Two years after their second album "Afterglow" Norwegian progressive rockers Wobbler are back for good and present us a new album called "Rites at Dawn". The cover reminded me a bit of "Wind & Wuthering" because of the trees and the birds an the green and cool looking cover until I realised that these trees are brushes of witches.
It begins with "Lucid" a short instrumental, nothing that memorable but then follows an interesting song: "La Bealtaine". It tells the story of witches. It's quite soft but there are beautiful melodies throughout. And this song is a prime example what they achieved with this album. They used their singer a lot more this time around and he gives the whole record a "Yes"-vibe. So the whole CD doesn't sound that melancholic like the two long tracks from their predecessor "Afterglow". It's more joyful, better structured. Truth to be told they jump around with themes one ore two times during the whole CD but personally I think this time around they managed to let the music breathe. It sounds more natural, maybe not as technical but it has more flow. "Bealtaine" is beautiful softer kind of progressive rock and shows us a more melodic side of the band.
The next one "In Orbit" is in a similar vein. Good atmospheric progressive rock.
Then follows "This Past Presence", one interesting theme follows another, it has a nice flow and (beware SPOILER!) then around then fifth minute of the song you'll get a mellotron burst that is able to send a shiver down you spine.
"A Faerie's Play" is a shorter piece, delivers lots of mellotron and shows Wobbler in a more rocky mood.
"The River" explores many different themes but seems also more focused than the long tracks of "Afterglow". The Chorus even sounds like something "Yes" may have written and has an AOR touch!
The album ends with an expanded reprise of the beginning theme, "Lucid Theme", a gentle but more focused keyboard number than the opening one.
All in all an interesting album. They seem to be more focused on melodies this time. They've cut back the technicality of their music and worked on their songwriting. The vocals and some moods owe to "Yes" but they don't seem to copy anything. Yes, the use old sounds, but they've managed to create a classical progressive rock record of their own.
Member:
ProgScape
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ProgScape)
Date:
5/6/2011
Format:
CD (Album)
There are musicians and bands in the progressive rock scene who feel that this complex style of music simply cannot "progress" further, that the bands of the 70's pushed the boundaries as far as they could. The thinking is that since there's no true progressing into unchartered territories, to make their own statement (or niche) in the known and the true is the way to go. One such band who has every intention of celebrating the past is the Norwegian band Wobbler. Bursting on the scene originally in 2004 with 2 10+ minute demos on their website, the band's first studio album failed to deliver on the promise of those early demos. The band's second album, Afterglow, saw them reinterpreting those early demos in a fresh way. Their brand new album, Rites At Dawn, sees Wobbler taking all of their influences (some on their sleeves) and sees them moving towards something that perhaps they don't even know what it is yet. Led by keybordist Lars Fredrik Frøislie (who also doubles as the keybordist in White Willow), Rites At Dawn has almost an acoustically, late 60's Yes style at times. For those of you who expect tons of analog sounds, not to worry - Lars delivers the goods. The rest of Wobbler (guitarist Morten Eriksen, bassist Kristian Hultgren and drummer Martin Kneppen) uses the 70's style of progressive rock as a starting point (and, in the case of Hultgren's Rickenbacker bass, literally) but the star here is new vocalist Andreas Prestmo. The band's bio even states this as well, saying that Prestmo "...adds a very human, and dare we say emotional, element to the songs." At part times pastoral and others indeed technical, Rites At Dawn is an album that many in the progressive rock scene will either enjoy and love due to their one eye gazed permanently to the past...or hate for exactly that same reason. The band, however, is more interested in putting together, as the bio states, "..being both challenging and adventurous, but at the same time accessible and downright infections.
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