Oak: The Third Sleep

Norwegian proggers Oak are out with their fourth album, The Third Sleep. It follows on the heels of 2022’s The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise. Lyrically, that album dealt largely with the inner turmoil that humans often feel. This album touches on some of those issues as well, but also looks outward at current events affecting the broader world. For those who prefer to divorce their music from social and political commentary, that shouldn’t be a problem, though. While the vocals are relatively high in the mix, Simen Valldal Johannessen’s singing style (which strikes me as almost a combination of Eddie Vedder and Chris Martin) frequently makes them hard to understand. More importantly, there is so much going on with the music that I suspect most SoT readers will place their focus there.

Musically, this is a beautiful album. According to the Karisma Record site, Johannessen also provides piano and keys; Sigbjørn Reiakvam supplies bass, guitars, banjo, keys, and programming; and Øystein Sootholtet is responsible for drums, percussion, programming, and keys. There are what sound like some excellently played wind instruments throughout the album; perhaps those sounds are created by the keys or the programming. However they are done, they add much to the album.

I would say that Oak has provided a tremendous mixture of the proverbial light and shade on The Third Sleep. In many ways, it’s a gloomy feeling album but once it starts to get you down a bit, they hit you with some uplifting music that provides a welcome counterpoint. Karisma markets the album as having metal tendencies and for fans of Opeth and Leprous, among others. There’s some hard rock on the album in the more gloomy passages but I don’t hear anything that’s clearly metal until the final track, “Sensory Overload,� when they even hit you with some growls, which seem to come out of nowhere. Karisma also says that the album will be of interest to fans of Ulver, Pink Floyd, and Porcupine Tree. I can definitely see the influence of that trio in the music.

The Third Sleep will be released on April 25. Two tracks are up on Bandcamp now: “Run Into the Sun� and “Shimmer.� The latter ends with almost four minutes of near pastoral grace. I’m giving the album 4 stars. The vocals just aren’t to my taste; if they were, it would be 4.5 stars.

Oak will be opening for Bjørn Riis (who has a new album out as well) for two dates, as of now, in the Netherlands in the autumn.

Track Listing
1. No Such Thing (6:06)
2. London (4:20)
3. Run Into the Sun (5:34)
4. Shimmer (7:36)
5. Shapeshifter (7:58)
6. Borders (6:24)
7. Sensory Overload (8:12)

Added: April 12th 2025
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 357
Language: english

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