Pixie Ninja: Colours Out Of Space

There is something about the music coming out of Northern Europe, you know Sweden, Finland, Norway, etc. Here is a band hailing from Rognan, Norway (where the bands seem to be as awesome as the majestic fiords) beginning their musical adventure in 2015 when Marius Leiranes and Jostein Haugen decided to form a band. The duo had been playing together since 2007 so it would seem to make perfect sense. The band released their first album Ultrasound in 2017 and have followed it with their excellent sophomore effort titled Colours Out Of Space. In the band are:

Jostein Haugen (guitar, bass, keyboards)
Marius Leiranes (guitar, bass, keyboards)
Mattias Olsson (drums, percussion, glockenspiel)
Fredrik Klingwall (Grand piano, Mellotron, keyboards)
Guests:
Tiger Olsson (vocals)
Akaba (vocals)
Hampus Nordgren-Hemlin (vocals, organ, cello)
Leo Svensson-Zander (cello)
Fredrik Carlzon (French horn)

It has been a revelation of sorts becoming familiar with this wonderful band as their latest album is a superb slice of modern progressive rock, mixing a variety of analog synthesizers with modern electronics creating an intoxicating brew that is as creative as it is addictive. The mix of electronics and analog synths in the title track is really something to behold. Angelic choirs and heavy synthesized bass lead into a chaotic electronic section before returning to a fleshed out sound with rich Mellotron soaked soundscapes and densely layered instrumentation. The music stops and again erupts with fresh electronic sounds making a complex and mind expansive musical statement. Orchestral swells return to the fold ending the tune with a gorgeous melody. With “Leng Plateau�, a tricky drum pattern with dense layers of electronics creates an edginess along with a sense of urgency before a slower groove unfolds and fuzzy distortion is added to the mix. “Cosmik� is another great track with exquisitely spacey keyboards and darkly tinged melodies gently sweeping over your aural senses. Before too long the music gets a little heavier but never loses the song’s innate catchiness. Excellent guitar and synths offer up some catchy riffs in “Hutchinson Cipher�, another stellar moment in an album full of them. I will leave the last track for you to discover.

There is no doubt about it, Colours Out Of Space is absolutely essential listening for anyone remotely interested in progressive rock. Everyone needs to hear this album.

An Apollon Records release.

Track Listing:
1. Colours Out Of Space
2. Leng Plateau
3. Cosmik
4. Hutchinson Cipher
5. Strange Days

Added: June 9th 2021
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 614
Language: english

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