Reviews In the wake of evolution
Reviews: In the wake of evolution
English
I think most prog fans would travel great distances barefoot over stony ground to hear music like this and there are many, many bands I can think of who would doubtless give their eye teeth to create something as lavish and sumptuous as In The Wake... The album opener (and title track) alone is worth the cost of purchase. It's jaw-dropping, eyes full of wonder, joyous listening. It gambols into life through a bouncing, trilling overture in 11/8, a time signature that declaims, "Oh, this must be prog!" This comes to an abrupt halt and Aleena begins the heartfelt and impassioned vocal, a melody I cannot get out of my head. Each verse has its own cadence that develops via the accumulation of doleful strings, weeping in descending arcs then a chopping and funky clavichord that lifts the melody out of the doldrums in a way that makes me want to applaud as the track ascends into its closing theme using melodies and harmonies that recall Fragile-era Yes with Jon Anderson and Chris Squire at their best. Structurally and musically this is extremely clever stuff, the leitmotif of the "overture" is twisted, tilted, deconstructed and remixed in four different ways, at least. The musicianship is stellar. Per Nilsson sends a resounding signal about the multitude of tones and playing styles he is going to employ over the course of these eight tracks. In the opening alone he uses at least four different amp set-ups to effect his sound, introducing a new tone at each reiteration and development of the theme. Interspersing the sung sections he zips through four solos varying hammering and sweeping arpeggios with Steve Hackett-like sustained wailing and Robert Fripp-esque sonic soundshapes. Jonas Reingold's bass pops and stabs, rolls, hops, skips and runs through the phases of the song underpinned by Morgan Agren's drumming that drives the whole piece to its emphatic and dramatic conclusion with a host of polyrhythms and syncopated figures. Awesome, awesome, awesome. 9/10
Rockingmusic.co.uk
In short, "In The Wake Of Evolution" is pure genius. The intricacy in which the melodies dance alongside and around each other on each track, as well as the sheer diversity of the album's content, is mind-blowing. Kaipa truly smash up the musical barriers that restrict so many artists, never allowing them to reach their potential. Are you looking to get away this summer? Why bother spending money on fancy hotels and long, cramped flights when Kaipa can take you to a new, exciting world with every song, the only restriction being your own imagination. Sit back, close your eyes and enjoy the ride. 5/5
Ytsejam.com
"Arcs of Sound" and "Electric Power Water Notes" & "Smoke From a Secret Source" round out the record's grass rooted art-rock approach with mind-bending improvisations and insane time signatures/key changes, again further exposing the band's strengths upon musicianship and melody.
In Wake of the Evolution is another tried and true testament to classic progressive rock with a modern flare - still knowing no boundaries when pressing on with their compositional approach and showing that the headroom is unlimited when it comes to executing an impressive musical mindset. 4,5/5
Lordsofmetal
It was a wise decision to bring the band back and it is almost clear from the very first track that this new album may very well be the jewel in the crown. Flower King Roine Stolt departed a few years ago and a little later Scar Symmetry's Per Nilsson joined Hans Lundin as creative partner. Long songs on the album full sparkling prog rock; melodic, contemporary and washed in a superb sound. Listen to that "Electric Power Water Notes", with almost eighteen minutes the longest piece, uncovering beautiful secrets. But also the short and folky "Folkia's First Decision" and the varied "The Seven Oceans Of Our Mind", what a musical enjoyment. This is Kaipa's best album, hands down. Sincere compliments to our European neighbours from the north. 95/100
Furyrocks
This is most definitely the best release in the progressive genre this year. The eight songs featured on In The Wake Of Evolution are of a unseen quality and are just simply sublime. Highlight on the album is of course the almost eighteen minute lasting song Electric Power Water Notes which takes you on a trip through the folky progressive Kaipa landscape.
If you are a prog lover, just go out and buy this album without hesitation. Eight extremely strong compositions, beautiful melodies and yet unmistakably Kaipa. It will be very difficult for any band in the genre to release a stronger sounding album than this one. 10/10
Prog-nose
From the first note of this album, you hear the maturity in the sound and in the compositions. These guys know what they are doing. It's the second album with Per Nilsson on guitar and he fits better in the band than Roine Stolt, without doubting Roine's skills. The quality of his solos is extremely high. And this goes for the speedy, heavier solos as well as for the quiet acoustic pieces.
The most important style in Hans Lundin's writing is of course progressive rock. Just listen to the title track (11 minutes) and Electric Power Water Notes (18 minutes). Two tracks that must please every progressive rock fan. What a variation and what a high quality of musical skills. Patrik and Aleena are both singing their hearts out and are so wonderfully fitting together.
This is their best album, so far. 9/10
This is powerful, imaginative, passionate music delivered by a great crew of brilliant artists.
Gonna be hard to top this one in the prog genre this year. They get the season and year off to a very strong progy start! Thank you for the opportunity to hear this! 10/10
The line-up takes us on exciting excursions into a timeless universe of progressive rock. But fear not, the sound is still deeply rooted in the 70's and "In the Wake of Evolution" is a logic step forward from "Angling Feelings" from 2007; a logical continuation of colourful soundscapes they painted on that album.
And the step is a big leap forward; everything has taken at least a step up the latter. The songs sound more mature, are better constructed and they have had an eye for details on this album. Star of the show is in my opinion Aleena Gibson; her interpretations of Hans' compositions and melody lines are superb, she takes this album up a notch and the performance from the rest is flawless and shows a technical sound band at its best. 85/100
An outstanding album.
There are very few progressive bands who are composing music that really carries the same feeling of experimentality and curiosity about blending music into a cohesive whole that is at once intellectually stimulating, catchy and engaging. Kaipa embodies this feeling of progressiveness on their new album and I suggest that open-minded fans of progressive music check this out, because it is a fascinating ride. 4.5/5
Overall this is an outstanding album. It is at a very high level with respect to both creativity and instrumental performance. The band establishes a very distinct style in this album and stays true to it from start to finish, but still manages to keep the music fresh.
Digital-steel
"In The Wake Of Evolution" stands for superb prog rock with lots of different influences.
Listening the album you can hear that the band played together for many years. It also complements the quality of writer and composer Lundin. Again he succeeded in making 8 new jewels. The combination of the bright male vocals (Lundström) and the somewhat harsh female vocals (Gibson) is terrific. The vocals of Gibson are very emotional; from the first song on (the title song) she is able to give the songs an extra dimension. Add some great melodies and solos to it, supported by a strong rhythm section and you have a remarkable prog rock song.
The long "Electric power water notes" (it takes over 17 minutes) has mostly male vocals. Although the songs last this long time it isn't boring at all; with lots of different atmospheres from prog rock to slow tempo parts; from symphonic rock to great heavy guitar oriented parts. There are long instrumental parts; every part has beautiful melodies. Sometimes funky and jazzy influences but most of the time progressive rock. The title Electric power water notes makes clear the electric guitar has the leading part. Terrific guitar playing from melodic riffs to many solos. "Folkia's first decision" is the moment Kaipa is slowing down; it starts with baroque and ends like symphonic rock. The slow tempo "The words are like leaves" has very bombastic and powerful parts. The last song of the album "The seven oceans of our mind" starts with folk melodies to become a slow tempo prog rock song. After 3 minutes there is a quiet part in which Lundström and Gibson spread a lot hopeful wishes that is followed by bombastic orchestra and melodic solos that becomes a ballad varied with acoustic parts, power ballad parts and subtle guitar solos on a bed of beautiful keyboard sounds.
The conclusion is rather simple: "In the wake of evolution" is a must have for all prog rock fans and everybody that likes rock music with great melodies. 95/100
German
Das unbeschreiblich geniale "Arcs of Sound" ist die perfekte Referenz. Dramatik pur, gepaart mit höchst eingängigen Chören, dazwischen verstreute, dezent progressive Parts. Ein echtes Highlight, gute 8 Minuten lang.
Die neuen Kaipa sind einzigartig. Wer auf Queen, Genesis, Marillion und hochwertigen Folk steht, der muss hier reinhören. Herr Lundin, ich gratuliere! Besser geht's nicht!
Swedish
Kaipa i sin nuvarande konstellation har rent av gjort sin bästa platta hittills. Full av mastiga låtar med otroligt mycket musikalisk kompetens. En riktig guldgruva för den inbitne Artrockaren.
CDn innehåller 8 låtar som var och en (med undantag av en låt) är betydligt längre än standardhitlåten på 3 minuter. Den tredje låten är faktiskt så lång som 18 minuter. Redan detta säger något om bandets preferenser och vi Artrockfantaster kan bara gotta oss för låtarna är inte bara långa utan även fantastiskt varierande och njutbara. Jag noterar att det egentligen inte finns en enda svag låt på CDn även om naturligtvis inte allt håller absolut högsta klass. Men man lyssnar fascinerat vidare och upptäcker hela tiden nya saker.
Jag själv är mycket fascinerad av Hans Lundins spel på klaviaturerna. Han bär fram de flesta låtarna med sina teman, ibland inspirerade av folkmusik och ibland lite mer improviserande jazzigt. Men hela tiden utan några som helst fadäser eller missar. Jag anar en perfektionistisk inställning till kompositionerna och genomförandet utan att för den skull ta död på spelglädjen. Samtliga musiker förutom Hans Lundin ger också järnet på skivan och jag måste säga att det finns en beslutsamhet och självsäkerhet i musiken som är imponerande denna gång.
Det är dags att inse att Kaipa i nuvarande skepnad har nått en nivå som faktiskt hotar övrig svensk topp inom denna speciella genre. 9/10
Extended Mix
Nya "In the wake of evolution" är snudd på ett mästerverk, med fantastiskt snygga arrangemang och melodier.
Alla plattans spår är skrivna av Hans Lundin och han har en förmåga att sätta ljud till ordet "svensk", för det låter verkligen svenskt. Inte bara när det gäller inblandningen av toner från vår folkmusiktradition, utan det låter verkligen svensk sommarkväll, eller svensk skogsmark så trolsk och magisk där dimbankarna i gryningen ligger lätta och beredda att ge plats åt den sol som strax vill gå upp och värma ängarna med dofter av blommor och fuktig jord. KAIPA's musik stör aldrig utan ger rysningar av välbehag och positiva vibrationer. Det är vackert som en blomsteräng och mjukt och lent som nyslaget gräs. Unikt ursvenskt och samtidigt nydanande fräscht! 9/10
UNT
Urstarkt Kaipa förvaltar traditionen. 4/5
Spanish
Kaipa quieren empezar este nuevo año, el de su treinta y cinco aniversario, con un nuevo lanzamiento al que han titulado "In The Wake Of Evolution", ocho nuevas canciones, ocho nuevos paisajes que llevan el sello único de Kaipa. El grupo ha construido un universo de melodías solo al alcance de los más privilegiados y desde el principio con la magistral "In The Wake Of Evolution", nos dejan muy claro que las guitarras y el trabajo vocal de Patrik Lundstrom y Aleena Gibson van a ser protagonistas en este disco. Siempre respaldados por el sólido trabajo compositivo de Hans Ludin, los miembros del grupo han podido poner sobre el tapete todas sus habilidades. La producción, cuidada y nítida, con cierto sabor analógico pero aprovechando de forma evidente las ventajas tecnológicas que tenemos hoy en día, es perfecta para el sonido sinfónico del grupo, permitiéndonos disfrutar de todos los detalles en temas tan ricos como "Electric Power Water Notes", "Folkia´s First Decision" o "The Words Are Like Leaves" (uno de mis cortes preferidos, con una gran orquestación y una melodía vocal impresionante). 9.2/10
Italian
! L'opener omonima non potrebbe essere manifesto migliore per il cd: una lunga suite semplicemente fa-vo-lo-sa, con un tessuto sonoro molto prog anni '70, dai suoni delle tastiere analogiche alla scelta degli arrangiamenti. Una sezione strumentale da capogiro (leggete i nomi della line-up e gioite) riesce a costruire un arabesco di rara intensità, grazie alle sterminate potenzialità allo strumento di ognuno dei componenti. Come se non bastasse, aggiungete a tutto questo ben di dio anche un momento particolarmente ispirato in fase di songwriting, ed avrete il disco prog rock perfetto. Una via l'altra, le songs ci portano da suggestioni alla Genesis ("In the Heart of her own Magic Field") a richiami alla tradizione folkloristica svedese ("Folkia's First Decision") a sonorità più vicine ai Queen (nella title-track), in una continua altalena di suoni, parti cantate e break strumentali da applausi a scena aperta. Punta di diamante dell'album, a mio avviso, la strabiliante "Electric Power Water Notes", che sa anche spingere sull'acceleratore di distorsioni chitarristiche senza snaturare di un grammo il sound dei Kaipa.
Acquisto fortissimamente consigliato ai proggers più integralisti, ma ascolto sorprendentemente piacevole per chiunque ami suggestioni settantiane ed un prog rock suonato (e cantato) su livelli altissimi. Stupendo. 9/10
French
Du début à la fin, tout est tellement parfait quon se demande en permanence doù il est possible de sortir quelque chose daussi simple et daussi compliqué à la fois, quelque chose daussi coloré et homogène, en bref quelque chose qui ne ressemble à rien dautre, ou alors à un très savant mélange de ce qui se fait de mieux dans les genres (admirez le pluriel !). 9.5/10
Les parties guitares de Per Nilsson sont fabuleuses, Morgan Ågren et Jonas Reingold assurent comme des chefs, les lignes rythmiques sur ces titres (comme sur les autres) sont époustouflantes, pour le chant Patrik Lundström et Aleena Gibs, très complémentaires, font aussi merveilles. Servi par une production parfaite et des musiciens heureux de jouer ensemble, In the wake of evolution est un beau voyage à travers la musique progressive qu'il ne faut surtout pas manquer.
Et au final Kaipa tient, là, assurément son meilleur album !
Sera t'il un album référence du rock progressif pour cette nouvelle décennie ? Ma réponse est oui! 18/20
Progressivewaves
La marque du vrai professionnalisme dans cette histoire est cette habileté à mélanger les différents ingrédients sans jamais froisser lauditeur. « In The Wake Of Evolution » est un véritable voyage à travers le temps et la musique qui vous laissera une foultitude dimages et démotions dans la tête avec une seule envie, celle de se repasser le tout encore plus fort ! 8/10
Un véritable moment de génie musical. La complémentarité des voix accentue à chaque instant la virtuosité avec laquelle les instruments sébattent durant une très grosse heure de musique qui file à un train soutenu et cest un album à la fois riche et plein de sensualité.
Et nous propose donc 8 superbes compositions progressives rehaussées d'un Folk Rock, de 2 à presque 18 minutes, extrêmement accessibles même si les rebondissements sont nombreux, ou les mélodies, toutes plus belles les unes que les autres, sont légions. De la fraîcheur et de la gaieté, de l'allégresse illuminent ces titres, ou la complémentarité des 2 voix (au maniérisme semblable) amène de la profondeur tout au long de l'album. Du court titre Folkia's First Decision, ludique et enjoué, au titres plus long que sont In The Wake Of Evolution, Arcs Of Sound, Smoke From A Secret Source, The Seven Oceans Of Our Mind (magnifique montée en puissance jusqu'à mi-titre !), nous ne pouvons que saluer cette débauche de richesses, d'inspirations et d'émotions. Et que dire de la suite de 17 minutes 51, Electric Power Water Notes, le chef d'oeuvre de cet album, qui vous enserre dans ses mâchoires mélodiques ! Un must dans le genre !
Je dois vous avouer qu'il y a bien longtemps que je n'avais pas pris un tel plaisir à l'écoute d'un album de ce style ! Ce retour aux sources est plus que salvateur, et l'abandon progressif des influences que sont celles de THE FLOWER KINGS (même si nous en retrouvons parsemées à doses homéopathiques) est un bonheur en ce qui me concerne. Oui, voilà vraiment un album remarquablement réussi 17/20
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