Review Summary: Roses cannot flourish in stagnant waters
Some may argue that 'The Flower Kings' are a one trick pony when it comes to filling a niche in the progressive rock scene. The Swedish group have been frantically defibrillating the sound of the golden age of 70's prog with their diabetes-inducing optimistic sound since the 90's, kicking out albums once every one or two years with great effect. Naturally, there's only so much you can beat a dead horse, and their music started to become stale. However, their five year hiatus after the lackluster 'The Sum of No Evil' resulted in the release of their finest record 'Banks of Eden'. Yet old habits die hard, and 'The Flower Kings' returned to throwing out albums like there was no tomorrow. The rushed 'Desolation Rose' is evidence that 'The Flower Kings' have lost their spark in fast-paced album production, and leaves you wondering when they'll take their next, much needed hiatus.
The group's stagnation in originality in 'Desolation Rose' is evident through the predictable progressions of melody and chord sequences in many songs, namely 'Sleeping Bones' and 'Desolation Road'; most of the time the main motif is a repeated riff played a chord above each time - this gets dull and it gets dull fast. Where most of the song progressions aren't blatantly predictable, they are equally just as uninteresting; 'The Resurrected Judas' has more inventive progressions than the former two, but not to the extent that it saves the song from being excruciatingly stale at 8 minutes long. However, there are few moments of classic progressive invention and originality, such as the playfully sinister chorus to 'White Tuxedos' paralleling that of a schoolyard taunt and the solemnly uplifting chorus to 'Last Carnivore'. The largest blossoming flower on this laurel of thorns is the album's epic 'Tower One', the only song to clock over 10 minutes, in which 'The Flower Kings' do what they do best. The song features both bouncy and brutal riffs, exciting progressions and a particularly astounding funky breakdown around the halfway mark. It truly is a shame that the rest of the album doesn't come close to 'Tower One'.
It may be a little unfair explicitly calling 'The Flower Kings' unoriginal in this album - 'Desolation Rose' is a complete turn in direction in their sound in that they have opted for an overall darker tone, which suggests anything other than unoriginality. However, this was a turn for the worst as the majority of their attempts at dark and brooding sounds fall flat. To give a few examples, the opening riff to 'Dark Fascist Skies' and the whole of 'Blood of Eden' and 'Sleeping Bones' have sluggish, plodding tempos to make them unengaging listens. It may be that the tinny production quality in the drums leaves a giant empty hole in their attempted heavy sound, yet ultimately it is the fault of the poor songwriting that brings around an nonthreatening 'dark' sound. It's just not in their nature to write such music; 'The Flower Kings' are far more suited for their iconic optimism.
Progressive rock has never been on the same page as subtle lyricism, yet the opening line to 'Sleeping Bones' makes even modern-Yes look like Shakespeare in comparison. 'We're the third from the sun' makes the listener recoil in cringe-inducing horror at the lame attempt to sound profound and intellectual, and makes it very difficult to listen to the song from the off. To salt the wound, the line reprises in 'Blood of Eden', which sets up for a similarly disappointing listen.The same goes for the chorus in 'Silent Masses' that whiffs of a cheesy-disco influence; the lines 'We are just the silent masses / The things we do are out of fashion' makes for a very unpleasant listen.
There are moments in 'Desolation Rose' where the listener will bob along to groovy bass riffs and times where the iconic optimism in Roine's lyrics and soft voice melts the heart, but these are short lived. As a whole, the album is ultimately disappointing and bland for 'The Flower Kings'; the truly awful moments are as sporadic as their beautiful counterparts, but there is far too much material in between that is just mediocre and unnoteworthy. However, few blossoms in songs such as 'Tower One' and 'White Tuxedos' stand out in the rough shrubbery and do justice to the band's name. Those two songs should've been nurtured and displayed in a beautiful bouquet in a later album release, and 'later' cannot be stressed enough. Here's to hoping that 'The Flower Kings' put more time into their next release.
