Review Summary: All fish need beards!
The world is a strange place to live. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, sometimes even a little bit smelly. But at the end of the day, strange. There are unknown forces at work, causing mayhem and cataclysmic phenomena to please the powers that be. One strange phenomenon which you may have noticed, is that the truly greatest works of art are shrouded under smokescreens. Never to be found by the majority of people. And it effects millions of artists including authors, painters, tiddly-winks enthusiasts, connoisseurs of bodily fluids and of course, musicians.
Unfortunately for Beardfish, they are one of those bands. Hailing from Sweden and releasing their debut album in 2003, the talented prog quartet would go onto craft a very fine discography of 8 albums packed with some absolute monsters of songs, which seem like they would take a lifetime just to write, let alone play! Taking on influences from prog titans Yes and King Crimson, laced with the quirkiness of Frank Zappa and the complexity of Gentle Giant, Beardfish cooked up a fresh sound of their own. To the small fanbase they gathered, they were adored, and although they decided to call it quits in 2016, many fans who never got to see them play live pray that they reunite.
After the release of Beardfish's debut (Från en plats du ej kan se...) the band made some changes for their follow up record. Most notably, the heavy use of the Swedish language in the vocals would be wiped completely, instead using a slighty more mainstream language called English. The songwriting would become more structured, and ambitiously and perhaps most impressively, it would be a double album. The Sane Day was released in 2006 to fans and progheads alike, but does it surpass their debut?
It's clear that Beardfish are not the same band as their debut, and this is highly evident on opener "Love Story." Lead singer/keyboardist/guitarist Rikard Sjoblom opens the track by doing somthing completely new: a complex yet majestic piano hook that pops up throughout the song. And even though the song seems intimidating at over 12 mins in length (on a double album mind you!!!), this is simply not the case. The band manage to give each section of the song space to breathe, and nothing sounds rushed. Rikards vocals have evidentally come a long way, and build a solid front for the tight backbone the rest of the band provide, and everyone gets a chance to shine on their respectful utensils of drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. Each section of the song flows seamlessly into the next creating a piece of music that is over before you know it. The overall feel of the track is quite emotional in places as the lyrics tell a story of a breakup featuring an intense desperate plea for help at the crescendo, but the genius part is, these 12 minutes fly by.
And then, "The Gooberville Ballroom Dancer" is a hilarious and rocking tale of a scruffy unpopular male who decides to turn his life around by investing in ballroom dancing shoes, thus, becoming the king of the dancefloor, and winning all the ladies. This is Beardfish in a nutshell. Two complete opposite undertones which can flow from light hearted to dark whenever they feel like, it seems. But most importantly, their sound is polished. There are massive hooks, proggy jamming, quirky breakdowns, skilled instrumentation and tight rhythms to be found throughout all of their songs.
And then we have the transitions. The way the album flows from track to track just seems effortless and smooth, but obviously took a lot of energy to get that so right. "The Gooberville Ballroom Dancer," a full-on rocking song, manages to blend perfectly into "Igloo on two" which is a gently-paced and floaty keyboard instrumental. Then we have the whacky videogame-esque instrumental "Return to mudhill" flowing perfectly into the slower ballad "Waiting room" which is intricate and showcases some great harmonies from the 4 piece.
There are some incredibly strong contenders for the definitive album highlight. "The Basic Blues" is a unique song in its own right, sounding like a catchy pop song with about 500 chord changes becoming anything but basic or bluesy. "Mudhill" is another great track managing to conjure up a strange atmopshere throughout whilst holding a funky beat. Also, there are tracks like "Tall tales" and "Mystique of the Beauty Queen" showcasing Rikard's talented lyrical prowess, whilst sporting solid instrumentation.
Then, you have "The Summit". Starting off with a melodic twin guitar harmony, the track soars upwards when the band enter to make it sound like you are scrambling up the edge of an icy mountain. It does have a slight King Crimson feel to it at first, but after the massive opening, the track settles down quickly to a gentle yet foreboding acoustic guitar which could relate to the eye of a storm. Then, the band come back in and the listener is freezing again. After a few minutes of toying between snowstorm and tranquilty, the song reaches an epic crescendo which feels like the listener is falling slowly down the mountain with every sheet of blizzard bombarding you on the way down. A wonderful closure to the first half of the album which then is left to drift along a dark ocean with the subtle piano laced title track.
Beardfish have crafted a fine record here. The songwriting is clever, catchy and gripping. The musicianship is inhuman. The lyrics are quirky in places, and emotional in others, which speaks to the reality of the human condition. The flow of the record is effortless and over before you know it. A must-have addition to any music enthusiasts collection.
You heard it here first guys... all fish need beards. 4.5/5
