'Fascination Curve' is a new project created by composer 'Karl Lundeberg', also a musician and singer, who is a jack-of-all-trades musically and is known for working in styles as disparate as contemporary classical, jazz, world music or traditional Norwegian folk music (see his website here). With his well-filled address book, he has called on many talented artists (see the impressive CVs of each of them here) and this time he tackles progressive rock which he declines in different forms with this first album 'Corona Times in Amerika' which, I quote his presentation on its site: "is a courageous and moving statement concerning racism, political extremism and societal confusion seen through the prism of the Coronavirus pandemic".
The album contains 5 compositions, including a long development of 20 minutes, and we are greeted with 'Land of the Free, Home of the Slave' which takes us on an imaginative progressive in a blues / rock style with magnificent vocal arrangements and remarkable instrumental interventions highlighting electric guitar and keyboards, the whole remaining very accessible thanks to melodic lines that we immediately appropriate. The following title, 'Sometime, Somehow' is one of my favourites from the album in the form of a ballad which has a 'Floydian' look and can recall the style of 'Dark Side Of The Moon', the harmonies vocals bringing again an additional emotion to this very beautiful title. Follows 'I Will Breathe with you' which, after the short prelude deliciously accompanied by the saxophone of 'Tim Riess', continues in this cosy atmosphere in which we find progressive symphonic 'Floydian' influences but this time with some jazzy incursions. We arrive at the title song and the centrepiece of the album, made up of a patchwork of various influences that intersect and weave together in a very beautiful way, and we navigate in this great fresco in which it is good to abandon oneself. and let yourself go to this musical mosaic integrating different styles, ranging from pop, rock, jazz, fusion and funk, the epic finale ending as it should for this kind of composition, in a grandiose way for fall back into a few much calmer musical phrases. And it is with 'Dip Them in Gold', which is dedicated, I quote, "to the doctors, nurses and doctors of the world who fought against covid and who are now fighting for democracy in Ukraine", that the album ends wonderfully in a new composition which again highlights, in the first part, the quiet and relaxing style of the two compositions 'Sometime, Somehow' and 'I Will Breathe with you' and which then gains vigor and ends on an addictive melody with, one last time, magnificent vocal arrangements. To this we can add that the production is impeccable and highlights the many details that we discover over repeated listenings.
In summary, after the projects that are not necessarily very media-friendly such as 'Hott Mess' and 'Cyber Band', is added 'Fascination Curve' which shows an inventive and imaginative progressive shaped by the talented artist 'Karl Lundeberg' and we hope that this first album not be the last and that we can continue, in the future, to get back between our ears, new albums as original as this one which brings a breath of fresh air to this style of music... | |
