The band 'Oak', after having delighted us with 'The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise' released in 2022, returns with a new album, 'The Third Sleep' which continues the Norwegians' adventure and which is a sort of sequel to this last opus, because we find throughout this album this refined atmospheric progressive sprinkled with a few additions of electronic sounds, on themes revolving around, I quote the band, "a striking exploration of societal complacency and the individual's struggle against the flaws of our modern society". Oddly enough, the melodic side brings a fairly immediate accessibility, but this facade hides a certain complexity that we discover later, after several listens.
'No Such Place' opens the ball with memorable melodic lines, and the clear atmosphere reminds me of those of the project 'Blackfield' by 'Steven Wilson' and 'Aviv Geffen', the vocals of 'Simen Valldal Johannessen' and the saxophone interventions of 'Steinar Refsdal' (magnificent final solo) bring a beautiful melancholy to this track, then, 'London', with a well-marked rhythm, offers a much more direct atmosphere with a feeling of robotic walking which causes a striking contrast with Simen's much more calm singing. 'Run Into the Sun' follows, which takes us on a beautiful ballad with magnificent melodic lines, a kind of composition that flows quietly and delicately tickles our neurons, then 'Shimmer' unfolds a new melancholic title with this magnificent contrast between peaceful verses and a chorus that radiates on an unstoppable melody bringing a kind of fullness, the long repetitive finale with airy choirs adding to this feeling of well-being. Still in a serious register in the singing but also by the clear atmosphere, 'Shapeshifter' begins by unfolding a soft melody on which drum rolls are added, generating a remarkable contrast, the finale offering us a very pleasant melody on which Simen enchants us again with her delicate singing. With 'Borders', we find this alternation between tension and relaxation, the energetic and melodious chorus contrasting with more tranquil verses, then, 'Sensory Overload' once again highlights the drumming of 'Sigbjørn Reiakvam' who does an impressive job on this track, with ferocious drum rolls in a tormented atmosphere with keyboards letting out disturbing moans, the finale flirting with death metal, 'Simen Valldal Johannessen' using a frightening guttural singing!
In summary, with this latest album, the Norwegians of Oak' continue to offer us very good progressive rock that takes us once again into their musical world filled with melancholy and poetry, with this talent to make us forget all the complexity of each composition thanks to very beautiful melodic lines, allowing us to easily enter this 'The Third Sleep' which reveals itself from the first listen... | |
