To The North

BY Rueslatten, Kari

(Customer Reviews)

$7.00

SKU: DZCD053

Label:

Despotz Records

: Category:
World Music

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"Since returning to music from an eight year hiatus in 2013, Kari Rueslåtten is definitely making up for lost time. 2014 saw the release of Time to Tell, her finest solo album to date, with the soft wintry melodies and her beautiful voice making it one of the highlights of the 2014- and later in the year she teamed up with Anneke Van Giersbergen and Liv Kristine to tour as The Sirens – playing a range of material from her previous band The 3rd and the Mortal and her solo career. And only 18 months after Time to Tell she’s already back with her sixth solo album To to North, another beautiful album with a lovely atmosphere, sounding new while hearkening back to previous efforts, and now we’re in December I can confidently say is my album of the year.

As usual with Kari, the album is centred around her beautiful voice – her soft ethereal vocals with a Nordic trill areas lovely as ever throughout To the North, a constant on a rather varied album. The sound throughout is crystalline, the production really accentuates her voice, and each of the instruments is clear as can be. The first track Battle Forevermore begins as a soft piano led ballad, with a beautifully sullen voice recounting the story of a love gone sour, with the swell of guitar in the middle building an electric, almost intense atmosphere. The electric guitar throughout To the North was almost absent in the former album Time to Tell, and it adds a lot throughout the album – as on the following rockier piece Mary’s Song – the guitar melodies and subtle synths creating a modern sounding track reminiscent somewhat of the Mesmerized album, with touches of Spindelsinn.

The next handful of tracks, show her folkier side, one she’s shined at since her career first began in The 3rd and the Mortal days. The acoustic guitar, wind instruments and subtle percussion on Three Roses In My Hands make for a sombre piece of Nordic sounding folk, while the electric guitar comes in with a soft reverb-y wash in Dance With The King, a more mordern piece but another where her folk side is exemplary in the lyrics and her soft voice.

Letting Go sees a return to the flirtations with electronic elements as explored on Pilot, drum loops and a slight effect on the vocals over a supremely catchy guitar riff drenched in delay see a small return to that experimentalism, with tremolo picked guitars and clashing drums coming in at the track’s great climax. Arrow in My Heart is the highlight of the album, the soft guitar creates such a lovely atmosphere, carried along by simple, but perfectly placed drums serving to create a perfect backdrop to Kari’s voice which is as beautiful as it’s ever been in her whole career – her intonation on each line is perfect, especially the high notes near the end of the song. The bittersweet lyrics are lovely, and with the emotion in each one, this is the one you’ll be playing on repeat after the album ends.

The last two tracks create a dark, brooding atmosphere that’s almost tangible. The penultimate, Turn, Turn, Turn is a cover of The Byrds track, but inverted from it’s upbeat pop to dark, folky moroseness. The crackle of distortion from the guitar creates a sombre fog, exemplified by a darker side to her voice and the plod of the piano that make it an intospective sullen, brooding piece. The closer To the North is the most atmospheric of the bunch, the otherworldly synths and slow brooding guitars create a thick icy atmosphere akin to being lost in a snowstorm. Her voice takes on a folky Nordic tone once again, and with the layering of synth and guitar it’s the closest in sound to Tears Laid in Earth than anything she’s done in the intervening years since leaving The 3rd and the Mortal. The guitar solo near the end is electrifying, and it’s a cold, wintry closer that more than lives up to it’s name, true Nordic beauty.

With such a short gap since Time to Tell, one could have been forgiven for anticipating a continuation of that album, but she’s pushed her sound once again. She takes elements of her previous albums, and even her time from The 3rd and the Mortal, but adds new elements and a crystalline modern production to create a fresh and brilliant release. Overall the album seems more sullen than Time to Tell, an upbeat album in places, but with a brooding atmosphere, more variation and that great production it’s a worthy follow up. And with hauntingly beautiful tracks such as Battle Forevermore, Arrow in My Heart and the title track in particular, it’s easy to fall in love with To the North, so much so that it’s certainly my album of the year." - Swirls Of Noise

Product Review

As a relatively short CD this runs a close tangent to Faun and Estampie and other bands of the Pagan Folk era. Also for fans of Lorenna If Kennett .Her voice isn't the strongest I've heard doing this sort of thing but then there was a layoff of a few years. I still liked this and wished it were longer.

Red Circle 1 - 2020-07-31 21:06

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"English neo-progressive rock spear-header IQ has been furthering the genre in the 21th century with much acclaim. Sound-wise the band hasn't changed much since ' The Seventh House', but on this album the band has finally revolutionized their composition style, arrangements and production. The symphonic layering by Neil Durant has this adult feel, reminding me of 'Tilt' era Scott Walker or 'Blackstar' era Bowie ' yet drenched in a Bladerunner like delicate sci-fi universe. Somehow this album sounds like a collaboration of the band IQ and... well a new 'force' that can look beyond its songs, its verses, its solo's and its refrains. Because of this 'force' the band has also given new meaning to the prog epic. On 'Resistance' a prog epic isn't just a multi- song. Don't take me wrong ' I really like a track like 'The Narrow Margin' ' but on this album the longer tracks really make sense from a songwriting point of view. Bare with me. Like a in a small song, where a bridge can add to strengthening the final refrain ' IQ manages to intelligently intervene and keep the song growing towards that final refrain. Furthermore, the first cd, which is 'the album', flows like a continues experience. Almost like a movie, including some modern cinematic sound-effects. What also becomes apparent after a few spins is the absence of leaning on catchy refrains, which gives the music a modern feel ' at times almost hinting at modern classical music. Peter Nicholl's voice doesn't allow for much variation, but because of the distinctive atmospheres of the songs his performances do tick the box every time. This material doesn't need catchy line A or B, it needs a performer. The rhythm section of the band has found a perfect balance between fusion styled sophistication and adding to the effectiveness of the material. Guitar player Mike Holmes somehow comes off as a bit left behind in the old IQ with his Marillion/Floyd styled guitar solo's. On acoustic guitar his contributions strike me as more imminent ' like on 'Perfect Space'. If the band ever aims to top this album in the future ' which would prove extremely difficult I guess - the electric guitar will need to contribute in more diverse ways. Now about that second disc, which I will describe in a bit more detail because most reviewers will probably focus on the first disc. If that were an album; the 22 minute 'The Great Spirit Way' alone would suffice for an indispensable purchase. Personally, I think this song is placed right after the rather dark and soundtrack-like first disc because it matches best stylistically. 'Fire and Security' is a more traditional IQ piece ' albeit a bit bleak - with a balled type opening, some darker passages and a melancholy ending section with some strong lead guitars. On 'Perfect Space' the band drives its jazz/fusion influences to the max, which will perhaps turn of some ' but I like it. The second epic, the 20 minute 'Fallout' is a bit more relaxing, abstract and dreamy. In its second halve the band experiments beautifully with sophisticated chord progressions, which also allows for Holmes' most interesting guitar solo. Conclusion. Without a doubt this will become the progressive album of 2019 and I hope it will inspire a lot of other neo-progressive bands to elaborate and expand on their Marillion/Genesis/Floyd roots and take the music to a next level of artistry. This album will probably outshine the nostalgic likings of many of its listeners, but it may also attract listeners that have previously written off the neo-prog genre. " - ProgArchives
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