Kaipa led by the legendary artist Hans Lundin, whose career began in 1964, are back with a new album, to our delight and that of all lovers of prog sounds. Titled “Sommargryningsljus” it was released on June 28, 2024 via InsideOut Music and contains 9 epic, except for the tile-track and its edit version. The album’s opener and closer are “Sommarskymningsljus,” the former being a 1:32-minute intro with a sweet, deep vocal and a delicate, dreamy background. We enter the listening experience with “Seven Birds,” which opens with an interweaving of keyboards and guitar that echoes the opening theme. The track slowly immerses us in the band’s characteristic Prog sounds, between melodies and Symphonic Prog passages and a vocal that is one of the album’s strong points. The intertwining of male and female vocals enhances and intensely interprets the lyrics. The sound is distinctly Prog, with instrumental sections of absolute value, in which guitar and keyboards intertwine in both melodies and solo inserts. The rhythm section is enriched by tempo changes, for a song that combines the main characteristics of Prog with a fresh and modern touch without ever losing the Kaipa imprinting. The sound becomes heavier and more intricate in “Like Thousand Dawns,” which alternates technical and virtuosic passages with Symphonic openings and Heavy parts. As always, the vocal performance is an added value to the sound, full of pathos and very incisive, alternating with the refined instrumental sections. A track that rightfully belongs to the absolute masterpieces of modern progressive music for the development of the theme with complex phrasing, but at the same time accessible to the listener. Surely compositions like this do the music good, allowing the band to enhance. In the finale, there is also room for a fine interweaving of solos between guitar, keyboard and horns. “Revelationview” is a track that shows the more Symphonic side of the band, while keeping the quality of the compositions always very high. Another immense masterpiece of modern music, characterised by intense vocals and instrumental sections of absolute value. The violin enters first solo, then in a duet with the guitar, in a succession of sung parts and exciting instrumental sections. The track develops in the central part with forays into Folk music, skilfully mixing it with Progressive Rock as only this and a few other bands manage to do. Always keeping the intensity very high, between sung parts and elaborate instrumental phrasing, the track takes us to the finale in a unique crescendo of emotions. Exceeding 10 minutes in length, “Chased by Wolves And Burned by The Sun” shows how the band mixes different genres and styles, moving from more Jazzy moments to Prog, with forays into Folk offering a wide range of solutions that enrich their sound. In the first part, the guitar is the protagonist of a short solo with virtuoso traits, heavier riffs lead the sound, and then an incisive and very dynamic male vocal enters. In the final part, the violin returns, intertwining first with the keyboards and then with the guitar, accompanying us towards the finale with technique and quality. The album’s longest track “Spiderweb Train” is an epic over 15 minutes long, with a dreamy keyboard intro and a warm, expressive vocal. Folk sounds permeate the melodies, beautifully woven and set in the band’s progressive context. A succession of top-notch ideas and phrasing, tempo changes, developing the track in its entirety and making the most of the length of this epic. There are all the ingredients that an asmantor of Prog seeks in tracks like this, managing to keep the listener involved and immersed in the musical discourse that the band offers, exploring all facets of their sound. Symphonic Prog, more technical and elaborate passages, choral refrains, forays into Jazz, Folk and more, all expressed at the highest level, a real pleasure to listen to tracks like this. After a continuous succession of emotions, it ends with the last vocal stanzas and a crescendo ending. The last long-running track of the album “Songs In Our Hands,” is another epic of more than 13 minutes that in the first part enhances the sung with a superlative interpretation of the lyrics. After a first part sung the band develops an instrumental section that maintains high intensity, with a long guitar solo and a solid and elaborate drumming. In a continuous alternation of vocal and instrumental parts, the band offers to the listener choral vocal parts that remain imprinted on the mind. In addition, the instrumental developments embrace all eras of Progressive Rock, showing again and again the immense quality of this band. Emotional and rich in changes of tempo, between solo inserts and the last verses sung the track ends, to leave us with the title-track concluding. The album ends in fact with “Sommargryningsljus” which is the resumption of the initial theme, developed with a longer duration, exceeding 3 minutes. Unlike the opener here, the track develops with a finale with all instruments offering a symphonic progressive rock enriched by a guitar solo. “Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit)” joins both parts of the title-track, proposed here as a single that could play like stand-alone. Kaipa are definitely one of the longest-running bands in the world’s Progressive Rock scene, founding their roots in the 70’s. Their discography is rich with albums of absolute value and this new chapter is one of those, with long-lasting tracks, excellent workmanship, keeping the listener focused on the music and the various passages that the band offers. An absolute masterpiece of modern world Progressive Rock, in my opinion among the absolute best works heard in recent years, as well as one of the most beautiful record releases of this 2024.
Tracklist
01. Sommarskymningsljus (01:30)
02. Seven Birds (09:50)
03. Like Thousand Dawns (11:08)
04. Revelationview (09:28)
05. Chased by Wolves And Burned by The Sun (10:17)
06. Spiderweb Train (15:29)
07. Songs In Our Hands (13:00)
08. Sommargryningsljus (03:58)
09. Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit) (05:24)
Lineup
Hans Lundin / Keyboards & Vocals
Per Nilsson / Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Jonas Reingold / Bass
Darby Todd / Drums
Patrik Lundström / Vocals
Aleena Gibson / Vocals
Read our exclusive interview with Kaipa here: https://progrockjournal.com/interview-exclusive-interview-with-kaipa/
