After the first wonderful 9 minutes of music, I find myself engulfed, caught up in a swirl of sensational music, that completely baffles my senses and imagination. The Keyboards kicks things off with a church organ sound, they continue creating a kaleidoscope of colour before a chugging, gigantic riff takes over, then come the vocals which cause me to gasp in wonder! Around the three minutes mark drums power us forward, then comes a myriad of melodies as everything intwines, the vocals reach a higher pitch, before the Keyboards once again take control, then the Guitars have their moment to shine, it is all so extraordinary and extravagant that mere words cannot extol the excitement that emanates from this extravaganza! Then it all fades out, only to resume with the initial sound of the church organ, this time round there are more layers, before the guitars send the whole dynamic chugging forward once more. The song then charges to the end, only to reach a crescendo of chaos via the Organ. My mind is blown, it is completely shattered when I discover there are no Guitars on this record it is all Emulators!
My understanding of what ‘The Grand Seduction’ meant took shape on watching the video, we are all brainwashed, and manipulated, by everything we are told and see, money, fast food, social media, love and the future. This makes the masses follow the rules without the realisation that they are being controlled. Incredible video.
With my expectations now exaggerated to levels of extreme enthusiasm I continued the adventure hoping that I would discover the Key to their excellence. The second song continues in a similar mesmerising fashion, the vocal of range of Jake E are utterly unbelievable. More Keyboards that are lavish, layered and swirling just continue to conjure up magic that manifests within a thing of inescapable originality. The drums of Alex Landenburg get a showcase of their own as the song comes close to shuddering like a locomotive to a halt, before the song regains the original essence and explodes power, what I am hearing is an unforgettable experience.
I am jumping forward to the ‘Vortex’ my mind spinning and spiralling into a void of seduction, as on the previous tracks I have mentioned, again the level of melodious melodies unleashed bring forth a feeling of joy, it might be madness, but it is bloody marvellous!
And so, it continues and continues, ‘Thought We Had It Forever’ begins with a spoken intro, which suggests they should sing the song in Swedish, then adds that America have no interest in Swedes beyond ‘The Final Countdown’! A bit of light relief and humour I believe. It is then stated that it is the final song, which rather strangely proves not to be the case, even stranger is the Taylor Swift-sounding chorus!
And finally, we get to the ‘The World Of Ours’ which ends this spectacular album in an emotive retrospective fashion. It is a feast for the ears and an experience from which you will never escape!
Review: Paul Mace
