Gösta Berlings Saga
Et Ex

Long ago a Swedish author named Selma Lagerlöf wrote a debut novel called Gösta Berlings Saga, a novel that today has been translated to about fifty languages. That name is also used by a Swdish band who released their debut album Tid är Ljud (Time is Sound) back in 2006 and are now releasing the fifth album Et Ex, the first one on major progressive rock label InsideOut. And it looks quite dark and exciting, at least judging by the cover artwork. So what about the music then, is it as dark and exciting as the artwork?

It is progressive rock of the instrumental kind, with decent depth and variation. A mix between a minimalistic and maximalist approach, and it is built around strong atmospheres. The production is good, the sound and style is fairly classic for the progressive rock genre but they also show a fairly fresh sound, but the album still feels a little bit static and at 48 minutes split over eight tracks it also feels a tad on the longer side.

The initial and then lasting impression is that this album is good; it has good songs and good sound. A very solid effort that will not disappoint the buyer even though it isn’t the most impressive piece of music I have ever heard. It works but doesn’t quite grab me as a listener; to me it feels more like a soundtrack that would fit to moving pictures than something one just sits down to listen to. But that might be down to me not being that much of a instrumental rock music fan, those who have enjoyed the band’s earlier albums will almost certainly enjoy this one as well.

This album is not one that I find myself able to write many long words or stories about, it doesn’t excite or entice me enough for that. But it works and it is good enough to give some moments of one’s time even though I would have liked it to be a bit darker and have a bit more depth than what we are granted here. The ending conclusion will have to be that Et Ex might be a good album to check out.

HHHHHHH