Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly
Friendship

Friendship is the new album for Sjöblom’s Quagmire and it is the fourth by this moniker. But Sjöblom has done stuff with Beardfish and some other stuff as well so he has quite a lot of experience. And he is quite a respected guy in the progressive community, and there are quite a few who enjoy his stuff but I have never really been super impressed by what this guy has done so far. So I may not have had the biggest of expectations when taking on this album, but as always I have given it lots of time and attention and I can’t really say that this album about friendship and treehouses has changed my previous impressions of Gungfly.

Musically it presses the same buttons as the previous album, sure there are differences but it is still more or less as I had expected before taking on the album. Progressive rock is the genre, some rockier stuff and some melodic stuff, some more relaxed, kind of like it usually is with the progressive rock genre. Good variation but also a long album with long tracks, like it often tend to be with the progressive bands and artists, they don’t really know when to quit their songs and albums – this could have benefitted from being a little bit shorter. The production and vocals are good and I think the album has a pretty decent depth and shows a good take on friendship and treehouses and things like that.

Good stuff, a solid effort that will please Sjöblom’s existing fans, might even gain him some new ones. But it isn’t that memorable and while the songs are good and it is enjoyable to listen to, it is still quite fast forgotten. Not really an album that drags you into it, catches the attention and then keeps you listening. It is a solid album that shows a very dependable musician and songwriter. It is a good quality release that might miss that little bit of extra magic that makes a good album great, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an enjoyable album.

I like it and I can conclude that this album will appeal to those enjoying Gungfly, Beardfish or any other project with Sjöblom, it will probably be quite appealing to most fans of the progressive genre as it presses the right buttons. Another very solid release from a dependable artist, but not a release I will be returning to or remember years from now. Maybe it doesn’t think too much outside the box or maybe it just lacks that magical hit song or whatever that grabs my attention. Still, it is a good album and if you like the progressive genre it will be an album worth checking out.

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