Progressive Rock
Helga presents her first full-length record. Swedish artist Helga Gabriel’s (vocals) project became a band once she moved to York, in Britain, bringing in Cameron Gledhill (guitar), Ryan Fairclough (bass), Sami Javed (drums) and Cai Sumption (guitar). Despite this move, she still writes songs in Swedish, with some tracks in that language and others in English.
And in her native tongue, she presents us with “Skogen Mumlar”, where the voice gives way to a controlled band ostinato that contrasts with the softness of the vocal lines and delicate violins, which also join in the more forceful sections and, almost inevitably, bring to mind the Polish band Indukti. The middle section, almost a cappella, gives way to a new closing section to wrap up a fairly complex track, especially given the bombardment of ideas packed into a little over four minutes.
“Burden” also remains a strange composition that needs more than one listen to understand. We are not talking about devilish rhythmic amalgams or technical showmanship, but rather complicated structures, a musical language that is very rich because it offers the typical repetition of ideas you would find in any song, but presented so differently you barely notice it is the same idea. It is like a kind of musical pseudo-impressionism. Its particular traits include very light, melodic vocals, alongside dark, rhythmic instrumental arrangements, where each part works separately and ends up integrating into a whole. Even the closing coda, with its fairly standard backing vocals, fits right in.
And answering the need for a less demanding listen, we get “Water”. An intimate, slow track with a nostalgic feel. It is decent and gives us a resting space. The opening bars of “If Death Comes Now” also start out very simply, its second half picking up with a livelier rhythmic foundation and a “solo” guitar, one of those very post-rock ones that apply the mandolin concept to guitar.
A surprise awaits on “Farväl”, where Helga Gabriel’s shift in register will catch you off guard, since so far we had only known her with ethereal, delicate vocals. Here, though, she would delight Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth). What is more, the opening ideas are, fittingly, very much in Opeth’s style: the contrast between angelic beauty and demonic possession — though the heavier section lacks a bit of power in its execution. Afterwards we get sparser passages where the violin takes the spotlight, progressively (it’s what prog does) leading us toward a more explosive section. Unfortunately there are technical shortcomings in the fastest drum section, where there is a clear lack of force that makes the snare drum practically vanish from the mix. I’ll spare you the technical lecture, though if anyone’s a drummer and is interested, we can talk about it separately. All told, the track ends up a bit of a misfire.
With light folk touches that gradually shift toward more proggy paths, we get “Alive Again”. That said, there is not much to highlight beyond some lovely atmospheres. And on “Vast and Wild” we get a track that clearly was not composed with a full band in mind, since violin work and the ever-present vocals are simply layered onto the electronic instrumentation. Even when played as an ensemble it comes off quite flabby, and to top it off, another timid little mandolin-style guitar solo gives way to a closing section reminiscent of new-age compositions, the kind Enya used to make.
We return to somewhat heavier territory on “Son en trumma”, where a fairly bare guitar-and-vocal introduction, with the occasional keyboard in the background, gives way to an authoritative rhythmic foundation backing a guitar-and-vocal motif with a certain Viking flavour. The start-stop trick works well and leads into another coda, where poor Helga must need a few cough drops after singing it.
Our spidey-sense goes off at the start of this post-rock-flavoured track, since so many horrendous clichés get committed in that genre, but luckily this one is well put together. In the second half we return to the usual intimate vocal-and-violin atmospheres. The interlude has a rhythmic pattern that has become notoriously viral in a rather abject genre, but here it proves that pattern itself is not to blame for its misuse. Back to the track, this section has a folky feel once again, and continues with an interlude where a guitar line repeats to support the final development of “Mountain Song”. We are back to the complexity of the first two tracks, but this time everything ends up feeling a bit too disjointed.
In another of the introductions we have become used to, they bring in a Spanish guitar, soon joined by a violin. This section’s ending then develops within a certain traditional atmosphere, before rock passages kick in. Once again there is a certain disconnect between all the parts that will drive the listener a little crazy, though plenty of people out there absolutely love that kind of thing. Personally, I think this album should be called “Scraps” rather than “Wrapped in Mist”, but I will admit some people will find it genuinely mind-blowing.
As a debut album, it is more than decent and shows good potential for the future. It is worth noting that the first two compositions sit at a perhaps more mature level than the rest. So I think we will see extreme reactions: it will either win you over completely or leave you cold.
Writer: David Sàez