yBackground And Style
When is a 3-track “live” release an EP and when is it an album? Part of that depends on the genre of the band. Proof? This live release (coming out May 22 on Karisma Records) has 3 songs and a run-time of around 46 minutes! No prizes for guessing this is a progressive rock band. What you might not know is they are Swedish and have been around since 2013 and have 6 studio albums available. They also have a number of live releases.
The presstakes itsentions that the band’s reputation as a “formidable” live band and that is why they have so many live releases. The band take their name from the countryside place they first jammed and rehearsed in. The are based in Malmo very much to the west of Agusa.
Agusa are comprised of original member Mikael Ödesjö (guitar), then next longest serving member Jenny Puertas (flute, voice, percussion) who joined by the second album release, then 2 guys joined in for the 2021 album, Roman Andrén (organ) and Simon Ström (bass) and last in the door Nicolás Difonis (drums) on the 2023 release onward. So this group have made 2 full studio albums now along with this new live release.
Playful With Some Shredding
This is more classic prog rock, with elements of space rock, psychedelia and folk. There are riffs in there but melody, light and shade are more important. Opener “Lust och Fägring (Sommarvisan)” which translates as “Desire & Beauty (The Summer Song)” starts gently, acoustic guitar, organ with light touches on cymbals and flute. It pulls you in all shimmering and atmospheric. Then we get a little motif that sounds like something from a spy movie from the 60s mixed with a short snippet of “Hall Of The Mountain King” that pops in and out. Very playful.
As one would expect from a progressive band the track (like all 3 tracks) twists and turns. One point it drops to a very breathy flute piece before a shredding guitar solo comes in. All the time in the recording we can hear so much of the subtleties like the light touches of cymbals, for instance. The soaring guitar and fluttering flute ending is fantastic.
Obviously Having Fun
“Den Fortrollade Skogen” (“The Enchanted Forest“) is where those that are already fans of the band will have the most fun. The song, which originally is 8 minutes long, was 10 minutes on a previous live album, is now extended to over 20 minutes. Long-time fans will be able to spot no doubt where they deviate from the original piece.
The opening is light and airy, with the keys and flute working beautifully together before the guitar takes over the main theme. When it drops down it reminded me of Tull when they went classical like in “Bouree“. With the change back to organ it leans towards a jazz style, with a little bit of distortion where the drums get to freestyle underneath the lead whether it be guitar or organ doing so. From there we get flute/organ work leading to a short but effective drum solo when the theme resumes. Jenny, at one point, is obviously having fun as she screams and woohoo’s in the background of some funky jamming. It is absolutely joyous stuff.
Weirder (But Wonderful)
“Ur Askan” (“From The Ashes“) heads into weirder territory as it at points mixes classical, folk and reggae, sometimes overlapping each other. Somehow it works and makes sense. The way that either the guitar or organ underpins things at different moments doing that reggae vibe with the other instruments bringing us more classical sounds over that is so clever and a lovely listen.
Themes come and go once again with each instrument seeming to take different ones at different times and they even throw in some Eastern sounds at points. The organ often leads us to pastures new. The main melody gets more urgent, faster, more frantic until it drops down to the bass, a solo with echo attached which leads to the only vocals from Jenny. As it is not in English I have no idea what is being sang.
From that we have the pleasure of guitar and organ solos (none are too long, they keep them snappy so the music keeps moving). I love the way it stops (more or less) for some flute on it’s own before the whole band kick in and bring the track to its conclusion.
Melody, Creativity, Diversity
I am mightily impressed at how good they sound (I imagine there will have been some post-production, but it sounds pretty live to me). It is obvious they have tons of talent and know how to write strong melodic sections whilst being able to jam and improvise, with solos that never drag on. There are obvious reference points in what they do, Focus, Camel, Tull, Colosseum, Procol Harum and Caravan to name a few.
As stated, they creatively mix a number of styles but it never feels forced and nothing seems like it is playing for playing’s sake. Anyone who loves some of the more classical Focus in particular will adore this (I say this as I do) and those who like folk rock will also get loads out of it. I have a desperate desire to see them live from listening to this, which is what a good live album should make the listener feel. Terrific stuff all round!
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