Kaipa
Vittjar

It would seem like many of my old favourites are making new albums these days and the latest in the row is Vittjar from Kaipa, a band I got to know and enjoy from their two first albums after their 20 year break with Keyholder from 2003 as a definite favourite. Hans Lundin of Kaipa has been around for a long time and though I do not know his work of the early days of his band, I have known them for their time after their comeback which has been quite enjoyable even though I think they have stagnated a little following Keyholder. Vittjar is a Swedish title which I don’t really like, it has a progressive looking cover art which I don’t think is as good as the artworks on Notes…, Keyholder or Mindrevolutions. So with this another one of the bands I have followed for a while the interesting times continues this year, but has Kaipa progressed or do they still work around the same kind of sound that they have done ever since they came back in 2002?

Well, it sounds typical Kaipa, anyone who has heard them before will recognise them, the sound of the album is the same kind as earlier with the progressive rock meets swedish folk music. But it is of course more than so easy to describe with a greater depth and a more complex musical structure than most bands can show for. The vocal pairing with Aleena Gibson and Patrik Lundström is the same for this album as well and they sound as they have done before. Most of the songs are of an epic nature with the classical folky undertones accompanying the modern most of the times in really long songs where several reach past the ten minute mark. Eight tracks are there and they play for almost an hour and ten minutes.

It sounds really good, well made, complex and very melodic. It is epic, powerful, beautiful, and complex all in the same package and it is a treat to listen to as well. The title track in Swedish has lyrics that I don’t really like and to be honest I don’t really care that much for the track in itself either and unfortunately I also think this album looses a little in the latter stages, the last pair of songs don’t really add that much to the complete picture I would say.

And while I am at the negatives, they still has the same kind of sound as they established with Notes From the Past and perfected with Keyholder, it is sort of a recycling of that kind of sound. Fair enough I would say but to really impress it either has to be perfect or it has to be something that reinvents the sound of the band and not something that feels as familiar as this album does, one thought brought up when I listen to this album is why should I get this if I have any of the other albums since the comeback. Not that sounding similar to something great is really that negative just in terms of trying to reach our highest ratings which always requires something special.

Vittjar is a very good album, it has a great sound, the songs are complex and interesting and I especially like the 22 minute epic Our Silent Ballroom Band which is my favourite on this album because of its dreamy and exciting character. Had they replaced the title track with something new and exciting I would have been really thrilled over this album, now I am just enjoying it very much.