Soft Ffog
s/t

The band called Soft Ffog had the honour to be the first release on the label Is It Jazz? Records, a subdivision of progressive rock label Karisma Records. Fittingly enough it is also the debut of the band Soft Ffog, so double debuts. The members of Soft Ffog are no debutants though, they all have much experience. The band itself begun in 2016 as a one-off thing for the Kongsberg Jazzfestival, but eventually they made it to this debut record, a self-titled release with a cool cover artwork.

I read that the band says: “ever wondered what it would sound like if Jimi Hendrix joined Deep Purple pursuing to sound like Gentle Giant and then failing miserably because of too much jazz consumption lately?” I can’t say that I have, strange at it may seem. Someone has though, and in that kind of region is where we find Soft Ffog their music is jazzy but moves to heavy rocking and everything. There are some improvisations, it is instrumental, well produced. It feels like an album that is well thought out, and sensible in playing time with only four long tracks.

This is a good album, there isn’t much to complain about. At the same time it is hardly a timeless classic or something that feels exciting or fresh, despite improvs and things like that it is still a predictable album. Too predictable to give that novel impression that all the great new albums offer, it is more like most other albums I hear these days; it sounds a bit too familiar to really excite. Perhaps the lack of a standout track strengthens this sensation as well, as none of the four tracks make really strong impression – it is just a solid effort with good songs, nothing outstanding.

If you like jazzier stuff it is probably a good bet to go with this album, the odds aren’t high that you will like it. It is an album with a good strong jazz base that makes it seems very jazzy answering the question with a yes, but on the other questions; is it great? The answer is less obvious, perhaps it is: no but it is good.

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