Short Reviews [Rikard Sjoblom's Gungfly - 2020 - "Alone Together"]

Although the earlier albums were released as Gungfly, this is the second to be released with the longer band name, and as on ‘Friendship’ Rikard Sjoblom (Beardfish, Big Big Train) has been joined by bassist Rasmus Diamant and his brother Petter Diamant on drums (although last time there were plenty of others involved as well). Sjoblom provides vocals, guitars, and keyboards on this album, and working with a stripped-down line-up of just three people, the recording went quickly, albeit it being initially delayed to him touring with BBT and then opening for The Flower Kings as a solo performer. As one would expect given his background, this is a crossover progressive rock album which contains many commercial elements and is incredibly easy to listen to on the first time of playing. At times he uses some nicely dated keyboard sounds and distorted guitars, but the vocals are always clear and clean. The two longest songs bookend the album, with “Traveler” opening proceedings at 13 minutes in length, and “On The Shoulders of Giants” closing it at 15. This last contains some interesting lyrics, where Rickard sings about his love for Zappa, and there are definitely some Zappa-style guitars in the introduction. He touches on psychedelia during this song in particular, and while still simplistic in many ways, it is compelling and takes the listener on an interesting journey while never really delivering any significant width or breadth. Overall, this is a pleasant album, and one which those interested in his other bands will certainly enjoy. The arrangements are such that the move from guitar to piano is flawless, and his vocals are such that one can easily enjoy the lyrics.