Detailed Reviews [Tusmorke - 2018 - "Osloborgerlig Tusmorke: Vardoger og Utburder Vol. 1"]

Prolusion. Norwegian band TUSMORKE has been a going concern for more than 20 years, but haven't really established themselves as recording artists until the past five years or thereabouts. They have been a creative band for the past few years though, and following their 2012 debut album they now have seven full length studio albums to their name. "Osloborgerlig Tusmorke" is the most recent of these, and is the second studio album released by the band in 2018.

Analysis. The liner notes of this album states, in a rather elaborate manner, that this latest production by Tusmorke isn't a studio album as such, but rather a collection of various odds and ends recorded over the years that for some reason or other didn't fit in to any of their previous studio albums. Odds and ends regarded as being too good by the band members to deserve being forgotten about, and perhaps material not quite fitting with what the band has planned for the foreseeable future as well I suspect. While I haven't followed this band as closely as I possibly should, my main impression is that this is a collection of material that fits in quite nicely with the kind of material they explored early on in their career. There's an emphasis on the folkier aspects of the progressive rock universe, especially in the earlier songs on this album, with percussion details, flute and even vocal style all with solid nods in the direction of folk music. To the point of including a motif or two from Norwegian folk music into one of the songs. Many of these songs reminds me very much about how I first came across the band, when they had a release concert for one of their first singles, playing at the Crossroads venue in Oslo, Norway. As this collection of songs develops, my impression is that the band have sorted these songs in some order, opening with the more progressive folk rock oriented creations and gradually switching over to material with an increasing content of vintage era symphonic progressive rock. Just about always with nods back to the folkier foundations, in some tracks alternating between those style variations. A token affair with more of a krautrock/cosmic tinge to it is dropped into this album as well, the odd one off that makes a good and positive impression due to having that role on the album. I do agree with the band that this is material that was in need of an album release. While none of the songs here had quite the impact as the most mesmerizing creations on their previous album, one that in character and spirit is rather different to this one, I did find this CD to be an entertaining one throughout. A solid album with solid material, many of which hopefully will reappear for live purposes.

Conclusion. Tusmorke is a band that have many sides to them, and on this particular occasion they have assembled a collection of tunes that celebrate the spirit of vintage era progressive folk rock and vintage era symphonic progressive rock blended into and alternating with the earthen and pastoral landscapes explored. Timeless progressive rock with a vintage feel to it, and with a clear orientation to the folkier parts of the progressive rock universe. An album well worth a check if this is a description that strikes you as interesting.

Progmessor: March 30th, 2019
The Rating Room