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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Swedish Winter, January 4, 2001
In 1992, a Swedish band called Anglagard released two albums that triggered a neo-progressive rock renaissance in their own country. Within three years, the Swedish rock underground was being invaded by scores of new, young bands who took their cues from Anglagard and their inspiration from the big progressive bands of the 70's.However, most of these new Swedish groups immediately fell into the trap of thinking that the classic Yes/Genesis sound would automatically make for great music. The Flower Kings must certainly take a lot of the blame for this. Roine Stolt has made a career of endlessly recycling the Yes/Genesis sound, and although I certainly don't want to sound too harsh, neither he or his band deserve the recognition they have attained in prog-rock circles. The Flower Kings, Transatlantic (and to a much lesser extent, Spock's Beard) continue to cling to the misguided idea that progressive rock is a definite musical "style." In reality, the classic prog-rock sound pioneered by Yes and Genesis is now exhausted and creatively bankrupt. There is a difference between drawing inspiration from your influences and just simply drowning in them. Fortunately, a handful of these new Swedish bands understood that progressive rock of the nineties is more of an attitude. This mindset has lead to some genuinely new and original music, and Landberk is one of the bands who fall into this latter group. The band's previous output consists of "Lonely Land" and "One Man Tells Another." The latter album codified the Landberk sound, but it was "Indian Summer" that truly established the band as a creative force. Although there are echoes of King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Van Der Graaf Generator throughout much of "Indian Summer", this album takes progressive rock to some genuinely new places. On aggressive songs like "1st of May" and "Dustgod" Landberk draw inspiration from the 90's grunge groups, and both of these tracks would not sound out of place on a Nirvana or Pearl Jam album. On the other hand, "Why Do I Still Sleep?" and "All Around Me" suggest influences from U2, The Church and other likeminded groups. Only the low-level use of mellotron and organ (barely audible in the mix) suggest that Landberk are a progressive rock band. But more than the actual band influences, it is ultimately Landberk's overall sound the captivates the listener. Far from being an Indian Summer, this album literally oozes the long, cold Swedish Winter. It's not just the low-level mellotron colourings, the lack of complex time signatures, or the spaced-out guitar effects, but the hypnotic drum work. On tracks like "Humanise" and "I Wish I Had a Boat" the drummer keeps a nervous, but steady pulse that somehow manages to totally complement the music. Yet, the drummer is in no way incompetent, as the convoluted pattern in "Dreamdance" so convincingly shows. Landberk's unique sound will linger in your mind long after you have hit the stop button. Additionally, the lead vocalist is such a compelling singer (all the lyrics on this album are sung in English) that you hardly even notice the absence of the layered vocal harmonies. Were it not for the somewhat diffuse title track, "Indian Summer" would indeed be a five-star classic. In any case, this album put Landberk up there with Djam Karet and Ozric Tentacles as a genuinely progressive rock band. Little has been heard from Landberk since the release of this album. Let us hope that they continue to pursue their musical vision.
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by Landberk 
