Charisma Records, as any chin stroker should know, was the legendary British home of Prog through the seventies before disappearing under the weight of assorted mergers and buy outs. Whilst not in any way associated with the original label, there can be no doubt that with their emphasis on retro rock sounds Norway’s Karisma Records is at least a spiritual successor, and their latest release comes care of the self titled ‘Kosmodome’.
The short instrumental album opener ‘Enter The Dome’ sets the tone for the album that follows, travelling back to the progressive heydays of The Old Grey Whistle test, simple beats growing into a wall of sound as instrument after instrument joins in, merging seamlessly with ‘Retrograde’, a track that is dominated by an almost jazzy guitar progression. ‘Hypersonic’ follows with a comparatively simple sound, but only comparatively, because as you know, any true Prog track requires multiple time changes to earn their title. ‘Deadbeat’ continues in the same vein, but with some funk thrown into the mix, whilst the successive ‘Waver I’ and ‘Waver II’ are altogether heavier, their sound being moved forward by increasingly urgent guitar riffs.
Whilst many Prog acts plumb literature and mythology for their subject matter Kosmodome enter the realm of social commentary with ‘1%’, the lyrics reflecting their concerns for the future of our planet in the face of unchecked consumerism, and delivered with a vocabulary that is a world removed from the normal monosyllabic grunting that makes up most chart music, a fact that is all the more remarkable when you realise this is a Norwegian band singing in what is not their first language. The album then closes out with ‘Orbit’, the band leaving their longest track for last, the near nine minute length allowing them to explore a host of musical styles and influences, from the jazzy, to the funky, via the rocky, and into the psychedelic, the separate elements coming together into a glorious entity.
Kosmodome clearly pay homage to such illustrious forebears as King Crimson and Genesis, and as a first album, show one heck of a lot of promise. One can only hope that they continue to grow and evolve their own sound, and that they find the audience they deserve.
(7/10 Spenny)
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