Having joined his first band in 1964 and formed progressive rock band Kaipa in 1973, keyboardist and vocalist Hans Lundin is now sixty years into his musical career and Sommargryningsljus is Kaipa’s fifteenth studio album, despite a lengthy hiatus from 1980 to 2000. With eight tracks, Sommargryningsljus (which translates as Summer Dawn Light) is a concept album portraying a nocturnal odyssey from dusk until dawn.
Beginning with the ninety-second Sommarskymningljus (Summer Twilight Light), the album opens in relaxing fashion as twilight takes over from daylight. With gentle keyboards and a beautifully tender vocal (in Swedish) from Aleena Gibson, we discover the beginning of various journeys. Ett andetag just här och nu / Ett skimmer över fjärden / En båt på väg med tankarna / En resa runt i världen (A breath right here and now / A shimmer over the bay / A boat on the way with the tanks / A trip around the world). Final track Sommargryningsljus (Summer Dawn Light) follows an almost identical musical path during its first two minutes but in the latter half of the song, sunlight bursts through with a magical, sparkling guitar solo fully heralding the arrival of a new day. As the only two songs sung in Swedish, the two bookending sister songs further intertwine with their differing but equally important aspects of a day. Ett naket blad i en öppen bok / Vill fyllas utav ruset / Från solens strålar, vindens sus / Från dofterna i sången (A bare leaf in an open book / Wants to be filled by the rush / From the sun's rays, the whistling of the wind).
The two bookends aside, every other track on the album runs to at least nine and a half minutes. Second track, Seven Birds – the basic structure of which has existed since the late 90s - is also the second track to represent twilight with Aleena Gibson and Patrick Lundström trading vocals and emotions. Examining themes of escape, freedom and the search for peace, Seven Birds uses the imagery of flying with birds, the setting sun and the fading light to convey a sense of transition. I want to soar through the sky / Through a paling light / Seven nights / Seven dreams / Fourteen wings that lift me / Out of my storms. As the track develops, the bucolic aspects of Kaipa’s music comes to the fore, guest violinist Elin Rubinsztein adding to the serene and mystical aspects. Climbing into the sky, Gibson’s higher vocals circle and soar as Per Nilsson’s guitar adds a sense of the passing of time.
With the first two tracks representing twilight and the closing two indicating dawn, the central four songs continue the nighttime journey, which – according to the accompanying press notes - can be seen as a metaphor for the state between death and rebirth, or as an allegory of life told in reverse. Like Thousand Dawns – which surpasses eleven minutes and ends with a superb saxophone solo from Olof Åslund – is a more complete embrace of Kaipa’s progressive roots, beginning with urgent keyboard and changing time signatures. The track slows a little after this initial section and settles into a steadier rhythm, beginning its tale of transformation, natural phenomena, elevation and aspiration. However, Like Thousand Dawns and also Revelationview play with tempo and mood more than Seven Birds and of particular note is the shifting and changing tone brought to the tracks by bassist Jonas Reingold and some of the higher register vocals delivered by Lundström, which are reminiscent of Jon Anderson.
Chased By Wolves And Burned By The Sun is another ten-minute track that allows Kaipa to explore a range of musical sentiments. Initially built around instrumental passages – the first words do not appear for three minutes – Darby Todd’s drumming focuses the attention, while Reingold’s bass is vigorous and commanding. Evoking a sense of struggle and disillusionment, Chased By Wolves And Burned By The Sun illustrates the harsh realities of life and the feeling of relentless external pressure. Nonetheless, the lyrics poignantly capture the essence of pursuing dreams amidst adversity. Chased by wolves and burned by the sun / My lost dreams are still on the run / Demons and wizards a jester a wasteland beat / Heroes and villains jokers a tiny man / Playing around on my dead-end street.
At fifteen and a half minutes, Spiderweb Train is the longest song on Sommargryningsljus. It is one of the most rewarding songs on the album and Hans Lundin’s elegant keyboards tie the whole thing together perfectly. About ninety seconds in, woodwind from guest Fredrik Lindqvist again builds a pastoral atmosphere and in places, the images he conjures are redolent of Mike Oldfield’s Incantations or Ommadawn. With the train representing a journey into a controlled and manipulated future, the lyrics warn of a future where people are welcomed and made to feel comfortable only to realise too late that they are ensnared. Deceptively alluring, Lundström – whose vocal in the final minute is spine-tingling - and Gibson weave their dark tale. Welcome onboard the train / The spiderweb train / Captain Spider and crew / Wish you welcome you don't need a ticket / All is included our / friends / You don't need the thoughts of your own / No free will / Let us guide you into the new future. As the most ominous track here, there are moments of rapid keyboard, hypnotising recorder and an almost discordant and disturbing section at just after nine minutes. Conversely, with Songs In Our Hands, dawn begins to break and thoughts of hope, renewal and the power of music and dreams suggest a fresh start and the potential for change. So show us a way / Into a future of hope / When all the dark clouds of war / Are dispelled by our songs / There are words / There are songs / In our hands. With each passing moment of the thirteen-minute track, the feelings of darkness and peril are left further behind us.
Despite the running times of six of the songs, the album mostly manages to maintain interest and there are only a handful of occasions where it becomes a little meandering, such as some of the instrumental sections of Chased By Wolves And Burned By The Sea. Approaching eighty minutes, Sommargryningsljus is a long album and there is a significant commitment of time required in order to fully appreciate all it has to offer, something that is only achieved through repeated listens. Whether that commitment is warranted will be down to the individual listener. Nonetheless, fans of the band and traditional progressive rock in general will definitely find plenty to appreciate and savour during some quite exquisite movements. Having existed for almost fifty years, Kaipa deserve to be recognised amongst the stalwarts of progressive rock. With an unchanged line-up since 2006, this is the band’s tenth album since 2000 and Kaipa’s unity and their faith and confidence in each other shines through.
Sommargryningsljus is released on 28th June 2024
Kaipa online:
Website - https://kaipa.info
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