Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
If there is one genre of music that Britain seems to continually well at creating, then surely Progressive Rock is the one. Unlike Metal, straight rock and pop has had the good fortune of having continental and Scandinavian Europe come along and show the way forward to British bands, Prog though still remains very much in the hands of a certain type of musician and for that the joy of hearing Denmark’s Vinyl Floor’s Peninsula is greatly appreciated.
The combination of hearing one of the staples of Progressive Rock, the power to be able to tell a tale, a story, no matter the subject matter and give it life over the entire course of an album, to breathe in every single molecule and know that the narrative is heightened by the ambient and sometimes uncompromising music that accompanies it. When that concept is shrouded in the notion of Utopia and its relentless counterpart Dystopia, what comes across is aspiration to match legends, to tread where evil, abandonment and sorrow lurks and hope that the never ending search for the myth of Utopia comes shining through.
The ability to weave a tale sits at the very fabric of Copenhagen literary psyche and when a band goes and produces something that could easily sit in the peninsula nation that bridges continental Europe to the legends of Scandinavia; then the result is well worth a listen and revelling in.
With every concept album, the hard task of trying to work out if the songs themselves can stand alone, to be an island in a sea of musical tranquillity and hardship is a tough ask. Many groups that have done this type of work have managed to produce one or two tracks that can sit happily unaccompanied and yet not abandoned. The Who managed it perfectly with 5:15, Genesis with Carpet Crawlers and Marillion with Incomunicado and whilst the songs remain of a certain quality alone, they are not unhindered by being attached to the overall idea.
With Ghosts of England, Written in the Cards and King of Dystopia all being tracks that hit the Progressive track running, Peninsula is a collection of ideas that make the listener’s ears froth with expectation and grace.
An album of great quality and if this is anything to go by then what comes out of the Vinyl Floor stable next is one to anticipate.
Peninsula was released by Karmanian Records.
Ian D. Hall