Fireworker

Gazpacho

Kscope, 2020

http://gazpachoworld.com

REVIEW BY: Mark Kadzielawa

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/01/2020

Gazpacho is a band from Norway that is known and respected in progressive rock circles. Their music has touches of Radiohead and latter day Marillion, but they certainly have developed an original style of their own. Fireworker is their 11th studio album, and what a great trip it’s been for the band.  Their music has undergone many changes over the years, and even now they are still pushing it forward.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Fireworker is an album full of musical mood swings. For the most part the band takes a very minimalistic approach to their songs. They focus on the feel, especially the closing track, “Sapien,” which just floats alongside, and so do you. The opening song, “Space Cowboy,” sets the mood for the album, starting out very slow and quiet, but then progressing to become very orchestrated and spacey.  This mood continues throughout the album; the album feels absolutely great in the evening in a dark room with a candle on. 

I absolutely love the packaging as well. The artwork feels like an extension of the music, or perhaps it’s the other way around. It is beautifully illustrated, very thematically, and with gentle touches of nature. Formatted as a book, this digipack simply is an invitation into the world of imagination. Once you see it and hear the accompanying music, it will be hard to imagine one without the other. Those of you who download and only get the music, will enjoy that, but completely miss out on the visuals.

Judging from the last few releases from Gazpacho, I suspect the band is consciously trying to combine the packaging with the music.  It’s definitely an artistic statement each time they release a record, and they definitely put a lot of love into what they do.

Gazpacho truly made a perfect record here. It is weird in places, but it’s the weirdness that makes want to listen to it over and over again. Fireworker is a gentle record, but extremely grown up too. The band understands that less is more, but they also do understand how difficult that process can be. It took them a while to perfect that. I can’t wait to hear where Gazpacho will go from here.

Rating: A

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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