Band: Gargamel

CD Title: “Descending”

Label: Transubstans Records

Release Date: 2009

Norway has proven to be rather fertile ground when it comes to progressive rock music and it’s clearly evident as I sit listening to the second full length CD from Gargamel entitled Descending. It’s been a full three years since the band’s first recording and this time around the sound is perhaps even a little darker, more intense, sharper and more dramatic. This may be the result of the band’s recording approach which was to record each piece live in the same room and then add overdubs latter. To my mind there is always going to be a sharper intensity when everyone is staring each other in the eyes and performing live. And it shows.Gargamel is made up of Tom Uglebakken (guitar, vocals, flute, saxophone), Morten Tornes (drums, vocals, glockenspiel, Theremin, synth), Arne Ton (keyboards) and Stig Joran Rygg (bass guitar, bass pedals).

Descending consists of four longish tracks that betray a powerful early Pink Floyd feel as well mixing up many heritage psych sounds with more dramatic proggy arrangements. The CD starts off with the title track “Descending” [9:55] which draws you into its web with soft, spacey sections that feature some very neat psychedelic sounding organ which eventually blossoms into a grander sound. The tempo goes up and down like a roller-coaster and features many musical change-ups. I referred to a sharper intensity and that’s clearly evident on track two “Prevail the Sea” [13:59] where after some wind sounds, that are layered with strings, the band launches into a series of cascading power chords of bass, guitars and sax that is reminiscent of “21^st Century Schizoid Man” King Crimson. And here the filtered vocals recall both of the bands previously mentioned. This piece goes from fast to slow and soft to hard all over the place which describes the music on the remaining two tracks as well. Gargamel’s music is dynamic and ever changing, melancholy and angular in spots, it’s moody and almost dreamy in places but perhaps most of all these four compositions are epic in scope with dramatic crescendos and powerful climaxes around every musical corner.

As I wrote in The Progressive Rock Handbook if you are a fan of early King Crimson, Anekdoten, Van Der Graaf Generator and I’ll now add early Pink Floyd, then Gargamel is certainly a band you’ll want to check out. The music of Descending is a wonderful blend of psychedelic influences and progressive rock that is very captivating and a great addition to just about anyone’s prog music library.