Verdict: Retroheads nod towards rather than immerse themselves in the past this time out
More info: www.retroheads.com
The Retroheads are a bunch of Norwegians that a first listen seem to have their heads stuck firmly in the past. Their debut album, Retrospective, had a distinctive 70's vibe to it. The band's objective is to play music without limits and despite the fact that they play retro music, they do so using all the latest technology to recreate the vintage sounds.
There has been a few personnel changes since the debut album, with the band now expanded to a seven piece. This has helped the band move beyond the mere recreation of the past that dominated the debut, into a more creative region where they are starting to define their own sound rather than emulating the sounds of their influences. The overall sound now mixes the retro with more current prog acts such as The Flower Kings.
As with all decent prog, the album doesn't reveal everything during initial listens and it will take a few sessions to really discover what the band's intentions are. The most immediate element on initial listens is the use of the female backing vocals which have a jazzy-folk feel to them which might sound out of place on a prog album, but which actually work well to complement the more conventional prog of the lead singer. I personally would have liked to have heard them used to create some more hook laden chorus material, but I guess this style of music shies away from that sort of thing. Musically, it’s a case of vintage keyboards meeting fluid guitar work and both displaying an awareness of the past whilst creating a sound that is more contemporary than the previous album.
