Beardfish - "Sleeping In Traffic: Part One" Review

Artist/ Band: Beardfish
Title: Sleeping In Traffic: Part One
Label: InsideOut Music
Year of Release: 2007
Artist/ Band Link (click for details/ ordering)

The Review:

Another gem form Sweden called Beardfish brings us via Inside Out (their debut with the label) with the first part of their Sleeping in Traffic piece. Their sound is firmly rooted in the 70's prog, most notably Gentle Giant, Genesis,, Zappa and fellow countrymen, Kaipa (70's), While Beardfish doesn’t break any new ground, they do however bring something lost in modern music… depth, soul and humor. To me they’re beyond retro mainly because they fuse old ways with new.

Other influences, Beardfish draws upon are Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Supertramp, Camel, the Beatles and more. They’re really so unlike most of their modern peers with the exception of bands Like Black Bonzo, because their sound isn’t polished or prettied up like most new bands are. They have that raw sound that has been missed for many decades.

Even though I love the entire album, there are a few standout tracks including the epic "Roulette", which just floors me each time I hear it. I hear new sounds with each listen., which to me is the sign of a very good song, Another song that I like is the sublime haunting piano ballad "Dark Poet". Everything on this album just flows so well and is one of the few that I take the time to listen from start to finish.

This band has already two other albums under their belt, one that I own is The Sane Day but sadly this and the first have gone under the radar. Hopefully Sleeping In Traffic and being on Inside Out, will get enough exposure to get the rightful attention Beardfish rightfully deserves. I can’t wait for the next chapter of Sleeping In Traffic. Needless to say this album gets a high recommendation!!

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on August 3rd, 2007

Tracks:

1. On The Verge Of Sanity ... (0:47)

2. Sunrise (7:54)

3. Afternoon Conversation (3:42)

4. And Never Know (5:59)

5. Roulette (12:07)

6. Dark Poet (3:24)

7. Harmony (7:20)

8. The Ungodly Slob (6:42)

9. Year Of The Knife (7:28)

10. Without You (2:39)

11. Same Old Song (Sunset) (7:51)

Reviewed Discography

Here are other reviews by this artist at ProgNaut.com.