Hailing from one of the progressive music hotbeds of the world, Sweden, comes a brand new band called Koi. In 2010 their debut In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday was released on Progress Records. The band is a quintet and comprised of Eemu Ranta (guitars), Joni Kaartinen (bass), Markus Monttinen (drums), Patrik Andersson (lead vocals, guitars) and Roberd Palm (keyboards). I hear several points of reference, upon listening to the album, ranging from Pineapple Thief (their more indie sounds), Porcupine Tree (before they adopted the “metal“ sound) and Opeth (primarily from the Mellotron sounds).
From the opening track, “The Rabbit‘ (6:45), which sounds like a mix of Porcupine Tree and the more atmospheric side of Opeth. This sounds pretty much sets the tone for the album. The next song, “Woodnote” (6:14), an instrumental track continues on with a dark atmospheric sound, this time closer sounding to Pineapple Thief.
My favorite track of the album, “Terminal Souls” (9:01), is the longest track on the album. In parts of the song I hear ELO-esque harmonies mixed with some acoustic atmospheres which could be found on most of the late 90’s Porcupine Tree albums. I could listen to this song over and over without getting tired of it.
“Navigated to the Blank Undrawn” (5:58) and the title track, “In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday” (6:29) are the heaviest sounding on the album, without crossing into the progressive metal territory. “In The World Of A Child’s Mind” (0:49) serves as a transition into the next track “ Eventide” (6:21) a brooding sounding album that reminds me of some of Pineapple Thief’s songs off their recent albums.
“Breaking The Day” (4:40) has an Opeth feel to the instrumentation while having vocals that remind me of Bruce Soord (of Pineapple Thief). The song builds in intensity over the latter half. And transitions into the next two tracks, “Metamorphosis” (1:24) which continues the Opeth like vibe and “Swaying To Sleep“ (0:42) an orchestral piece.
The final track, “Less Than Abstract” (8:37) is the second longest track and the most atmospheric of all the songs. Close in many ways to most of the mellow Pineapple Thief songs. It’s a perfect beautiful ending that has an epilog feel to it.
In closing, Koi is one of Sweden’s newest stars and their album In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday can easily be put side by side with that country’s best modern progressive rock bands. I keep returning to this album and hear new things each time. So without any doubt, I highly recommend this album, especially to fans of the aforementioned bands. Simply one of the best debuts of 2010.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on November 20th, 2010
