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: : REVIEW : :
If I were given a soundtrack of my choosing for my ascension into “The Light”, and
ultimately Heaven, Carptree’s second album “Superhero” would be it.
Swedes Niclas Flinck and Carl Westholm, along with the “No Future Orchestra”, have
produced a spiritual concept album, which alternates between haunting, dissonant
verses, gentle harmonies, and grandiose choruses. “Superhero”, like “J.C.
Superstar”, focuses on the misunderstanding surrounding Christ’s purpose and mission
on Earth, as well as man’s emotional calculations, which produce resistance to the
idea of transformation from body to spirit.
Flinck and Westholm, who have played sporadically together over a twenty-year
period, forming Carptree in 1997, are masters at building intensity within the
compositions. The “No Future Orchestra” is aptly named because these other Swedish
musicians embellish the tunes nicely without overpowering or upstaging the work of
Flinck and Westholm. Niclas Flinck’s voice contains a nasal quality which, when
combined with a semi-falsetto pitch, produces an interesting vocal style, vaguely
reminiscent of Peter Gabriel. Carl Westholm combines piano and synthesizer in
different ways, favoring electronic strings and chorus for a King Crimson style
vibe.
The track order on “Superhero” features an
eclectic mix of classically inspired dark themes (“Fathers House”, “Watching The
Clock”), light as a cloud choral interludes (There Like Another”, “Host vs. Graft”),
whispers in your ear (“Calm Sea Of Their Pupils”), erratic-disfunction (“Into The
Never To Speak Of”), man and his machines (“Malfunction”), and power grooves urging
man to let go of his mortal boundaries so that he may find the path to oneness with
The Holy Spirit (Flesh”). This wide range of musical creativity results in a myriad
of emotions throughout the album, from fear and doubt to calm and serenity. The last
two tracks, “Lie Down” and “Sleep”, are uplifting songs much like the arrangements
of Arena, where the dying person discovers in the end that he has always mattered to
God.
If you enjoyed Arena's “Contagion”, I
recommend that you add “Superhero” to your collection.
Rating: 9 keyboards
Reviewed by: Rick Woodward 7/21/03
: : Visit the artist website : :
carptree.com
: : Contact : :
fosfor@carptree.com
: : Discography : :
Carptree (2001)
Superhero (2003)
Man
Made Machine - 2005
: : No Future Orchestra : :
Ulf Edelonn: All guitars. Bass 1/2/5/7/8/9/11
Jejo Percovic: Drums 1/2/3/7/9
Oivin Tronstad: Background vocals 1/2/4/5/7/8/9/10
Stefan Fanden: Bass 3/10
Kjell Bjarnhage: Snaredrum 4/8/11
Jan Hellman: Drums 5/10
Franziska Edvinsson: Narrator 9
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