Rikard Sjöblom’s GUNGFLY – Alone Together [Bonus Track Edition] (2020)

GUNGFLY is one of the projects of multi-instrumentalist Rikard Sjöblom (Big Big Train), now delivering the new album ”Alone Together” in a trio-format, joined by Petter and Rasmus Diamant on drums and bass respectively.
This is Prog Rock with the focus on ‘Rock’. There’s Hammond organs all over, bright guitars, some mellotron here and there, and melodic vocals.

As said, musically Sjöblom opted for a progressive rock approach, with rock being the focal point. Such approach is evident on tracks like “Somewhere in Between” and “Traveler,” which finds the trio hitting stronger than ever before.
”Traveler” opens the album with progressive style, being a 13-minutes epic that quickly introduce the listener to the ambivalent nature of a traveler that hates to leave. Just as the traveler should come back to the place where he once put down roots, this track returns to its main motif after the several sonic journeys it took. On some occasions, these journeys feature frenetic atmospheres created through urgent guitar riffs layered with intense keys.
Also, they present cathartic experiences derived from the subtle Hammond organ phrases, thunderous bass lines and hypnotic drum beats.

Despite the mentioned rock focus, “Alone Together” still has the intricate, unexpected, proggy but still catchy melodies that Rikard is well known for delivering.
Let’s take as example the title track.“Alone Together” is the central piece of this new album and one of their best songs yet. Get your guts ready to be shaken by this experimental, crazy, massive, visceral, and anxious sonic coup.
It starts and finishes calmly, but in the middle there is a lot of room for Rikard to set free a grimly subject towards the desperation of parents with mentally ill sons and the heartbreaking choice to leave them at a mental facility. It also marks the first occasion since the Beardfish days that Sjoblöm gets to growl. The exceptional combination of multiple vocal ranges, as well as the blend of musical approaches which are at times serene and subtle and others brutal and harsh, which make perfect sense when derived from the song´s troubling subject.

Then you have song format tunes. “From Afar” is the shortest song and the only one with a singer-songwriter vibe. Through Rikard‘s voice and acoustic guitar, RSG keeps exploring how different circumstances affect relationships. It focuses on how we could sell a false image of ourselves to those millions of strange eyes that can see us through nowadays technological facilities.

The most mellow and soft facet of the band is represented on “Cleans as a Whistle.” However, don’t be surprised when such track becomes proggier while Rikard gradually adds a bunch of keys to the initially acoustic, folky and melodic tune. From a vocal perspective, this song showcases the gentler side of Sjoblom‘s vocal spectrum, including the use of tuneful falsettos.

If you don’t pay attention to the release date you’ll think this is a remastered reissue from a lost ’70s British rock album… remember when Deep Purple was fresh, or Uriah Heep, or the good Jethro Tull?
If you avoid retro rock or Seventies stuff isn’t your thing, you better check out this wonderful record… of course if you love those, ”Alone Together” is a Must Have.

 

01 – Traveler
02 – Happy Somewhere In Between
03 – Clean As A Whistle
04 – Alone Together
05 – From Afar
06 – On The Shoulders Of Giants
07 – Shoulder Variations (Bonus Track)

Petter Diamant – drums
Rasmus Diamant – bass
Rikard Sjöblom – vocals, guitars, keys, mellotron

 

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