Label: Silence (3) – SRS 4633 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Country: Sweden Released: Feb 1976 Genre: Jazz, Rock Style: Folk Rock, Prog Rock, Jazz-Funk, Jazz-Rock
Self-titled debut LP from Swedish outfit Ragnarök - a serene and deeply atmospheric journey through the Northern European countryside caught in an unusual nexus between new-age tinted folk, mellow jazz-funk and melancholic prog.The evocative cover is crucial, the anonymous cyclist heading into the twilight across rolling hills with the local bus incoming, smoke stacks billowing next to a small village on the reverse.It paints the picture of journey beginning, whilst the atmosphere is one of subtle ups and downs - smooth, mellow, pensive and often nostalgic without overcommiting to any specific mood.Musically the instrumental album drifts between harmonic guitars, laid-back drums, light electronic piano keys and ripples of flute that carry the momentum forward.. always forward.Each note lingers with a sense of familiarity, summoning memories of childhood road-trips that are now just out of reach.. (NM/VG++ - original ’76 edition on Silence, with insert).
