ALBUM REVIEW: A Fleeting Glimpse – Bjørn Riis
Sometimes less is more. Sometimes, less is simply just less. Prog rock stalwart BJØRN RIIS, co-founder of AIRBAG and general talent of high acclaim has often ventured astray from the collective that found him success. His 2017 solo effort Forever Comes To An End was a work of great cinema – one that amongst others that cemented his talents beyond the confines of his original trio. Fans, however, will find no such theatre in Riis‘ PINK FLOYD tributed mini-LP, A Fleeting Glimpse. Unrealised, confused and, at times, painfully corny, it seems Riis was in need of an AIRBAG to save himself from this car crash.
But what bang, if any, are we getting for our buck? Regrettably, A Fleeting Glimpse’s ‘bang’ isn’t the majesty of a grand firework display and more akin to a dwindling sparkler – yet somehow just as painful to the ears. On paper, it’s a simple affair. Four tracks, with two-parter Dark Shadows forming the bread of this rather unfortunate sandwich, and two instrumentals for a middling filling and voila, we have our mini album. So yes, it’s mercifully short but in practice, it simply doesn’t feel it. Largely its greatest downfall, A Fleeting Glimpse heaves itself through its achingly sore tracklist, paying expected visits to FLOYD-ian tropes and then proceeding to disgrace them.
The first and greatest misstep lies with Dark Shadows. While bad enough in its own right, splitting the project in half only accentuates the inaugural half’s utter failure in its goal to mirror a worthy prog rock ballad. It stumbles into earshot with an unenthused strum that sounds played by someone’s foot before Riis joins at a whisper. Short-lived lyrics are then replaced by two minutes of intermittent wailing by Riis and PINK FLOYD backup singer Durga McBroom in a sequence that would make tinnitus sound like a package holiday – even for those with the propensity for all things peculiar, this is a difficult listen.
The remainder of the track tries to build to a respectable summit – with some haunting lead lines to boot – but Riis‘ delivery lands surprisingly flat for a musician of his esteem. It leaves any attempt to savour the damning banshee cries that preceded it a deflating chore. Part 2 is a bizarre closing note. It enters on the same awkward strum but soon ponders into an astral world of looming bass and spacious synths. It certainly builds a feeling other than tedium but struggles beyond that. The wait before the track’s larger-than-life guitar solo screeches into the mix is an underwhelming one, the soundscape seemingly unable to evolve before entirely exploding into a moment of drama that feels undeserved considering the bore that came before.
The sandwich filling, the album’s two instrumentals, are fortunately more agreeable. Staying true to their namesake, A Voyage To The Sun is a pleasant trek outside the atmosphere with its chorus of synths and poignant electric wails that truly put the mind somewhere otherworldly, and Summer Meadows that follows is an expectedly hazy residence amongst long grass, blue skies and, well, ‘recreational’ substances. Perhaps whatever substances gave birth to Dark Shadows had worn off by then as the two winding worlds of wordless wonder are certainly respectable. It’s a pity they weren’t swapped round however as A Voyage To The Sun’s inherent space-age soundscape would have made for a seamless introduction to the outro’s new palette. Track sequencing, evidently, however, is the least of the record’s issues.
Thankfully, each of the album’s quarters comes richly tuned by a welcome production package which does provide at least some respite to the experience. The final guitar solo, in particular, whilst a little self-celebratory, sounds unmistakably PINK FLOYD and ‘of the era’ with a gorgeous lick of reverb to bolster its mighty growl. It’s not all bad after all.
Yet, nonetheless, this is not worthy of FLOYD and certainly not worthy of BJØRN RIIS. An afterthought that was given too much life, A Fleeting Glimpse is the product of a ‘what if’ no one should have ever asked. With merits few and enormously far between, this is a moment to be forgotten for the world of prog rock, and perhaps the world as a whole.
Rating: 4/10
A Fleeting Glimpse is out now via Karisma Records.
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