ALBUM REVIEW: The Congregation Acoustic – Einar Solberg

For a brief period during the pandemic, the streamed live performance had a real moment under the sun. While livestreams offered a nice way to support bands and connect with fellow fans at a time when gigs were not happening, in musical terms many of them represented little more than a glorified rehearsal. Then there were those who offered something truly one-off that may have otherwise not been heard. This is certainly the case with the acoustic performances of EINAR SOLBERG, vocal and keyboard maestro of Norwegian prog powerhouse LEPROUS. One of those streams, a full reinterpretation of their acclaimed 2015 album The Congregation, is now seeing a full-blooded official release as The Congregation Acoustic.

Recorded in early 2022 in front of a limited audience in Solberg’s native Norway, the setup is as stripped-down as it gets – one man, his voice, and a grand piano. The challenge of reimagining an album as complex and layered with instrumentation as The Congregation is palpable – Solberg calls it “probably the least suitable album [for an] acoustic version” out of their catalogue – but one he faces with aplomb. The familiar frenzy of opener The Price is reinterpreted as a ballad, its staccato riffs reworked into soft piano lines but retaining the dynamism of the bombastic chorus. Third Law may be stripped of distortion but enriched through angular jazz voicings and a lively bass section recreating the rhythmical tornado of drummer Baard Kolstadt, whereas Rewind retains the tension and drama of the original. All around, the songs are imaginatively reinterpreted without losing their familiar skeleton.

As if it weren’t apparent before, the recording displays Solberg’s strength as a magnificent vocalist with phenomenal range. His powerful highs and signature falsettos tower over the piano accompaniment, providing standout moments like the fragility of Slave or the lung-busting interlude of Down. To be able to play and sing like that at the same time is further proof of his talents as a musician. The performance is “raw and unedited” with none of the post-production fixes that musicians normally have at their disposal, but this only adds to its intimate quality. The simple setup also lends itself to being captured beautifully – on a good set of speakers it can sound as if the performance is happening in your room. 

A release such as The Congregation Acoustic is almost by definition a collectors’ item, and its appeal will largely be limited to those already on the LEPROUS train. Despite this, the fact remains that it is intricately arranged and expertly played, and makes for a satisfying listening experience. As a document both of Solberg as a performer, but even more so of LEPROUS’ talents as composers, it breathes new life in a special set of songs.

Rating: 8/10

The Congregation Acoustic is out now via InsideOut Music.

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