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Agusa — Högtid
(Karisma KAR281, 2014/2025, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-01-30

Högtid Cover art

As of early 2026, Agusa has released seven studio and two live albums going back to 2014, but it’s only with the reissue of their debut on Karisma that I’m hearing them. Högtid presents five tracks of great instrumental progressive rock that certainly calls to mind the classic 70s era, but is played with such skill and imagination that it doesn’t sound dated. The band came together in 2013 after Mikael Ödesjö (guitar), Tobias Pettersson (bass), and Jonas Berge (keyboards) took part in a jam session at the home of drummer Dag Strömqvist, who lived in a village called Agusa. Within a year, the quartet has worked up this set of tunes inspired by such bands as Kebnekajse, Fläsket Brinner, Träd Gräs och Stennar, Trettioåriga Kriget, Arbete och Fritid, and Kvartetten Som Sprängde. The instrumentation is vintage, with Berge’s main axe being Hammond organ and Ödesjö providing both electric and acoustic guitars. In point of fact, the album is not completely instrumental, though the vocal sections are quite minimal in the overall impact of the music. Touches of folk music show up in the melodies, and the music is far more assured than most debut albums. There are no missteps or overindulgences, and while both guitar and organ get plenty of solo spots, they never go on longer than a listener’s interest will tolerate. This was the last album that Strömqvist did with the band (and in fact he has no other credits listed on Discogs.com), and there have been other personnel changes since. Band members have also been involved in other bands, such as Kama Loka and Øresund Space Collective. Högtid may be the only document of this particular lineup, but it’s a solid album deserving of wider attention.

Filed under: Reissues, 2025 releases, 2014 recordings

Related artist(s): Agusa

More info
http://agusaband.bandcamp.com/album/h-gtid

 

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