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Bjørn Riis — A Fleeting Glimpse
(Karisma KAR, 2022, CD / LP / DL)

Bjørn Riis — Everything to Everyone
(Karisma KAR199, 2022, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-10-11

A Fleeting Glimpse Cover artEverything to Everyone Cover art

Looking back through my reviews of previous albums by Bjørn Riis (Forever Comes to an End and A Storm Is Coming), it occurs to me that virtually every word I wrote about those albums applies to his 2022 full-length release, Everything to Everyone. Just substitute out the new song titles, and you could make it all work. It’s not so much that he’s repeating himself, more that he has a certain style and aesthetic that he operates within. To summarize: moody, atmospheric rock music with long stretches of quiet melodicism punctuated by occasional heavier riffs. Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd are the general references, along with vocal resemblance to Tim Bowness. These six songs are certainly “more of the same,” so if you didn’t like the previous albums, there’s probably no need to check it out, but if you like what he does, you’ll enjoy it. The sonic landscape is lush, full of layered guitars and keyboards, and the vocals are melodic and emotive. He’ll occasionally step up for a Gilmour-inflected guitar solo, but the quiet parts are much more prevalent than the more rock-oriented sections. 

2022 also sees the release of an EP called A Fleeting Glimpse, which (as the title might suggest) is more directly an homage to Pink Floyd. Each of the four tracks is filled with identifiable references to classic tracks from roughly Meddle to Animals. Since this style has always been a large part of Riis’s music, it’s actually not that different from his other songs — he’s just condensed the Floydian moments into the arrangements and set the Porcupine Tree aside. Accordingly, you’ll hear none of the heavier sections in this set. The result is quite enjoyable, and retains enough Riis in the mix to not just sound derivative. On the whole, I enjoy it at least as much as any of his full-length albums, and it might even appeal to some listeners who don’t otherwise like Riis’s work, either solo or with his various band projects.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Bjørn Riis

More info
http://bjornriis.bandcamp.com

 

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