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Professor Tip Top — Lanes of Time
(Apollon Records ARP051, 2021, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-02-25

Lanes of Time Cover art

Professor Tip Top returns with Lanes of Time, an album in the same mold as Tomorrow Is Delayed (2020). The core of the band remains Sam Fossbakk (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), who writes all the material, along with Sonja Otto (vocals, keyboards), Stein Høgseth (bass), and Charles Wise (drums). For listeners unfamiliar with the band, the closest comparison would probably be mid-70s Camel (think Rain Dances or Breathless) with touches of Pink Floyd from the same era, though there are plenty of moments that don’t fit that mold. And of course, having a female voice in the lead sets this music apart from its influences in a very immediate way. These melodic, mid-tempo tunes occasionally drift into more atmospheric moods, but one thing they don’t do is get aggressive or speedy. In fact, my main criticism of the band is that they never let loose with a fast riff or energetic ensemble section. But there is plenty to like about the tracks as they are presented. One of my favorites is “The Quest Remains,” which starts with a lovely Medieval-sounding part featuring acoustic guitar, Mellotron flute, and tambourine backing a lush choir of Otto’s vocals. It builds to a rare Hammond organ solo from Otto followed by one of Fossbakk’s bluesy guitar solos. “The Sound of Protonflow” is an instrumental with a bubbling sequencer part setting the pace and a blues-inflected guitar, and sounds like it could be an interlude from The Wall. “Past Forever” is another interesting track, starting with a similar vibe to “Protonflow” with the addition of spoken words. But in the second half, the guitar jumps in with the most rock-oriented part of the whole album. Lanes of Time is another enjoyable release from this great Norwegian band.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Professor Tip Top

More info
http://professortiptop.bandcamp.com/album/lanes-of-time

 

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