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Tusmørke — Dawn of Oberon
(Karisma KAR278, 2024, CD / LP / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2024-11-14

Dawn of Oberon Cover art

Since its inception in 2012, Tusmørke has been releasing one album per year, which makes Dawn of Oberon Tusmørke’s twelfth album. You may remember from high school English literature class that Oberon is the king of the fairies in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Recorded in their rehearsal space and studio in 2022-2023, Tusmørke takes you on a nostalgic, yet refreshing musical journey to early 70s bucolic and sometimes jazzy prog rock as they lead you through the subterranean faerie kingdom. They have all the proper musical ingredients: flute, Mellotron, analog synths, organ, guitars, bass, drums, etc. bringing to mind Jethro Tull, of course, as well as Brian Auger, and Camel. With only six tracks spanning 43 minutes, Tusmørke weaves a beautiful tapestry starting with the nearly eighteen minute opening track “Dawn of Oberon.” What a fantastic album opener, sounding like a lost treasure from the early 70s. The next track has a tongue in cheek title, “Born to Be Mild,” and is a rocking track with some jazzy flute. Now they take you to the “Dwarven Lord,” a gentle yet dark song with a bit of dissonance and glissando electronics. Then “Midsommernattsdrøm” appears with its comforting textures, Norwegian lyrics, and bird song that envelopes you in its bucolic splendor. That track leads the listener to one of the album’s many high points, “People View,” evoking comparisons to early Camel. The album closes with “Troll Male,” a catchy tune with them singing “la la la” to a slightly edgy melody accompanied by analog synths. In Tusmørke’s words:  “The record is a manifestation of our Peter Pan syndrome; our aesthetics and ideals remain unchanged for the last 25 years. Never grow up, just grow old. This time we go away with the fairies all together, to the far-away land of the far-out mind.” Truly one of the best 2024 releases.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Alwanzatar (Kristoffer Momrak), Tusmørke

More info
http://tusm-rke.bandcamp.com/album/dawn-of-oberon

 

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