Shamblemaths – Shamblemaths 2 LP

A blatant and unabashed throwback to the golden days of 70s prog, Shamblemaths will enthuse the connoisseur of complexity, and drive most others to outrage or silent sobs. Part humorous, part serious, all wonky, self-important and rampantly anglophile! Our second album is darker, heavier, knottier, yet more fragile and vulnerable. It has taken five years, countless studio hours, but zero compromises. Hours of music have been distilled to 45 intense minutes, each one of which a deliberate and necessary part, and not a calory was spent catering to anyone’s preferences but our own. Some might call it a change of direction, but then Shamblemaths never had a direction to begin with. The album is like a picture with many shades, but all from a common, dark palette. There is anger and despair, quiet melancholy and faint embers of hope. In sound and instrumentation we remain in some will call the retro-prog landscape. Here are heavy numbers, reinterpretations of a 20th century string quartet and an ancient hymn, and contemporary classical moments. Yet all the components are chosen and constructed to form a coherent album which is more than a collection of tunes. Shamblemaths is currently Simen Ellingsen (soprano/alto/tenor/baritone sax, guitar, vocals, recorder, sundry implements) and Ingvald A. Vassbø (drums, perc) with Ellingsen the principal writer. The album could not have materialised without a jaw-dropping performance by bassist Eskild Myrvoll (Kanaan) and keyboard wizard Paolo “Ske” Botta (Ske, Yugen, Not a Good Sign) lending his genious, alongside an array of indispensable guest musicians.