Moon Safari’s Himlabacken Vol 1 hit big with fans of symphonic prog upon its release in 2013. Anticipation of a follow-up changed from ‘keen’ to ‘hoping forlornly’ as the years passed. But it’s finally here.
And there’s so much care and attention to detail in the new album, it’s like perusing a map of Middle-earth on the frontispiece of a particularly grand hardback edition of The Lord Of The Rings
Continuing the epic and episodic theme of sunny childhood memories, this sequel is presented as a continuation of its predecessor. And while Vol 2 extends some of the cheerful motifs of childhood reminiscence, it also adds reflective, darker, ‘growing up’ moments.
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Opener 198X (Heaven Hill), the subtitle of which is the literal meaning of ‘Himlabacken,’ is thoroughly positive prog. Warm, bright 1980s synths are overlain by ultra-chirpy Freiheit-meets-Queen harmonies that almost make the perkier moments of Spock’s Beard’s catalogue sound dour.
The 10-minute-plus Between The Devil And Me also radiates a fervent sparkiness, with instrumental pyrotechnics and a vocal blend that recall prime-time Styx. The more compact Emma Come On has monophonic keyboard shrieks and spirals of guitar that scream pure 1970s FM-radio gorgeousness.
the many widescreen moments are mere amuse-bouche to the colossus that is the fabulously named Teen Angel Meets The Apocalypse
To avoid overkill, these set pieces are offset by the likes of Beyond The Blue, a shorter, calmer vocal meditation that deserves to be accompanied by aerial shots of – to quote the sleeve notes of Yes’ Tormato – “faraway places with strange-sounding names.”
But even the many widescreen moments are mere amuse-bouche to the colossus that is the fabulously named, 21-minute Teen Angel Meets The Apocalypse. This has everything a self-respecting 21st-century prog opus should. Stately swathes of melodic guitar begin the musical journey, followed by stomping-goblin work-song chants, fierce Hammond work, Rick Wakeman-riding-a-plesiosaur keyboard soloing, and lashings of vocal duelling between Petter Sandström and Simon Åkesson.
There’s even a jaunty McCartney-ish interlude at 13 minutes in, strongly redolent of the ingenuity he experimented with on 1971’s underrated, prog-friendly Ram. This all leads up to Pontus Åkesson’s Hackett-meets-Gilmour solo break sweeping in, followed by a glorious choral denouement. ‘We don’t need religion, ’cos we’ve got rock’n’roll,’ they sing in unison.
It was a potentially tricky task, but Moon Safari can consider Himlabacken Vol 2 a very worthy successor after all these years. Let’s hope the next entry in their catalogue won’t be delayed until 2033.
• Himlabacken Vol 2 is on sale now via Blomljud Records.
