Windborne by Kanaan

Windborne, the 2018 debut album by Norwegian trio Kanaan.
It's a completely instrumental album that blends psychedelia, post-rock, and '70s-style fusion with elements of doom and krautrock. Powerful and technically accomplished performances are the result of the eclectic songwriting of the six long tracks, featuring heavy riffs, jazz-fusion influences reminiscent of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and a beautiful, atmospheric and ambient closing track that gives the album its title.

The album consists of six tracks, four of which are over six minutes long, with a maximum of about ten.
- A. Hausenbecken opens the album with an explosion of sounds and amazing guitar solos.
- Roll Beyond represents the heavy side of this band, with an energetic opening to a very compelling psychedelic rock groove.
- Harmonia is a great, exceptional track with sunny, positive, motorik-style atmospheres, great production, and ethereal atmospheres that evoke a sense of freedom.
- Act Upon the Mundane World is dominated by the heavy, grunge-like fuzz we'll find on later albums.
- The Groke has a doom metal vibe with dark, slow guitar riffs, with a bluesy accent before becoming heavier.
- Windborne, the title track and the album's closing track, has a more meditative atmosphere.

The sounds and performances are superb: Ask Vatn Strøm's distorted guitars, Eskild Myrvoll's powerful, fuzzy bass, the overwhelming drums of the great Ingvald André Vassbø, and, on this album, Vegard Lien Bjerkan's incendiary Rhodes electronic piano.

A fantastic debut album, in which I find everything that, developed and expanded, will be found in subsequent albums. This journey, starting with this 2018 album, has yielded, after 7 albums in 6 years, their latest, beautiful work, Langt, langt vekk with Ævestaden, an album that maintains this band's consistently high level of songwriting and performance.

Fantastic, even if it's not on the same level as their later works. Highly recommended.

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page.

Tracklist

1. A. Hausenbecken (7:55)
2. Roll Beyond (10:36)
3. Harmonia (5:20)
4. Act Upon the Mundane World (8:00)
5. The Groke (5:47)
6. Windborne (6:26)
Duration 44:04

LineUp

- Ask Vatn Strøm - guitars
- Eskild Myrvoll - bass
- Ingvald André Vassbø - drums
With:
- Vegard Lien Bjerkan - Rhodes electronic piano (1)