AIRBAG: Disconnected (PROGRESSIVE ROCK,Atmospheric Rock): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

It's been almost three years since we last heard from Airbag, it's now done with their fourth album entitled "Disconnected". On its previous releases, the Norwegian band has often been compared to a clever mix of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, a fusion that is repeated for this opus, which should not disappoint those who appreciated this style.

On the line-up side, the quintet is now reduced to a quartet, with keyboardist Jørgen Grüner-Hagen no longer part of the band, the keyboards now being shared between singer Asle Tostrup and guitarist Bjørn Riis. It is true that piano and organ were not the most representative instruments of airbag sound and that they were often content to play the discreet background canvases on which the guitar could fly.

Because, for those who do not yet know the band, the guitar is undoubtedly the centerpiece of Airbag compositions, and "Disconnected" is no exception to this rule. The tracks on the album follow more or less the same structure: an often slow rhythm that never exceeds mid-tempo, a bass line that discreetly punctuates a slightly monolithic score with its low notes, an equally discreet but present drum set, a fairly neutral voice that oscillates between disillusioned and disenchanted, all in the service of dark and tormented compositions, whose slowly evolving loops, slowdowns and accelerator strokes, eventually become captivating. And above the melee, a stratospheric and Gilmourian guitar inevitably rises at the end of each track to take the listener to ethereal spaces.

Of course, the album can be listened to with pleasure and without difficulty. And if the originality is not the strength of the Airbag, which a quick blind test could easily confuse with Pink Floyd ('Killer' which is close to 'Dogs' and 'Pigs', the acoustic guitar/voice duo from 'Broken' inspired by 'Pigs in the Wing', the atmospheric passages and the relaunches of "Disconnected" which evoke again "Pigs") or Porcupine Tree (the somewhat haunting linearity of "Slav" and "Sleepwalker"), it remains nevertheless that this reproach is a simple ethical obstacle, the pleasure being there.

The real weakness of the album lies more in its homogeneity which can at times turn into a somewhat boring compactness on some dusty passages. Only "Returned" and its post-rock faux-airs stand out (a little). As my colleague said in his review of the previous album, Airbag rock is no longer progressive. They are more songs in a stretched format, interspersed with atmospheric passages and luminous solos. Nothing adventurous to expect from this record, which does not prevent you from spending a pleasant moment in his company. - Official website

AIRBAG

DISCONNECTED

KARISMA RECORDS

PROGRESSIVE ROCK