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Benedict Jackson

CARPTREE, SWEDEN’S best-kept prog rock secret.

CARTPREE was formed in Stockholm in 1997 by two friends Carl Westholm, a keyboard player and Niclas Flinck, a singer. Some reviewers expressed doubts about the amount of programming on their debut album “Carptree” (2001), but I could hear their potential and described it as “a well-crafted album” in Acid Dragon #32 (They had been working on it for four years). Memorable choruses and plaintive vocals were noted. ‘Nowhere to Grow’ and ‘Tiny Salty Drops’ revealed a more progressive (as opposed to the post prog/ art pop tag applied) side to the band over their combined twelve minutes, and I found the synth work on ‘Together Alive’ redolent of GENESIS’ “Wind and Wuthering” album. In ‘Give Myself Away’ they created a playlist essential.


For their second album “Superhero” (2003) they continued to engage guest players on occasional guitar and electric upright bass, and also a drummer on 5 of the 11 tracks, with a strong influence of classic era GENESIS and PINK FLOYD. “Man Made Machine” (2005) was another step in the band’s evolution, with more backing musicians and a drummer throughout, called the No Future Orchestra, with the Trollhättan Chamber Choir greatly enriching the fullness of the production in a wonderfully warm and intimate creation. Reviewing the album for “Colossus” magazine’, I wrote that ‘Tilting the Scales’ has all the intensity and memorability of an E.L.O. or KATE BUSH composition while ‘The Man You Just Became’ could be vintage GENESIS, a more reliable comparison on the whole. I described the galloping ‘Burn to Something New’, with its trumpeting synth line and chamber choir, as irresistible. I found the music overall as “intense, dramatic and cerebral.”


Another personal favourite is “Insekt” (2007), starting bombastically with booming base textures and a distinct touch (again) of “Wind and Wuthering” period GENESIS on an album to rival, and even surpass the marvellous “Man Made Machine”. ‘The Secret’ is a dramatic and intense big ballad, with Niclas Flinck’s lachrymose vocals (backed by the gargantuan layer of vocals that is the choir of the Trollhättan Chamber Orchestra) touching a visceral nerve or two, graced by Carl Westhom’s effective piano lines. ‘Pressure’ has some rhythmic electric guitar more redolent of metal prog but this quite sinister song is also reminiscent of PETER GABRIEL’s early solo music, with a lot more complexity and subtlety than most ‘heavy’ music and an incredible amount going on in its 7 minutes, Jejo’s Perkovic’s thundering drums add considerably to the dark, enchanting atmospheric vibe. “Insekt”, as with all Carptree music, has a very strong melodic base, the chorus of ‘Sliding Down a Slippery Slope’ being a perfect example. An excellent synthesiser line, embellished by cymbal work, defines the melody on ‘My Index Finger’. ‘Big Surprise’ couldn’t be more of a contrast, with a ‘Red’ KING CRIMSON era beginning, reprised later in the track, but soon replaced by a more demonstrative and theatrical approach, An air raid siren segues into the last song ‘Stressless’ to add to the drama.


When I interviewed Carptree, and asked about the conceptual nature of the album, I wondered if it had anything to do with insects inheriting the Earth should there be an apocalypse. Niclas told me, “Insects certainly will inherit the Earth but that sad little fact is not included in the album. Almost all the songs have a connection to insects. This might not be very apparent. Still, they are there, perhaps as a cause of behaviour, a part of what lies ahead or a sign for something else symbolic or not”. Reassuringly, Niclas confirmed the influences cited in the above reviews were all ‘on the nail’.


I’d like to mention a few more albums, like “Nymf” (2010), which continues in the same vein with an established guitar/ bass/ drums line-up now backing the keyboard-led music as part of the No Future Orchestra. ‘Dragonfly’ is the most progressive track with rhythmic variety, nice piano solos and well-crafted orchestral parts. The melodies are as strong as ever, and the rather dark, visceral and almost Gothic nature of the music continues to beguile. “Emerger” (2017) continues the ambient/ strident, slightly melancholic and very nostalgic music that is, essentially, Carptree. The long-serving Ulf Edelönn and Stefan Fandén are still there, on guitars and basses respectively; the mellotrons are big, a theremin is used by Carl here and there, and the No Future Orchestra is still there. Finally, there is “Subimago” (2018) which confirms that Carptree has an easily identifiable sound that defies precise categorisation; they prefer the term symphonic progressive rock. I wonder what they are doing now?

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