One Listen Review
1st Listen 3 June 25
Reviewed 6 June 25
Gösta Berlings Saga – Forever Now
Pelagic Records
Released 6 June 25
Gösta Berlings Saga have been loitering around the progressive rock arena for some 25 years and have released albums from the decidedly odd ‘Glue Works’ to their latest release, Forever Now.
The first thing you need to realise, is that this album is one that will challenge you. Odd time signatures, subtle hints of bizarre transitions in the tracks. It is, quite simply, eclectic and will not be to everyone’s taste. It is, most definitely, not an album to be judged on one listen.
So, in this one listen review…… see what I did there ….. I will try to summarise an album that I didn’t quite get. At parts, Forever Now is majestic, ‘Through the Arches’ soars in a 70’s infused prog party kind of way. ‘Dog Years’ comes across as all over the place, with creating an effect like a dog barking, yet is utterly enjoyable.
Opposed to this are tracks such as, ‘Arrangements’, where I noted it as being ‘A little bit of nothing’, mainly because it is only 56 seconds long and
doesn’t really serve any purpose – it is even the 3rd track on the album, so too early to let you rest before another track.
Perhaps the best thing, or the most relieving aspect of Forever Now, is that it’s 10 songs only last 43 ½ minutes. It isn’t overly long or complex, like some progressive album are. You don’t notice the lack of vocals, and nothing really gets dull.
After 25 years, you have to believe that Gösta Berlings Saga know what they are doing. They know how to impact the listener, however, in the words of the great Captain Sensible ‘We’re glad its all over’ when the closing refrains of ‘Ceremonial’ brings the album to a close.
This, for me, is a back-ground album. Not dull, just ‘there’
The DevilsHorns 
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