Review: The Chronicles of Father Robin – The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II

Style: Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Folk (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Review by: Doug
Country: Norway
Release date: 8 December, 2023

Thank you all for your patience during intermission; we return now to our feature in-progress, The Songs & Tales of Airoea. I’ll leave the full introduction to Past Doug, but to briefly catch you up, this three-part concept album series by a Norwegian prog-folk supergroup centers around the eponymous character of Father Robin (he of The Chronicles), created by the band members as a personification of their own lives and interactions. It’s eclectic, it’s dynamic, and you can never quite guess what will appear around the next corner.

Labeled as the “Metamorphosis” stage of the story in the concept summary on the band’s website, part II appropriately transforms its sound and style, setting aside much of the folk aesthetic and focusing much harder on its art rock aspects, as well as synth-heavy psychedelic elements which didn’t feature nearly as much in the prior segment, but very much define the experience this time around. Personally, I consider this a mistake; although The Chronicles of Father Robin are still clearly a batch of talented musicians, I have some extra reservations about what this new album offers in terms of songwriting. A large portion of the album falls into the compositional trap I described in my review for Book I, where artists of this ilk construct their music in a fancy way that satisfies all the aesthetics of progressive/art rock, but doesn’t offer so much in the way of musical entertainment value or listening pleasure.

Where Book I laid out a pleasant, calming picnic of pastoral delights, Book II lends itself much more to a feeling of a confusing, mind-bending journey through parts unknown. The former album’s ever-shifting tone lent much more excitement to the listening experience, while the latter comes across as unvaried in spite of the disparate elements that comprise it. No amount of instrumental variety can produce compelling and self-supporting music without giving each core idea the time to properly develop and show off how complex this band’s music can actually be. The fatal flaw of this arrangement becomes apparent immediately with the album opener “Over Westwinds,” a sparse offering consisting mostly of vocals, flute, listless acoustic guitar strums, and a background drone from some form of keyboard or synth (invoking bagpipes but far more subdued in volume). Hardly anything changes between start and finish; four minutes may not be a long time in prog, but I would hope for some kind of momentum to build throughout its runtime, instead of being greeted by the same unremarkable vocals and indolent acoustic chords at the end as at the beginning. This pattern repeats itself as the listener continues through the next three songs; even as the runtimes increase and the song structures ever so slightly fractalize into distinct sections, each track feels essentially the same in execution at any specific second you might choose to sample.

Only at the very end of track four, “Lady of Waves,” does the mood return to the expectations set by Book I. Here, finally, we find a taste of the destination TCOFR could have set for Book II given better forethought and development. As we venture through this and the next track, “Green Refreshments” (and to a lesser extent the closer “The Grand Reef”), a sense of the creative vision from the first album returns, with stronger harmony between the various instrumental parts and greater contrast in tone from each minute to the next. While these last few songs demonstrate a more creative and complete effort spent on their creation, this second outing still puts forth a less focused and insubstantial overall impression. I frequently struggle to divine what exactly the music is trying to accomplish at any given moment, feeling lost amid many-layered but monotonous ministrations of guitars, keyboards, and flute. Perhaps that’s the intended experience, but if so, I would have liked to hear much more substance and intentionality in how the various absurd and psychedelic elements fit together. It’s entirely possible to craft a brain-twisting musical experience that carries a baffled but engrossed audience along for the tumultuous ride, loving every moment, but The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II manages very little of that.

Reinventing oneself in the midst of a concept album series is a curious choice for a band to make – not always a fault, but a gambit that threatens to undermine the cohesion of the work as a whole if not handled with utmost care. The Chronicles of Father Robin have taken exactly that risk, cranking the level of whimsy and psychedelia up yet another notch above their already high starting point, but losing something else in the process; Book II’s metamorphosis leaves behind in the ruined fragments of its cocoon too much of what made Book I appealing. With Book III due out some time in 2024, I’ll see you in the new year for the inevitable conclusion, whatever new twists it may bring.

Recommended tracks: Lady of Waves, Green Refreshments
You may also like: The Gardening Club, Wobbler, Jordsjø, Tusmørke, Evership
Final verdict: 5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Karisma Records – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

The Chronicles of Father Robin is:
– Andreas Wettergreen Strømman Prestmo (vocals, guitars, keyboards, synths, percussion)
– Jon André Nilsen (bass, backing vocals)
– Henrik Harmer (percussion, synths, backing vocals)
– Regin Meyer (flute, keyboards)
– Thomas Hagen Kaldhol (guitars, mandolin)
– Aleksandra Morozova (backing vocals)
– Kristoffer Momrak (flute, synths)
– Håkon Oftung (keyboards, synths)
– Martin Nordrum Kneppen (percussion)
With guest:
– Lars Fredrik Frøislie (keyboards, synths)