The Flower Kings

Unfold The Future

Need I say it again? A new Flower Kings album is always, always a good thing. Even better when it’s a double album! And with songs that last fourteen minutes, twenty-four minutes and even more than thirty minutes! Never a dull moment with the Kings.

They start off Unfold the Future with a bang. The Truth Will Set You Free is a thirty minute extravaganza, setting the pace for a fully packed album as only they know how to make. Personally, I’m at the point where I feel a Flower Kings album doesn’t even need a review; they’ve never come up with anything short of incredible.

The variety in their sound, the textures and flavors show that these guys know their music. This album has a very Yes flavor, so much so that Jon Anderson is probably scratching his head wondering how these guys have been able to do what Yes can’t do anymore.

Unfold the Future is a major tour de force, showing once again that the Flower Kings are the new Grandmasters of Progressive Rock.

The Rainmaker

Receiving a new Flower Kings CD is one of the things that make this reviewing job so fun! This band is one of the best to have come out in a long time. After Space Revolver, here they are with a new album.

All in all, it’s along the same lines as the previous one, but with a definite evolution in sound. Hitting you right off the bat with the great Last Minute on Earth which will certainly draw your attention with its many directions, all glued together in an up and down roller-coaster ride of sound.

The next song is probably the closest the Kings can come to a ballad. An overall smoother song, yet not a slow song. A Yes-ish song, something that sounds almost like a war march. Then some Genesis on Acid, the Kings certainly have something to please everyone.

Another thing I like very much about the Kings is that all the instruments are given the highlight in turn. Everyone has a chance to shine and demonstrate their talent. The Rainmaker is proof once more that the Flower Kings are truly today’s Kings of Rock and Roll.

Space Revolver

This a very interesting album. The Flower Kings, although a Prog-rock band, marry many styles of music to make the whole thing, to say the least, quite original.

You can hear a definite influence from XTC in their music. Most of the album could probably play on the radio. Of course, in many cases, they’d have to shorten the songs, but that’s radio’s problem.

The album opens up with one of the best pieces, the fifteen minute, I Am the Sun (part one). It encompasses many experiments through several themes for a huge, grandiose piece. One that comes back to close the album with the more-than-ten-minute I Am the Sun (part two).

A curious thing is that this Swedish band sound anything but Swedish. Vocalist Roine Stolt’s voice leads a triumphant charge throughout the album. One of the most interesting voices I’ve heard in a long time.

Another great moment on the album is the shorter piece (five minutes) Chicken Farmer Song. This one has it’s moments. It fondly reminds one of the old days of XTC, but with a more modern sound.

The Flower Kings are one of the few Prog-rock bands that make a decent living. Considering the kind of music they play, they could easily make the move to a major label. They’d be quite successful too. Lots of talent here.