MESAVERDE – KY

The musically shape-shifting Norwegian quartet known as MesaVerde released this adventurous and playful opus of theirs via Apollon Records quite recently, and the result is a remarkable listening experience that weaves prog, indie rock, and strong hints of art rock and psychedelia together to great effect.

The thing about KY is that despite its many nuances and seemingly endless array of layers, these dudes make it all sound so annoyingly effortless, and it is wonderful to behold how things move seamlessly from one part to the next. Robust in every sense of the word, this disc sounds like nothing else that I have come across, and there is something uniquely surreal and dream-like about its atmosphere that really sucks me in every time I immerse myself in its twelve inventively dynamic compositions. There are moments of moody introspection and shades of melancholy present too, but for the most part, this is an enlivening and optimistic journey through prog-tinged soundscapes with the best of the bunch being the groovy ‘Smile’, the consistently unpredictable ‘The First to Have Noticed’, and the yearning ‘Grace’. The latter contains riffs that would not have been out of place on a Led Zeppelin record.

Bold, invigorating, and definitely one for the open-minded listeners out there.