Walking up that valley

Description

Needlepoint was formed by guitarist / singer Bjørn Klakegg in 2010. The band's first recordings followed the same year on the Klakegg label. A renowned guitarist and figure on the Norwegian jazz scene, Klakegg rediscovered his old heroes of 1970s British rock, emerging from the fog of the past, when he met bassist Nikolai Hængsle (Elephant9, - Møster!), giving birth to the Needlepoint sound. In 2015, the current lineup solidified with Olaf Olsen and David Wallumrød, making the band a formidable collection of talents that some might consider a Norwegian supergroup. This new album, Walking Up That Valley, continues the line developed on the band's last two albums, Aimless Mary (2015) and The Diary Of Robert Reverie (2018), which deepened the exploration of the Canterbury register touched upon on the band's early releases. With the band at its maturity, the sonic exploration expands with a plethora of instruments heard throughout the album: harpsichord, violin, flute and choir add moments of grace to an album already bursting with ideas. Between dreamy vintage keyboards, busy drums and percussion, hallucinatory jazz-tinged guitar work and skillful bass lines, Klakegg's soft and melodious voice finds its place in the mix, binding the album with stories of old salts between reality and fantasy. Walking Up That Valley will surely appeal to fans of prog, 1970s rock, jazz and even folk rock.