On 2006's Koralrevens Klagesang, Norwegian avant-prog quartet Panzerpappa were challenging yet never alienating, with Canterbury-esque qualities reinforced by a characteristically polite guest vocal from Richard Sinclair of Hatfield and the North and Caravan. Six years after Koralrevens Klagesang, Panzerpappa finally return with 2012's Astromalist, achieving their widest distribution yet through the Rune Grammofon label. The guests on Astromalist include Univers Zero bassoonist Michel Berckmans, so one might reasonably expect that the band is ratcheting up its more "avant" Rock in Opposition side. Well, not really: although they remain adventurous and certainly haven't made an abrupt change in direction, they have gotten somewhat more conventionally -- even symphonically -- proggy now and then on Astromalist. First, consider their unapologetic embrace of instrumental lyricism: with a prominent place in the arrangement for White Willow/Jaga Jazzist flutist Ketil Vestrum Einarsen and a winding buildup into full-on keyboard string-saturated loveliness, "Ugler I Moseboka" might lead some listeners to sigh in rapturous delight while others reach for the nearest punk album. The composition is notable for its textural layering and dark undercurrents, but even Panzerpappa seem to feel they are beginning to sound too pretty, which might explain the sudden appearance of a pulsing interlude with rat-a-tat percussive bursts and echoed flute effects. That Panzerpappa are able to layer this segment into the full body of the piece near its conclusion -- and make it work -- displays a compositional integrity and depth fully revealed only in the closing moments.

1		Bati la Takton!
2		Anomia
3		Femtende Marsj
4		Ugler i Moseboka
5		Satam
6		Astromalist
7		Knute På Tråden

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