Some albums are like a soothing balm to the soul, both lyrically and musically.  Kalandra’s new record A Frame of Mind has been making me feel a little more human recently.  It launches on September 13^th through By Norse Music.

Norway’s Kalandra arrived in my consciousness with their debut 2020 album The Line, a wonderful and gracious listen to this day.  The band consists of Katrine Stenbekk on vocals, Jogeir Daae Mæland on guitar, Florian Bernhard Döderlein Winter on guitar, and Oskar Johnsen Rydh on drums. 

The band plays an accessible progressive rock that leans heavily into folk, alternative, and even pop sounds.  Some of their songs are acoustic and emotional, while others feature some guitar grit and orchestral majesty.  Their music is deeply grounded in this world and within the human experience.  It never feels aloof or overly theatrical.  Every second of their music feels vulnerable and authentic.

A Frame of Mind has really moved me of late.  This is an album that expresses genuine distress over the world, the harsh realities we experience, and the way we formulate our individual patterns of thought and action.  At times, this is communicated through excellent, poetic lyrics that sound musical even when you just recite them separately, or it may be communicated through melody and harmony and even quiet.

When the band released the single “The State of the World”, I was absolutely stunned.  This immensely beautiful piece expresses so much about what I feel for the world today.  And it isn’t afraid to seem childish or naïve in hoping for better things and closer unions.  We’ve become so numb to the hate and violence in the world that often we think it silly or foolish to hope for a peaceful existence.  This slice of innocent and hopeful poetry has really affected me, even as I, too, feel despair over the state of the world.  One thing I love about the song is how the chorus is just a passionate vocal melody with no lyrics; it’s as if a chorus isn’t possible for the sheer emotional weight and turmoil within her.  I understand that.

The album communicates these things in various shades and whispers; it is an act of daring to have such hope and express it to the planet.  For me, the band’s bread and butter are the acoustic, magical songs with towering vocals, but the quieter, more peaceful segments are calmative to the soul, as well. 

The record has ten songs on it, and I love them all.  I do think the opener “I Am” is the weakest overall, mainly because I don’t think the guitar work matches the tone of the song.  It’s been growing on me, though, especially because of the tumultuous last couple minutes.  “Untie the Knot” comes next, and I like how gracefully it hovers between anxious urgency and ardent resolve.  The three singles follow.  I’ve already discussed “The State of the World”, but “Are You Ready?” is very good, too, with its fuzzy bombast and heavier sound.  I love the vocal harmonies so much.  The first half ends with “Bardaginn”, a fascinating piece that contrasts haunting vocals with a downtempo riff that feels abstract somehow.  It is dark and mysterious.

I really like the remaining five tracks.  “A Life Worth Living” is one of those songs with a reserved, yet squirrely rhythm that stays in the background at first, but slowly rises through the song.  I love the lyrics and the way the song reaches a quiet, stringed climax.  “I’ll Get There One Day” is another intriguing piece with how untamed and certain of itself it feels.  I like the wild chorus and how the second half of the song transitions into a piano rhythm that feels free and weightless.

“Hytta” and “Segla” come next.  The former is an ambient piece that hovers gently with the sounds of home and the sea; it is very much a place of peace, but also a wish for a simpler life, and maybe a wish that all people could desire such a thing.  “Segla” is sung in Norwegian, and is darkly cinematic in its presentation.  I love how it rises slowly into an ocean of strings and hanging guitars; the melody at its core is a strong one.  Finally, “I Remember A Time” closes the album with an acoustic ballad that pulls at the heartstrings, while waxing eloquent about forgiveness, peace, love, and our need for each other.  It’s a perfect ending.

Kalandra has delivered a wonderful work of art.  A Frame of Mind practices what it preaches, reaching us with the peace and beauty that they believe will save the world.  Desperately human, flaws and all, the album imagines a better world that will produce a frame of mind that is free, truly free.  What would a world without the yoke of hate and violence be like?  Kalandra dares to dream of it.

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