I want to keep this review simple. Norway’s Oak released their fourth album The Third Sleep on April 25th. I have some positive and negative thoughts about it. Regardless, it’s an album that prog rock fans should seek out and enjoy.
Oak come to us from Oslo. I’m a fan of 2018’s False Memory Archive and 2022 The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise. The lineup on this album includes Simen Valldal Johannessen on vocals and keyboards, Stephan Hvinden on guitars, Øystein Sootholtet on bass, and Sigbjørn Reiakvam on drums. The album released through Karisma Records.
The band plays a smooth and melodic progressive rock. This particular album has some folk tendencies, plus a generous portion of saxophone and other woodwinds on a few tracks. It is musically and lyrically darker than some of their past work, and also more complex as far as time signatures and scales are concerned. Some of the song structures are truly hypnotic and are probably the strongest aspect of the record.
I like their shadowy sound. This album has a hovering sense of foreboding, like social commentary dwelling in our peripheral vision. Certain tracks feel like a miniature journey through light and dark places; the final seconds of the album are actually quite murky and mysterious. It’s a beautiful work, though, with gorgeous piano segments and some truly emotional and gritty sax that I think elevates the whole affair.
I will say, however, that the vocals are probably the weakest aspect here. They aren’t bad, per se, but I do feel like the vocal lines end on monotonous and unimaginative notes far too often. The rest of the music is so good that these almost “placeholder” level endings stand out in a bad way. It’s enough that I notice them every single time.
But the album is good. I like the opener “No Such Place” with its piano atmosphere and alto sax portion in the second half. I do think the album really picks up in the middle with the fantastic “Shimmer”, a piece that has time to evolve and grow while it moves through different layers of sound; the slowburning instrumental in the second half is truly beautiful and mesmerizing.
“Shapeshifter” is similar in some ways, yet with a darker, yearning tone to it. It has that same feeling of journeying through various tones and textures. “Borders” is one of the straightforward best songs with its catchy chorus and an excellent guitars. The closer “Sensory Overload” is interesting for how dark it goes; a sense of fringe chaos seems to float in the background at all times, and there is a melancholy mist that envelops it. The second half has some of the best moments on the album, between the gritty sax and the searing harsh vox that close the record. It’s something I’ve not heard from them.
Look, The Third Sleep is a good album. I think the last two were a little better. “Shimmer” and “Sensory Overload” will stay with me, perhaps even being some of my favorite songs this year. There are moments that are fairly weak, however, and you’ll instantly know them when you hear them. Still, give this a try.
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Find Oak online:
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The PROG Mind 