Review: POSTURES - Halucinda

POSTURES are a Swedish band who play a nice line in progressive/psychedelic rock and 'Halucinda' is their second album, following on from their self titled debut in 2013, on World In Sound records. The band comprise Paulina Nyström (Vocals, backing vocals), Benjamin Watts (Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, FX), Viktor Andersson (Electric guitar),David Petersson (Bass, Keyboards and FX) and Isak Björhag (Drums, percussion, Keyboards, FX and also mixed the album) with song/lyric writing duties falling to Watts and Nyström. With 'Halucinda' they have given us an album full of power, melodies and a strong rhythmic sense.

Kicking off with title track and current single 'Halucinda' the first thing one is aware of are the vocals; Nyström's voice has a Bjork quality about it, the same timbre, power and presence. The song has power, not in a ballbusting riff manner, but with a rock solid rhythm section and driving guitars wrapped up in a proggy parcel that veers towards post rock in places. That being said, when Watts' progrock guitar lets loose, you know about it. 'Halucinda' provides a fine indication of what is to come. 'Myriad Man' continues in the same vein, the guitars providing the driving force the rest of the band follow. If anything it has more of a prog feel than 'Halucinda'. 'Every Room' begins with gentle washes of synth and acoustic guitar giving the track a folky feel, Nyström's vocals matching the more pastoral feel. As the track progresses the synths come more to the fore imbuing a real atmosphere to the track; a haunting quality that provides a good counterpoint to the opening tracks. 'A Million Sequences' is another slower track, again with acoustic guitar. Veering more into dreampop, POSTURES show their versatility and intelligent mix of styles. 'Wavemaker' is the longest track on the album at a shade under eleven minutes and sees the return of the driving prog based rock. Full of musical twists and turns, the track chugs along at a pace, with occasional breakdowns to just vocals and synths. At this point the mixing of the album should be mentioned.. Björhag's sensitive and intelligent mixing of instruments and vocals lends the album a touch of class. As 'Wavemaker' progresses it continues to evolve and the guitars gradually increase the power, matching the vocal's for passion and intensity...the track reminds me of The Grand Astoria in places, that same mix of prog, psych and rock. The guitars in 'Hexa Luna' start off sounding very post-punk, the staccato stabs of sound behind the vocals, but they, and the track, morph into more seventies psychedelic territory. 'In The Dark' closes the album in a moody way, the opening two minutes or so give the track a sense of menace with slow, simple but resonating guitar and the vocals impassioned. It slowly builds, with the guitars adopting the now familiar prog rock stance (with flashes of Floydian psych) and the vocals soaring providing an apposite way to close a very good album.

It's gotta be said that I dug this album a lot...the band are all consummate musicians and in Nyström they have a vocalist who can artfully combine power and passion with crystal clear clarity. Although firmly based in the prog rock camp, the album has enough flashes of variety to keep most music lovers happy, and enough power rattle the speakers. The melding of musical influences is impressive...the artiness of The Mars Volta, glimpses of Pink Floyd, the floating vocals that can veer between the grace of Portishead and the power of Blue Pills. It will be available from World In Sound in March and 'Halucinda' the single is available now on the band's bandcamp page