CARPTREE - CARPTRE - 2001

The Swedish band Carptree are lifelong friends (Niclas Flinck and keyboardist Carl Westholm) who in 1997 decided 'to combine good, and sometimes catchy, melodies with more dramatic and progressive arrangements.' In 2001 they released their self-titled debut to some mixed reviews. Some felt that they were a talented band, but others felt they relied too heavily on programmed synths. Their follow-up of Superhero in 2003, however, was a bit more accessible and appealed to fans of Genesis and Fish-era Marillion alike, while flirting with spacier textures in the form of Porcupine Tree.

In 2005, Carptree took on a much darker tone with Man Made Machine. It still had that neo touch, but dabbled on what some have described as art rock. As with Superhero, No Future Orchestra (Ulf Edelönn, Stefan Fandén, Jejo Perkovic, Cia Backman, Jonas Waldefeldt) are brought in and lends a true feeling of a band.

2007 proved to be a pivotal year with the release of Insekt, with (again) the help of the No Future Orchestra. Additionally, Carptree played their first ever gig together as a band at ROSFest 2007, which surely opened them up to an even bigger audience.


Neo progressive? Well, I really don't know. First of all, my first impression about this two-piece band is somewhat close to the music of Rupert Hine, Gary Numan, Johny Warman that has their roots to Bowie's music. Carptree music - well, is there any music? For me Carptree sounds like an exploration of vocals with a thin background music - is different as it has some influence also from Peter Gabriel. It does not seem enough to describe it clearly as Rupert Hine consulted with Peter Gabriel on vocal line of the album he made in the nineties. One thing for sure, Carptree music is far from being complex and almost all tracks are easy to digest. So it qualifies as being a pop song with "different" style. Just call it progressive pop, may be. OK, let's have a look in great details rather than muddling around with what sort of box Carptree we should put in. Just enjoy the music. For me, it's a treat after listening to other heavy stuffs. It's a kind like relaxing now .

Heart begins with a very simple guitar fills and very thin keyboard sound at the back that provides the Peter Gabriel music nuance. The voice of Nicholas Flinck enters beautifully with a powerful and clear voice. In some parts he is accompanied by a backing vocal. Most music is programmed; especially drums.

Without Curiosity starts with a powerful vocal followed with programmed keyboard sound and some percussives. The accompanying music is relatively simple, combining acoustic guitar, keyboards and some drum / percussion loops.

Ten Days of Rain is an excellent example of pop song composed in such a way that produces catchy melody backed up with a simple but nice music. The rhythm section comprises keyboard effects and piano.

Cuckoo is a short track that explores the keyboard effects and some processed voice line in ambient mood backed up with keyboard and piano sounds and loops. Yes, it's a very short track, but it gives a very nice sound overall.

Give Myself Away demonstrates a powerful vocal techniques above the keyboard textures and processed sounds. Nicholas sings in an accentuated style where he gives emphasis at the end of lyrical part. The inclusion of piano has enriched the textures of this song.

It Doesn't Know It sounds like a humorous music especially when it starts with musical loop in a kind of rock'n'roll beats. Yeah it reminds me to Johny Warman music, I think it was something like "Screaming Jets". (Any of you familiar with Johny Warman? He was an artist of the eighties where Peter Gabriel's musicians like Jerry Marota contributed some work as well). For my personal taste this is a funny music but it's totally enjoyable. Especially the orchestrated keyboard sounds have made this song wonderful.

Fools opens with a spacey nuance exploring the keyboard effects. The repeated chords produced by keyboard set a perfect platform for vocal to enter. "I walk ." oh . what a powerful voice, Nicholas!! I like this singing part, really! Yeah, if you want to hear what agreat vocal is, turn to this track directly and you will hear something awesome, vocal-wise. The music that accompanies is truly simple yet enjoyable.

Coming Out at Night opens with a keyboard solo followed with a symphonic sounds that it suddenly turns off when th vocal line enters. The background music / rhythm section is now turned to a music loop. Keyboard fills repeat those at the opening part. Another simple song.

Sad Little Song begins with a floating keyboard work that sets a sad atmosphere for the song. It's a very nice instrumental piece performed in mellow mood, in line with the title - it's about sadness.

Together Alive has a rhythm section (at the beginning) similar to pop song by Genesis called Turn It On Again with drum loops. I don't know is it by accident or heavily influenced by Genesis, but for sure it does exactly the same rhythm on the part before vocal enters the music.

Looking for Someone is my personal favorite. It starts with an ambient style using floating keyboard sounds. When vocal starts to enter, the rhythm is keyboard and drum loops. It's a simple and relaxing music, I would say. The ambient and floating keyboard sound is killing.

Nowhere to Grow explores the processed vocals and some style that reminds me to Gentle Giant followed with an upbeat music using the same textures of music. The rhythm section by acoustic guitar has enriched the song. Again, the singing style and the acompanying music reminds me to the music of Johny Warman or Rupert Hine - it's probably a sort of new wave music. This track is probably the most complex compared to other tracks even though in general it's not truly a complex one. But it's enjoyable.

Tiny Salty Drops starts with a low point voice line accompanied with a tiny and soft keyboard sound augmented by a vibraphone sounds. (With this quality of voice, I sometime imagine if Nicholas sings Supper's Ready to replace Peter Gabriel. I think it would be WONDERFUL. His voice is truly top notch!!!). Composition-wise, this track reminds me to the music of Peter Gabriel solo work. An excellent composition.

Overall, this album is not the kind of prog or neo prog that most people imagine; because it's not something like Arena, IQ, Marillion or Pallas. Personally, it's not my musical taste makes me spinning the CD over and over at my CD player. But for the sake of a review, it's not a game of "I like it" or "I don't like it" either. I have to look at it with many different angles so that it precludes most of subjectivity or personal taste. And honestly, this album has an excellent composition, ie. strong song writing and powerful arrangements. The vocal quality of Nicholas Flinck is TRULY EXCELLENT! (This statement is true by all standards you may impose, that's why I put all capital letters.). And the songwriting / arrangements by Carl Westholm are excellent as well. It's your call whether or not to buy this CD. It deserves four star rating - an excellent addition to any prog collection. Keep on proGGin' .!!!
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