Tempest - 2022 - Going Home

(43:21; Celtodelic)

Track list:
1. Mrs. Preston's Favorite 4:56
2. Jolly Roger 5:10
3. Hjemreise 'Going Home' 3:48
4. The Optimist 3:39
5. De Tvaa Systrarna 'The Two Sisters' 6:44
6. Shepherd's Daughter 4:20
7. Dark Lover 'Song to A Vampire' 3:03
8. The Devil and The Farmer 3:46
9. Dream Morris 3:27
10. Paal Sine Höner 'Paul's Chickens' 4:28

Line-up:
Lief Sorbye - vocals, mandoguitars, mandolins, mandolas, harmonica, bodhran
Adolfo Lazo - drums
Lee Corbie-Wells - vocals, fiddle, hurdy-gurdy
Nikolay Georgiev - guitars
Hugh Caley - bass, vocals
with:
Robert Berry - keyboards


Prolusion.
US band Tempest have been a going concern for more than 30 years, with band leader Lief Sorbye as the central person. They remain a productive studio band as well as an active and popular live unit. "Going Home" is their most recent studio production, and was released through the band's own Celtodelic label in the spring of 2022.

Analysis.
Folk rock has been the style of music explored by Tempest all along, and while some may discuss if it is a progressive variety or not I rather suspect that detail is of little to no concern for Lief and his band mates. The important bit is that they manage to create music that appeals to an audience, and that they manage to continue making interesting music. This is a seasoned band of course, and one can hear that this is a production assembled by experienced players well aware of what they want to accomplish.

While I did kind of expect that Lief's Norwegian roots might be a bit more prominent on an album called "Going Home", and with a photo that very much looks like it was taken in Norway on the front cover, I rather presume that this aspect will mainly be a topic of interest for Norwegians only. The Norwegian folk music elements present are tastefully applied though, and perhaps more often combined with other folk music traditions than explored in a more purebred manner.

Irish folk music and what I would describe as Celtic moods are the dominant traits here, with spirited and lively affairs of the kind that makes your feet tap along as well as the ones that will inspire dancing very much present, while other compositions will have a slower pace and a more melancholic presence, some with a bit more of a majestic feel and others with a bit more of a mournful undercurrent to them. For the latter with longing rather than loss as the emotional association. The album skips nicely between the different moods and approaches, with the occasional curveball here and there for those who listen more intently I suspect. While I am far from an expert in folk music matters I did note down that I thought the band did mix and blend some traditional elements in a few different and surprising manners here and there, and if that is the case that will be a small treat for those who listen to a lot of folk music I suspect.

All of the songs here are obviously explored in a rock music context to a lesser or greater context, and while the spirited violin does steal a lot of the limelight here we get some fine acoustic and electric guitar details too, and some very nice organ textures applying some fine subservient details on a regular basis. This latter aspect was provided by Robert Berry according to the credits. As with all Tempest albums I have encountered so far the vocals are top notch throughout, and the album experience as a whole is one that comes across as well thought out and executed, of the kind I would describe as solid.

Conclusion.
Tempest has been a quality band from the day they were formed, and even after more than 30 years in the game it would appear that the veteran band members are as passionate about their music as they were when they started out and that the later additions to the line-up share that passion on an equal level. A production easy to recommend to those who enjoy Irish and Scandinavian folk music mixed with good, old rock music and with a bit of a Celtic feel tossed into the mix to boot.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, June 2022

Links:
http://www.tempestmusic.com/