“Get Away”
from the album 120 Days
2006
iTunes
MP3 – “Get Away” [right-click/save-as]
Being the first Norwegian band to be directly signed to a U.S. label, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the quartet known as 120 Days has something special to offer. The self-titled debut features Jonas Dahl, Arne Kvalvik, Kjetil Ovesen, and Adne Mesifjord taking a very Floydian approach. Their nine-track experience features anticipation building silences, albeit more toned down, that were one of the trademark features of Dark Side of the Moon.
Like that Pink Floyd classic, 120 Days, although not the narrative beast of the latter, makes use of the many-songs-contained-within-one approach. Think of this album as one long song with variations in melody. Not only does this approach provide an expansive musical foundation, it creates an atmosphere of planetary proportions. Songs don’t end; they fade beautifully from one right into the next. As the music approaches silences, the remaining tones create the foundation for the next movement in the album. The vocals, somewhat distorted and pained, are backed by a musical collage that creates an almost electronic/techno quality.
With songs often reaching epic proportions (the opening track is nearly 9 minutes long), 120 Days easily could have easily misfired and ended up in the great idea, bad execution pile; thankfully for them and fans everywhere, the blueprint of this album is just as thorough as the execution. 120 Days doesn’t overwhelm or weigh you down by being concept heavy; instead its subtle brilliance rests in its balance of sound and silence, void and chaos, and musical definitions and a continued search for answers.