Album Review: WIZRD – Elements

Band: WIZRD | Album: Elements | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2024

From: Oslo, Norway | Label: Karisma Records

For fans of: Beardfish, Zopp, K’mono

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WIZRD is a quartet featuring four veterans of Norway’s jazz scene. The band was formed while the members were at the Jazz Conservatory in Trondheim, and their origins as jazz musicians are evident in their playing. The music on Elements is energetic and fluid, and it’s clear the musicians are skilled at playing off one another. I really liked their 2022 debut, Seasons, and Elements is another strong addition to their discography.

The album opens on “GT, Me & My 6610”. The guitar line is both wiry and warm, and there are some significant Canterbury flavors here. The mood shifts easily from hard-rocking and mildly bluesy to drifting and dreamy. The drumming is constantly churning and unsettled, lending a strongly kinetic feel to even this song’s mellower moments.

“Mesmerized” has an oscillating keyboard line in its opening, and that pattern is carried over into acoustic guitars when things quiet down for the verse. There’s a sense of tension and barely-restrained upward movement during the verse, contrasted with the brasher and bolder instrumental moments. Some of the noodling in the song’s final minute can come off as a bit aimless, but all is redeemed when the band returns to the rollicking main theme.

The mood is much more ethereal on “The Void”, which begins with swirling organ and multilayered vocals. The band then launches into their usual tumbling, odd-time, finger-twisting madness. The slow and deliberate vocal melody is an interesting contrast to the energetic instrumental backing, but it doesn’t quite 100% land for me. I like this song overall, as well as its underlying idea, but parts of it can come off as a bit unsteady.

“Fylkesvei 23” sees the band lean into meditative, repetitive krautrock influences. Synthesizers and muted guitars set a hypnotic background while occasional embellishments offer some dynamism. The build-up here is phenomenal. It’s so natural feeling, it’s easy to miss while it’s going on, only to suddenly realize things have gotten a lot more intense.

The wonk factor gets cranked up on “National Day”. The rhythm is odd and irregular, and the vocal melody doesn’t really fit at all; but that somehow makes it work. This is a light and bouncy song, and the synth solo in its second half is charmingly meandering. This is a strong example of how the band makes brevity work in their favor. At a tight three minutes, WIZRD crams in a ton of exciting musical ideas. I could easily see a less-restrained band stretching this out to double its length.

Some of the band’s heaviest and most plodding music kicks off “You’re Exposed!”. The restless guitar lines keep things moving. The verses are full of licks, fills, and flourishes to keep things interesting. Flowing right out of this is “!!!”, a fun two-minute instrumental.

“Fire & Flames” features some of the mellowest music on Elements. There’s actually room to breathe. Piano and wobbly, vibrato-tinged guitar lend this a vaguely nostalgic feel. The soulful backing vocals call to mind latter-era Pink Floyd at moments. The song’s final two minutes sees the band kick back into their usual high-octane antics. 

The album closes on “Kaleidoskop”. It reminds me of the shorter songs on Atom Heart Mother, with its dreamy psych-folk atmosphere. This is a nice way to wrap things up.

WIZRD’s sophomore album sees them continue in the same overall vein as their debut. It’s an energetic record full of technically-impressive music. The songs are smartly-crafted, and nothing lingers longer than it should. If you’re looking for something in the vein of Beardfish (but better than the last Beardfish album), give this a listen.

Score: 82/100