Soft Ffog - soft fog? - is the name of a new Norwegian progressive rock band. Its four members have not yet appeared together, but each of them is a name in the Norwegian and Scandinavian jazz scene. Their first album Focus is a journey through time, reminiscent of bands from the 1970s in terms of sound and concept.

Soft Ffog consists of guitarist Tom Hasslan, who wrote all four tracks on the album, drummer Axel Skalstad, bassist Trond Frønes and keyboardist Vegard Lien Bjerkan. In total, they entertain with Focus for almost 40 minutes. That's roughly ten minutes per track. Anyone who remembers albums on which this was standard can confidently call themselves ‘old’.

The four tracks are called Camel, Pocus, focus and Oh Jimi. The latter is particularly notable for its catchy riff, which is indeed reminiscent of Hendrix, although its rhythmic structure is completely different.

In terms of sound and musical conception, they are more akin to the great prog bands such as Weather Report, Yes, King Crimson or Gentle Giant, although the Norwegians largely dispense with the intricate metrics that occasionally only entertain the listener intellectually while they are thrown out of the musical flow.

The best thing about the long playing times are the solo passages. Here it becomes clear that the quartet has its roots in jazz, but not so much because of the blue-note melodicism, but because of the aplomb and composure that can be heard in every note.

In the listening room, Soft Ffog naturally doesn't unfurl any fog candles, but a rock-solid rock sound. The mix is strongly oriented towards the 1970s and is a little centred, which is very pleasant. The placement of the instruments on stage is compact. This gives the performance a bit of extra power, yet the individual musicians are easy to differentiate and the sound is not washed out.

Focus is a fun album that will not only appeal to prog fans. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Tom "Zappa-finger" Hasslan, guitars
Axel "Pheel the Collin's" Skalstad, drums
Trond "Geezer Jeezuz" Frønes, bass
Vegard "Wake(up the)man" Lien Bjerkan, keyboards