In The Labyrinth are the modern face of that softer side of Swedish progressive rock, in the realms of Isildurs Bane, Mosaic, Bo Hansson et al., subtly symphonic, folky, classical, and above all - distinctly Scandinavian.

The group are an unusual quartet. Peter Lindahl would seem to be the leader (he composes on 13 out of 22 tracks) with a credit of some 20 instruments including Mellotron, guitars, zither and various winds, he's ably accompanied by Mikael Gejel (composer on 11 tracks) playing a mostly acoustic selection of 12 instruments, notably flutes, guitars and percussion, with additional percussion and flute by Ulf Hansson and Karin Langhard-Gejel. In fact, there's lots of flute on this album come to think of it!

The palette is very colourful and varied, and the music always rides a careful balance between being safely melodic and progressively adventurous. Inevitably, this is going to be one of those "growers", an album to warm to as its subtleties are revealed.

Alan Freeman, AUDION No.36 -96, England

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