Swedish proggers Tucana describe themselves as a baroque progressive band, and they been around for some considerable time but only got around to releasing their debut at the end of 2012. Comprising Jonas Nitz (piano, string arrangements, backing vocals), Mikael Larsson (guitars), Jari Katila (drums), Niklas Birgersson (vocals), and Johnny Rosengren (bass) they describe the album itself as taking he listener on a journey in a Rock opera/Musical way by mixing progressive rock with classical orchestral arrangements on the (sometimes) more heavier side. Certainly there is a lot going on, but I’m not sure that I would call this baroque, as it just doesn’t have that feel for me, and is far more pure symphonic in nature. But, this is definitely more to the progressive side than, say, Nightwish who get to this style by coming from metal whereas Tucana are coming from prog. The music is extremely fluid, and they have added in certain instruments just for short passages (such as flute during “The Needle of Ended Days” where it definitely adds to the overall feel.
The only real way of describing this album is as being majestic, as there is something about the sound that is extremely large and symphonic, as if it was being performed in a large hall instead of a tiny studio somewhere. Mikael is an incredibly fluid guitarist and knows when to really let rip and increase the note density in a fashion not too dissimilar to Malmsteen, but he also knows when to show restraint and keep it much more under control so that others can shine. All in all this is a very powerful symphonic prog album that uses large orchestral elements to tie in with the metallic to make something that is well worth investigating. Although the website itself is extremely sparse, it is possible to listen to samples so visit www.tucanamusic.com for more details.
