Wheels Within Wheels
Wheels Within Wheels gives MEER's songs a bigger setting without losing their appeal as songs. The Norwegian band combine a rock rhythm section with keyboards, violin, viola and two strong lead voices. It is a lot of sound to manage, but the melodies usually remain easy to follow through all the detail.
Chains of Changes provides a good introduction. The singing and piano establish a welcoming tune before the arrangement becomes more active. That mix of immediate melody and restless movement runs through the album. Behave puts more weight on the guitars, with strings and keyboards adding to the drive instead of simply decorating the edges.
Golden Circle is one of the clearest examples of what makes MEER worth discovering. Its melody stays direct while the sound around it grows, giving the singing room to lift the song. Come to Light shows another side of that vocal partnership. The harmony singing creates much of the impact, supported by arrangements that leave the voices enough space to work.
The band also know how to build towards a larger moment. Today Tonight Tomorrow begins more gently and gradually opens into a powerful finish, with the guitar making a particularly effective contribution. To What End offers a different kind of pleasure in the way acoustic guitar and strings fit together. These changes of scale help an hour-long album avoid becoming one continuous burst of drama.
The larger gestures are not equally convincing. Closing track This Is the End takes the heavier and more theatrical side of the band a long way, and its forceful chorus can feel overstated beside the more balanced songs. There is still plenty of care in the playing, but the emotional effect is stronger when the arrangement does not push every element quite so far.
That reservation leaves a very enjoyable record intact. Wheels Within Wheels has the detail to interest prog listeners and enough clear hooks to welcome people who normally avoid the genre. Golden Circle is an easy place to begin, while the surrounding songs show how much this ensemble can do beyond a single strong chorus.
