KOI – In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday

Koi is a Swedish five piece from Gothenburg and fit in the atmospheric and emotional oriented branch of the Progressive Rock genre. More and more bands like Koi are emerging from the underground, and this subgenre of Progressive Rock is getting so big it’s impossible to ignore it.

The songs on In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday display a very clever use of dynamics with layers upon layers to really build up and maximize the sound levels, only to drop the level almost completely for an acoustic guitar part or something that’s supposed to sound more quiet. By dividing the parts to this extreme extent, they’re enhancing the effects of the more atmospheric parts, which at times is a stroke of genius. Koi are also honoring traditional Progressive Rock bands like Yes and Jethro Tull by letting the songs constantly progress and letting parts develop along the way.

You can clearly hear similarities to bands like Porcupine Tree, Beardfish, Jolly, and even Canvas Solaris in Koi’s music, although they have much less focus on technical skills and instrumental solos than the aforementioned. For most part, they treat you to light melodies with massive keyboard layers, but on songs like “Navigated To The Blank Undrawn” you can hear a darker side of the band as well.

The problem with this album is you can feel like the atmospheric and emotional aspects can be a bit too much. Yes, there is diversity here, but after almost an hour of listening, the overall impression might be they rely a bit too much on the keyboard layers. This is, of course, a matter of taste, but the impression that this album “isn’t for everyone” sticks. When it comes to the mixing of the album, the keyboards, guitars, and vocals sound a bit rough at times and can “sting” your ears a bit. The drums also sound a bit rough and often “drown” in the mix. A “cleaner” mix would definitely have raised the overall impression of this album.

The dynamical aspects are also displayed a bit strangely sometimes. For instance, the song “Woodnote” starts with clean electric guitars and effects that are really loud … those merge into a part with the entire band that doesn’t match the sound level of the first part. Also, at times the drums, bass, and guitars almost drown in layers of keyboards and vocals on “Breaking The Day.” This is the opposite of what’s common. It isn’t necessarily a flaw, and it’s probably a choice the band has made for the song, but it can easily sound “wrong” to your ears when you hear it.

There’s no doubt that the band members are skilled musicians and composers, but this is clearly not an album for everyone. Also, some strange choices when it comes to the production and mixing of the songs help drag this album down a bit. The band will most likely benefit from not mixing their next album themselves. In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday is probably not an album that will blow you away on your first run-through, and there are so many elements to their music and so much going on that you’ll have to give it a few spins to really get the hang of it. When you do it’s definitely worth it.

Lineup

Patrik Andreasson – Vocals, guitars
Eemu Ranta – Guitars
Roberd Palm – Keyboards
Joni Kaartinen – Bass
Markus Mönttinen – Drums

Tracklist

The Rabbit/Woodnote (Instrumental)/Terminal Souls/Navigated To The Blank Undrawn/In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday (Instrumental)/In A World Of A Child’s Mind/Eventide (Instrumental)/Breaking The Day/Metamorphosis (Instrumental)/Swaying To Sleep (Instrumental)/Less Than Abstract