Kaipa are back with their own unique brand of folk rock.

Made up of vocalist, keyboardist, songwriter and unappreciated genius Hans Lundin, guitarist Per Nilsson, drummer Morgan Agren, bassist Jonas Reingold as well as vocalists Patrik Lundstrom and Aleena Gibson with guest violinist Elin Rubinsztein and Fredrik Lindqvist, there’s certainly never a dull moment on this album.

Despite only being eight tracks long, this is far from a short album with the longest track, ‘Electric Power Water Notes’, being a staggering 18 minutes long! That’s not to say, however, that this is at all an endurance – on the contrary, Kaipa will have you mesmerised as they transport you from reality to their magical world where anything is possible. Every track has its own unique appeal with no sense of repetition. Opening self-titled track ‘In The Wake Of Evolution’ is full of excitement and could easily have been lifted from a Super Mario game whereas following track ‘In The Heart Of Her Own Magic Field’ with its serene flute melodies and beautiful female vocals, building to Celtic violins, invokes images of long, magical summers, carefree in the sun.

‘Electric Power Water Notes’ is up-beat, with strong guitar melodies and a drum beat that’s just begging for your attention. Just 5 minutes into the track the structure of the song goes haywire, like a train about to derail, before somehow, without you even realising, it finds its way again and gallops off in a completely new folk-inspired direction before again switching back to the strong drums and guitar melodies. There’s only one word I can use here and that is wow!

In short, ‘In The Wake Of Evolution’ is pure genius. The intricacy in which the melodies dance alongside and around each other on each track, as well as the sheer diversity of the album’s content, is mind-blowing. Kaipa truly smash up the musical barriers that restrict so many artists, never allowing them to reach their potential.

The Wake of Evolution is not going to appeal to everybody, not all rock fans want to hear songs about maidens and different realities and so on, but it is worth taking the risk of disagreeing with the lyric content to experience this musical innovation. If this was space travel, we’d be dancing on the rings of Saturn right now!

Are you looking to get away this summer? Why bother spending money on fancy hotels and long, cramped flights when Kaipa can take you to a new, exciting world with every song, the only restriction being your own imagination.

Sit back, close your eyes and enjoy the ride.

Written by Sian Jennifer Smith