Norwegian remix king (or Prince), Prins Thomas, releases his first full-length solo album on his own record label. And it’s not all balearic disco, as many expect. Norwegian royals Lindstrøm and Todd Terje lend him a helping hand, and together they create wet bearded dreams of sonic landscape and echoing sunsets. The whole affair is proggy; while Thomas’ inspirations are clear, the record is more post-rock than cosmic disco.

The album opens with two stellar tracks: “Ørkenvandring” with its ’80s moody rock vibe, almost like a trippy lost Dire Straits song, and is followed by ”Uggebug,” a breezy and hypnotic jam with bongos, handclaps, surf guitar and glockenspiel all under a steady bass beat. Another great track is “Saurkraut,”with its obvious reference it sounds like a shoegazing Can track. “Wendy not Walter” offers the album’s only real up-tempo track; a sensitive synth driven post-disco, pre-house jam that recalls A Clockwork Orange producer Wendy Carlos.

The album has seven tracks in the range from 6 to 10 minutes, and feels compact and coherent. It has the ’70s as inspirations, the ’80s for aesthetics and the ’90s approach similar to Tortoise, Stereolab and Boards of Canada. While filled with warm analog electronics and is borderline ambient, Thomas manages to execute it in a tasteful way. Like Alex Moulton did it with his Pink Floyd inspired Exodus, it sounds like Prins Thomas wants you to listen to the whole thing all the way through and take you on a journey. I’d ride along any day.

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