Who's the Boss In the Factory?

Number three in Karmakanic's discography marks no real departure from the previous two albums or from the sound of leader Jonas Reingold's main engagement the Flower Kings. In fact, fans of the mighty Swedish prog rock battalion will feel right at home with Who's the Boss in the Factory? The Flower Kings' bassist can carry the band's torch as high and bright as Roine Stolt or Tomas Bodin, and — in the case of this particular album — with less inclination to push things in a different direction. "Send a Message from the Heart" and "Two Blocks from the Edge" could easily have been recorded by Reingold's headlining band, and they would have figured well, although the 20-minute "Send a Message from the Heart" plays the "positive vibrations" card (a TFK trademark) a bit too strongly. "Let in Hollywood" is a fun single-sized song in 7/8 about having a hit single with a song in 7/8 — silly topic, granted, but the song is catchy, nicely arranged, and very well produced. The only subpar track on this album is "Who's the Boss in the Factory?" Clocking in at 13 minutes, it adopts a reductively square and leaded four-to-the-floor beat, while tackling its topic (accountability) in a naïve, unsubstantial way. But the most irritating characteristic of this song is the close resemblance between its chorus and Roger Waters' "What God Wants (Part 2)." That track aside, this is an enjoyable prog rock album, with a host of guest appearances from Flower Kings alumni (Tomas Bodin, Zoltan Csörsz), members of closely related projects (the Tangent's Andy Tillison and Theo Travis), and even accordion player Lelo Nika, who performs a gripping solo in part two of the emotional closer "Eternally." ~ François Couture, Rovi