Hey, a progressive rock album that didn’t originate from Norway! But it seems I can’t escape the goodness coming out of Scandinavia because Ritual hail from Sweden, and The Story of Mr. Bodg, Pt.1 has been stewing and percolating for a while: it’s the band’s first album in 17 years, and the first half of an ambitious concept cycle. I came across the band due to the cross pollination of vocalist and guitarist Patrik Lundström sharing vocal duties for Kaipa, another Swedish prog juggernaut I got into this year. But Ritual has a very different, unique sound and style that’s not like any other band I’ve come across, and their knack for vocal melodies, folk arrangements, and lyrical fun made this a joyous blast from beginning to end.

Lundström has a very distinct voice, one that admittedly took a few spins to get used to especially if you’re familiar with him in Kaipa. Here his voice is much more relaxed and playful, able to leap in acrobatic registers that flow like a current against the music. And what music: an amalgam of traditional folk instruments meshed together with your standard prog outfit creating these lush, vibrant songs that embody every mood the narrative calls for without sacrificing an ounce of prettiness.

I chose that word specifically, and very much a compliment. There’s a lot of Jethro Tull in Ritual’s writing, and that sense of delicate arrangements strung together by gorgeous acoustic guitar is always present, deven when they’re throwing some seriously catchy rockers like the chorus of “Chichikov Bodg” or the whole of “The Inn Of The Haunted Owl”. Interesting titles, so a quick summary of the narrative: The Story of Mr. Bodg, Pt. 1 concerns the in media res adventures of Chichikov Bodg, a young well-to-do man escaping from his comfortable life and encountering with his driver Pankhurst a number of adventures where they encounter and save magical creatures who impart gifts to use further down the road, only to discover that the road leads home, leaving Bodg to confront that from which he ran away.

It’s a simple but catching narrative, one I was instantly swept up in due to both the incredible music and the fact that the lyrics are literally the story – Ritual don’t trade in ambiguity or clichéd lyrics meant to impart a sense of a narrative written in the liner notes: if the story calls for Bodg saving an Owl Man locked in a cage then, by God those lyrics will talk about saving an Owl Man locked in a cage. And do it in a way that is dextrous and catchy and filled with incredible musical moments, like the circular keyboards that drive opener “A hasty departure” and lets the bass and drums take the spotlight underneath the guitar. Instrumental passages like “Dreams in a brougham” sound like gossamer threads, caught in a light breeze and reflecting the morning dew. It’s almost impossible to think of The Story of Mr. Bodg pt. 1 and not have these visuals in your mind.

That’s not to say there isn’t variety in the music. “Mr. Tilly and his gang” captures a bit of the carnival barker atmosphere it’s part of the narrative plays, and “Read all about it!” gets serious about its syncopated prog chops, echoing a little Zappa in its melodies. Finally, closer “The three heads of the well” bring a sense of dark foreboding and exotic melody, indicating a step into unknown waters, driving Bodg back home and to the forthcoming (soon, hopefully) second part of the story.

If you’re tired of the rote retro and new-prog that seems to be the norm for so many bands (and I’m not complaining…that much), I urge you to give Ritual a chance. Nothing else that came out this year sounds quite like it, and The Story of Mr. Bodg Pt. 1 is an album that’s given me so happiness and delight every time I put it on.