THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE – A Passage to Elsewhere (2026)

Progressive Rock

Norwegian instrumental explorers THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE return with “A Passage to Elsewhere”, their first full-length album in nearly a decade. The record drifts between progressive rock, post-rock, jazz-tinted textures and experimental electronics, but never settles long enough to become predictable.

Rather than chasing the usual post-rock formula of quiet build, huge crescendo, repeat, the band take a more restless route. The music keeps shifting shape: vintage prog colors appear, disappear into kosmische haze, then suddenly give way to angular rhythms, folk-like motifs or strange little electronic details.

The title track opens the album with an eight-minute journey that immediately sets the tone. “Temporary Happiness Revival” keeps the movement fluid and melodic, while “Mid-Rite Crisis” brings a tighter, slightly more nervous pulse into the picture.

“The Department of Intermediate Affairs” is one of the shorter pieces, almost acting like a corridor between larger rooms. “Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast” stretches back out into more adventurous territory, while the brief “1420 Svartskog” works as an atmospheric pause before the album’s longest statement.

“I. C. U.” runs close to nine minutes and feels like the record’s central voyage, pulling together the band’s cinematic side with jazz, progressive rock and more experimental textures. “Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters” then closes the album on a shorter, more reflective note rather than going for one last oversized finale.

What makes “A Passage to Elsewhere” work is its refusal to sit neatly inside one genre. There are echoes of ’70s progressive rock, Chicago-style post-rock, vintage library music, imaginary folk and experimental electronica, but the album never sounds like a checklist of influences.

This is instrumental music with real movement and personality — less about showing off technique, more about opening strange doors and seeing where they lead.

Country: Norway
Label: Karisma Records
Genre: Progressive Rock / Post-Rock / Instrumental
Release date: October 30, 2026
Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital
Hi-Res: 24-bit / 48 kHz
Total time: 43:40

Tracklist:
01 – A Passage to Elsewhere (8:07)
02 – Temporary Happiness Revival (7:12)
03 – Mid-Rite Crisis (5:22)
04 – The Department of Intermediate Affairs (3:13)
05 – Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast (7:25)
06 – 1420 Svartskog (1:19)
07 – I. C. U. (8:45)
08 – Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters (2:17)

Sigmund Bade – Bass, Keyboards, Guitar
Sven Andrén – Drums, Percussion
Thomas Kaldhol – Guitar, Bass, Mandoline
Thomas Meidell – Guitar, Keyboards, Theremin, Electronics
Ivar Stangeby – Keyboards

Guests:
Jenny Berger Myhre – Keyboards
Ola Mile Bruland – Upright Bass, Tenor Tuba
Magnus Nielsen – Violin
Åsa Ree – Violin
Dag Stiberg – Saxophone
Nikolaj – French Horn
Jon Thomas – Bass Trombone
Torgeir Wergeland Sørbye – Trumpet

Produced and recorded by The Samuel Jackson Five
Mixed by Sven Andrén at Klokkereint

turbo