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\nNorwegian instrumental explorers THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE return with \u201cA Passage to Elsewhere\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
The title track opens the album with an eight-minute journey that immediately sets the tone. \u201cTemporary Happiness Revival\u201d keeps the movement fluid and melodic, while \u201cMid-Rite Crisis\u201d brings a tighter, slightly more nervous pulse into the picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of Intermediate Affairs\u201d is one of the shorter pieces, almost acting like a corridor between larger rooms. \u201cSix Impossible Things Before Breakfast\u201d stretches back out into more adventurous territory, while the brief \u201c1420 Svartskog\u201d works as an atmospheric pause before the album\u2019s longest statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI. C. U.\u201d runs close to nine minutes and feels like the record\u2019s central voyage, pulling together the band\u2019s cinematic side with jazz, progressive rock and more experimental textures. \u201cBright Galaxies, Dark Matters\u201d then closes the album on a shorter, more reflective note rather than going for one last oversized finale.<\/p>\n
What makes \u201cA Passage to Elsewhere\u201d work is its refusal to sit neatly inside one genre. There are echoes of \u201970s progressive rock, Chicago-style post-rock, vintage library music, imaginary folk and experimental electronica, but the album never sounds like a checklist of influences.<\/p>\n
This is instrumental music with real movement and personality \u2014 less about showing off technique, more about opening strange doors and seeing where they lead.<\/p>\n
Country: Norway
\nLabel: Karisma Records
\nGenre: Progressive Rock \/ Post-Rock \/ Instrumental
\nRelease date: October 30, 2026
\nFormat: CD \/ Vinyl \/ Digital
\nHi-Res: 24-bit \/ 48 kHz
\nTotal time: 43:40<\/p>\n
Tracklist:
\n01 \u2013 A Passage to Elsewhere (8:07)
\n02 \u2013 Temporary Happiness Revival (7:12)
\n03 \u2013 Mid-Rite Crisis (5:22)
\n04 \u2013 The Department of Intermediate Affairs (3:13)
\n05 \u2013 Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast (7:25)
\n06 \u2013 1420 Svartskog (1:19)
\n07 \u2013 I. C. U. (8:45)
\n08 \u2013 Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters (2:17)<\/p>\n
Sigmund Bade \u2013 Bass, Keyboards, Guitar
\nSven Andr\u00e9n \u2013 Drums, Percussion
\nThomas Kaldhol \u2013 Guitar, Bass, Mandoline
\nThomas Meidell \u2013 Guitar, Keyboards, Theremin, Electronics
\nIvar Stangeby \u2013 Keyboards<\/p>\n
Guests:
\nJenny Berger Myhre \u2013 Keyboards
\nOla Mile Bruland \u2013 Upright Bass, Tenor Tuba
\nMagnus Nielsen \u2013 Violin
\n\u00c5sa Ree \u2013 Violin
\nDag Stiberg \u2013 Saxophone
\nNikolaj \u2013 French Horn
\nJon Thomas \u2013 Bass Trombone
\nTorgeir Wergeland S\u00f8rbye \u2013 Trumpet<\/p>\n
Produced and recorded by The Samuel Jackson Five
\nMixed by Sven Andr\u00e9n at Klokkereint<\/p>\n