Bucketfull of Brains, December 1989 by Phil McMullen

A stunning album, limited to 1000 copies and McMuff's tip of the issue for a sound investment in years to come- besides which, the thing is eminently listenable and worth the price for the cover alone. Tangle Edge are Ronald Nygård (guitars) and Hasse Horrigmoe (bass and 12- string), two fellows from northern Norway who first got together in 1978, augmented for this LP by a flute/ saxophone player, a bongo bonker and a drummer. They claim to be "progressive in the meaning of the word used in the late 60's" and the results are startling.

It's all instrumental, kinda sounds like Clark Hutchinson meets the Hampton Grease band to these ears (Of course! Plum genius! How could I have missed it? Ed) especially on the 14- minute plus "Solorgy". That aside, standout tracks are "Caesar's Integrated Flaw" (lashings of phased/ wahwah guitar and a start- stop riff, "A Secret Inside Clopedia" (folksy guitars and bongos, Eastern rhythms in the US Kaleidoscope vein) and the curiously titled "Later Than The Pinworm- Era" which shows Nygård's guitar work at it's most effective. If this is the sort of stuff coming out of Norway today, saddle me up a reindeer and brush me furry hat 'cos I'm on my way. 

To start this column off, we've got some really interesting albums from Europe. The first is the debut effort by Norwegian band Tangle Edge, In Search of a New Dawn (Mushroom). It's an enticing set of psychedelic/ progressive instrumentals that were recorded by multi- instrumentalists Ronald Nygård and Hasse Horrigmoe with a little help from some friends. They've since expanding the line- up to a four- piece. Musically, the duo's sound is rooted firmly in the '60s and '70s. They draw their influences from artists as varied as Jefferson Airplane, Henrix, Amon Duul, Pink Floyd, and King Crimson, as well as taking in some jazz and classical elements.

There's really a lot of good stuff here, but the 15- minute "Solorgy" is a standout. It's a gorgeuos mesh of adventurous acid- rock guitar sounds. The lilting acoustic "Nephthys" shows a different side of their music, as does the exotic, Egyptian- sounding "A Secret Inside Clopedia". It may take a little extra effort to track down this album, but it's worth it. 

This record, will satisfy those questing to discover new psychedelic, progressive and/or space rock. Based around the coew duo of Hasse Horrigmoe (bass, acoustic 12-string, keyboards) and Ronald Nygard (guitars, keyboards), this Norwegain group presents a complete package, with a colorful gatefold cover, replete with spacey, psychedelic art featuring an Egyptian birdman playing a guitar whose body is an extinct pre-historic life form. There's a mystical photomontage on the back blending antiquity and the cosmos. The music combines the aforementioned rock styles, with some wild guitar histrionics, including wah-wah chords and solos, backwards solos, heavy fuzz on tracks including the 15-minutes magnum opus, "Solorgy". More than enough to appease the most obsessive guitar fanatic. One can detect the influence of Robert Fripp in the sustained guitar tones of " The Centipede's Tune". Some of the acoustic numbers, with their Middle Easternisms, invoke Popol Vuh and the host of '60s and early '70s raga rock bands. One can detect a plethora of influences ranging from Hawkwind and Amon Duul II, to the Grateful Dead and the Jeffersom Airplane, to Pink Floyd and much more.

The small town Narvik is the home-base for Tangle Edge, a group build around bass-player Hasse Horrigmoe and guitarist Ronald Nygard. Last year they finally released their vinyl- debut In Search of A New Dawn, an album with a colourful, psychedelic-like cover. Before this LP they had already released three cassettes: Improvised Drop Outs (1983), Radio Stroganoff (1986) and Live In The Presence of Aphrodite (1986). The music on these pates consists of (long) improvisations, with elements from blues, jazz, classical music, rock and folk, combines with eastern and African influences.

The LP shows that Tangle Edge has grown since their start in 1982. Although there's still a lot of improvisation, the songs are more structured which will help them to get a bigger audience. The sound is not very modern though. It looks as if Grateful Dead, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Can, Faust, or other acts from the sixties and seventies are all alive and play on this album together. People with sentimental feelings about this periode (like me) will have alot of fun with Tangle Edge. Fans of ordinary modern-day progrock can better try something else (because they'll think it's just old fashioned music). Translated to english by the author.

Basically an intrumental duo of Ronald Nygard and Hasse Horrigmoe, this delightful album was recorded between 85-88. It opens with gentle acoustic guitars before the group (Rune,Svein & Kjartan too) explode the electric effect with the psyched duster 'Caesars integrated flaw'. Just as often the gentler side pushes thru in a a flute & acoustic mode. The superb gatefold cover (By Ron & Hasse) makes the album standout special before you've even played a note. The Eastern mysticysm of 'A secret inside' preceeds side 1s haunting finale 'The approaching tripthykhon sunset', a title Bevis Frond would be proud to use! A dreamlike corn-circle opens side 2, unhurried and other woridly, a ravishing guitar melody hangs on frosted blades in the style og those early Vertigo label albums. This side is dominated by a 15 minute 'Solorgy' (solar orgy?) a hypnotic piece that has mind knumbing guitar excursions and develops into a prog rock treat. After a few gigs here last year its hoped Tangle Edge will be back with more expanding earrings real soon.

Rockerilla # 115, March 1990 by Mauro Rappo (Italy)

I Tangle Edge nascono nel 1978 in quel di Narvik, nel nord del paese; Ronald Nygård e Hasse Horrigmoe, rispettivamente alle chitarre e al basso, nonche' fondatori della band e autori delle musiche, iniziano a suonare e a sperimentare sotto altri nomi, in piccoli locali della provincia un qualcosa che sta tra il progressive e il blues. Finalmente nel 1982 iniziano a far sul serio: Tangle Edge 'e il nome definitivo del gruppo, e il progressive nel suo significato piu' sperimentale, sara' musical- mente il loro ideale. Nel giro di tre ann pubblicano per la Mushroom, loro etichetta, due tapes in cui si riscontrano tecniche musicali molto diverse dalle attuali, senz'altro piu' ruvide e improvvisate. Nel 1988 Ronald e Hasse trovano la definitiva line- up del gruppo, "In Search of a New Dawn" inizia a prendere forma. Pubblicato nel giugno scorse viene ripudiato dalla stampa norvegese definendolo una scoria del magazzino degli anni '70: che incompetenza! "In Search of a New Dawn" e' unicamente strumentale e riesce a far concentrare e allo stesso tempo divertire l'ascoltatore senza odori di assuefazione.

Piu' progressivo il lato A, mentre psichedelie hendrixiane segnano i contorni della seconda facciata. L'acustica "Isis at the Invisible Frontispiece" evoca paesaggi bucolici, ma l'impatto aggressivo di "Caesar's Integrated Flaw" frantuma i nostri sogni irreali come melodie indiane travolte dagli sperimentali Crimson di ".....In Aspic". La magica "A Secret Inside Clopedia", inizia dolcemente tra flauti e chitarre acustiche sviluppandosi in intrighi orientali. Il lato B esalta il lavoro chitarristico di Nygård, specie nella tortuosa "Later Than the Pinworm- Era", i cui tormenti lisergici sono tuttora in noi, ma la vera gemma dell'album e' di la' da venire: suonate assieme ai canterburiani National Health stordendoli con laser di chitarre psichedeliche, riuscirete a carpire i segreti della stupenda e raffinata "Solorgy", suite di 15 preziosi minuti. "In Search of a New Dawn" e' un lavoro moderno e ricco di inventiva, con un presente proiettato nel futuro. Per i Tangle Edge il 2000 e' gia' arrivato! 

Vinyl Magazine, December 1989 by J.A.

Flexisingelen som var vedlagt i Vinyl nr. 4/ 87 var med Narviksbandet Tangle Edge. Siden den gang har de spilt en hel del låter som nettopp er gitt ut på lp under den ambisiøse tittelen "In search of a new dawn. The psychological perspectives of Tangle Edge". Den er utgitt på deres eget selskap Mushroom Productions (Mushlp 1) i et opplag på 1000 eksemplar. En plakat for en av deres tidligere kassetter medfølger.

Lp'en er pakket inn i et av Norgeshistoriens lekreste utbrettscover, tegnet i sansesprengende farger av bassist Horrigmoe. Musikken er ekstrem syrete intrumental- psychedelia med masse gitarorgier. Med unntak av en kjedelig indisk surrogat raga en spennende, sær og mystisk debut fra nord. Tangle Edge består av nå kun av Ronald og Hasse (se VS- 04) med gjestemusikere.Med allerede god respons fra utlandet bør du snarest sikre deg et eks. før du må importere den til dyre dommer.