Carl Liungman’s effortless and effusive piano compositions and performances on Change, his latest full-length release, are heartwarming. A gentle virtuoso, the music on Change is melodic and easy to follow and to enjoy.
Based in the Swedish town of Vastervik, Carl Liungman’s Change is a deeply personal listen that touches on loss and on new beginnings, leaning on experiences of seeing parents fade away into old age and of witnessing a state of growing turmoil worldwide, and witnessing the pockets of light and hope here and there. Change is an album of most efficient, solo piano pieces. Gorgeous sounding, the music on the album was recorded on a Steinway grand piano, live in a concert hall, resulting in an engulfing listening experience that really help the compositions shine.
Pieces like the starter ‘Mother’, and ‘Final Days’ are wonderfully touching. Using simple melodies and chord structures alongside a greatly dynamic performance allows Liungman’s music to breathe into life without much complexity. ‘Hope’ is a stirring piece of melancholic movements. One of the album’s more morose and memorable compositions with shifting colors and moods. Another highlight is the rhythmic and cinematic ‘Wind In June’, one of the album’s more fluid pieces that bring forward the album’s tendencies toward new age piano music. Another memorable set of melodies grace this beautiful piece.
The album’s final and titular piece is one of its most moving and shapeshifting. A stellar 6-minute composition, ‘Change’ features light and shade in its dynamics, a flowing composition that’s hopeful and loaded with melancholy. A generally gripping experience from start to finish, this piece is an appropriate closer to an exceedingly immersive listen.
Change is a delightful collection of solo piano pieces that are easy to fall in love with. Carl Liungman’s style is deceptively simple and his compositions on Change are touching, while being deeply impactful.