Ah, the seventies. When men were men and trouser legs were wide. When Uriah Heep ‘whoo-whoo’d’ their way to global notoriety, Hammond organs were de rigeur and the ladies would faint at the merest whiff of a sideburn. Well, if those were the days for you my friend, then Divine Baze Orchestra could be your new best friends, as they unleash their ten-track debut album, chock full of guitar solos and mellotrons.

There seems to be a resurgence of organ heavy prog at the moment, mainly emanating from Sweden, a country where you are legally obliged to be in a band. Black Bonzo put out a cracking album last year, Sound of the Apocalypse, that was working in the same milieu, and although Divine Baze Orchestra isn’t quite at that level yet, there is a lot for them to be proud of here.

Apparently the whole thing was recorded in two days, so they’re emulating the seventies more than just musically! Most of it was also done live with just a handful of vocal and mellotron overdubs. There is something refreshingly honest about a band doing it the old-fashioned way - not that they had a choice.

The vocals of Alexander Frisborg are certainly distinctive and it takes a wee while to get used to them, but the organ of Daniel Karlsson and the guitars of the delightfully named Oliver Eek are instantaneously impressive, as they fill out and embellish the material. The opening one-two of “Dance” and “Choose Your Green” are a hard rocking treat, almost teetering over the edge of prog into metal, whereas “Trota Di Mare” borrows from the spacerock daze of early seventies UFO.

They also have time to indulge in some jazzier dissertations with “Closing The Circle,” the one track where their declared Mahavishnu Orchestra influence shines through and some of the other numbers noodling away into potential Grateful Dead-like jams. That’s something they need to be wary of, as “The Man From My Mother’s Brother” caused my attention to wander now and then. “Burned By The Sun,” by comparison, is a lengthy, yet dynamic tune, where the music builds to a climax, taking you along for the ride as well.

It’s an accomplished debut that bodes well for any future offerings. The positives heavily outweigh the few times they get bogged down in some generic riffing, but considering the 48-hour turnaround, it knocks many of the major prog players out of the ring. So dig out your loon pants, get your dervish dance on, and make like its 1972. Man.