White Willow (rock band)
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White Willow is one of Norway's foremost exponents of art rock, mixing elements of orchestral pop, 1970s progressive rock, jazz-rock and even electronic elements. They have released four albums so far, 1995's Ignis Fatuus, which features symphonic folk rock in the vein of early King Crimson and Genesis as well as Mellow Candle, 1998's "Ex Tenebris", which is minimalist prog/post-rock, 2000's Sacrament, a full-blown symphonic rock/pop release hailed by critics as a masterpiece, and 2004's Storm Season, the band's best-selling record to date, mixing darker, more guitar heavy elements into their sound. The band will be releasing their fifth studio album in the summer of 2006, to be entitled Signal to Noise.
White Willow's influences range from 10cc, The Beach Boys, [Big Star] and Steely Dan to King Crimson, Magma, Weather Report and even Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell. They have been hailed by The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music as "one of the most significant progressive groups of the current era". Typical of their sound is the prominence of female vocals, flute and mellotrons and analogue synthesizers.