Review: The Vintage Caravan – Portals

Napalm Records (September 26^th, 2025)

Reviewer – David Pearce

The Vintage Caravan are an Icelandic Prog Rock trio whose sixth album is called ‘Portals’. They consist of Stefan Ari Steffanson the drummer, Oskar Logi Agustsson on guitars and lead vocals and Alexander Orn Numason on bass guitars and synthesisers. Unlike several of their prog predecessors, The Vintage Caravan favour short tracks and there are no less than 17 in an album that lasts under an hour. So, let’s have a listen and see what these Scandinavian psychedelic revivalists have to offer.

The first track ‘Philosopher’ starts with a gentle tune before exploding into a rock guitar riff courtesy of Oskar Logi Agustsson. As the lead vocalist he contributes some impressive bluesy rock singing and the song as a whole is a very strong start. ‘Portal I’ is the first of five connected tracks and sounds like the incidental music to The Tomorrow People with a running time of about 30 seconds. ‘Days Go By’ shows off the excellent drumming of Stefan Ari Steffanson and Agustsson’s excellent combination of guitar and vocals. This has elements of glam rock along with NWOBHM as they mix their influences with aplomb. ‘Portal II’ once again is very short but shows off the ability of Alexander Orn Numason to create unsettling soundscapes with the minimum of time at his disposal. ‘Here You Come Again’ has Nurmason’s funk type bass guitar under the surface of the song and is perhaps the first recognisable prog style track. ‘Current’ starts with a gorgeous Spanish style guitar solo and moves into a song that sounds like it should be played in the background of a Christmas scene or the Nativity itself. It’s beautiful and my favourite track of the entire album.

‘Give and Take’ is by contrast a down and dirty blues number that gives Agustsson a chance to show off his ability to rock with the best of them. ‘Portal III’ gives another interlude of a few seconds that could seem out of place if it wasn’t musically connected to the previous two. I think it’s a fascinating experimental approach that gives this album an extra interest. ‘Crossroads’ starts with an almost medieval style tune on the synth which really works, before then going into a guitar solo. I wonder what would happen if Numason was to be given more room to work his magic? It would definitely be worth listening to. ‘Alone’ features a brilliant vocal by Agustsson and a superb piece of drumming from Steffanson. ‘Portal IV’ is busier than the previous three with disembodied voices accompanying the tune. Once again, it is intriguing, unsettling and, in a way, frustratingly short. ‘Freedom’ once again returns to the blues template and does so very well.

‘Riot’ is almost punk rock at the start and it’s perhaps the heaviest track on the album. It’s certainly my favourite high tempo track and shows the tightness of a trio who know each other very well and play together seamlessly. ‘Electrified’ is in a very similar vein and is an effective companion piece although it tends more to the Europe template and does so very effectively. The final interlude ‘Portal V’ has a Vangelis style sound that I really enjoyed. The penultimate track is ‘My Aurora’ which starts a little like ‘Maggie May’ by Rod Stewart. Like ‘Current’ it demonstrates how good The Vintage Caravan are at the prog ballads, and I would love to hear some more in this vein. Finally, we have ‘This Road’ which finishes the album on a heavier note and maintains the high standards of the album in vocals and instrumentation.

The Vintage Caravan have a wide range of influences and talents, which are bought to bear on an album that is always surprising and intriguing.

Tracklist:

1. Philosopher
2. Portal I
3. Days Go By
4. Portal II
5. Here You Come Again
6. Current
7. Give and Take
8. Portal III
9. Crossroads
10. Alone
11. Portal IV
12. Freedom
13. Riot
14. Electrified
15. Portal V
16. My Aurora
17. This Road

Line-up:

Stefán Ari Stefánsson – Drums, backing vocals, percussion
Óskar Logi Águstsson – Electric guitars, vocals, acoustic guitars, flute
Alexander Örn Númason – Bass guitars, backing vocals, synthesizers, Farfisa

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