The Onion (Minneapolis edition),
April 27, 2006
"Formerly a solo artist with two albums of bluesy folk under his belt, local songwriter Bob Nordquist now leads The Intangibles. A full band means a chance for a fuller, richer expression of his songwriting, which Nordquist takes good advantage of on The Animal Within. The new disc takes inspiration from a host of musical styles, blending Native American melodies with Latin, African, and eastern European flavors: A Satana-esque guitar line anchors the title track, and a saxophone on "My Time Away From Work" recalls Wish You Were Here-era Floyd. Lyrically, The Animal Within forms a song cycle about the existential struggles of a man Nordquist refers to as "the human animal." That's inevitably going to sound pretentious, but the songs are disarmingly down-to-earth, even when Nordquist imagines a New Age-y communion with the spirit of a tribal priest. Whether he's exploring his fears of nuclear catastrophe, or crawling from the wreckage of a broken relationship, Nordquist has a knack for expressing something very human."
Rick Mason, City Pages
April 26, 2006
"The Animal Within, the new self-released CD from local outfit the Intangibles, is a full-fledged concept album whose theme seems to be the trials and tribulations of survival in a time of alienation from the natural world. It could have been called Dark Side of the Soul. Written by chief Intangible Bob Nordquist, Animal has a mystical undercurrent fueled by haunting melodies that are etched with touches of jazz and world music. The lyrics grapple with ghosts and demons, real and imagined, sometimes with strained eloquence. There's a Floydian feel to the album, with guitarist Dale Engquist playing flowing electric leads like David Gilmore, and concluding with the epic rock ballad "The Eyes of the Rest of the World," complete with orchestral splendor."
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