I only got about halfway through Folklore last night. Loved it all so far. I am a huge Rikard fanboy so I wanted to start with an album he is on. I know he is only a bit player at this point in the band and I'm obviously not expecting Beardfish or Gungfly. Either way, only briefly in and all good so far.
I was thinking about Rikard's contributions to BBT today. He's actually done relatively little in BBT as a main writer just in terms of the songs he's composed just by himself. He's credited with a few short instrumentals, and then he wrote the music for one relative epic that is a bit of a fan favorite (A Mead Hall in Winter). I'm not super familiar with Beardfish, but I love the Gungfly albums, and he has a pretty distinctive style. That comes through somewhat in the songs he has composed for BBT, but I get the sense that maybe he wants to keep his own style separate from BBT (or vice versa). That said, his instrumental on the new album, A Room With No Ceiling, does have a definite Gungfly flavor to it.
I think what Rikard brings to BBT that seems to be pretty invaluable is just a wealth of versatility in terms of what he can play (acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, vocals, accordion!). He allows them to really fill out the sound live, but he also adds a lot of color in the parts he contributes to the songs on record. He's had his share of memorable solos since joining (the closing solo on Transit of Venus is one great example). He also did a lot of cool stuff from a keyboard standpoint on Common Ground, and on Welcome To the Planet I'm hearing some really interesting guitar parts here and there (the surf guitar on Bats in the Belfry, the guitars on the title track). He's not always out front and center, but his contributions are always significant if that makes sense.
To be honest, when he first joined the band in more than a live capacity on Folklore* I kind of thought, "well, I'd rather hear more Dave Gregory than a second guitarist." But I'm really glad he came on board, especially since Gregory left, but also now with Longdon's passing. He not only brings his versatile playing, but he's also another prolific writer who they can maybe lean on more in David's absence. I love the little ending he and Nick came up with for Oak and Stone, which is another reminder that the band has plenty of talent on board if they do choose to carry on.
*Technically it was for the Wassail EP I suppose.