Take a computer graphic from 1983. Use it to create the outline of a naked woman. Call the band Naked. To be honest, that doesn’t really get things off to the best start, but could possibly be forgiven if the music within this album was of a high standard. Which it isn’t. As it is, most the tunes on this Swedish band’s debut release sound very tired.
Tag Archives: sweden
THE BLOAKES – Kanye Westboro Baptist Church EP
It’s hard to resist a release with a title like ‘Kanye Westboro Baptist Church’. Swedish combo The Bloakes clearly have a sense of humour, but take their music very seriously. Here are five men who are committed to taking their listeners back to a great musical past, while simultaneously keeping the sounds of psychedelia in the present, whenever that may be. Their music is unashamedly retro with some very obvious touchstones, but never ever lazy in its construction. The result is five songs that sound like a jam between The Beatles, Traffic, Primal Scream and The Charlatans, with a little Swedish prog chucked in the pot for good measure – and it’s bloody fabulous.
WHEEL IN THE SKY – Heading For The Night
Back in 1978 Steve Perry sang about a wheel in the sky and, as such, it’s pretty much impossible to encounter this Swedish band’s choice of name without hearing his high tenor as part of the old internal jukebox. The band may or may not be aware of that… There are far more irritating earworms to be stuck with than early Journey hits, of course; even now, half of you will be humming that track to yourselves and potentially cuing up your copies of ‘Infinity’ for later listening. However, unexpectedly, this particular Wheel In The Sky are not an AOR band at all. Most of this release sounds as if it were recorded around the same time as Journey‘s aforementioned single, but that’s as far as any comparison goes. These guys are more your Steppenwolf and Blue Oyster Cult variety of retro and in principle, their desire to want to make you cut loose with their particular brand of throwbacks to rock’s yesteryear is a very admirable trait.
WASTED SHELLS – Dark Matter EP
With roots that stretch back as far as 2006, Sweden’s Wasted Shells had various line-up changes before jelling into a more cohesive unit in 2010. Albums followed in 2011 and 2013, between hundreds of live shows, each move a step closer to perfecting the band’s metallic assault. Their third release – 2015’s self-released ‘Dark Matter’ – is a veritable half hour of power.
MATS INGVARSSON – Hope
Bassist Mats Ingvarsson is somewhat of a fixture on the Swedish jazz scene. Over the course of several years he’s released a string of albums, sometimes as a member of Un-x-pected Pleasure, sometimes solo, but often via the specialist label Kopasetic Productions. His 2014 release ‘Hope’ enlists the talents of labelmate Maggi Olin on the grand piano and a pretty mean Fender Rhodes. Joining them, session drummer Daniel Fredrikssen and Magnus Lindberg ensure this is an impressive gathering.