I know virtually nothing about these guys, apart from they hail from northern Sweden and I believe this is their fourth album. Going by the funky artwork I also believe there are four of them, which means the singer must also be a musician as we have keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums. There are times when one comes across a band and wonder why you have never heard of them before (and to be honest I am not sure how I have heard them this time as I can’t trace who sent this to me), as this is an album to make the listener smile from beginning to end. The roots are in psychedelia, mixed in with power pop, and possibly some early Seventies vibes. If I had been given this as a record, and I had looked at the cover and listened to it I would have guessed this was from mid-1968, but definitely no later than 1971, so what was this doing being released 50 years on?
As with all music from back then it has its roots in the blues, and the feeling that any time the band may just fall apart as they feel so loose and relaxed in their playing. The keyboards are mostly organ, with a few other dated sounds at times, while the only effects on the guitar are whatever has been done to make it sound of the period. The solos are short and chunky, and there are times when fingers almost fall over each other, giving the impression that much of this was recorded live as opposed to being tracked time and again. I have no idea of their influences as there is very little about them on the web (not enough on the FB page and not much on their Bandcamp, and I have found just one other review), but The Guess Who, The Gods, and early Uriah Heep aren’t too far from what they are doing here, with some Rolling Stones, all wrapped up with some wonderful harmonies and solid tunes. This is truly a really enjoyable album, which any fan of this style of music needs to investigate. That it has slipped out with very little being written about it is nothing short of a crime as this is music designed to deliver a good time, and all the listener can do is sit there with a stupid grin on their face. That it is listed on Bandcamp as Side A and Side B, and a total playing time of 46 minutes is just the icing on the cake. I’ll even forgive them for the one-line lyrical lift from Iron Maiden on “I Love You Babe”, as it is so out of place to be quite majestic.
8/10 Kev Rowland