sweden
PREMIERE: Sweden’s De Arma pivot to darkwave on intense new EP ‘Nightcall’
It says a lot about how long Swedish gothic rock band De Arma had been sitting on second album Strayed in Shadows (finally released last June after years in limbo) that they’ve rebounded from that pretty much immediately. Well, we call them ‘gothic rock’ but they’ve taken in everything from black metal to post-rock and …
Album Review: The Ghost of Helags unveil the shimmering and impressingly beautiful album ‘We Came From the Stars’
Here at Backseat Mafia HQ we have been following synth pop duo The Ghost of Helags for a while – covering a series of extraordinary beautiful dreamy singles and even capturing a live session of single ‘Chemistry’. The Berlin-based Swedish duo have collected all the singles together and added more tracks to release an exquisite …
Album Review: Feskarn – Ravens Way
Feskarn is a one man Folk/Pagan/Viking Metal band hailing from Uppsala, Sweden. The one man being Niklas Larsson along with new studio gear, Ibanez guitar, soundcard and upgraded software, he has created the album ‘Raven’s Way’ full of viking elements with throat singing, choirs, shaman drums and mouth harps. You can hear the influence from …
LIVE: Avatar Ages – ‘Age of Madness’ Review
The world has been missing out on quite a few things of late. Though perhaps not at the top of everyone’s list, for some people the loss of live music has been a real kick in the teeth. Whether it’s the social factor, the catharsis of loud music or just being in the proximity of …
Album Review: Eskobar rejuvenate and refresh the past with swaggering new album Chapter 2
Nordic groove masters, Eskobar, are a band that isn’t afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve – their debt to the Madchester era, The Stone Roses, Britpop and all things baggy is stated up front and without dissembling. But, as their string of emphatically groove-driven releases over this year has shown, they are no …
TRACK: Summer Heart’s ‘Good Together’: pristine dreampop announces new label home
SUMMER HEART, the dreampop recording alias of Swede David Alexander, has announced his signing for Icons Creating Evil Art with the release of a sweet and soaring new synthpop tune, “Good Together”. Take a listen below on our SoundCloud embed. Over the past near-decade that Summer Heart have been active as a proposition, David’s remained …
Track: Swedish Rockers GÅS Share Debut Release – Epitaph
Epitaph is the first track taking from the debut release by a new band from Sweden called GÅS. The release is a two track 7″ ‘Epitaph’ and ‘The North Wind Blew South’ Trippy psyche rock with guitars dripping in wah-wah, there’s a definite British 60/70s influence going on here. Twin lead guitars trade off in …
Marble Mammoth – ‘Have The Sun Lick Your Mind’: big Swedish rock shapes
COMING atcha out of Stockholm, Marble Mammoth have an interesting thing goin’ on, mining in that space somewhere between harder edged psych and classic hard rock like Led Zep – with a line in big vocal uplift and dirty guitar solos. They’ve just released their very first utterances of 2020 in the shape of the …
Track: Eskobar – Hey Sister
I’ve mentioned before that there are limited stories to tell just as there are a finite set of musical notes to play. It’s not the story, it’s the way it’s told. It’s not the musical notes, it’s the way it’s played. The vital ingredient is the creativity. Swedish band Eskobar, in this vein, clearly acknowledge …
Track: Eskobar – Behind the Sun
Our favourite Swedish retro rockers Eskobar are back with another anthemic thundering single, ‘Behind the Sun’, off their forthcoming album ‘Chapter 2’. And what a jolly enjoyable cathartic piece of indie rock it is, with its fuzzy intro and cinematic entrance. Eskobar mix a studied insouciance with dedication to their craft. Crunchy guitars over a …