Browsing Tag

Swedish Rock

The devil is in the debauched detail of Too Late To Run’s seminal alt-rock hit, Diablo

Posted on 3 December 2024

In their debut EP, Fake News, the outfit fated to become Sweden’s latest alt-rock powerhouse, Too Late To Run (TLTR), takes on the hypocrisy of world leaders and puppet news media with gritty distorted guitars and a subtle voice of sarcasm.

The standout single, Diablo, is a down-and-dirty cocktail of funk, scuzz, and playful punk panache that blasts past pastiche while harking back to acts like Eagles of Death Metal and Mike Patton, who avert cliché with their humorous and avant-garde spins on rock ‘n’ roll tropes. For a while, it has felt like rock has become a parody of itself—a trend perpetuated by artists with scarce awareness of how they’re weak effigies of their idols. But with Too Late To Run, you lock into the rolling rhythms and devil-may-care debauchery, instantly assured that every sonic sermon will leave you wanting to kneel at their eccentrically electric altar.

Born in the UK, songwriter, producer, lead vocalist, and band founder LEA says of the album, “Many people are feeling powerless right now, and these songs are the best way I know to get my own voice heard and try to make a difference.”

Diablo is now available to stream and download via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fill your cup with the frenetic furore that spills from the punk rock veins of Lex Maria’s single, Plague or Pain

Posted on 15 July 2023

Nestle into a riotous plague-pain dichotomy with the standout single from Lex Maria’s sophomore EP, Ghosts. The clamorously cold post-punk single, Plague or Pain, from the Swedish purveyors of angst-fuelled alternative rock, is a messily discordant hit that fans of Melvins, Pixies, and Sonic Youth shouldn’t need to be asked to listen to it twice.

The heavy down-tuned guitars paired with the pervasive air of self-reported sexual frustration and the Marilyn Manson-esque effect-laden spoken word verses create a strong sonic tonic which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if cacophonous catharsis is your poison, fill your cup with the frenetic furore that spills from the punk rock veins of Plague or Pain.

Ghosts was officially released on June 30; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

CLOUDS OF CLARITY took us ‘Back to Sanity’ with their pop-rock optimism-fuelling single.

Posted on 28 December 2022

Superficial Society by CLOUDS OF CLARITY

Lamenting modern times is easy, and truth-depicting snapshots have their place, but to fuel optimism while serotonin supplies are running low for everyone with the slightest view of the bigger picture, as CLOUDS OF CLARITY did with their single, Back to Sanity, is nothing short of exhilarating.

The soaring seminal single taken from the Swedish-based alt-rock band’s album, Superficial Society, comes with a euphoria guarantee. As the newly formed outfit deliver the funk, grooves and guitar riffs that are so out of this world they deserve their own Sci-Fi franchise, it’s impossible not to get caught up in the sanctum orchestrated by one of the most theatrically out-there outfits on any scene.

If any artist deserves the accolade of the 21st-century version of Queen, it is CLOUDS OF CLARITY. When histrionic flair is on par with lyrical intellectualism and juicy choruses that can spill light into the most melancholy souls, putting them on your playlists is the ultimate act of self-care.

Stream and download Back to Sanity on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sweden’s Ember Street created the ultimate anthem for the disillusioned age with ‘Searching’

Posted on 18 November 2022

Taken from their debut album, Arrival, Ember Street’s cutting-edge hard rock lead single, Searching, is an affirming anthem for our disillusioned age. With touches of Billy Talent and Highly Suspect to the vocals that spill across the crunchy guitars, anthemic drums and basslines that tightly fit into the frenetically hooky furore of Searching, Ember Street evidently have what it takes to become one of Sweden’s premier hard rock bands.

After getting their rock stripes in various projects, the four-piece utilised their money-can’t-buy synergy in the creation of their debut album, Arrival, which has been in the works for over a decade. Clearly not ones for instant gratification or half-baked hits, Ember Street is one that many rock fans will want to walk down to get their heart-in-throat hard-rock fills.

The official lyric video premiered on November 4th; watch it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast