INDIAN SUMMER

As Sinkadoten pointed out in his review, you might have to know the hardship of a yearly dark and snowy winter to capture the intense melancholy of Landberk and other Swedish acts. Well, I'm not sure if that's true, an unhappy childhood might do the trick as well :) Besides, even a sunny fellow like me adores them.

Right, Landberk have come quite a way in just a few years. Starting as a symphonic prog unit that rode on the waves of the Swedish prog revival, they turned into an innovative rock combo with strong Talk Talk influences that can be heard right from the opening seconds. Apart from an addiction to mellotrons and woolly trousers there's little here that betrays any of their traditional prog roots. Even on a long piece like All Around Me, the band sounds more like a 90's continuation of Joy Division then like anything heavy or prog.

The musicianship is very strong though. It's very laid-back and austere, Landberk never goes for big gestures but shines at understatement. The drums and bass have a solid presence and while they never dominate, they drive most songs forward. The vocals of Patric Helje are very melodious and sensitive, they sit somewhere inbetween Bono and Tom Yorke. Not a bad place to be really, especially as he stays clear of pop oriented melodies. The bright star in this unit must be Reine Fiske. His unique guitar playing always stands out and provides that craving and almost hesitating tone in Landberk's dim and bare sound.

The song writing is dazzling throughout but might not appeal to you if you're not into minor chords and desolate spaces. Of course it's highly recommended to all fans of Anekdoten, Joy Division, Talk Talk, Paatos, Morte Macabre and other cheery folks. 4.5 stars