VIERAVIERZG

The Preacher & The Bear



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Elin Piel and Fredrik Pettersson started playing together in 2008. When deciding on their sound their diverse background in music somehow led them into the wonderful world of americana-, folk- and countrymusic.

Birds

In may of 2009 the Preacher & the Bear had their first show and it was then that Ebbot Lundberg (The Soundtrack of Our Lives) discovered the duos unique dynamic and melodies. Since then the Preacher & the Bear has had a continuous collaboration with Ebbot Lundberg and he is also one of the producers and additional musicians on the album. In spring 2010 Ebbot Lundberg played the Preacher & the Bear on Swedish radio. When asked to describe the band Ebbot Lundberg said that their music sounds like a mix between Nick Drake and early Simon and Garfunkel.

Deranged

The Storm Has Come.

That’s the title of Preacher and Bears upcoming second album. The album was released in February of 2013 raising the expectations on the Gothenburg folk pop duo.

Eat Some Beans

There’s been two years since they released their debut album “Suburban Island”, partly produced by the legendary Ebbot Lundberg from The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Since then Elin Piel and Fredrik Petterson have taken their time to really emerge as a band. The playfulness heard on their debut is still there but the band has sharpened their knives and taken on a more radical point of view. The messages are more a smack in the face than a slap at the wrist.

Better Times

Still there are some tracks that completely hit you in the heart with stories of love and longing.

VIERZG

Loosegoats

At LastFM

Sweden – a country where moose and bear greet each other.

And it produces a large amount of great bands.

Loosegoats is a Swedish lo-fi rock group formed in 1994 by Christian Kjellvander, Johan Hansson, Jens Löwius and Mårten Löfvander. They released their first mini CD, Small Lesbian Baseball Players, in May 1995.

Days Of Black (Nights Are Lights)

The group disbanded in 2001.

They reunited in 2009 for three gigs and released a new album in 2012.

By some standards it would be fair to call it a proper comeback. But when Loosegoats released their first album since 2001 it felt more like a reunion with a dear old friend.

Disdialogic

With “Ideas for to Travel Down Death’s Merry Road” Loosegoats starts exactly where they ended in 2001. The musical base is still alt-country and Americana. But the atmospheric soundscape is so packed with strong pop melodies that “Ideas for to Travel Down Death’s Merry Road” most of all is this year's best soundtrack to a trip down the highway.

Drift From The Tracks

So...get on your road trip.

VIER

Feeling a bit under pressure! Haven’t come across anything new and good recently. As much as I dislike the fact that I have to work, I always enjoy the time it takes me to drive to school. The joys of commuting – I really love driving my car ( I haven't got an electronic donkey yet) and listening to music.

After reading about their gig at the Haldern Pop bar last weekend, I checked out You say France & I Whistle – nice enough and I imagine seeing them live is heaps of fun, but to me they sound too much like Los Campesinos. Which in itself is not bad if you feel like jumping around to shrill female (and male) vocals, staccato guitars, electronic noise and musical bling-bling in the background. Don’t let song titles like ‘When lovers die’ mislead you – a lot of feel good party potential there.

Speaking of song titles, I’m also not too happy about the lyrics. It’s a Swedish indie band, and maybe I am prejudiced in some way ever since Friska Viljor spilled out some horrible lyrics, but but lines like ‘ I always want to fuck ‘cause there’s nothing wrong with my potency’ (Prom Queens) really turn me off. Even though songs like OMG prove that most of it is probably meant ironically. I like listening to songs that tell a story, have a message, deeper meaning. That’s why I find it difficult to listen to something that makes me want to pull my hair out.

Now, You say France & I Whistle’s happy tunes certainly relieve a lot of tension, and some exceptions to the rule like ‘Second thoughts’ are quite enjoyable. I don’t know why they just don’t sound right to me. Must have something to do with the fact that their music doesn’t seem to stick. And that it's not that original in terms of genre, Los Campesinos did quite a good job there already. Maybe it's also related to the time of year, I'll doublecheck soon, once winter is over.

Until then I keep listening to the brilliant Frank Turner to cheer me up. And beware, I am planning on doing a huge feature of him some time soon!

PS: If you have a spare ticket to one of their shows, I wouldn't mind seeing them live, tho!