Sweden: not a country known for its mild winters. "How can they know what it feels like when the cold wind blows?" ask Gothenburg band Seaweed Meadows on 'Ruins'. Although we mention Sweden and Swedish music regularly on the site, I for one have never been there, and I don't know that any of our other writers have either. We may think of rural areas; pine forests covered in snow, or the wildlife of the Arctic regions at the north of the country, or maybe even the summers with clean, fresh air in one of the places that's often considered to be incredibly environmentally conscious. In this video the band take us on a tour of Gothenburg's docks: an industrial area made of chunks of steel with ice floating in the sea and smoke pouring from vast chimneys. It's made even colder and bleaker being filmed in black and white.
This may be one side of Sweden that their tourist board aren't keen to plug, but, like every country, these places exist. As for the band? Well they boarded themselves inside the studio for the winter to make music, and that sounds like a much better option. 'Ruins' is a slightly pensive guitar-pop song that's been well produced and contains many of the hallmarks of Sweden's indie scene; great melodies, analogue instruments and traditional structures that hark back to the beat explosion, right through punk and indie to the modern day. There's a sadness to the lyrics that's amplified by the video. Sweden might not always be the wintry palace we see on postcards, but they sure know how to put together some good music.
Seaweed Meadows' website
For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter
contact@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment