Oh Sweden! Where would we be without your musical wit? Those long, dark evenings in Winter are creating a hot bed of musical innovation. The likes of Studio, The Radio Dept, Air France and This Is Head have rejuvenated my interest in all things pop. Let’s not beat about the bush here, a lot of the Swedish bands we rave about on TLOBF who have found themselves a home on Bandjo’s label Force Majeure or the more seasoned Sincerely Yours, Information or Service have both eyes set on the wonderful counter-culture and indie sound of late 80′s and early 90′s Brit-pop. It’s weird really, because as a country ourselves, the majority of the populous believe that nothing good, albeit musically, came out of the 80′s. Spandau Ballet and Level 42 seem to have done a good job of brainwashing people.

So, why am I rambling on about this? Well, the debut long-player from Force Majeure’s latest darlings Bandjo has landed right smack in my lug holes. You can’t play this record without the likes of early New Order, The Cure and, of more recent times, A Mountain of One, springing to mind. The latter doubly so with the prog-tinged pop melodies, flute and extended periods of instrumentals.

However, this isn’t to say that this record is a purely retro beast. There’s plenty of ideas and development to make you think that Bandjo do, in fact, have their own ideas. The Pink Floyd-esque ‘There Is Time’ with it’s spiralling intro and prog guitars meanders and betrays the idea that this duo are just a pop band. The spectral keyboards and solar drums echoing around your head as it kicks into life after 5-minutes. The 8-minute running time will also see to that…

The album even opens with an instrumental with ‘Sensu II’. In fact, when the vocals do kick in properly, and not just random chants, it’s a shock. The vocals are a deep, guttural rumble, that sometimes sit uncomfortably on the shiny, glowing music. And there’s the rub. This is what makes these guys such a promising band. They fuse this wonderfully light and heavenly music with a grumbling darkness. There’s hints of an unknown focus that drives their songs.

The wonderfully titled ‘Space Weather’ is probably the closest thing on this album that distils all their ideas into one song. There’s the sound of the solar-system filtered through a sparkling keyboard, the steady and lilting rhythm section that canters along, never over-exciting itself or aiming for something beyond its reach. Over all of this, gentle chanting floats… gently soothing you and washing away your troubles.

Bandjo: ‘You & The Sun’