The duo Friska Viljor, Daniel Johansson and Joakim Sveningsson, are back and underway with their sixth album, to be released in May. They are tempting us here with the new single “In My Sofa I’m Safe”. The song is about parenthood and that aspect about leaving the old life behind. There’s undoubtely some energy left for the duo, because here they accelerate and cross the speed-limits, and you can sense frustration just as well as a pure joy of playing. The chorus is a virtual folk party explosion where we all dance until we fall over out of exhaustion. Well, you have to grab the opportunity while you can. It’s your turn to change the diapers soon.

Friska Viljor on Facebook – on Spotify – on Wimp

Friska Viljor relased their fourth album “The Beginning of the Beginning of the End” during spring. If I felt that the last album “New Beginnings” was a little more restrained than the previous “Tour de Hearts”, they are pretty much unleashed this time. Armed with horns and a range of instruments, it’s full speed ahead from the start.

It’s party, it’s sing-a-long, it’s dancing in the streets (yes, there’s even waltz), but also space for reflection and variation. Overall a positive album which touches my impression that this is their best album so far.

You can listen more on Spotify or on Soundcloud. You’ll also find them on Facebook. Here’s the starting track “Larionov”:

Larionov

Friska Viljor is back with a new album, “For New Beginnings”. i.e. they were already last fall, but for various reasons I didn’t get around writing about it then.

They say that the album is a new start where they have left the heartaches for stories about happiness, sorrow and hope and that musically they are heading for something different.

And yes, it can be noticed, it feels a bit more serious, a little deeper. I recognize their catchy folk pop, but it’s slightly restrained, the choirs aren’t that fat as on “Tour de Hearts” and in their jumps betweeen genres I can hear new influences.

Like I said, it’s as catchy as before, the melodies sticks and the characteristic vocals are in the front.

You can find Friska Viljor on their site or on Facebook. On Spotify you can listen to all their albums.

If I Die Now
Wohlwill Strasse

If I Die Now (live on MTV Home):

Last year Friska Viljor released their second album “Tour de Hearts” (Crying Bob Records), a wonderful album full of great melodies and warmth. In a way the band started out of pain and bitter change in 2005, as the two band members just had broken up from earlier relationships. They set out to speak about their feelings around this, through music.

And even if I feel the pain from the singer, in a way like an Axl Rose that has calmed down and started to sing in The Cure, this music feels upplifting for me. Great pop melodies, many times with a sing-a-long feeling, is given it’s own character with mandolins and a folk and acoustic feeling. But at the same time grand. Does that make any sense?

Well, anyway, you can listen to a couple of tracks from “Tour de Hearts” here and hopefully you’ll have the chance to see them live some day. If you want to listen more and talk to them, you can visit Friska Viljor on Myspace.

On and On
Old Man

Others about Friska Viljor and “Tour de Hearts”: Eaten By Monsters, Absolut Noise, Indierock.net (in portuguese)