Petter Hillström and his Hillström & Billy released the fourth album a few weeks ago, “The Boy Who Caught the World”. The fourteen songs were recorded in a few days in Stockholm during 2011 and 2012, spontaneously, with passion, and simple, as they describe it. And that’s also how it feels in these songs that breathes even more of Americana and seventies’ vibes than the earlier albums. Listen to the starting track here below.

Hillström & Billys site – on Facebook – on Spotify

Making a Scar

Petter Hillström is back with his project Hillström & Billy’s third album, “All the Sprouts Bowed Their Heads”. And again he’s managed to create an album that grows each time I listen. This time it feels more low-voiced and ambient than before. The nice pop melodies are there, but first of all I notice a strong Americana influence like a thread through the album, further emphasized by the strands of banjo and steel guitar.

Listen below to some of the songs. The album is available on Spotify and on Wimp. Visit Hillström & Billy on Facebook.

Chasing Fireflies
Paper of Roses

The last couple of days I’ve been enjoying Hillström & Billy’s second full length album, “Outtakes and Remakes of Heartaches, which was released in July. It’s a record that has grown stronger and stronger everytime I’ve listened to it, and keeps doing so. If the debut album was good, this follow-up is brilliant.

The base is a nice retro-seventies sound from where he explores some soul, classic 70s-rock, ballads, 80’s pop and modern indie and more. The beatlesque feeling is there, 10 cc’s playfulness, grandness side by side with nakedness and a whole bunch of great melodies.

On the album members from Perssons pack, Hovet and Diamond Dogs participates. It’s only released on vinyl and also on the net of course.

You’ll find Hillström & Billy on his site and you can listen to the album on Spotify

It was hard to choose a couple of songs for this post, since all of them are great songs and have their own character, but in the end I selected these two:

What Times Become
It’s Over

Behind this bandname hides Petter Hillström, who released his debut album “Hillström & Billy” on the 10th of November. If you are one of those that have started using your old record player again, then this release is perfect for you since the physical release of the album is on vinyl.

“American roots music and British folk with a light twist of modern pop” Petter describes his music. A good description, although in my ears the pop influence is more than a light twist in many songs. I have no problem with that since these songs are really good pop songs, and also quite varying, with nice melodies and sometimes with a retro feeling. This together with the more folk based tracks makes the album very interesting. Below you can listen to a couple of songs.

If you’re in Stockholm tonight, I can recommend a visit to the live club Bara Unplugged where Hillström & Billy will perform together with Mårten Lärka and Kinski.

If You Don’t Come Home
Hard to Grasp

Visit Hillström & Billy on Myspace