“The Essential” ususally means that someone collects the best songs from earlier album releases. This is not the case with this album, which in fact is Fleet of Clay’s debut album, but fits in the sense that they have collected the best they have recorded during a few years an made an album out of it. And it also fits with respect to the quality of the songs, because it’s an impressive collection of songs.

The album contains 25 songs with music which first of all has it’s roots in the sixties and the beginning of the seventies. Pop, country, folk with vibes from bands like Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, Beatles, Kinks and others. It’s a classic production with few overdubs except the main instruments, the vocals and the choirs, and there’s plenty of pleasant guitars and good vocals. It’s a pearl of an album, and the song quality lasts all 25 tracks through, where they varies from classic sixties’ pop to cheeky country to fine-tuned folk pop without losing neither themselves nor the listener. There’s a kind of playful self-convidence on the album, that you would expect from a band that has released three or four albums already.

The men behind Fleet of Clay are the three brothers Knut, Erik and Karl Svanholm. Unfortunately they don’t seem to be that active with the band any longer; Knut is working with his band Lobst and their new album, and that’s as much as I know now. There is a Facebook page, though, and on Spotify you can listen to all songs. Here are two tracks:

Everyone Now
The Mist

Here’s a song by Rasmus Faber in collaboration with Syke’n’Sugarstarr, “We Go Oh”. The summer vibes, the fragrance of freedom and the catchy fotball choirs really got to me. The choirs are in fact “Linus Norda & five other guys drinking beer and singing” as they describe it. Beautiful video.

Rasmus Fabers hemsida –  på Facebook

Syke’n’Sugarstarrs hemsida – på Facebook

This summer One Two DIE Four released a single containing two songs with mainly acoustic arrangements. The idea is that these songs will be part of their next album, but then with full arrangements. Compared to their earlier album, which I wrote about last year, I think this is even better. It feels more full of life, playful and unique, and Pelle Jonsson gets more space to show what good singer he is, instead of being drenched by massive guitars and embedded into backing vocal harmonies. A great band that is getting better and better and I’m looking forward to their next album.

One Two DIE Four on Facebook – on Spotify – on Bandcamp

Tramps
Morning Story

Turn Off Your Television, one of my favourite bands from the blog, whom I have written about before, is on their way to release a new album with their special indie folk-pop. October 8th is the release day and I will get back to the album in a post later on. Here I’d like to show you a couple of songs they have uploaded as a taste of what’s coming. Today they released the video for the song “Coal Miners” and since before the single “Blanket of Shame” is out, two songs that promise a lot before the album release. Listen for yourself:

Turn Off Your Television’s site – on Facebook – on Bandcamp – on Spotify

Kim Vestin is a singer/songwriter who creates pop inspired by Tori Amos and Regina Spektor among others. She has a preference for long songs with a duration of 5-6 minutes, where she can slowly build up a song from the starting simple piano comp to the ending crescendo. Listen for yourself in the song here below, “The Cornered Fox”. More songs are available on her site, Facebook page or Reverbnation page.

The Cornered Fox