A look in the rearview mirror. -February 2015

February was great in regards of vinyl releases. Three of my absolute favourite SONGWRITERS all released new albums last month.

Steve Earle - Terraplane

It's only in recent years that I've discovered this brilliant man. Actually his amazing 2011 album "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive" was the first album I really listened to and I was sold instantly. Since then I've aqcuired his entire discography and he's grown to be one of my favourites and he's probably the one I've spun the most in the last few years.

Terraplane is a blues album so it's a bit different from some of his albums, even though there has always been a hint of the blues. A great album and an interesting one.

Thåström - Den Morronen

The greatest Swedish artist ever? Playing in Ebba Grön in the 70s and Imperiet in the 80s he's a living legend in Swedish music. But the question is if he hasn't produce the best music of his career the last 10-15 years? I think so. What he's done since "Det är ni som är dom konstiga..." has been nothing short of amazing (although the last album "Beväpna Dig Med Vingar" doesn't really do it for me the same way as the others...). "Den Morronen" follows in the footsteps of the last couple of albums but it's a step forward compared to the last album for me. 

Bob Dylan - Shadows In The Night

Nothing needs to be said about his Bobness, right!? On this record he "uncover" (his words) songs that was made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra. You wouldn't compare Dylan and Sinatra when it comes to vocals, would you? I really like the way Dylan approaches these songs and I think he makes great versions of them that really suits him. Great stuff!

2013, places 6-10.

6. Windhand - Soma
This album includes some of the coolest riffs of 2013. It's heavy and catchy doom with a finess and unlike Lumbar they really drag out riffs and songs which is a really cool thing! The closing track clocks in at over 30 minutes.







7. David Bowie - The Next Day
What a comeback!! This record exceeded all my expectations. I've already written about this album earlier when it was released.








8. The Body - Christs, Redeemers
This might be the most evil sounding record on the list. This album reeks of desperation from the first to the last second. You feel almost exhausted when you're done listening to it. I love the screaming vocals, I get the same feeling as I did when I heard Amenra for the first time last year.





9. Skogen Brinner - 1st
It's not often that I have these high hopes for a debut album. I'm not very good at discovering new bands early in their careers. I've got enough job to follow up all the albums that are released every year.

Skogen Brinner however, I've had the pleasure of following ever since they released their debut 7" "Pundarvarning", and after that the cassette EP "Fasornas Berg". On this record they presented five new songs and the other four are taken from the earlier releases. I wrote a blog post about this record earlier this year.


10. Steve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses) - The Low Highway
Over the last few years Steve Earle has grown to be one of my favourite artists. I really love his post-millenial stuff, which is a bit different than the stuff he did in the 80s for example.

The Low Highway is no exception. He continues on the more stripped down sound, to me it sounds more honest. There is a great variety of songs on this album, both up-tempo country songs and beautiful down-tempo songs. In this beautiful mix it's the slow songs that stands out. "The Low Highway", "Invisible" and "Remember Me" are some of the best songs of 2013.