There are so many, shall we? Shall we dance around it all again, all those tall buildings with post-modernist baroque bits of clocktower, shall we dance around the architecture? Shall we try and keep up with all the demands and why haven’t you reviewed this yet? Did we say this last time? And the time before? Where were we? Catching up. Hey, too many albums not enough time, and (some of) these things do demand proper time and anyway, there was an art show to curate and battle with last week, putting on art exhibitions takes lots of draining time as well, and then there was the painting with EarthBall thing and prints to release and quit your moaning again, I know this one came out last whenever and should have been covered on these pages already, we’re running just to stand still here, here some more albums, another three that we cherry picked. You do know we only have time for the good ones don’t you?
Les Big Byrd – Ruin Everything (Chimp Limbs) – They had us won over with the very Hawkwind flavoured album opener Hökvind, not that they really need to win us over, the Stockholm band have always been worth keeping an ear and an eye on, this time though, this time they just might have taken things up a notch or two –
- “We all know what’s coming” sings Jocke Åhlund on Big Flood, the epic centrepiece to the fifth album from his band Les Big Byrd. The track reckons with Ragnarök, the Norse mythological prophecy of the apocalypse, which is fitting; Ruin Everything is informed by the world around it, and accordingly, it swirls with dystopian portent. The Stockholm stalwarts’ signature blend of psych and Krautrock remains as adventurous ever, as the four-piece confront death, desolation and a world on the brink”.
That opening piece of delicious forward movement that kicks off the Swedish band’s latest album really does have us standing on the runway waiting to take off (or maybe wondering about Valium Ten?). The four-piece who are Jocke Åhlund (Teddybears, Caesars) bassist Frans Johansson, keyboardist Christian Olsson and drummer Nino Keller have things nailed from the off, We have said this of the opening track already on these pages, we were rather looking forward to more on the strength of that rather excellent Hökvind flavoured first taste. Pleased to say Les Big Byrd haven’t let us down as they do indeed counterbalance a clean cut forward flow of experimental psych and space rock with some gorgeously clever straightforwardly crafted deliciously inviting richly rewarding pop songs that I’m already singing to myself as I walk down the street.
Opener Hökvind does indeed pulsate in just the right way, deliciously crisp guitars weaving along with the synth lines and yes, as Jocke Åhlund wryly notes, it does translate into English as Hawkwind. We’re not talking clone though, this is fresh, this is Les Big Byrd on their own flight rather than anybody else’s – there’s far too many Hawkwind clones around, this band are nowhere near being one of them. If anything then Les Big Byrd are a rather fine space rock flavoured psychedelic pop band who alongside the Hawk flavourings come with hints of those Dandy Warhols or our old friends the Brian Jonestown Massacre as well as a positive touch or two of Stone Roses and especially Mani’s much adored bass lines.
“Ruin Everything was recorded in Sollentuna in northern Stockholm, in a studio steeped in rich Swedish music history, meaning that fifty years of Swedish music history lingered in both the walls and the analogue equipment. As ever, Les Big Byrd aimed to ensure that the raw excitement of their live shows was palpable on Ruin Everything. “We wanted to capture a certain feeling we’ve had, something that’s wonderful about the band, four people playing together and what arises between us,” says Åhlund.
it does sound like it was a joyous album to make, something a little more than just a labour of love, it is all rather delicious, that word does keep coming up in terms of this review, it is a rather delicious album and I’ve happily had it on repeat for days and days now as I work here in the studio (they make great painting music).
Ruin Everything really is so so good to listen to: “I can never stop myself from writing melodies” explains Åhlund – he also talks of channelling Stereolab and the Swedish outfit Bob Hund (now there’s a name we haven’t thought about for sometime, Bob Hund got a lot of attention from us back there in the days of Organ as a printed zine), we probably should mention the poppy side of The Velvet Underground somewhere in this piece as well.
Great tunes, great melodies (did I say delicious already?), lyrics to properly pay attention to, when they’re singing in English that is, some of it is in Swedish and besides now knowing how to say Hawkwind in Swedish, I know nothing of the language. Hey, this is an excellent album, an uplifting album, a joyous hopeful bright sunny album that has a little more to explore when you want to dig in a little deeper – there’s a line borrowed from William Burroughs and what was that about Newport in ’65? And did that bit there sound a touch like a rather positive bit of Orchestral Manoeuvrers in The Dark or was it Flock Of Seagulls? Flock Of Seagulls aren’t afraid to nod in the direction of Hawkwind of course.
Crucial thing here is that all these elements, all these hints, all these flavours and all this name dropping of other bands we’re doing, the crucial thing here is Les Big Byrd, consciously or unconsciously, take those flavours and weave them into something new, something fresh, something that is very much of now and very much of them. Les Big Byrd have their own sound now, their own finger prints left all over this album and this is probably their finest album yet.
2026 marks fifteen years since Les Big Byrd’s debut single, The band describe Ruin Everything as “peak Les Big Byrd,” and as Åhlund puts it, “we’re late bloomers. It’s finally starting to look like something!” – He’s right, time to start really taking notice of this rather fine (rather delicious) band from Sweden. They’ve always been good but this is a serious step up….
Skerik – Skerik 061725 (Loosegroove) – Says here that “groundbreaking Seattle-based saxophonist Skerik delivers his first fully fledged ambient album in a 30-plus-year career”, he’s released it via Loosegroove Records, a label co-founded by Stone Gossard. The press release goes on to tell us “ambient music elements have long appeared throughout Skerik’s work, but here he fully embraces the approach across six tracks, using multi-dimensional, layered “saxophonics,” shaped by electronic effects, to create a dreamlike state of sonic texture and sound” and well yes, we’re here to explore Skerik’s here and now rather than the history or the back catalogue; “Skerik was first introduced to the genre through Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno, which his mother played around the house while he was growing up. Later, high school friend and now Loosegroove labelmate Keith Lowe introduced him to ECM Records and artists such as Eberhard Weber, deepening his connection to spacious, atmospheric composition…” and yes, this does explore spacious, atmospheric composition in a rather soothing relaxing uplifting quiet kind of way, without going anywhere we have been many (many) times before over the last two or three decades of people discovering Brian Eno or discovering those who discovered Brian Eno. if you’re in the right mind then this is rather beautiful in relaxed kind of way, it is very very easy to just have it flowing on the repeat in this glorious Spring sunshine. it is just easy going free flowing rather nice rather fluid rather rich slow moving easy on the ear organic ambient music, what more is there to say?
Mammal Hands – Circadia (ACT) – Norwich-based three piece with a rather forward looking rather progressive instrumental blend of clean cut jazz that comes flavoured with a something that tastes rather classical in a contemporary way as it takes on healthy hints of electronica and maybe just a tiny touch of slightly whimsical English folk. At times almost (but not quite) minimalist, certainly never anything near maximalist. Their sixth studio album so it seems, can’t comment on their past, this is all rather easy to listen to though, delightfully so; no rough edges, nothing too dangerous or demanding, all rather clever without the three of them ever needing to push how clever their chemistry is at us. All rather natural in the way it sounds, feels, flows and just works. You might almost call it mellow prog rock, you might even feel a touch of that Canterbury sound about it all – mellow, enjoyable, all rather nice…
THE ORGAN 