Labels: Simba
Review by: Mike Whelan
What is it with Sweden? For such a small country it certainly produces more than its own fair sharee of decent bands. From Starmarket to Fireside, and Buck to Kevlar, they’ve certainly managed to peg down a decent sound out there. And now Fireside’s Kristofer Astrom has just joined the list of great Swedish acts, in my opinion.
This release wouldn’t really fit in comfortably alongside the music of any of the other bands just mentioned. When with Fireside Mr Astrom is pushing the post-hardcore envelope, on his own he’s a much more mellow chap. “Plastered Confessions’ is a collection of acoustic love songs, and it’s very good. Sure, the tracks are all taken from existing albums (with the notable exception of Steve Earl cover, “Another Town’), but they’re all so well done it’s hard to imagine them not being together on the same record. From the banjo accompanied “Without Your Love’ to the simple plucking of “Go, Went, Gone,’ every song is great.
Fireside fans might feel justifiably confused listening to the EP, which is more Bob Dylan than Fugazi, but appreciating the release for what it is, essentially a side project, makes it stand out.
And it isn’t all acoustic strumming. “Leaving Song’ is as good a pop song as I’ve heard, while “The Old Man’s Meadow’ has a haunting epic-ness about it, while EP closer, “Another Town’ is worth the entrance fee alone.
If anyone needs a change from generic hardcore or repackaged emo, Kristofer Astrom could well be the end of summer tonic.