At the beginning of this year I had, what can only be described as, the absolute pleasure to review the Hot EP by this young band from Sweden. I gave it a 9 out of 10 as I was so impressed and even stated in my review how much I was looking forward to reviewing the album once it was done.
Well, the album has now been completed and, as you can already see from the score I have given it, it’s an absolute stonker! But, to be fair, I already knew that would be the case!!
Formed in early 2017, the band hail from Lindesberg / Ӧbero in Sweden and is made up of the power trio of Markus Asland on bass and vocals, Niklas Jansson on guitar and Niklas Dahlgren on drums. Their own band notes state they play a “gritty and nostalgic fusion of classic rock and blues inspiration” and this just about sums them up perfectly.
I said in my review of the EP that the music enticed a “warm, fuzzy feeling of bliss and contentment” as you were transported back to the past and this album gives you that feeling once again….and more! Playing a mix of classic rock, blues and soul, this band is obviously heavily influenced by the sounds of the late 60’s/70’s era. And that is by no means a bad thing.
With groovy riffs, strong vocals (this guy’s voice is outstanding) and swinging drums, this is classic rock but with a modern twist. With a little bit of blues, a little bit of rock and killer guitars, these guys have nailed the sound of the 60’s/70’s with true musicianship.
With influences such as Jimi Hendrix, Free, Deep Purple, Grandfunk Railroad, Buddy Miles, Rory Gallagher and Spooky Tooth, they were always on to a winning formula, but they do it with a class that could easily put them up there with the best of the genre.
A quote from Classic Rock magazine regarding the EP stated that the music was “spewing embers of psychedelic wonder” and these guys would not have been out of place at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. They really are the perfect band to just chill out to.
Just like the EP the whole album was recorded live except for the vocals and solos and recording finished in just nine days! Something of an accomplishment!
When the EP was released Stew was an unsigned band (which was something of a sacrilege if you ask me as they should have been snapped up ages ago!) but I was extremely pleased to see that they have now been signed to Ripple Music and I know with the backing of a record label and the hard work they so obviously put into their music, this band will go places. They are still young and have many successful years ahead of them.
Its not very often I give a 10 out of 10, having only dished out a handful during my reviewing career, but this album certainly deserves it. In fact, it actually deserves an 11!
I am sooooo impressed with these guys that I am going to be following them very closely in the future and monitoring just how successful they are going to be. I am even going to recommend to Rick we add them to our “Bands We Follow” page on our site.
Keep up the good, no great, work guys and I hope to see you at a gig over here sometime! Now, THAT would just be the icing on the cake!
TRACKLISTING:
1 Intro
2 Right On Time
3 People
4 Newborn
5 Endless Journey
6 Play The Fool
7 Goddess
8 Afraid Of Getting Nowhere
9 Sweet And True
10 Fruits
11 Morning Again
Originally posted on Ever Metal