More than just an odd's n' sods gathering of B sides and outtakes, And The Swede's newest is a collection of extraordinary songs that fare equally as well as the lucky tunes that made the first album, and with similar stateliness.

 

Rediscovered by The Swede (Matthew Kohnle) in various states of completion on his aging 16 track recorder, these songs, some dating from as far back as 2002, were carefully revisited and completed for this project. The new album follows in the same vein of quiet desperation, solitude and melancholia that informs much of his work. The attention to detail and dynamics, as well as emotional heft is obvious here. The remarkable thing about a “Swede” song is that it is never just a tossed off affair, which would presumably be the case in an album of this sort. Not so. Every song is a universe unto itself, crafted and executed as a complex snapshot of a moment in life, ready to be appreciated on it's own terms and on it's own time.

 

Only it's creator has seen fit to relegate these songs to the sidelines, but we are lucky to have not lost them to time and neglect. From the heartbreaking and slightly dissonant opening chords and haunting flute melody that feature in opener "Frosted Over", we are aware that the road we are traveling will not give immediate cheap gratification, but rather something more important and rewarding; a place and a mood to come back to that invite repeated visitation.

 

You may find yourself reaching for this collection while driving down a quiet, lonely stretch of country highway, or while contemplating the desolation of an empty town at night, or perhaps lamenting a love that is no longer yours. The songs encapsulate irony and resignation, yes, but an undercurrent of something very different runs through each as well. One of my favorite moments is on the final track, "Rosewine".  After the storm of the song subsides, the delicate refrain “sweeter than rosewine” filters through the mix, bittersweet and yet hopeful, punctuating this amazing ride with a kind of lyrical shrug. Even if we don’t know exactly what it means, we’ve all felt it.

 

                                                                     -Joseph Russo

                                                                             June 2009