28 May 2013

Me & My Kites "Like a Dream Back Then" Review


Reviewed by Chris Sherman

The debut album by Me And My Kites, a new collective of Swedish musicians (notably, AnnaMy, Lisa Isaksson (Lisa O Piu), Mattias Gustavsson (Dungen/ Life on Earth)) led by David Svedmyr, has just been released via AAO.  While the download is readily available, the LP has been eluding me for the last few weeks, so good luck on your hunt for the time being! 
The band is named after Fuchsia’s 1971 underrated classic song of the same name, and that’s a great point of reference on this LP, and it would also sit along nicely with Kevin Ayers “Joy of a Toy”.  The songs are mostly acoustic based, with flutes and piano contributing lovely melodies, and mellotrons adding a darker atmosphere to the mostly breezy elements.  Overall, there is a very loose and dreamy feel here, and this is seemingly something that could be the soundtrack to your summer, perfect for those lazy days outside in the open. 
Opener “Back When I Came” begins in a grand sweeping fashion, before it dissolves into an early Floyd swirling organ freak-out with sounds floating in and out of the aural spectrum.  This segues right into the single “Was It Like A Dream”, sung by (I believe) the amazing Isaksson.  For me, the LP highlight might be “Caravello Parallelo”, with a winding groove of a bass, saxophone melodies and a beautiful Gilmour-esque lead guitar.
Again, this is well crafted psych folk and everything melts together, forming a lovely soundscape that you keep wanting to return to.  I really hope that this is not a one-off release, as I would love to hear more by these guys.

Editors note : there was a bit of competition to review this album as both Chris and myself totally flipped when we first heard it - couldn't agree more with everything Chris has to say here, and I also fully recommend that you check these guys out. A very special album.
Check out their facebook page here for music and links.

1 comment:

  1. Wow, the sample track is excellent! And the video is charming--those adorable freaks look like they're really enjoying themselves!!

    Hey Chris, the band just posted information for getting the LP on their FB page 23 minutes ago! They say:

    Hi everyone with a record player!
    If you would like to buy a Me and My Kites record then please send an e-mail with your adress to:
    meandmykites@gmail.com
    Prices are (with us posting them to you ):
    Vinyl: 150 SEK / 20 Euro
    CD (digipack): 100 SEK / 12 Euro

    ReplyDelete