Pineforest Crunch
Country of origin:
Sweden
Type of music generally:
alternative pop/progressive rock
Status:
Most recent release, Panamarenko (2001)
See also:
Wikipedia's entry on Pineforest Crunch
Comparisons:
A noisier/crunchier The Sundays
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
This group sounds very much like a less ethereal, more rock than pop, The Sundays. In many ways it's mainstream alternapop. The singer's voice is good and doesn't compare badly with Harriet Wheeler's, and they're pretty good songwriters. Catchy. (Neile)Well, last week, I decided to see Pineforest Crunch at the Viper Room on their last show in the U.S. before heading back to Sweden. I love pop music but in their case, everything seemed too forced as if they labored over writing the perfect pop melody. As a result, the arrangements were convoluted and suffocating. Å Eklund's voice is pretty (Annifrid Lyngstad or Merril Bainbridge come to mind) but doesn't incite me to write anything else otherwise about it. They're on the more experimental side of Swedish indie-pop...
Their manager gave me their presskit and both of their releases—which I nearly anguished over the last week trying to get into. If you're a Swede-o-phile, they might be worth a listen. (9/98, thecritics@earthlink.net
Recommended first album:
Water Garden
Recordings:
- make believe (1996)
- Water Garden (1996)
- Panamarenko (2001)
make believe
Release info:
1996—Polar (Sweden)—531 169-2
Availability:
Sweden, Japan
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for fans of The Sundays style pop/rock
Group members:
Åsa Eklund—vocals, flute
Mats Lundgren—bass, mellotron, keyboards
Olle Söderström—guitars, vocals
Jonas Pettersson—guitars, clarinet
Mattias Olsson—drums, percussion
Guest artists:
Klas Gagge—cello on 5 tracks
Sara Stemme—cello on 2 tracks
Boel Hillerud—viola on 1 track
Erika Lundmark and Per Sporrong—violin on 1 track
Christina Wirdegren-Alin—cello on 1 track
Produced by:
Gunnar Mordén and Peter Kvint
Comments:
A nice collection of songs which strongly remind me of a crunchier The Sundays. Åsa Eklund has a powerful voice and the pop/rock sound on this one is pretty steady. (Neile)
Water Garden
Release info:
1996—Polar (Sweden)—539 496-2
Availability:
Sweden, Japan
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for fans of The Sundays style pop/rock
Group members:
Åsa Eklund—vocals, flute
Mats Lundgren—bass, mellotron, keyboards
Mattias Olsson—drums, percussion
Jonas Pettersson—electric guitar, slide guitar, clarinet, backing vocals
Olle Söderström—acoustic guitar, electric 12-string guitar, vocals
Guest artists:
Annika Schönning, Elisabeth Arnberg Ranmo, Joakim Wendel, Amus-Kerstin Andersson, Anette Westrand Lavotha, Karin Dungel, Ove Ranmo, Svein H. Martinsen, Christina Wirdegren Alen—strings
Produced by:
Jim Warren
Comments:
A more varied and mature sound than on make believe, Water Garden still is quite crunchy The Sundays-like. My favourite tracks on here are the two softer songs where Åsa Eklund and Olle Söderström's vocals shine: "Water These Flowers" and "Close". (Neile)
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