Under the direction of a certain Hull resident Tom Fish, Manchester based Swedish Magazines have released their new ep/mini-album (delete as appropriate) Worried Sick, on magnificent cassette via the brilliant DIY outfit, Alphaville Records. Fittingly, especially on further investigation, it was recorded in a bedsit on a laptop with, at least if the press release is to be believed, a suspiciously clean Firefox browsing history.
Essentially its this languid, almost spoken word vocal over accompanied by drones, synth stabs and what sounds like some kind of medicated, stripped back Stray Cats. It comes over as a lackadaisical, scuffed up and slowed down rockabilly. There’s something of the Mark E Smith in the lyrics, more whimsy than anger though as he takes on subjects such as Snooker, Michael Barrymore’s pool party and the like.
What really transpires as the EP unfolds is that something seedy is happening, from opening track Michael Poolside, and its winding guitar figures and 303 like handclaps, through the more straight up Erotic Art, to the Rock Lobster-like Ghost At The Party. Wig For The Cat takes it one step forward, with the Xylophone adding another level of strangeness to proceedings, while closer Big Break Remake sways from isolating to singalong in the space of a few lines.
Hauntological rockabilly says the press release. As much as I like to think of my own descriptive couplets, it hits the nail right on the head. As does damn good.
Get your hands on one of the cassettes, here
