Sweden’s young Svarta Stugan is one of the more adventurous bands around; we praised their debut EP for its refusal to follow formulas, and their follow-up continues in that worthy tradition. Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, these four tracks trace a protagonist’s path from sanity to madness and back again; but until one has played the EP all the way through, one has no idea of the direction in which it might be headed. This sense of disorientation allows one to feel the emotions of the protagonist, caught off guard by his own imaginings.
At first, one thinks, “oh, a nice winter EP!” We hear the sound of footsteps in snow, the entry of sweet, melodic guitars, the slow build of the bass. Ah, we’re back in familiar territory. Here come the friendly, twinkling synths. And now arrives the beat. We’re still hearing the footsteps, though, that’s a little odd. Surely he could take a break? But no, he walks right into the next song, where he – OH NO, THERE’S SINGING! “I’ll wait for you to say what’s real” sings the man, lost in the forest like Roger Waters on a bender. But it only lasts for two minutes (whew) before the next transition, this one to melodic metal. Then some nice improvised jazz trumpet on “Re-birth”. Is this insanity? It sounds like a narcotic haze, a stumble from phantasm to phantasm, chatting up the trees before collapsing in the briars. It’s the EP’s most uncompromising piece, and it’s fantastic. The timbre shifts to prog rock for the pensive finale, akin to Mike Oldfield in his experimental heyday.
With two successful EPs under their collective belt, it would seem that the time is right for Svarta Stugen to consider trying an album, most likely a concept album. Normally we would hesitate to recommend such a thing, because so many concept albums are overblown failures, but this band seems to have the imagination – and just enough restraint – to pull it off. We’re already looking forward to hearing the band’s First Big Statement. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 