By John Armstrong, Rock At Night Manchester
Review: In Deed’s album Everest-Release date for Cargo Records-March 30, 2018
Sixteen years on from their previous album, Swedish power-pop-janglers In Deed return with a new long player and are touring the UK playing live. The new album catches In Deed in top form.
The core of In Deed is the vocals of Linda Karslberg, Richard Öhrn’s guitars and Marcus Segersvärd’s percussion, filled out to a five piece with Johan Helander (guitar/keyboard) and Jens Siilakka (bass guitar) added into their live manifestation.
The sound is pure, melody driven guitar pop, female lead vocals bring instant comparison with The Primitives, The Darling Buds and The Popguns; yet there is more and the Madchester swagger is evident as a musical undercurrent and melancholic Nordic Noir seeps through the lyrics over the high energy jangle.
From their home in the university city Uppsala – a short distance north of Stockholm – In Deed are making their first UK tour, stopping off in the three capitals of song; Manchester, Liverpool and London. Their self-confessed Britpop tendencies suggest ‘Madchester’ as a spiritual home and their gig in the Northern Quarter venue Aatma will be a musical homecoming.
‘What Once Was’ has silent 7&8’s ushering in anti-nostalgia “no use in looking back” as the melody ducks and turns.
‘Five Times A Day’s acoustic guitars and surf-salt flavoured backing vocals is the first left turn of the album adding dynamic texture at the first opportunity.
‘Holy Ground’ is slower, with a shimmering icicle sharp keyboard riff and melodic bass pulsing behind the classic Britpop stretched syllables and slowly picked arpeggio chords.
‘Don’t Need Don’t Care’ bright, elevated and cheerful with handclaps and vacuum gaps, a shining pop single about casting off unwanted affection.
‘Never Really Noticed’ is the most Primitives sounding tune in the bag with a huge driving stomping chorus.
‘Heart Attack’ is to be the next video, already in the can and awaiting release as I type – it stands poised, fading in with an atonal introduction and kicks into a harder tuneful guitar sound. It also screams ‘single’.
‘According To You’ opens with 12-string chimes and a Dylan-esque edge that brings The Byrds to mind, which is always a good thing.
‘Over And Over’ swirls like drifting flakes in a fuzz drenched snow-globe.
‘Song To You’ at only slightly over two minutes bursts and dies in the glory of its own short supernova.
‘Flavour Of The Month’ boasts an unexpected and joyously fast ska beat that defies the listener not to skank.
‘15 Minor Hours’ is the second major left turn, with hints of tango and flamenco (yes, there are castanets) in a dynamically evolving epic tune, it builds and dominates the second side of the album and at 5’39” it is going on for twice as long as many of the other songs presented here and still the fade comes too soon.
Everest is a confident, punchy, sparkling, classic pop album demanding radio play, British sounding, yet heavily laced with twists of exotica. Building on their critically acclaimed first album ‘At 4,000 Metres’ (from 2001), In Deed’s ‘Everest’ grows and reaches its full height of 8,848 metres. Take extra oxygen, it may induce excessive dancing.
Track list:
What Once Was
Five Times a Day
Holy Ground
Don’t Need Don’t Care
Never Really Noticed
Heart Attack
According To You
Over And Over
Song To You
Flavour Of The Month
15 Minor Hours
Everest is on Open Mind Records and was released in October 2017; it also gains a UK release via Cargo Records from 30th March 2018.
The download version is everywhere you would expect it to be as well as Bandcamp.
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