A review of "Genom eld och vatten", a CD released by the Swedish band Sarek.
Is
this band actually named after Mr. Spock's father in Star Trek?
Unfortunately not. The band Sarek is named after the Sarek National Park in Sweden. Most of the band members come from Lapland, a county in northern Sweden, part of which is north of the Arctic circle. I'm not sure whether they ever visited Sarek, a pristine and dangerous wilderness area.
"Genom eld och vatten" (Through fire and water) was Sarek's debute album, released in 2003. They had participated in the major Swedish music contest Melodifestivalen, been dissed by the press, but the common people outside Stockholm's celebrity district liked them anyway. The reason: their suggestive blend of folk music and pop music. Such combinations are always a winning concept in Sweden, another and more "heavier" example being the duo Nordman.
To someone used to American chart music, Sarek is probably tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment. This is about as far as you can get from Britney Spears, Madonna or Michael Jackson. When Sarek realized that they had won a Melodifestivalen semi-finale, one of the band members blurted out: "I want to greet my OLD PARENTS in the VILLAGE BACK HOME". Not exactly a selling line, LOL.
As already mentioned, the songs on this album are pop tunes performed with the help of folk music instruments. I can't always make them out, but keyed fiddles and hurdy gurdies seem to be prominent. If you listen carefully, you might also hear mandolas, bouzokis and lutes. The lyrics are all in Swedish and sound extremely old-fashioned. Peasant weddings, peasant dances, peasant weddings, Bellman, more peasant weddings... Will these girls ever get married, I wonder? The songs have titles such as "Winterland", "Midsummer Time" and "Cowslip Garland". (Come again?)
Even I have difficulty listening to *all* of this album. The songs sound weirdly similar, and strangely monotonous. Still, Sarek does have a certain innocent charm. I mean, Cowslip Garland???
I give them fours stars for having boldly gone where no pop star has gone before!
Unfortunately not. The band Sarek is named after the Sarek National Park in Sweden. Most of the band members come from Lapland, a county in northern Sweden, part of which is north of the Arctic circle. I'm not sure whether they ever visited Sarek, a pristine and dangerous wilderness area.
"Genom eld och vatten" (Through fire and water) was Sarek's debute album, released in 2003. They had participated in the major Swedish music contest Melodifestivalen, been dissed by the press, but the common people outside Stockholm's celebrity district liked them anyway. The reason: their suggestive blend of folk music and pop music. Such combinations are always a winning concept in Sweden, another and more "heavier" example being the duo Nordman.
To someone used to American chart music, Sarek is probably tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment. This is about as far as you can get from Britney Spears, Madonna or Michael Jackson. When Sarek realized that they had won a Melodifestivalen semi-finale, one of the band members blurted out: "I want to greet my OLD PARENTS in the VILLAGE BACK HOME". Not exactly a selling line, LOL.
As already mentioned, the songs on this album are pop tunes performed with the help of folk music instruments. I can't always make them out, but keyed fiddles and hurdy gurdies seem to be prominent. If you listen carefully, you might also hear mandolas, bouzokis and lutes. The lyrics are all in Swedish and sound extremely old-fashioned. Peasant weddings, peasant dances, peasant weddings, Bellman, more peasant weddings... Will these girls ever get married, I wonder? The songs have titles such as "Winterland", "Midsummer Time" and "Cowslip Garland". (Come again?)
Even I have difficulty listening to *all* of this album. The songs sound weirdly similar, and strangely monotonous. Still, Sarek does have a certain innocent charm. I mean, Cowslip Garland???
I give them fours stars for having boldly gone where no pop star has gone before!
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