Label: Dilettante Productions – tacit 100 10 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Numbered Country: Sweden Released: 9 Sept 2023 Genre: Jazz, Pop, Classical Style: Avant-garde Jazz, Bossa Nova, Contemporary Jazz, Art Rock, Avantgarde, Sunshine Pop
Stunning LP of Canterbury inspired art song that opens another portal in the Swedish underground.
One summer in the 80s sparrows all over the country simultaneously learned to peck through foil milk bottle tops seemingly overnight. In much the same way occasionally everyone in our corner of the internet seems to discover something at once (although, full disclosure, I think credit in this case is mostly due to Jed of Concentric Circles). That’s how it seems to have happened with the world of Petter Herbertsson - a Swedish librarian by day and cottage industry of crazily accomplished underground music by night. Here he is recording as Sternpost but he is also part of long running prog meets indie-pop group Testbild as well as numerous other projects and collaborations.
Ulrika sees him stretch out in a suite of almost too beautiful songs. Lush Drifting jazz chords on the piano and twinkling electronics back his world- weary voice. Occasionally a ghostly chorus of Disney backing vocals appears. Sleepytime harmonica, creamy electric guitar and beautifully subtle drumming play support. There are obvious references. He is clearly steeped in 70s uk jazz rock, kraut, elements of Swedish Progg and the microcosm of Aksak Maboul / Marc Hollander. But the ambitious streak in 80s/90s indie is there too, think David Sylvian’s Voice of the beehive, the High Llamas, I Trawl the Megahetz or late Stereolab. This record comes out of a very different Swedish scene to the Gothenburg free-folk revival (although Petter does, apparently, work in a library with, Sofie Herner of Neutral and Enhet För Fri Musik) but it contains the same sense of wide-eyed wonder and slightly hymnal quality that the best of that stuff has.
It’s easy to make a racket, close-mic your lunchbox, mumble your dream diary or hit go on an half-arsed ableton project, but music this crafted is rare and will stick with you. Really really beautiful work. (NM/NM)
Tracklist A1 Anamorfosen A2 Kanske A3 Detta alternativa segel A4 Dammig himmel A5 Kalksinter A6 Ögonblicket innan A7 Alla dagar försvann B1 Knappar B2 Ulrika har en bil B3 Ulrika tänker på regn B4 Stjärnsändare B5 Moln B6 Ekfras
