I could have sworn we’d featured seven-piece central Sweden-based Me & My Kites previously but seemingly not.
Their trademark is psychedelia crossed with traditional Swedish melancholia which somehow blends into what they describe as “hippie pop” with a 60s/70s flavour.
‘A safe trail’ is their fourth album, and has 14 tracks, a little too long to absorb tonight but I was immediately attracted to the second track, ‘With the sun in your eyes’, if for no other good reason than that in most parts of Europe you’ve got no choice in that matter right now.
It turned out to be a good choice. Fundamentally a jaunty, buoyant, catchy piano piece supplemented by a nice but brief and infrequent bit of slide guitar, there’s a short violin and flute led bridge which takes them off in another direction for a few moments and put me in mind of another progressive folk-rock band with psych influences, the US’ Arc Iris.
A quick listen tells me that the album has plenty of variety and occasionally dives deeply into the psych sphere, such as on ‘Pyskjuntan den IIIce’ (‘For each their own apocalypse’) while ‘Aurora’ is in the way of symphonic metal and the title track might be 1960s British pop duo Peter and Gordon.
And it’s great to hear a Mellotron in the mix, a favourite instrument of mine I thought had disappeared these last few years but which I’m increasingly hearing again.
Me & My Kites are:
Petter Owen, drums; Mikael Lennholm, electric guitar and voice; Lisa Isaksson, voice and flute; Joel Öhlund, bass guitar and voice; Tove Rhodiner, Mellotron/drums; Agnes Nykäsenoja, violin and voice; David Svedmyr, piano, 12-stringed guitar and voice.
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meandmykites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meandmykites/
