Bothnian Sea - Sound in quiet rooms

2024-04-09 07:00:15

Some things don’t need to be overthought. Fuzzorama Records decided Bothnian Sea after only hearing half a minute of their demo tape. This should hardly come as a surprise given the gripping musical qualities of the band, named after the Bottensee between Sweden and Finland, as the trio – like few others – manages to strike a nerve with its mix of stoner, fuzz, alternative and hard rock as well as Swedish lyrics meet. With „Sounds in quiet rooms“ The men from Stockholm are now landing their first album.

In fact, just a few seconds of the opener “Våg” are enough to fall in love with this band. The thicket of smooth stoner riffs, the high tempo and the sudden onset of the calm, sweet verses fit together. And then there is this fantastic, expressive voice that likes to venture into grunge territory, that puts so much emotion and dirt into every note and really inspires the effervescent chorus. Things get even better in the semi-balladic “I skuggan.” Bottenhavet seem to fall into the kitsch trap for a moment and yet manage to manage impressively. Here too, it is the rousing vocal performance that inspires a rather anonymous song.

The fact that the big finale “Hennes liv”, one of the best tracks on the album, follows immediately fits into the picture. Bottenhavet are putting on a lot of pressure and at the same time showing courage to take a gap. Small gaps in the song’s structure that belong exclusively to drums and bass are damn good before the pleasantly ponderous final act slowly rolls in. A few doors further on, “Bränn broar” first reveals a powerful drum roll before one of the clearest stoner fuzz confessions of the entire record follows. Heavyness galore, tasty reef walls and catchy heaviness are in the palm of your hand.

Between sheer force, powerful rock, a lot of feeling and thick walls of riffs, Bottenhavet have found their very own approach, which mixes classic stoner rock with 90s alternative and grunge sounds, combines some classic rock and – of course – a lot of fuzz, and is also one of the the best new voices of recent years are given the necessary freedom. “Ljud i tysta rum” is unusual in the best sense of the word and that is precisely why it is so powerful and so entertaining. You first have to listen to the special presentation and the Swedish lyrics, but Bottenhavet reward open ears with this statement from a first album.

Rating: 8/10

Available from: April 12, 2024
Available via: Fuzzorama Records (Bertus)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BottenhavetBand