Friska Viljor - Bravo Album Review

Friska Viljor
Bravo
Album Review

How do you think a band would sound if it decided that it would only write songs when drunk? Well, you can now find out. When two friends broke up with their girlfriends and found themselves in a rehearsal studio after some alcoholic succour and some street wandering, they started writing, and liked the results so much that they determined to keep the idea running.

There may be only so much heartache that can be mined in any band's lifecycle, but while it's here, it should be welcomed. Bravo is like some Libertines/ Kaiser Chiefs cross, so full is it of anthemic indie pop, like fellow Swedes the Shout Out Louds (or the Danish Figurines).

The sound of lost love is written through the songs, but it is not a depressing place to be - the sound of defiance comes through the lyrics, while the music, that throws in ukelele, accordion, trumpet and flugelhorn on top of the guitars and drums, like some rockier Beirut, is energetic and propulsive. Who knows if there could be a second album with the same spit and polish, but who cares? Bravo is a fantastic first album. Album of the week.

4.5/5

Mike Rea