The Perishers
Let There Be Morning
© 2005 The Perishers (067003038720)
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Equal parts sad, powerful, and inspirational songs, The Perisher's Let There Be Morning will knock you down, brush you off and put a band aid on the wound you just reopened.
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To most, nothing sounds more bleak than 4 hours of daylight a day during a 7 month snowcapped winter. For Sweden's, the Perishers, this is the driving force in creating stark, introspective and inspirational songs.
Raised in Umea, Sweden, two of the Perishers met as children in preschool. Growing up, they realized their mutual love for music, starting a band in 1997. Their first album, From Nothing to One, was released in Scandinavia and Japan on MNW/Nons records, with great response and tour dates in Scandinavia and Japan. Their second album, Let There Be Morning, was released in their homeland in 2003 and took the public by storm, topping radio and MTV charts, also sending them on tour with Snow Patrol. Let There be Morning, their first North American release, came out April 12 and has since received rave reviews.
..a band that can walk between rock and a soft place. (Let there Be) Morning is a lovely twilight trip... B+ ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"The dark days and frigid air of Scandinavia are nowhere to be found on this warm, lyrically illuminating disc of mellow, melodic pop from Sweden's newest bearer of good music."- PASTE
"Radiohead without the edge.." JANE 3 out of 4
"Like Coldplay trying not to wake up the neighbors..irresistible.- NEW
YORK TIMES
Ola Klüft - vocals, guitar
Martin Gustafson - keyboards, backing vocals
Pehr Åström - bass
Thomas Hedlund - drums
Slow down. And get lost in the world of The Perishers.
"It's very hard to write immediate songs," says the band's vocalist/ guitarist Ola Klüft. "We write songs that creep into you and stay there."
The Swedish band's American debut, Let There Be Morning, is a blend of emotional wandering, poetic insight and stark, yet inspirational surroundings. The twentysomething band members were raised in Umeå, Sweden, where the dark, snowcapped winters stretch from October to April. Surprisingly, the harsh weather has helped -- or rather, forced the band -- to find their collective muse.
"We live in a small town in Sweden, far away from where everything happens. In the north the winters are very, very long and cold and dark. It affects me a lot," says Klüft. "When you're happy, you don't have the time to write music because you're doing something else. When you're a little bit low and it's cold outside, that's when the inspiration comes."
Let There Be Morning reflects the surroundings perfectly. Swelling piano and delicate melodies cradle Klüft's soft, disarming vocals. His graceful interpretation of the world infiltrate listeners' hearts by tapping into everything from the desperate hope for the end of the workweek ("Weekends") to addressing the great beyond ("Let There Be Morning"), and of course, a few testaments to love.
Looking toward great, often gloomy, lyricists such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Neil Young for inspiration, Klüft nails universal themes on the lovelorn standouts "Sway," "My Heart" and "Trouble Sleeping." A bleak duet with Sarah Isaksson (Klüft's former vocal teacher) "Pills" is as raw and painful as it gets. And album-closer "Let There Be Morning" plays out like an epic farewell. But even with a melancholic outlook, there's always a glimmer of hope.
"We want people to ultimately find comfort in the songs," says Gustafson. "Even a song like 'Let There Be Morning,' which is about somebody who is about to die, is very hopeful because something better is waiting."
Klüft is also able to stir up intense emotions in a rather unique way. Since English isn't his first language, he's able to connect his music with listeners without fully putting his own heart on the line.
"I spend a lot of time writing lyrics," he says. "But it would be even harder for me to write in Swedish than English. It's so much easier to say 'I love you' than it is to say 'jag älskar dig,' which is 'I love you' in Swedish. I can't really explain it, but a lot of Swedish people feel that way. I can hide behind the English words in a way that I can't hide behind Swedish words."
Like anything worth enjoying, though, it took time to get to this point. And it hasn't been quick.
Klüft and Gustafson are lifelong friends, while the rest have been playing together in one form or another since 1997. But after years of recording demos and playing shows in their hometown -- and going to school and working to get by -- some members left their rural surroundings for various cities.
A record deal with Swedish label MNW/Nons in 2001 revitalized the band. Even though they hadn't rehearsed for months, they regrouped and recorded their debut disc, From Nothing To One. The album received solid reviews and the band successfully toured outside of Sweden, with stops in Norway, Holland and Taiwan. The Perishers then got to work on Let There Be Morning. But again time stepped in.
"We had more confidence with the second album, but we are a band that needs to have time. Since we know each other so well, making music comes fairly natural to us. But it still takes awhile for the songs to settle for us," says Klüft. "We try to be fast, but it's hard when you're not fast."
The praise for Let There Be Morning (released in their homeland in 2003) brought The Perishers to a new level. Major papers put band members on their "hip" lists, the "Let There Be Morning" video climbed the MTV charts and crowds at shows swelled. Now they hope to share their rekindled passion with the rest of the world.
"It will be great to finally get our music out everywhere, in the US, Asia, Europe," says Gustafson. "We just want everyone in the whole world to hear it."
reviews
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Lovely and mellow
author: Katherine GreenI hate when reviewers draw similarities between the band in question and others, but the reason I like The Perishers so very much is because they have similar songwriting elements to Coldplay and Travis. Very mellow sound, open but inventive accompaniments (with catchy hooks of their own), and the vocals are wonderful and soothing (current addictions are Trouble Sleeping and Pills).
Perfect
author: SuzeI picked this CD to fill out my order... Since then, it's grown into my favourite of the lot. It's wistful and catchy and a perfect bubble away from everything. Thanks!
Wow... Amazing....
author: CarlyI had no idea what to expect when I ordered this CD but it's soooo good! I can't possibly tell which is my favourite song, I love them all too much! So thanks CDBaby, for making it happen!!x
Wow... Amazing....
author: CarlyI had no idea what to expect when I ordered this CD but it's soooo good! I can't possibly tell which is my favourite song, I love them all too much! So thanks CDBaby, for making it happen!!x
brilliant
author: starThis is one of the most talented bands and best CD's I've ever heard. Listening to the CD straight through puts me in a sort of trance; yes, their music is -that- good.
Awsome CD
author: OmieWhy the hell didn't i hear this music on the radio here in the states? Sway is one of the most amazing songs i've ever heard, and the rest of the cd is solid. Definitely give it the thumbs up!
Mixed highs and lows
author: Ian BeckThis album is an album of highs and lows, both emotionally and quality of music-wise. On the one hand, Sway and a few other songs are nothing short of brilliant. On the other, there are some songs which I listened to once or twice, and now routinely skip when they come up. Well worth buying overall, but if not for Sway this album would only really merit three stars.
- author: CD Baby
Championing the subtle, celebrating the understated, undercurrent, underplayed and looking more towards the shadows than the light, the Perishers songs whisper to the heart like some remnant of a half forgotten dream, partially faded but tugging at your shirt tails. In the ballpark of Coldplay and Keane, embracing the dream pop and emo rock worlds, their subdued, charming songs vividly paint a black and white imagination. Where other bands exert energy being catchy and grabbing, these guys exert energy being emotional, reflective and fully exploring the internal life of every song, giving their album, "Let There Be Morning," a magical, entrancing quality. It's like that quantity versus quality comparison; here, you're going to find the latter.
A category unto themselves.
author: CHINASKIEach song tells its own story, and the mood of the songs is at times stark and nostalgic. It's just what I thought it'd be, all those things that make you sigh, laugh, cry, and just feel. This is moving music--the best kind.