Label: Crying Bob
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Honestly, it took me a while to figure out how to review this record. There wasn't much information readily available besides a brief bio (maybe I didn't dig deep enough, just being honest). Moll Flanders are a rock band from Sweden, and you could put them right into a slot next to The Hives, Interpol, etc. The aspects that hold the most value are the musical diversity in the album, Dylan-esque balladry, even some 60's baroque aspect, especially on "Could it be me?" They practically channel "She's not there" by The Zombies. That's my personal favorite track and I doubt I'll let this one slip through the cracks. It's one of those albums that one tends to share with their friends.
- Paul Bredenberg
Maybe the originality of their sound would make more sense to a local, but from where I live, this debut sounds like what might happen if a bunch of indie rockers got really drunk and fell into a time machine that took them to a 19th century sailing ship where they drank until they burst into song. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether they push their raucous folkiness too far will depend on your own boundaries. To these ears, they usually stop just short of the limit - as soon as I think "if they don't stop this right now I might have to skip to the next song" they stop and I enjoy myself again. Still, sitting through the whole thing isn't always easy. But then, I'm sober and I suspect this is music for live shows where everyone can sing along rather for than quiet moments alone.
- Nancy Baym
I've been studying the female vocalists of Scandinavia with increasing attention lately. My theory is that alot of Scandi gals have a knack for diving into classic genres and redefining them from the inside out, or at least giving an extra edge to styles that often seem watered down in the US. Few things excite me more than encountering a new female vocalist who's got that edge, and so the debut solo album by Lena Malmborg made me positively giddy. Malmborg, a bluesy singer/songwriter from the southern Swedish town of Värnamo, tells on her website of being influenced early on by Muddy Waters, and later discovering the Rolling Stones, Emmylou Harris and Dylan. But what's so cool about this album is that even though this potent combination of swing blues and gritty country is reminicent of names you probably know, Malmborg has a singular style that owes little to anyone else. Her voice is both a bit raspy and texturally intoxicating. Every line she delivers goes down like a fine whiskey--you wince just slightly, then you're increasingly warmed and enveloped by the obviously pure ingredients. This is an amazingly well-produced (Malmborg shared production chores with Daniel Johansson), energetically performed album. Striking just the right balance between edgy and smooth, Lena Malmborg's superb album is for me, one of the nicest surprises of the year so far.
- Kevin Renick
Moll Flanders