Henry Morgan's Solokarriär
Memories
self-released
Henry Morgan's Solokarriär has been praised here at itsatrap.com before and that's no wonder: The project's namesake was not only a pirate and once the world's richest man but also a character in Klas Östergren's novel "Gentleman" where he played in a jazz band called Bear Quartet. So much for the intermusical connections...
HMS most recent EP seems to be combination of his own musical influences: Three songs of classic indiepop songwriting in somewhat 80-ish arrangements combined with a very "Swedish pop" sounding voice (especially on standout track "The waves"), and one acoustic folk song very much reminiscent of Bright Eyes. And while there's nothing wrong with showcasing one's musical influences, the EP would surely feel more compelling as a whole if it explored fewer musical directions. Unfortunately, we shouldn't get our hopes up for more consistent releases in the future: About a week ago Kristoffer, the man behind HMS, announced his project's breakup and that "he had to get away from music for a while." With this very promising EP in his back, that's truly a shame.
- Arnulf Köhncke
