US & THEM – The Lights and the Shadow – review

US & THEM – The Lights and the Shadow – review
Fruits de Mer

Acid folk duo, Us And Them, have peeked out from Sweden with their fourth studio album, “The Lights and the Shadow”.

Do I love it? Not so much. Love is a big word and one that is used far too much. Do I like it? Absolutely.

Tis the fourth album from experimental prog-folk duo, Britt Ronnholm and Anders Hakason and, to no-ones surprise, sounds a bit like their other records. So if you liked their previous psych tinged offerings, then there is nothing here that will cause you to demand reparations from Sweden.

If anything, I would say it’s even more ambient than their previous recordings, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s an ambient thing. But there’s a reason they renamed zolpidem, so you really need to top yourself up with some caffeine like substance, if this isn’t your first choice of listening experiences. I would recommend something but my parole officer advises otherwise.

I like it best when they veer more towards the actual folk side of things so my favourite track is probably ‘Around The Maypole (Once Again)’. It’s got some really lovely guitar work on it and a delightful melody. Of the more experimental numbers, I am fond of ‘Me And The Ones Before Me’, which threatens to become dissonant but pulls itself back from the edge, just in time.

Doubtless, I won’t be the first (or the last) to say that their more contemporary sounding tunes have a Midlakey feel to them. Can we call Midlake feely type songs contemporary? Hang on. Christ, no! I hadn’t realised it was over 20 years since their debut came out. Where did the time go? But a lot of the percussion and the fuzziness has that sort of vibe.

Because of the name I always expect them to be proggier than they actually are. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as I do like a nice melody. The kind of thing you can hum along to at laundry time. And there’s plenty of that here. Then, when it’s time to ignore the ironing, sit in a comfy chair, pop some headphones on, and lose yourself in the deeper moments.

Naturally, it’s sold out, so you may want to try their Bandcamp – https://usandthem2.bandcamp.com/ – 190 of your Swedish krona, at the time of writing.