| THE WORKS It is rare to come across a band that can straddle that vast canyon between serial debauch and fierce, exacting professionalism. The Works from Stockholm, Sweden, however are just such a band and they come over like young goggle-eyed virtuosos from some weird Scandinavian conservatoire where ergot, as well as hours of practice, is on the curriculum. How apt then that lead singer/guitarist Andreas began The Works with rhythm guitarist Martin while both were attending the Stockholm School of Music. Six years later (and after a couple of line-up changes) they've consolidated a quintet, all of whom are individually singer/songwriters who play many instruments, hence the depth and intricacy of their sound. Even drummer Johan, who possesses the clattering bombast of a Keith Moon, dedicated 2 whole years of his young life to studying drumming in Cuba. Musically they're saturated in many influences and yet there's something much bigger in there, something unnamable, some element that's hard-wired into their psychically-linked nervous systems. The Works are transcending their influences, becoming more themselves and no one else. Take the Nordic acid test and jack up on The Works. Guest musicians on this tasteful Swedish psychedelic pop rock classic includes Mattias Gustavsson, Reine Fiske and Johan Holmegaard from Dungen. |
