ASTR?M, KRISTOFER - Hard Times (Sealed) (LP)

For 20 years now, Kristofer ?str?m has embodied the unbroken popular Nordic songwriting from Sweden like no other. With his tenth album, the Swede returns to Northern Blues and once again presents his Scandinavian-melancholic version of the Americana genre. Right from the start, Hard Times tunes into a melancholic mood, which is carried throughout the entire length of the album without sacrificing dynamics. ?str?m masters the quiet as well as the loud sounds. Sometimes both in one song, see or listen to And Then She Moved On. And the Swede likes the repitative evocation, as he proves with the psychedelically rocking conclusion on Night Owl. ?str?m becomes touching in a different way on the songs on the bonus vinyl, which is included with the album in a limited 500 copies (and will be released digitally only later). Michelle, that is his wife's name. He played the song for her wedding ceremony and sounds accordingly hopeful and full of love. The album was recorded in the legendary Silence Studio in the Swedish Niemannsland, the forests of V?rmland.