Slim Loris - Future Echoes And Past Replays

By Sam Jeffery

Released May 19th, 2013

This week Swedish band Slim Loris release their second album, Future Echoes And Past Replays, and it's an album that showcases a band of immense talent and potential. With twelve tracks ranging from haunting ballads to stylish folk numbers it caters for a wide audience and should be superbly received.

It'd be a difficult task to definitively slap a genre tag onto Slim Loris; they are an eclectic blend of country and rock - with a sprinkling of pop - perhaps not dissimilar in some ways to Mumford And Sons. They certainly bear some resemblance to fellow Nordic musicians Of Monsters And Men, but the cool, chilling and distinct lead vocals of Matthias Cederstam stand in a league of their own.

The album addresses life's most poignant issues - love and the apparent loss that can be associated with it. It's a lyrically sublime collection of tracks, but it's the truly genuine and, I suppose, serene nature of Cederstam's voice that ripples across the sound waves.

In "Domestic" he declares "In your darkest hour you will find that I'm there to fight the battle out", whilst in"Head On The Floor" we're told "She brings beauty to my ordinary day, bringing life into an otherwise steady stream of hate". The vocals are deeply haunting and effortlessly genuine.

Throughout the album a variety of different instruments are introduced to good effect, helping to elicit a contradictory range of emotions. Banjos, fiddles and electric guitars add to the bumpy, folky tracks such as"Norah" and "Clean As A Whistle", whilst a lingering background organ rather chills the listener in "Awakening".

From the first cheery number, "Fear Of Flying", through to the heartfelt ballad "October In White" the listener is treated to a masterpiece of musicianship. Indeed when the album finishes it's difficult not to feel more than a little deflated that there's no more to gorge on. And what better critique is there than that?

It's my sincere hope that this album gets the exposure it so richly deserves. With a bit of luck Slim Loris should become a more permanent fixture in our musical lives.

4.5 / 5