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SXSW review: The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Gothenburg, Sweden, band the Soundtrack of Our Lives took the Esther’s Follies stage 23 minutes late for their midnight, early-morning Sunday set, but the resulting hot-blasts of classic rock ‘n’ roll were no joking matter. The building was filled to capacity with an international audience, many of which had traveled from Sweden and Denmark.
The band — lead vocalist Ebbot Lundberg, guitarist Ian Person, bassist Kalle Gustafsson-Jerneholm, keyboardist Martin Hederos, drummer Fredrik Sandsten and guitarist Mattias Bärjed — were in a fine form once they finished their impromptu, extended soundcheck. The band made up for lost time by forging a brilliant set of over-the-top rock songs. The band’s sound falls somewhere between swampy, stomping American southern rock and the Who’s 1960s’ mod-meets-rocker ear-pulverizing pop songs.
Vocalist Lundberg emerged while playing a skinny snake charmer’s horn during the band’s first song. He was comfortably dressed in an overflowing, exquisitely designed Eastern European shirt which appeared to match the band’s classic and carefree influences.
Nick Drake’s plaintive ballad “Fly” appeared toward the beginning of their set; except for the lyrics, the song was almost unrecognizable as the band put their own rock ‘n’ roll grit on the song’s primary melody and instrumentation. Meanwhile the band cushioned the rest of their set with predominately new songs from an album to be released in the fall.
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By localwristband
March 16, 2008 11:48 PM | Link to this
Amazing show and great venue, but after several songs I was about to leave because I wanted to see the end of the X show, but then Ebbot left the stage and sat down 2 seats from me in the front row and continued singing. Couldn’t leave then! Great performance and music.
By Buck Knuckle
March 18, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this
Hey readers, if you were at teh Spin/American Spirit afterparty at Smoke & Music, I was the hessian up front, feeling it hard, who at the end of their set decided it was best to break the audience/band barrier, grab the tambourine and shake-shake-shake. Anyone who has photos, do me a favor: gorgeousarmadapresents@gmail.com
please, send photos and I will reciprocate somehow.
By buck knuckle
March 18, 2008 4:24 PM | Link to this
If anyone was at the Soundtrack of Our Lives Saturday late night Spin/American Spirit party and got photos of the band with the random long-haired dude who decided to jump up on stage and play tambourine, please, PLEASE send them to:
gorgeousarmadapresents@gmail.com
myspace.com/gorgeousarmada
I’m trying to find new ways to both stoke out my bandmates and make my mother feel mortified . Thank you.
Buck Knuckle