Levande Död - Ingen Framtid

Second release from Happiest Place this week is the second album from another set of Swedish outliers, Gothenburg four piece, Levande Död. You'll recall our eulogising of their debut, 2019's Upp Till Kramp, and on this latest set they continue down the same path of art punk catharsis they had previously mapped out so convincingly. It's a path that snakes a line through the psychodrama of both Pere Ubu and the Pixies, Violent Femmes' wiry country-gothic, and no little PJ Harvey intensity. The songwriting is slippery and elliptical, but also immediately accessible, too, the competing vocals full of impassioned hooks straight outta the classic alt. rock canon. And yet, as an English speaking listener, you can't help feeling you're only getting half the story. I'm assured by those with more agile language skills than mine that the lyrics here are a great and unique source of interest, oddly poetic and expressive. It's not hard to imagine, but sometimes you wanna know for sure, right (when nothing else is certain etc etc)? Time to get that phrase book out. Hej hjälp, jag är för evigt vilsen.