Swedish band TOR PEDERS was formed back in 2007, and a few years later they had developed into a stable unit with a lot of things going their way. They recorded material for a debut album, and later on two additional tracks as well, and they also started to get concert request both at home in Sweden as well as abroad. They were at the point that a slight buzz had started going when, tragically, founding member Jonas Redmo dies in a car accident in 2011. Tor Peders ceased to exist at that point, but thanks to the perseverance and patience of Keith Jones the legacy of this talented band have now been preserved and documented for posterity with the release of  “Brev Fran Ederstorp” on Fruits de Mer‘ sublabel Regal Crabomophone, the full length vinyl album Tor Peders recorded back in 2011, and with a bonus single consisting of the two tracks recorded by the band in their final studio session.

While this album was recorded fairly recently, the overall sound and atmosphere is one that has lo-fi and vintage written all over it. This sounds like an album that might have been recorded back in 1974 or thereabouts and then forgotten about for the next 40 years. This isn’t limited to the technical aspects of it either, as Tor Peders brand of psychedelic and progressive instrumental rock sounds just as vintage as the recording quality and production. I suspect that just about anyone encountering this production will be rather surprised that we’re dealing with an album from 2011 rather than the early 70’s, as just about all aspects of this production spells out vintage in tall, bold letters.

Guitar and organ combinations alternating with guitar and electric piano constructions is the bread and butter of Tor Peders sound, and the band showcase just how different music described in this general manner can be. The most dramatically different songs is the opener Aye Makami, surf rock The Shadows style but much more intense and psychedelic in sound and expression with words like energetic and majestic slotting in smoothly besides words like fun and uplifting. The other extreme is documented quite nicely on Incident vid Domstad, which may be described as a vintage space rock jam that develops from a loose, careful reverberating opening to a more forceful, high energy run prior to concluding on a gentler note again.

In between we have songs that explore an often psychedelic-tinged landscape where the guitar caters for the grater majority of the psychedelic features, accompanied by a generally majestic, forceful organ, although gentler escapades do occur also when the organ is utilized and not merely when the electric piano is given a go and then occasionally with more of a jazz-tinged expression at that. Personally I was more and more fascinated with the bass guitar on this album however, and an association that I got on Smafaglars Varn that stuck throughout the rest of this album was German band Eloy, and the Ocean era of that band in particular. Judging from the stated influences of Tor Peders this is probably accidental, but for me this association was so strong and distinct that it stuck, coloring my perception of this production rather profoundly.

Which is why I’ll conclude that Tor Peders one and only album “Brev Fran Ederstorp” is a production well worth checking out of you enjoy early 70’s psychedelic and progressive rock both, in particular those fond of guitar and organ driven instrumental varieties of that kind, and that fans of Ocean-era Eloy might just find this production to be an intriguing one following the initial two tracks as well.

My rating: 88/100