Swedish band ME AND MY KITES was formed in 2012, and in May 2013 their debut album “Like a Dream Back Then” was released on the Fonogram label. Just a few months later they joined the roster of artists who cooperate with specialty UK label Fruits de Mer Records, and released a nameless vinyl single on their sublabel Regal Crabomophone in August 2013.

The A side of that single consist of one song, The Band, originally released by UK band Fuchsia almost two generations ago. In the guise of Me and My Kites this comes across as a fairly elaborate construction with a basis in folk music somewhere, sporting a fairly compact guitar driven verse with gentle light toned and acoustic guitars in the driving seat, with strings, symphonic backdrops and a generally more untamed chorus part in a markedly different arrangement. One might also note that original composer Tony Durant opted to contribute lead vocals for this cover version, which does give it a rather firm mark of approval I surmise.

The B side is filled with Me and My Kites original compositions Isis’ Adventure, another song with something of a folk music foundation to it, with a certain hippie inspired naive mood about it with wordless backing vocals and a gentle charm, nicely flavored with gentle Latin rhythms. Following a harp break midways the song then appears to take a backwards oriented travel towards the beginning, more or less, quite liberally laced with psychedelic effects for instrumentation and arrangements both. A charming affair overall that has a distinct sense of innocence to it.

Fans of late 60’s and early 70’s psychedelic rock with a foundation in folk music should feel right at home with this vinyl single. A certain fascination for the hippie movement in it’s most innocent guise won’t be out of place either, if my perceptions are correct, and I kind of suspect that those who swear to expressions such as flower power and make love, not war will be intrigued by this band and the material at hand here.

My rating: 80/100