There are times when one reads a press release in utter disbelief. I normally play the album before reading about it, so I am not affected by anything contained within, and while I was pretty sure this was not a late Sixties album and not British, I was convinced this was a brand-new psychedelic power pop album heavily influenced by The Beatles which was probably American. To discover this was a Swedish album recorded in 1993 but never released was something of a surprise, to say the least. This is the product of two men, multi-instrumentalist Klas Qvist playing most of the instruments and harmonizing together with his Agony Street co-founder, vocalist, producer Gudmundur Bragason, Apparently, this was the second Agony Street album, with the debut also not being released at the time. Both are going to be available on the band’s own label, and Qvist was also excited about the potential release of a third album before he died suddenly last year.

I am sure there were many reasons why this album was not released at the time, but that is a real shame as I am sure that given the excitement awarded to Traveling Wilburys this would have been greeted with open arms. I mean, there is even a perfect Beach Boys pastiche in “’39 Tank” which is a tongue-in-cheek homage to “Little Red Chevette”. For the most part though, this is solidly based in Carnaby Street era pop, and it is an absolute delight from start to finish. It is not meant to be taken seriously, it is looking back towards the Summer of Love after all, but instead is light hearted and full of fun. Fresh and light, this is an album which make the listener smile and sometimes that is exactly what is required.

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD9Z7pgzYX1GGIqkf20T62g