For over a decade the Swedish singer-songwriter Karl Larsson has been creating everything from frustrated emotional hardcore ballads to well-produced pop songs, without ever being distracted by current trends or passing fads. His band, the Last Days of April has been a reliable rock in the stormy waters of pop culture, and the solid fan base around the world is testament to the band’s musical commitment.
Their latest album, Might As Well Live (released in February 2007) fuses Larsson’s long-evolved melodic craftsmanship and emotionally charged lyrics with thick rock guitars. Recorded at the Gröndahl studio in November 2006 with help from the Grammy Award winning producer Pelle Gunnerfeldt (whose previous work includes The Hives and Sahara Hotnights), the album has the word airplay written all over it. Continue reading, take a listen and judge for yourself.
As always, Larsson is still firmly in charge of the recording process, but the involvement of other musicians such as Mathias Oldén from the band Logh and the hard-hitting drummer Fredrik Granberg from Swedish punk rock outfit Randy, hint at an obvious step towards a more classic rock band setting. Their contributions, along with Larsson’s increased amplifier volume make Might As Well Live the band’s most conventional rock-based album ever, although conceptually still related both to Angel Youth from 2000 (recently voted as one of ten essentials albums for heartbreak moments by the highly influential Alternative Press) and their previous album If You Lose It from 2004.
During the past few years Last Days of April has spent a considerable amount of time on the road, with up to a hundred live shows a year, including tours of Europe, Australia and Japan. Most of the big festivals such as Hultsfred, Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park, Livid and Southside/Hurricane, have been covered as well as being on the road as support act to major rock acts like Sportfreunde Stiller (Germany), Superjesus (Australia) and Fightstar (UK). Might As Well Live will also put the band on the road yet again in 2007, with extensive touring in Scandinavia, Europe, Japan, Australia and the band’s very first US tour.
The powerful combination of Karl Larsson’s poignant voice, catchy pop melodies and highly charged lyrics are also much in evidence on his solo album Pale As Milk released by Bad Taste Records in 2005.
Some people might have dismissed Last Days of April as another tired emo band due to their earlier association with Deep Elm Records, but clearly Karl Larsson has quietly been sharpening his pop sensibility into a pretty serious weapon.
Take a listen to Lost And Found from Might As Well Live by Last Days Of April.
Comments