Laike - Fången i Det Senaste (2014)

Laike started as the solo project of Christofer Ståhle, from Sweden. I completely fell under the charm of the first album, released in 2012 (read HERE my review, going with an interview with Christofer Ståhle). I discovered recently that the second Laike album was released in november 2014. It is called Fången i Det Senaste (which means Trapped in the Latest) and it is another marvel. What kind of music is it? We could say it's folk rock with roots in the 70' and elements of prog' and psychedelia. Christofer Ståhle composes, sings and plays the flute. And maybe this use of flute (and how it is played) explains with it's great expressivity and delicacy the richness and subtility of the atmospheres created. The songs really develops rich moods and feels, sometimes very quiet, sometimes more upbeat, very lively and joyous, often with a very subtle balance between slight melancholy and wonder (at least that's how I feel it...). The singing in swedish is very good and adds (at least to non swedish ears!) to the uniqueness of the music. There's also a nice use of piano (or Moog or Wurlitzer, Mellotron and stuff like that), clean guitars, drums and percussions plus some harp, violin, vibraphone, etc. but mostly flute, guitars, keys and drums, and singing. If you're into 70' folk / prog / psych rock Laike will sounds nicely familiar, but without never sounding boringly retro, it really has it's very special personnality, its own kind of melodies and moods (it's all about melodies and moods). The main difference between the first and this second album is that the new one is more a collective effort (with musicians from Lisa o piu and Me and my kites, among others) and sounds like it is. The songs are more complex and there's less parts with an introspective feel. Maybe some would regret the more mysterious and nearly mystical feel of the first album but I think it's great that the two albums are different, with a different global atmosphere and character. The new songs sounds enriched with more subtilities that you'll discover after a few listen, also it sounds, overall, more "positive", upbeat and groovy. I really love both albums, and hope the third one will bring another taste as well...

Very special and highly recommended stuff!

The Bandcamp page