Review Summary: The best Swedish rock band you’ve never heard...
The Lost Poets are the best rock band out of Sweden you’ve never heard...
Dealing in all things dark and shadowy,
The Lost Poets inject a blues and sludge metal influence into their unique brand of stoner rock, making for a unique listening experience. At times, they resemble
Alice in Chains; at others,
Queens of the Stone Age; there are even hints of
Nick Cave and
Tool. In short, this is a band who are able to take their influences and meld them into something that sounds fresh, even though it’s still very clear where their inspirations lie.
Insubordia, their debut EP, opens with “Ode to K”, a stunning track that really sets the tone for what’s to come. The bluesy feel is apparent right from the get-go, while the distorted guitar adds to the heavy atmosphere. Vocalist/guitarist David Rosengren has said that the lyrics to the song are “essentially about a man selling his soul to the devil” and the music certainly reflects this. It’s a great choice for the lead single and it nicely sums up what the band have to offer.
Second track, “Lying Down” starts off sounding like something straight out of an
Electric Wizard record. The riffs are much heavier but the same sombre atmosphere permeates the song – something that is present throughout the album. “Die to Live” is the EP’s centrepiece, starting off on acoustic guitar before all hell breaks loose at the halfway point. This one is much bluesier and more groove-oriented in its heavier sections and shows that the group could become quite adept at pulling off longer songs if they chose to go in that direction in future. The title track rounds things off nicely (but is far from being the best song on the album), while “Inside the Cage” provides a fittingly haunting, minute-long epilogue to this dark affair.
Insubordia might be short but it does a more-than-adequate job of introducing the world to the twisted minds of
The Lost Poets. If you like your music gritty, grimy and lurking in the shadows,
Insubordia is made for you!
