Lowood

這是一支來自瑞典Stockholm的組合，由Therese Johansson和Kicki Halmos兩位女孩組成，08年認識了她們并且一直關注，2009年里這支組合也是過多的被瑞典人用搜索引擎搜索著,2009年3月25日樂隊發行了她們與Kristofer Astrom合作的首張專輯.Close to violence是一張情緒化的專輯,離別與渴望,破碎的夢與堅定的信念.Lowood的聲音有時顯得荒涼空洞,觸及著無形的空氣,穿過你的耳邊,深入骨髓,仿佛在鏡子里看到一個赤裸裸更脆弱的自己,但時而爆發出的聲音卻帶給你支撐的力量和信念,在Therese清晰的吉它點綴和Kicki美妙的鍵盤旋律下,這兩位女子無疑譜寫了一段帶有空靈之美,發自內心律動的聲音. People are strange. We strive for harmony and communality during our lives, but time after time we end up in emotional turmoil and disconnection. It is sometimes frightening how much people can affect each other. In 2009, no one orchestrates the frantic search for connection better than Lowood from Stockholm, Sweden. Therese Johansson, the main figure and songwriter in Lowood, stems from the pensive but uneventful rural parts of middle Sweden, something which spawned both the creativity and yearning that defines her and musical partner Kicki Halmos’ debut album. ‘Close To Violence’ tells of the leaving and of the longing that is as much connected with Smalltown, Sweden as the tribulation of complex affection. ‘Close To Violence’ is a cathartic pop album, a collection of songs which contrasts perfect musical harmony and minor key melodies with stories of imperfect relations. Therese Johansson has spared none of her personal reflections in the songs: fundamentally the debut album is a manifest of one defining, but crashed, love story. The songs on ‘Close To Violence’ resemble fragments that tell of love’s hope and failure, but are ultimately the chapter that closes the book on this part of her life. The fragility pierces, deep and forthright, and is sometimes so naked that it becomes almost overbearing. But Lowood don’t carry a message of resignation – there is no weakness here. Instead, the music and words convey hope and willpower between the lines. Lowood’s soundscapes are sometimes desolate and sparce, sometimes as impalpable and intangible as air, but occasionally burst with the force of conviction that resembles the electric legacy of pop’s eternals. Part Joy Division, part Red House Painters, part Low, part Stina Nordenstam, ‘Close To Violence’ is obviously a work by lovers of music of intense emotional charge. But Lowood’s musical language is in the true sense of the word their own. Therese Johanssons personal songwriting, sense of melody and unparalleled voice appears to have been made for the sort of introspective pop music and expression that has become a necessity in her life. Therese and Kicki effortlessly complete each other, and with Therese’s crisp guitar adorned by Kicki’s lush keyboard melodies, this album is a masterwork of ethereal but jagged beauty. While having a base in unadulterated, vaporous pop music, Lowood travels effortlessly between genres and sometimes keeps unorthodox company – especially on the live circuit. During the last two years, Therese and Kicki have played a plethora of solo gigs in every different kind of venue you can think of, from café’s to rock clubs to huge festivals. Lowood masters Bruce Springsteen celebratory concerts just as easy as the live company of such different acts as Tiger Lou, Asha Ali, Kristoffer Åström and even the post-metal juggernaut of Cult Of Luna, which brought Lowood along for a European tour in 2008. It seems everyone, despite mundane genre limitations, is inspired by Lowood’s nerve. “We’re all in this now”, Therese Johansson sings in ‘You’re no different’. And just like that our determination to try again connects. Suddenly we feel the urge to go out there, to repair what has been broken. While Therese whispers softly in our ears, ‘Close To Violence’ makes us understand. /Jesper Liveröd