JAG ÄR TIDEN

Jag Är Tiden is a laid-back three-song offering from Landberk, a Swedish group then in the middle of their five-year existence. This is the first music I've heard from them. I found them on freegal; as of this writing, these are the only three Landberk songs available on that platform.

In finding out more about the band, I saw two points repeatedly. The first is that Landberk's music is "dark." I don't really hear that on Jag Är Tiden, although maybe these three tracks aren't representative of the group's music. Or maybe it's the lyrics; the songs are sung in Swedish, of which I have no understanding. According to Google Translate, the title of the first song, "Jag Är Tiden" in Swedish means "I'm the Time" in English, while the third, "Du Där," means "You There." The English versions of these songs, from One Man Tell's Another (1994) are titled "Time" and "You Are." I'm not sure that there is an English version of the second song, "Marie & Anna" (on which the vocalist sings "Marie och Anna").

While I wouldn't use the term "dark," I agree that the sound here is melancholy; "Marie & Anna" in particular is a somber tune. "Jag Är Tiden" and "Du Där" are more lively, though certainly not upbeat. The three songs also have a somewhat relaxed feel, which is probably another reason that Jag Är Tiden seems somber yet not dark.

The second thing the internet taught me about Landberk is that the band was known for its use of the Mellotron. The keyboards on Jag Är Tiden are very understated; they didn't even register with me the first time I listened to it. They're definitely there, though primarily as an atmospheric or sweeting element. In fact, although there's only one guitarist on the EP (Motorpsycho collaborator Nils Reine Fiske), the secondary guitar parts are usually more audible than the synthesizers. I wonder whether Landberk was going for a more radio-friendly alternative sound in 1994 - - kind of like Rush - - rather than the big-keyboard sound of the prior decade.

Jag Är Tiden, while not grungy, must have sounded up-to-date in 1994; the rhythm section sounds like Stone Temple Pilots, or maybe Temple of the Dog. But throughout the EP, vocalist Patric Helje eschews the affected singing style that was popular among AOR groups in the mid-1990s. He has a strong, almost operatic voice. On the opening song, "Jag Är Tiden," he reminds me of Bono, but that's partly because the song itself sounds a bit like U2. The fairer comparison is probably Sting. In terms of alt-rockers of the period, Helje's style is similar to that of Eddie Vedder, but again, with less affect.

While all three tunes are solid and melodic, the strongest song here is "Marie & Anna." It's also the most Seattle-sounding song. Other than the chorus, it's strongly reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilots. But on the whole, Jag Är Tiden doesn't sound derivative, although I wouldn't characterize it as progressive. It perfectly fits the Prog Archives definition of three stars: good, but not essential.