MYRORNAS KRIG

Of all RIO bands heading from Sweden Myrbein probably is the hardest one on the ear, sounding like a grittier (but equally as amusing) Zamla Mammaz Manna during 'Familjesprickor'. Overall very experimental but with a good dose of offbeat and very scandinavian humor, with some really jerky music to reflect this. Very frantic and restless compositions backed up with some really solid musicianship, especially on tracks like "Kurt på Taket" and "Är du Förvirrad?", the music rarely stays in one place for long and the whole thing is really a rollercoaster ride. Occasional vocals are present, sung in Swedish with silly lyrics and confirms their humoristic sense. Parallels to bands like King Crimson, Samla Mammas Manna and Zappa are obvious but they still manage to do their own thing really well.

Not easy to find on CD these days due to it's limited distrubution, but their homepage allows you to download the whole album on mp3 legally for free in addition to bonus live material from the same sessions as this album was recorded. That also includes an excellent live performance of King Crimson's "Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Part II", who was added to the CD release as a bonus track. Fans of the RIO/Avant genre should definitely check this album out, not essential but excellent nevertheless.