Surunmaa – Wine, cigarettes & you

To me, this album, it’s one of the best this year. There are roughly twenty of them and then there’s a few others that almost made it. I wish they’d lied with the name of the album, Nine songs from the valley, and that there were more songs. It is the perfect length though, it leaves with a craving. Brains, flesh, frozen peas, wool clothings — whatever one tries to fill the void with. Me? I’m a bit partial to just listen to the whole CD all over again, but I won’t judge. Much.

After all, this song in particular makes me feel as if I have to put on the hat and scarf and find some rugged lothes and go out into the night, looking for a barrel to use as a make-shift fire. Like they do when they’re poor and cold in movies — I’ve never seen anyone do this here in Sweden but I’m a bit sheltered in some ways.

I didn’t feel this way in the summer when I saw Surunmaa live. Then with the rain outside and far too little people in the audience, it brought images of standing in doorways and jumping into puddles like a kid. The happy/sad tightrope and how it transforms to the current circumstances, I cannot love this more than I do. It’s downright impossible and so damn beautiful.

Surunmaa - “Cry Out”, performed in August at Tyrolen.

Surunmaa - Lay me down

My first exposure to these gentlemen (the lady in the band was absent) was this Saturday. On the schedule they were described as “tangopop” but folk is probably a bit closer. It was damn good though and today I’ve listened to their CD quite a few times.

The aptly named Nine Songs From the Valley — it contains nine songs after all — is beautiful from start to finish.