Review: The Perishers’ “Victorious”

Odds are you have never heard the Perishers and known exactly whom you were hearing. 

Two years ago, this fine Swedish ensemble released what was, in my opinion, one of the best albums of that year: “Let There Be Morning.”  Their music has been featured on TV shows and in commercials, but they have yet to break out in the United States with the level of success that they have acquired in their homeland.  It is time for this to be corrected. 

The good news is that “Victorious” is every bit as good as its predecessor.  The Perishers’ music is mellow.  I’d say they were Sweden’s answer to Coldplay, but frankly, too many bands today get falsely compared to Coldplay.  Plus, singer Ola Klüft sings in a more even, straightforward, almost deadpan manner, which is probably less polarizing than Chris Martin’s famously flexible falsetto. (For the record, I love all three Coldplay albums.)

I’d say they were Sweden’s answer to the Fray, but that would be giving the Fray a level of credit they really don’t deserve.  In fact, the Perishers deliver their smooth, mellow love songs with such artful earnestness and ease  that they make many other bands who get much more airplay look like hopeless hacks and poseurs.  Perhaps this delicate artistry is why the band has a boatload of credibility with indie hipsters.   

The Perishers’ sound is very organic; not overly produced or synthetic.  It almost sounds completely live.  The guitars are mostly acoustic.  The bass and drums  usually guide the way through these songs. It’s not unusual to hear the occasional slide guitar, organ  or banjo part for punctuation.

The stark, Michael Penn-esque “Never Bloom Again,” manages in just two minutes and 18 seconds to deliver the kind of chills many bands can’t deliver in five minutes.  Klüft sings, “Lightning struck, now it’s silent and dark. I’d like to try to light a candle, but for that I’d need a spark.”  With an eerie lightly strummed electric guitar chasing beneath these lines, along with a cool dose of Martin Gustafson’s keyboard atmosphere, these seemingly simple lyrics really pack a punch.  The more withdrawn and sparse the arrangements get, the eerier the Perishers get, like a band that may not see the sun as often as they’d like.

At the same time, however, there is a heavy dose of romanticism beneath these eloquent orchestrations.  Lyrically love and romance play a big part.  Don’t worry, it’s not the vacant, empty, hollow assembly line “baby, baby, baby,” assortment of love and romance.  It’s something much more real.  On “8AM Departure” for instance, Klüft suggests that his lover call in sick to work  so they can “make out all day and maybe take the dog for a walk, maybe have a picnic by the water, just sit there and talk.”    All the time, he’s lamenting that he has to take a flight, taking him far away from her.  It’s one of the more honest portrayals of love and longing, and the quest for ideal levels of domestic bliss that I’ve ever heard on a record. 

“Carefree” is the most upbeat track on the disc.  Imagine the jangly bounciness of some of the Smiths’ best work without Morrissey’s heavy-handed  “how sad am I” foppishly overdone operatic delivery, and you’ve got the picture.

The title track and “Is It Over Now” are both heavy-hooked tracks waiting to be picked up by some radio station willing to take a chance. 

On the biting “Almost Pretty,” Klüft compares a wedding to a funeral  and declares, “When the light’s just right, you’re almost pretty.”  It’s this dark core and frankness that make the Perishers a truly special band.   

If all this sounds interesting to you, pick up “Victorious” and discover one of the best bands waiting for the big time.  While you are at it, pick up “Let There Be Morning” as well and see if you don’t agree that that album’s main single, “Trouble Sleeping,” really was a missed hit.

Radio really needs to pay attention to bands like the Perishers.  This record is excellent.