Greek Theatre ‘Lost Out At Sea’ (Sugarbush Records, 2015)

This is one of these albums that’s been hanging around a few months now and in the process getting a lot of rave notices from hither and thon in the process and it’s relatively easy to see why too, as given the chance and the exposure, it thoroughly gets under your skin.

Greek Theatre hail from Sweden and here take us on a questing voyage of discovery where we find meandering vestiges of psychedelic country type songs – the kind found on vintage classics such as “Notorious Byrd Brothers”, “The New Tweedy Brothers” and one or two others of a similar ilk, that appear to melt icy meadows down into free-flowing rivers of gold, and into flowering fields of sun-washed purple. It’s that kind of feeling! The various sound components can also spread their tentacles outwards and beyond into hushed murmurs that often recall some of the languid musings of ‘Summer ’68’-like Floydness. With such titles as ‘Frozen Highway’, ‘Was It A Dream’ and ‘Mountains Meet Ocean Sand’ the group seamlessly glides upon gossamer-delicate lyrical tapestries which shimmer and sparkle with each passing breath, everything flourishing in a fluid, diamond sharp wash of post-everything newness. And as they ride their dream-craft through the endless ebb and flow of constantly flowing waters they – as the musician navigators – appear to be in complete control. It is luxuriously dreamy, and even a little somnambulistic too at times yet the sonic splendour of such reverie is never complacent; the breezy buzz of clarinet and flute, alongside comforting undulations of pedal steel are aurally comforting, but lest we get too relaxed, are occasionally pierced and sometimes shattered by shards of invidious, brittle fuzztone. 

The Greek Theatre guys are clearly in the zone throughout, led by Sven Froberg and Fredrik Persson, with an able host of cohorts … including Ken Stringfellow (the Posies) who assists on keyboards during the excellent ‘Frozen Highway’. With two or three selections at least, more even, having that natural ability to sound something more than they are – by this I mean that they can really lift off and in doing so completely take your breath away – “Lost Out At Sea” is quite the modern revelatory spin, a sweet platter, expertly created and generously packed with softly glowing psyched-out reverberations.