Music Review: Dry So Long
The Swedish band’s self-titled release is a moody but fun mashup of blues, psychedelic rock and country music.
Dry So Long’s self-titled album artwork.
Dry So Long, a four-piece band from Sweden, makes no secret of drawing from 1960s music to create their signature Americana blend. What’s fascinating about this act is how they seem equally at ease with the moody psychedelic blues-rock side of the decade as well as its twangy country and polished countrypolitan sounds. Their self-titled album, which drops Friday, May 25, traverses a broad late-60s soundscape.
Building on such diverse influences could come off disjointed or as just an experiment in different styles, but the tight quartet manages to bring a cohesive sound to all seven tracks and a pleasant bittersweet aura throughout, no matter which 1960s legend they’re channeling on any given song.
The opening track “You’ll Be Mine” kicks off the album with a leisurely late-60s psychedelic mood, light fuzz and reverb-heavy vocals making everything sound hazy and dreamlike. Keyboardist Morgan Thomsen’s extended instrumental in the middle brings a jazzy atmosphere to it, enhanced by cymbal-heavy percussion.
“Ordinary Guy” shifts to a clean 60s pop-country sound that evokes Glen Campbell. Drummer Magnus Gränsmark demonstrates his versatility, changing up his style completely from the opening track. Despite the brighter sound, there’s a sweet melancholy to the melody and resignation in the lyrics: “I know everyone has gotta go / I was wrong and you were right / I’m just an ordinary guy.”
“Won’t Let Me Go” brings back the distortion and echo and an eerie guitar intro that calls to mind the Classics IV 1968 hit “Spooky.” The sultry sound contrasts with yet somehow complements the sweet, heartfelt lyrics: “I know your love for me is wider than the sea … and when I fall, I know you won’t let me go.”
Dry So Long. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Dry So Long uses “blues” prominently to describe their sound, and while that’s not the first term that comes to my mind listening to them, the track “Fire and Smoke” brings a swampy, bluesy feel to their psychedelic rock. Lead singer Mikael Gunnarsson’s vocals and Simon Wien’s electric guitar double up on the melody throughout, shades of Jimi Hendrix.
The record veers back into country music territory with the sentimental “You’re the Mountain,” which extols the virtues of a loved one through a series of playful metaphors: “You’re the first day of snowfall when you’re a kid / You’re the bread and you’re the wine / You’re two lovers who kiss on the train to Madrid / And you’re the moon high in the sky.” Plaintive pedal steel and a tinkling piano effect from the keyboards pile on the emotion. It’s one of those songs that makes you happy and gives you a lump in your throat at the same time.
In sharp contrast, the psychedelic “Bad Beat” brings a fun attitude and edge with a slightly Latin beat and bluesy guitar (again doubling the melody with the vocals) reminiscent of a Santana song. “It feels weird to be listening to this in daylight,” my wife remarked while it was on, and I knew exactly what she meant; many of the songs on the album are begging to be played in a dimly lit bar or basement, or while driving through the night.
The final track, “Back Again,” is the bluesiest of the bunch, while still providing plenty of atmospheric psychedelia with more of that hazy distortion and an extended, building instrumental interlude that takes you on a jazzy detour before returning to the blues beat where it started.
All too soon, this 60s-infused but wholly original album is over. Luckily, it’s the kind of record you want to put on repeat and bliss out to, so it won’t leave your ears for long.
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
