Kristofer Åström – An Introduction To (2013)

Kristofer Åström has been around, both metaphorically and literally. His hardcore punk band Fireside was the first Swedish band to ever play the Lollapalooza Festival. In 1998, he was given a guitar, trust and studio time and has since released eight albums and several EPs under his own name. Spanning folk, country, pop and rock, these records explore both human relationships and, quoting his third album’s title, the condition of “northern blues”. Sometimes with Hidden Truck or The Rainaways next to his name, sometimes singing duets with musicians such as Britta Persson and Maria Taylor. Sometimes releasing two records within one year and sometimes disappearing for three years.

 His reply, An Introduction To, unhurriedly presents up to two songs off every one of his albums and two songs from his EPs. It is not the first time that Kristofer Åström appears on the cover of one of his records but it is the first time he looks directly at the listener as if to make sure that you pay close attention to this collection of songs. It is not a chronological journey: the record travels back and forth between the slow, vulnerable melancholy of 1998, the louder, more experimental sorrow of 2012 and every other shade of northern blues in between.