This spring we have lived with MFMB, the Swedish colossus that made their return with their third album ”Sugar” and now the vinyl has finally arrived. It comes in printed hard innersleeve and beutiful transparent scarlet vinyl.
Artist: MFMB
Title: Sugar
Digital and vinyl release is out now
Order the vinyl: https://adrian-recordings.myshopify.com/products/mfmb-sugar-vinyl
Listen: https://li.sten.to/mfmb-sugar
Let’s make a long story short:
9 years, 1 month and 5 days later MFMB released the follow up to their acclaimed album ”Colossus”. It all kicked of Feb the 23 with the reptile like "Six-figure Income" as a pre-taste. Not as a single just a way of saying - Hey we’re back!. Complete with album announcement and a runner video from bassist Sebastian: https://youtu.be/PnDV2f2ajN8
"We debated back and forth whether to include this on the album. It doesn’t stick to the formula, it’s something else. Still very much MFMB, but perhaps more akin to our previous work. We decided to put it as the closer. The penultimate song on the album is a subtle piano anthem, an obvious closer. Six-Figure Income is some sort of opposite to that. It’s about capitalism, and it’s very angry.”
"MFMB are stylish, modern musicians. But, on Six-Figure Income they also let themselves be primitive, cavemen types. The kind that The Stooges like. It takes great intelligence, and a complete lack of it, to create this kind of sound. At its best, it’s a song that hits you right between the ears like someone wielding a baseball bat. There’s no reason you should like MFMB, just like you shouldn’t like The Stooges. But, you’re a better person if you do. "
March the 25th the album was released digitally, in full bloom.
The making of the album is a story in itself. ”Sugar" is seven years in the making. It has been a bumpy ride. The tours following ”Colossus" took their toll, leaving them in a state of internal friction - infighting basically. Then when it finally came time to work on Sugar, when it was decided the process of composing songs should be a completely democratic one, tensions increased further. They were not always the best of friends. Priorities changed. Members quit, then joined again. It was never easy. We believe you can hear it on the album, how every song is a result of differing opinions fighting it out until they landed. In the end, it's MFMB, but ringing purer than ever before.
"The group are key components of the Swedish underground, with their seven-piece line up engaged in serious cranium re-arranging thanks to their heady live shows.”
CLASH
CLASH
9/10
9/12
“The nine songs offer everything that makes the heart of alternative rock aficionados beat faster: From shredding, atmospheric guitars to a driving energy. Simply a good band and a good record!”
SLAM magazine
The Independent
Playlisted
Roisin O Connor
Then we watched 3 incredibly live videos.
Recorded at Studio Sickan, the same studio the album was recorded.
23 March:
”Harvest”
"A song about the fear of losing it all. Harvest established the specific kind of gloomy ambience that we wanted for the record as a whole. We’re very fond of the guitar solo in this one. Right at the end. It’s a nugget."
""Harvest" has a vocal line with deep and very emotive vocals, with a quiet cadence. But, the instrumentals of this MFMB song are dynamic, rocking, powerful, in a synergistic contradiction to the parsimony of the vocal lines."
"This song emits the same energy as a flickering iridescent light bulb in a dusty old closet of memories. Listening to “Harvest” as the light slowly creeps through your window is a truly euphoric experience. Closing my eyes after the fact made me see a mental visualizer of crops slowly growing and dissipating. If you happen to be looking for trippy, dark, and dope tunes, check out “Harvest” by MFMB."
7 April:
”Sugar”
"This one just kind of fell into place, all by itself. It was very early in the process of making the new album, and we thought that maybe the whole thing would be this easy. Just let the songs finish themselves, it’s a cakewalk! We were very wrong. Sugar did however set the standard (as well as the title) for the rest of the album.
It’s about the weight of existence and the deceptive allure of taking the easy way out."
It’s about the weight of existence and the deceptive allure of taking the easy way out."
21 April:
”Wanderlust”
"The doorbell at our studio plays a little melody whenever you open or close the door. We’ve heard it thousands of times, and eventually it found its way into a song, as the lead synth in Wanderlust. It was bound to happen sooner or later. The lyrics revolve around empty dive bars, the news of yesterday, and the things we forgot, or chose not to see.”
"One of the most melodic and straightforward numbers on the new album, Wanderlust is an expressive piece which provides a peek at the band's breadth."
DESTROY//EXIST
DESTROY//EXIST
5 May:
Next single was a brilliant edit of the album track "The Hippy Shake (To Earn Your Love)” together with an unreleased cover track of Broken Social Scene - Lover's Spit.
"The title is inspired by Hippy Hippy Shake, originally written by Chan Romero, later covered by many different artists during the 1960’s – The Beatles being one of them. The original is about dancing: “I can’t stand still / with the hippy hippy shakes / Ooh, get my thrills now / with the hippy hippy shake”. Our song, on the other hand, is about anxiety. “I’m trying my best / not to shake / the hippy hippy shake / I’m trying my best / not to let / my head eat me up”. It’s about feeling unworthy of love. It’s about the demons that prevent you from being the person you want to be.”
MFMB are also notorious for their blistering live performances. The combination of dual drummers and two lead singers has given the band a distinctly raw and visceral sound. That’s nice words but it do not make justice for the live shows they did the other week. If you ever get the chance to watch them live, you should take it.
Past dates:
19 May Stockholm, Hus 7
20 May Göteborg, Oceanen
21 May Malmö, Plan B
20 May Göteborg, Oceanen
21 May Malmö, Plan B
MFMB are:
Erik Nilsson (he/him) - drums
Vic Narin (they/them) - vocals
Joakim Lindberg (he/him) - guitars
Christine Björk (she/her) - vocals
Sebastian Hedberg (he/him) - bass
Kristoffer Bäckström (he/him) - drums
Sincerly
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