Year : 2021
Style : Hard Rock
Country : Australia
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 128 mb
Bio:
Hard rockin' outfit based in Melbourne, Australia.Existing originally in the first half of the first decade of this century, the Melbourne band, formed by Taswegian brothers Van and Cal Walker, played - and are about to play again - a varied and richly toned high-energy sound that mixed classic Bon era -AC/DC with early 70’s Flamin’ Groovies and Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, with the occasional bit of the Sex Pistols and Stiff Little Fingers for good measure.Van and Cal Walker’s unsung early 2000’s high-energy outfit Swedish Magazines return with a new best of collection entitled “I Wish Life Could Be…”, to be released on LP, CD (with bonus live tracks recorded by 3PBS-FM in 2005) and digitally. The collection will be released in November - exact date to be announced once vinyl arrival date is confirmed – but in the meantime they’re releasing the digital single “Bottles & Barstools”.Conceived in 2000 when Taswegian brothers Van and Cal traversed Bass Strait in search of their rock’n’roll dreams, Swedish Magazines hold a middle spot in an esteemed Melbourne punk rock’n’roll lineage that includes the Cosmic Psychos and the Powder Monkeys and Amyl & the Sniffers and Civic. They blew away every other band in town back in the day but were ultimately too real to catch a ride on the worldwide post-Y2K new rock explosion that brought up the likes of Jet and the White Stripes. They were too busy having fun to get their act together quicky enough anyway. They released one brilliant album - “Eat More Baby!” - that stalled out of the gates in 2006, and then broke up. They got back together with a different line-up and new album in 2011, but by then Van and Cal were also working on different projects and in more rootsy styles. Indeed, Van’s fledgling solo career had already produced several albums and received the acclaim of reviewers and the odd music-loving AFL footballer alike. The Swedes faded again, only to appear for the occasional benefit show or memorial.Fast forward to now. 2020 saw Van’s career reaching new highs on the back of the acclaimed album “Ghosting” (voted #2 best album of the year by the readers of Rhythms mag ). In a good space, and with other band-based projects (including The Livingstone Daisies, which saw Van and Cal teaming with Liz Stringer and former Paul Kelly & The Messengers mainstay Michael Barclay; and The Heartbrokers, Van & Cal’s bluesy rock’n’roll combo, also featuring Melbourne blues/roots greats Jeff Lang, Ash Davies and Ezra Lee) having gone quiet, Van and Cal have decided 2021 is once again the year of the Swedes.Original members Anton Ruddick (lead guitar) and Tim Durkin (drums) are on board. New music has been written and at least partially recorded. And with a deal in place with long-standing Melbourne indie Rubber Records (The Casanovas, Even, Icecream Hands etc), the band have decided to bring new and old fans alike up to speed with a new best of collection – also their first ever vinyl release – entitled “I Wish Life Could Be…”The Swedish Magazines’ original sound was varied and richly toned high-energy sound that mixed classic Bon era-AC/DC with early 70’s Flamin’ Groovies and Sonic’s Rendezvous Band. With the occasional bit of the Sex Pistols and Stiff Little Fingers for good measure. The second incarnation of the band – that which produced the little-heard second album “Wino Havoc” in the midst of Van’s solo thing – made music in somewhat more pop-punky style (“… to suit our new drummer at the time,” says Van. “I couldn't be bothered trying to teach him our style; it was easier to write songs to his style, which is fast and busy, rather than rock’n’roll swing.”) But they still powered along like nobody’s business.An obvious highlight of Wino Havoc is now the band’s new single. The barrelling street-punk anthem “Bottles & Barstools” – its singalong chorus perhaps influenced from Van’s folk forays - should appeal to fans of Rancid and the Dropkick Murphys and is an unmistakable classic in that style. As should other tracks from the era including “You Never Wanted It” and “Think Tanks A Million”. These are great songs with great melodies and wry, literate lyrics – plenty for fans of Van’s solo work to love too.What will the reincarnated Swedes sound like? Only they know now, but we’ll find out soon, when they launch “Bottles & Barstools” with comeback shows in both Melbourne and Geelong.
Album:
Existing originally in the first half of the first decade of this century, Melbourne’s SWEDISH MAGAZINES were formed by Taswegian singer-songwriter guitarist Van Walker together with his brother Cal. They played — and are about to play again — a varied and richly toned high-energy sound that mixed classic Bon Scott era-AC/DC with early ’70s Flamin’ Groovies and Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, with the occasional bit of The Sex Pistols and maybe Stiff Little Fingers for good measure. Or something like that.They have great songs, a sick vocalist, and a hefty sound. In terms of contemporary comparisons, think Sweden’s Hellacopters with a bit more crazee and a lot more Oz Rock.Ahead of a new album to be recorded later in the year, the Swedish Magazines return from a decade long near-slumber to release their first ‘Best of’ titled ”I Wish Life Could Be… (Best Of 2004-2011)” and includes ‘Head on Ice’, the greatest Oz classic-rock songs of the 21st century (that you’ve probably never heard) alongside a handful of tracks.Main man Van Walker is the same Van Walker who is known in roots/folk circles as one of the finest singer-songwriters this country has to offer. His latest solo album ‘Ghosting’ on Green South Records has received universal raves and was voted No. 2 best album of the year by the readers of an Australian music mag, and he brings that lyricism and depth of soul and his great voice to his rock music as well.Brother Cal Walker is the same Cal Walker who played guitar in much-loved Melbourne outfit Tyrannamen, whose debut album in 2016 gained international acclaim with its “ragged garage nuggets and power-pop.”The Swedish Magazines kind of got caught up in that early 21st century rock resurgence. They had the briefest moment in the sun, but that tide turned before they even got warned up. Conceived in 2000 after Van and Cal left Tasmania for the golden shores of Melbourne — hot on the trail of heroes like The Powder Monkeys, in honor of whom they would later form a tribute band, just for the hell of it — they began as as a songwriting partnership between Van and guitarist Anton Ruddick.Brilliantly taking their name from the 1979 Iggy Pop classic Five Foot One, they earned a reputation and lived the life. They released an EP called What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Deadly, then their first album Eat More Baby, in 2005. (“Eat More Baby was Collingwood graffiti which I thought summed up the rampant king consumerism world we find ourselves in, as well as the fact the album was an extended version of the EP,” notes Van.) Regardless of reasons, the album stalled out of the gate, despite the obvious quality of Head On Ice and other highlights including Movin’ Shakin’ and should-be local anthem Girl From the Tote. The group — which also featured Tim Durkin on drums — called it quits soon after.Van again: “The band was so short-lived because we were forced to spend so much precious time and energy just trying to put the band together and find a drummer who could do the music justice. I’m a prolific writer of different styles of music so I had many other projects I wanted to do (still do!) and the Swedes was the first and most difficult.”Van Walker then fell into a solo career, releasing a succession of acoustic-based singer-songwriter records that contained much of the same spirit, and found himself a completely new audience. A brief Swedes reactivation with a new lineup produced another album, Wino Havoc.Highlights included the barreling anthem ‘Bottles & Barstools’ — boasting a Celtic feel perhaps gained from Van’s folk forays — You Never Wanted It and Think Tanks A Million. “The songs on Wino Havoc were written in a more pop punk style to suit our new drummer, Johnny,” recalls Van. “I couldn’t be bothered trying to teach him a new style, easier to write songs to his style, which is fast and busy, rather than rock’n’roll swing.” Van’s restlessness and insatiable appetite for making music kept him and Cal busy. Van kept the solo thing going, and other bands came and went, including The Livingstone Daisies (Big Star/Tom Petty-inspired, also featuring Cal, as well as local folk figure Liz Stringer, and former Paul Kelly & The Messengers mainstay Michael Barclay), and The Heartbrokers (bluesy rock ’n’ roll, with Cal again alongside Melbourne blues/roots greats Jeff Lang, Ashley Davies and Ezra Lee).Van puts it this way: “I think you could call it restlessness, but really it’s just the machine spins so much slowly than I do. I write and work at my own pace, which is a lot faster and more productive than the industry, so it’s actually put me out of step and, perhaps prolific and diverse creativity is a disadvantage in an industry which is not.” Cal also kept himself busy in much-loved popsters Tyrannamen, who had a bit of a similar vibe stylistically to Cal and Van’s occasional Reigning Sound tribute outfit The Reigning Men, who backed Reigning Sound main man and Memphis great Greg Cartwright when he played down under in 2015.Cal also frequently performed solo and in partnership with others, and played in other bands including Jemma & The Clifton Hillbillies and Go Go Sapien. Van’s solo career reached new levels in 2020 when, amid lockdown, he released his first album in a decade, Ghosting, which garnered much acclaim.With Van on the ascent, now it’s the Swedes’ turn for another crack. And with a deal in place and the original line-up back together and maybe, just maybe, the whiff of a new resurgence of rock in the wind, 2022 could be their year.
Line Up:
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Van Walker
Guitar – Anton Ruddick, Cal Walker
Bass – Cal Walker, Lachlan Rimes
Drums – Johnny Gibson, Tim Durkin
Tracklist:
01. Movin’ Shakin’
02. Ballbag Boogie
03. She’s Evil
04. Bottles & Barstools
05. You Never Wanted It
06. Girl from the Tote
07. Head on Ice
08. Think Tanx a Million
09. More to Life
10. Waves of Bering Strait
Tracks 1 to 3, plus 6 were first issued on the EP 'What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Deadly' , which was self-released on March 26th 2005
Tracks 1 to 3 & 6 were also issued along with track 7 on 'Eat More Baby', which was self-released in August 2005 via the Stealth Blonde Records imprint (STEALTH001)
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