There’s a lot of retro “classic rock” around these days. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I guess it’s more about the way it’s done. Sweden for some apparent reason seems to have been a hotbed for some quality bands like Blues Pills and Graveyard, whose interpretation of the late ‘60’s to early ‘70’s blues rock explosion have given a refreshing interpretation of an already classic era. So to Children Of The Sün and their first full length release “Flowers”. They base their beliefs off the Janis Joplin meets Jimi Hendrix vibe of Woodstock so there’s a certain expectation and interest.
The brief “Flowers (Intro)” is a pretty, Eastern flecked acoustic instrumental that’ll have you searching for the flowers and beads before “Her Game” which falls into a similar style as Blues Pills but with a stronger ‘60’s aesthetic. They create a very circular sound that, once in motion morphs into a Kinks meets Yardbirds stomp. A neat guitar break and a chorus that’s made for crowd participation benefits the track especially when they give the riff a little crank. Berglund Ekholm’s vocals display plenty of emotion and Anna Nilsson’s keyboards bring shades of The Small Faces’ “Itchycoo Park” on “Emmy”.
From here there’s more of a Led Zeppelin vibe than their stated influences suggest. There’s that sense of similarly with new bands like Greta Van Fleet who flog the Zep sound mercilessly, although there’s no denying the fact that this is one tight unit as they move into “Hard Workin Man” which is a Southern fuelled stomper that leans on Jimmy Page’s move into the style and the Lynyrd Skynyrd drenched slow burner of “Sunchild” with its’ strutting riff. The title track picks up from the intro and has lashings of Zeppelin’s folkier, introspective acoustic style and is very much the standout track.
Children Of The Sün aren’t the typical style we see coming through Ave Noctum. Having said that, this album is pretty tightly condensed. There’s nothing overblown and certainly no sense of self indulgence. “Flowers” is a solid release that’s nicely produced and displays some good performances. Do they run the risk of being just another retro band around at the moment? Time will tell. Worth a listen.
(7/10 Johnny Zed)
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