Swedish retro rockers, Children Of The Sun follow up their 2019 debut LP “Flowers” with another slice of late ‘60’s love culture worship in the shape of “Roots”. Taking inspiration from greats like Janis Joplin and fusing it up with contemporary acts like Rival Sons, theirs is a journey to a more peaceful and loving world; something we could all do with right now.
A trippy, gentle Led Zeppelin sound, almost “Stairway…” in style introduces the album on “Reflection”. Indeed, the vocals are quite similar to Zep worshippers Greta Van Fleet. A chunkier, more muscular opening riff on “Leaves” gives way to fluttering drums and soothing vocals from Josefina Berglund Ekholm. The opening tracks are full of keys led smoothness and there’s a smokiness to the overall sound and feel. Shades of fellow countrymen, Blues Pills abound although there’s not quite that level of energy. Thematically, they’ve set out their stall and a true breakout moment is still anticipated. Tracks like “Gaslighting” and “Roots” show off a more Janis Joplin meets Jefferson Airplane vibe with the latter reminding me of Grace Slick’s hypnotic, folksy delivery.
Just as there’s a concern that the album will be mired in a sameness, side two offers up a bit more variety. The “Norwegian Wood” styled acoustic guitar chime of “Man In The Moon” is charming before a more vocally raw delivery on “The Soul” provides the prelude for one of the albums strongest tracks in “Thunder”. This is the first one to break out with a swinging, bluesy riff that packs some punch. The closing song, “Reaching For Sun” is texturally rich, warm and inviting before the hymnal choral of “Epilogue” bids the listener farewell.
One gets the impression that this band were present and soaking up the atmosphere at 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival. You can literally feel the warm Californian sun through these tracks. This is a far more folk oriented effort than the debut. The songs are well crafted and thoughtful with little in the way of extended psychedelic wig outs thankfully. While the sense of peace, love and warmth is fully evident the album’s stronger tracks are those where the band allows themselves to get a little grubbier and break the confines of hippiedom. Grab your flares, beads and sandals…peace man.
(7/10 Johnny Zed)
Leave a Reply