Betrayal and evil. These are two of the lyrical and musical themes of Swedish duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ second album, ‘The Snake’. Following up on their 2007 debut, ‘Heartcore’, Andreas Werliin (drums, perc.) and Mariam Wallentin (voc) has set out to investigate the darker sides of life, both their own and the world around them, and they do so over ten songs carried primarily by drumbeats and vocal.

To follow Wallentin’s lyrics you often need to elevate yourself to pretty high abstraction levels, but fortunately her uniquely powerful and varied vocal expression is there to guide you in the right, dark directions, along with husband Werliin’s zealous drumming and perfectly measured bits of xylophone, dulcimer and synths.

Attempts to describe them have been many. “Love-struck percussion-indie-jazz-blues” is one. Rock as a common term for all rhythmic music would work, freak-folk would narrow it down a bit. Interestingly they were named Swedish Jazz Group of the Year 2008, but the only immediately recognizable trait the duo share with jazz is the improvisational feel of their songs.

Whichever term applied Wildbirds & Peacedrums is a remarkable listen on account of their brilliant songwriting skills, the vocal and musical ability of the two, and the impressive variation in spite of the very limited instrumentation. Something that makes ‘The Snake’ feel fresh and new even at the umpteenth spin.

Genre: Rock/Freak-folk
Who: Wildbirds & Peacedrums
Title: The Snake
Label: Caprice Records/A:larm Music
Year: 2008
Country: Sweden
Language: English
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Recommended tracks:
There Is No Light – Chain Of Steel – Places – Liar Lion – My Heart