Guest blogger Pär Berglund from the great Meadow Music blog has had an inspirational month, which means that this edition of On the Meadow features three bands. So get ready to dig in to indiepop quartet Obliq, experimental duo The Faux Noise and the jazz meets pop meets the American plains quintet Svedberg & The Hillside Stranglers – and don’t forget to let us know what you think.

Obliq (photo) from Göteborg create dreamy, mellow indiepop with interesting melodies that’s somewhat hard to define, but sometimes lies in the vicinity of Radiohead (also singer Anders Lagerfors’ vocal does resemble Thom Yorke’s). Last year they released their debut album ‘Antenna’ and now they’re releasing a series of songs through YouTube, recorded live in their studio. Very interesting stuff, maybe building up for a new album and also giving a taste of what they sound live. The most recent release contained this beautiful duet with Annelie, ‘We Come From the Stars’

The Faux Noise gets their inspiration from the early seventies and the music around Andy Warhol. It doesn’t feel retro though, more experimental and like an up-to-date version of their inspirational sources. Like a controlled chaos of sounds guided by nice melodies. Here’s ‘Save Me’:

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It’s been an inspirational month so let’s finish this post with a third band, Svedberg & The Hillside Stranglers, who have their own special mix of jazz, pop from the sixties and americana which at times make it appropriate to wear a cowboy hat. Last year they released a much appreciated debut EP and now they’re back with the followup EP ‘Such A Lovely Life’, which is at least as strong as the first one. Listen to ‘Gunshot’:

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