Multi-national psych-rock quartet Swedish Death Candy unveil their self-titled debut album to the world tomorrow via Hassle Records. They’ve kindly provided us with a path through its labyrinth of heavily distorted peaks and doom-laden caverns with a track by track guide.
Last Dream
I’m using recurring dreams as a metaphor for not being able to get over stuff, i.e. a good time, a relationship an addiction or even a hobby. Hard to explain really. It’s not necessarily a positive or negative thing. It’s also a metaphor for how your memories can often feel phantasmagorical/dreamlike especially good ones, and how it’s important to move on from good ones, just as much as it is bad memories.
Broken Engrams
This one’s really fun to play, fast paced kinda punk one. It’s about channelling your energy, emotions and confusions through electric sound. Obviously Scientology reference. (We’re not Scientologists)
Love You Already
Kinda cheesy, just a good old fashioned rock n roll love song. Really like the riff on this one, it’s unintentionally in 7/4. Got a good freakout section too.
Avalanche
Probably the most original sounding track on the record, sound-wise. When I was a teenager, I went on a trip to the alps with some friends of mine. We had a near miss with an avalanche and had to dig some people out of the snow. It’s about the fear and excitement of this experience as well as the power of the mountain.
When All is Gone
The most mellow and dreamy track, sonically. Hard to explain this one, kinda personal. I guess some of it’s about how we get really caught up in other people’s shit, we forget to focus on ourselves, or the people closest to us.
Living Your Life Away
This one’s on the EP as well. The title’s a give-away really. It’s about living through your dreams, ambitions, hobbies, habits, hedonism etc. I guess it’s kinda similar to that lyric in “Watching the Wheels” by John Lennon, only noticed it the other the day. You know… “People say I’m lazy dreaming my life away, well they give me all kinda advice designed to enlighten me… etc.” what a great song.
Pearl
This is one of the more intense tunes on the record. It’s about being a bit messed up, to be honest. It’s a bit of a trip, we had a lot of fun making it.
Liquorice (pt. II-III) is my favourite tune. It’s a bit of a sonic journey, the longest track on the record (I think). It’s about a character who wishes to possess the power of the sun because everyone loves the sun; it makes people happy and keeps everything alive. He goes on a journey to discover this power and eventually goes mad and destroys everything. It could be deemed a metaphor, I guess.
Watch the lyric video for ‘Broken Engrams’ below: