Detektivbyrån used to be the best under discovered band in Sweden. Anything this good (regardless of its lack of mass appeal, limited commercial potential or even the fact that it lacks lyrics) will find a place in the world. Whether this gets discovered through placement in advertisements, film soundtracks, or hopefully written about on countless blogs, Myspace profiles or Twitter updates (I’m looking at you James Gunn, and don’t try to hide Alexandra I can see you too) is up to you. All it should take is a little bump to put this band into the consciousness of the right people that will enable them to reach a broader audience.
I’ve been writing about the band for years, but amazingly their upcoming release, Wermland, is their debut LP. So this is not one of those bands that comes from nowhere only partially formed (Cold War Kids, Vampire Weekend). The songs on Wermland don’t stray far from what got them here. And that is a combination of traditional folk, gypsy, circus and world sounds combined with modern (and not so modern) electronics (often home rigged). It’s so hard not to compare this band’s music to film so I won’t bother restraining myself. “Om Du Moter Värg” starts out like music from the next Tim Burton production, but rather quickly becomes something you’d expect to hear in a Wim Wenders or Werner Herzog film. And that’s because it’s music of dreams. And dreams are what the films of those three visionaries are closest to.
A release date of September 3rd has been set for Wermland, but you can pre-order the record now here (Sweden) or here (Int’l).
P.S. If you liked this there’s an ever so slight chance that you’ll be smitten with Kirsty McGee’s “vaudebilly” over at Songs:Illinois (sorry for the shameless cross promotion).
