Make no mistake about it, when bands come out of Sweden they are always great. There’s just something about the scene there that inspires musicians to maximise their creativity and produce the best music. With Refused making their come back this year, Terrible Feelings playing some of the best rock n’ roll in recent memory, and Makthaverskan putting out one of the most powerful post-punk album’s of late it’s time for Sweden to rise again. Now you can add Gothenburg indie-rock band Westkust to that list as they unleash their new album ‘Last Forever’.
Westkust – translated as “West Coast” – are in fact the sister band of the aforementioned Makthaverskan as guitarists Gustav Andersson and Hugo Randulv play in both bands, and where there are obvious similarities in both bands, Westkust have a far more uplifting feel to their sound. There are many genres you could box Westkust in with, as they draw from a variety of influences, but ultimately their sound encompasses elements of dream-pop, 80’s new wave, and saccharine alternative-rock that is glorious from the moment you hit play.
The contrasting duel vocal of Andersson and Julia Bjernelind adds a rich texture to the opening combination of ‘Swirl’ and ‘Dishwasher’, which are both warm, fuzzed-out slices of new wave punk. They incorporate subtle elements of My Bloody Valentine, and create their own noise freak out’s which are never harsh, only inviting. Of course this will no doubt get them the shoegaze tag, which while there are nods towards the scene that celebrated itself, the jangly guitars and up-tempo drum beats of ‘0700’ have more than a few “Smiths-isms” about them in the best possible way.
Stylistically, ‘Last Forever’ doesn’t stray too far from the musical path that Westkust have chosen to take. However they slow things down at the right intervals and pull back on the fuzz for ‘Easy’, which is heavy on swirling reverb and delay over heavy hitting beats that could even make Loz Colbert of the recently reunited Ride jealous. They also allow for Bjernelind’s angelic vocal to be pushed to the front on the heart-wrenching ‘Jonna’, as her sentiment of “longing to be in a dream of you and me / and all the things we used to be” swoons across the lush guitar melodies.
There’s no denying that ‘Last Forever’ isn’t the most original of album’s you will hear in your life time, however Westkust have made sure that they stand out in a sea of bands that play in a similar style. You know exactly where they have taken a vast amount of influence from, but rather than imitate a certain sound they have simply added their own stamp on it. Once again, this is a testament to the musicians in the Swedish underground punk scene doing things exactly right, and Westkust will ‘Last Forever’ in more than just an album title.
GLEN BUSHELL