Last Days of April - Sea of Clouds (2015)

For 20 years now, the Swedish band Last Days Of April has enriched the world with their enchanting indie pop. Their ninth album "Sea Of Clouds" follows in a series of outstanding releases. And yet the ninth studio album by this Stockholm band - based around the songwriter Karl Larsson - sounds so much more deliberate, mature and balanced than ever before. It seems as if Last Days Of April have actually undergone a metamorphosis, have matured from caterpillar to butterfly, and now simply unfold in their full splendor. And even if the penetrating beauty of "Sea Of Clouds" might suggest a final stage of maturity, that would be too easy. Rather, Karl Larsson and his excellent musicians have managed to go through a process of transformation several times throughout the band's history - forward then back again, from the bottom to the top. And yet despite all the developments and changes in the lineup, one thing has remained constant over the years: the hunt for the timelessly beautiful Swedish pop song - in a snow flurry between Neil Young and the Lemonheads.