Sweden's The Land Below, "Don't Trust the Rain"

There’s a lot of great music coming out of Sweden, and I’m not talking about ABBA, Ace of Base, Roxette, The Knife, Miike Snow, Little Dragon, The Radio Dept., or even First Aid Kit (although they’re all pretty awesome in their own right). Last week, indie electronic-psych rockers, Makthaverskan, released a new single as part of a forthcoming 7″. El Perro del Mar announced she was releasing a deluxe edition of her breakthrough self-titled album to celebrate ten years since its release. The Amazing will release their third album, which we here at The Revue are highly anticipating.

Now comes Erik Lindestad, who quietly released his debut EP, the three-track Don’t Trust the Rain under the moniker The Land Below. The native of Malmö, Sweden previously performed with Li Stanley as Wild at Heart. Like so many artists from Sweden, Lindestad is able to take a familiar genre yet add lush, dreamy, and cinematic elements to create a blissful sound, in this case dream pop.

This act of reinvention and elevation has become an art form in the Scandinavian country, and Lindestad demonstrates this on his EP with the title track being the standout – a track that recalls the excellence of Rhye. “We Thaw” has an icy feel that is etched in M83-esque rhythms while “A Matter of Time” is an atmospheric track that is played at a slower tempo, almost downtempo.

You can hear the three tracks below. No word on whether the EP will be available for purchase, although it should be available soon on his Bandcamp site.

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Twitter – @thelandbelow
Soundcloud – The Land Below Music