First Glances – Small Feet
Should Jeremy Earl of superlative psyche-folk ensemble Woods ever get lost there would seem to be a ready-made replacement in the shape of falsetto-songwriter Simon Stålhamrhe . True, there’d be a few hurdles to overcome, notably Stålhamrhe being based in Stockholm rather than New York, but that’s nothing his charming pop harmonies wouldn’t seem able to overcome (see his devastatingly simple “Smoke And Mirrors” in which his tender lyrics bob atop the melody like a sun-kissed lilo for proof of both claims).
Set against a back story of anxiety, depression and having “crashed completely” two years ago, Stålhamrhe’s currently sitting on a fine debut EP release of breezy strumming and dreamy echoes. Its title track coasts on rudimentary percussion and “Dagmar” plugs in for more of the same until a lush outro made of sheer electric noise surges to the fore. The brief “Hymn” is super-minimal man-plus-guitar folk during which it’s near on impossible not to be reminded of fellow Swede The Tallest Man On Earth knocking out a dog-eared Neil Young cover. The single, “Rivers”, is probably best of all, the edges of its high-and-lonesome finger-plucking smudged by lo-fi recording and an irrepressible Shins -esque vibe.
Someone somewhere in the vastness of the Internet has already beaten me to the obvious “no small feat” pun, so suffice it to say then that Stålhamrhe definitely has something here and his forthcoming LP has the potential to be rather special.
~The Liar Behind The Sun EP is out now on either double 7” or cassette via Kning Disk with an LP to follow later in the year.~