Slim Loris: Future Echoes and Past Replays Review: Mumford and Sons on Steriods

Bands like Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers have captivated the world the past few years, with an organic sound and down to earth lyrics. In the same vein, Sweden-based Slim Loris, with a powerful vocal presence and deep musicianship have turned the Americana/Pop genre on its head. Incorporating more instruments and deeper emotions in their new album “Future Echoes and Past Replays,” they are a band that has the market cornered in terms of ingenuity and creativity.

If there were a joke that started with “What do you get when you throw Mumford and Sons, Billy Joel and The Fray in a Blender,” the finish would be “Slim Loris.” Fortunately for your ears, it wouldn’t be a joke. These guys are for real.

A sturdy collection of deep ballads and rockin’ tracks, “Future Echoes and Past Replays” tackles life, love and loss. Although the sound and message is similar to Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers, there are plenty of differences. Using electric instruments more often and mixing in banjo, flute, organ and piano, Slim Loris is essentially an all you can eat for your ears. The result is a deep sound that matches up with the depth of the lyrics perfectly.

Mattias Cederstam’s voice does an ample job of compelling, but even in the grittier and fun songs, he’s able to capture the mood. In “Awakening” you sincerely feel his pain. The lengthy piano solo to start the track gives it a Marc Cohen/Bruce Hornsby type of feel, but the heart on the sleeve approach gives it something more. In “Clean as a Whistle,” you get a much different vocal approach as Cederstram is mellow, but just as charismatic.

Although many of the tracks have emotional beginnings, some are witty and even more laid back. Make no mistake, this band is serious about their craft, but they are seriously solid. Never pedantic, Slim Loris is simply one of the best bands to come out of Sweden in years. This has a lot to do with Cederstam’s vocals.

Robert Barrefelt and Leon Lindström’s guitar work has just as much to do with the success of many of the tracks. “Domestic” could have been a simple vocal duet, but is fueled by an excellent and devilish guitar riff that captures the urgency of the lyrics. “Visions of Tomorrow” is a step away from the band’s signature sound, as the electric guitar riff in the beginning feels like something out of an Eagles song from the mid-70s.

But like any good band, you can’t forget about the drums. Jonas Ellenberg is more than solid here, but he does have a few songs he makes his own. The quick beat in “Fear of Flying” is fun, but the drum work (with an honorable mention to the cool organ progressions) make the track special. The country twang on “Nora” is also better developed thanks to Ellenberg’s percussion work.

Through a slew of instruments and compassionate and real lyrics, Slim Loris proves that there is nothing thin about their sound. Sometimes melancholic, sometimes sincere, but always engaging and emphatic, Slim Loris begs your ears to open up and listen closely.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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