Branching Out

I wrote about the wonderful Slottet Records a few days back, but I wanted to dwell on them for a little longer ... get more out of my system.
Everyone on the label is fantastic. I commend all the artists' vision and creativity: they never for one second mold themselves to the typical poppy Swedish sound, most times edging on experimental jazz and prop.

That being said, Santa Maria is the poppiest group the label has to offer. It's the brainchild of Maria Eriksson of Concretes fame, but does not sound much like the Concretes' work.
Aside from a few more accessible pieces like "Every Time" and "Cuckoo" (which are spectacular in their own right and twinged with 60s lo-fi folk stles), she primarily dabbles in the experimental folk. Several songs are rather long, stretching quite a ways past the traditional 3-minute mark, and they tend to be pretty proggy, repetitious.
But don't stray away yet! This is great stuff! Imagine Wolf Parade living in the cold north, holing up in a little wooden house and recording studio for the winter. "Icestorm" is particularly Wolf Parade-esque, and I cannot get enough of it. It's the Swedish approach to freak folk.

Enough of my babbling. Listen!

Santa Maria - Dogs
Santa Maria - Every Time
Santa Maria - Icestorm