THE SPYDERS
The Youngster EP (Torpedo Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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More magnificent garage from Sweden. Torpedo Records has built a small but impressive stable of talent, and this is my favorite band of the bunch because of their power and flair for the dramatic. Their garage influence pool probably has a 60s end, but they seem to splash around in the 80s end most of the time. Andreas Svensson's guitar switches from something close to jangly to a most definite snarl as Markus Wreland slams the crash cymbals to punctuate ever crunching chord. Andreas Hartman injects a shot of 60s with a powerful walking bass line or an ornamental flourish that leads me to believe he's studied the players of the era carefully before coming to his own conclusion. Clearly, this would be an entirely different band without him. Finally, there's Alabama. Not the state, the keyboardist and singer. Her Hammond (which sounds suspiciously like a Farfisa at times) is an important ingredient of the band's sound, but it's her fragile vocals, in harmony with Svensson's, that is the key, the thing by which you can identify The Spyders within a few notes. At this point I'm just anxious to hear more, but I'll have to settle for playing this five song EP to death. And you can bet I will.

[If you can't find this release locally, go to http://go.to/torpedo.]

© 2001 - DJ Johnson