Paganus
Kalla
Earth'n Wood Records

Paganus follow their impressive debut Skogsrock with a new effort in the same vein. As before they make a rural, slightly folk influenced rock music that has been compared to Jethro Tull among others.

"Arg" (Angry) opens the proceedings with singer Johannes Söderqvist raging against those who seek to destroy nature. "Vilda skrattet" (The wild laughter) has a fiddle bit by Maria Larsson that firmly anchors it in the folk tradition, but it has a rhythm that's very rock. The band makes the influences come together well. "Bön till Pan" (Prayer to Pan) reminds me of the Waterboys' epic hymns to Pan if only in spirit. Söderqvist's evoking of the wild spirit of the woods is set to a rhythmic backdrop that suits it well.

"Skogen minns" (The forest remembers) is a sensitive ballad that sees the singer reflect on life in a good fashion. The band play it well. As second albums go, this one has beaten the sophomore slump well.

Copyright © 2010 Anna Maria Stjärnell