My review: Loom - Unicorn

 

Loom - Unicorn

Ice petals turn the Swedish sky into a temple of depth: in a world where beauty becomes a distraction, a quick act, allowing oneself not to devote to the study of every form, the band from Kalmar, with their new song, gives us all the chance to reverse course. And with Fredrik Axelsson's lyrics, the whole thing comes across as compact, decisive, sensible and enlightening. The quintet flexes its muscles, but it's not just about strength: everything is encompassed by a melodic line that is only partially hidden by this sidereal flood of sounds and beams of light immersed in a sky that comes from the early nineties. A return to their origins, to the birth of the band, an impetus that shifts the temptation of decisive writing to render the listener harmless and instead leads them, together with the band, to visit the planets of an artistic mode capable of measuring the experience of loneliness despite the richness of the subject described in the lyrics. 

The band captures noise in pop form and conveys the melancholy of the fact that an unexpected marriage can flow through the grooves of these instruments, full of freshness and abstaining from any temptation to turn a song into an elegant but meaningless garment. So we find ourselves enveloped by British impulses from the indie rock of the band The Family Cat, from the shoegaze blazes of Ferment by Catherine Wheel, in a riot of splinters in which to hide Fredrik's singing, here skilful in delivering his words with almost modesty and respect at the same time, in an immense and perfectly structured glaciation. Roland's bass is the real drumming, the guide that allows everything to fall like a leaden weight on dreams. The guitars live through three distinct moments, modes and inclinations, bringing the succession of chords to become an epoch-making embrace. A song that moves, reveals and anaesthetises the imbecility of those who write songs only to enhance the contact between musicians and listeners. Instead, in these very minutes, we see the impossibility of touching the band, this composition, becoming spectators of the wounds of the female protagonist, as well as her interlocutor. 

Yet another example of a growing band, searching for itself, for a style, not a format, in order to be free to navigate life without false preconceptions. A true creation, true music, a melancholic painting that allows us to isolate ourselves with ourselves, a wave of sound like frost kissing the ice that descends from enchanting places...

Alex Dematteis

Musicshockworld 

Salford

1-2-2026

https://loom2.bandcamp.com/track/unicorn