Armadillo King (Sweden) – “Suburban Rose”

Somewhere between the American West and a middle-class Swedish cul-de-sac (if their video is to be believed), Armadillo King have once again set up camp — guitars slightly dusty, hats firmly in place, and this time hearts faintly bruised — with new track “Suburban Rose,” a wistful look at lost love.

It’s the start of another chapter in their cinematic world of Americana melancholy, the first song since their 2024 album “Revivals”.  This time we’re treated to that possibly classic Swedish tale of girl meets boy / boy meets girl, boy disappears off to Missouri to become a gold prospector, boy declared an outlaw after multiple cold-blooded killings, boy returns home to find girl cosily by a fire in Stockholm suburbia with husband, family, and lapphund. Boy writes song about it.

Henning Ejnefjäl’s vocals are, as ever, the centrepiece — rich, weathered, and wholly unmistakable — while the melody unfolds with that timeless Armadillo King ease: nostalgic without tipping too far into sentimentality. It’s a sad song, yes, but one that carries warmth in its dust and barely causes a flicker on the Mirel Wagner Scale of Bleakness — the official measure here at Nordic Music Review for misery in songwriting.

We’ve often contemplated the cocktail of choice for the guys in Armadillo King (for reasons that escape us), but this one feels best enjoyed with a Monkey Gland in hand — that famous American Prohibition-era drink featuring gin, orange juice, grenadine, and a splash of absinthe. Because after all, as “Suburban Rose” and the English proverb both suggest (no idea if this translates in Swedish)… absinthe might just make the heart grow fonder.

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Release Date - 5th September 2025