At first listen, This Heel’s newly-released EP 'Turquoise' definitely sounds like the type of music playing in the background as a movie’s leather jacket-clad hero arrives at a fad, local bar. You might be wondering what’s up with all these “film soundtrack” references, but that’s probably only because music is so subjective and my entire personality was molded by circa 2013 Tumblr and OSTs to coming-of-age movies.
Martin Månsson Sjöstrand, which is the musical genius behind our featured EP, first gave birth to This Heel as a side-project to his then band, Dog, Paper, Submarine. This Heel thus became Sjöstrand’s main project after Dog, Paper, Submarine’s disbandment. While Sjöstrand frontlines the band, he is occasionally joined by Linus Lindvall (bass and backing vocals) and Anton Linderoth (bass).
As for Turquoise, it sure is an easy EP to listen to - something that Sjöstrand has mastered the art of as This Heel and DPS both produce appealing music to the tasteful ear. Something about Turquoise just has that certain mysterious charm to it that I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what. Perhaps it is the type that flashes you a million-dollar smile and you’re left with no other choice but to offer them a drink by the bar, with that luring smirk never leaving their face as the night progresses.
I love ‘Foundling’, ‘Electric Whale’, and ‘The Phantom Creeps’, but my favorite song from Turquoise has got to be ‘Children Of Sandy Plane’, which preps you for a 15-minute long fuzz rock goodness crafted by self-proclaimed members of an “invisible space monkey orchestra.”
Whatever Martin and This Heel mean by “space monkeys”, we’re not entirely sure of (or maybe we do 👀) but one thing is for sure: Turquoise is definitely a banger.