Funky, man. You don’t hear much classic 1970’s funk these days unless I’m missing something and this is a treat from Tomode (Carl Leanderson and Viktor Westerberg) who created the singular pop project.
It’s got the lot – disco style guitars, that crunchy bass line, a big grand piano, analogue synths and an indelible melody. And a ridiculous dose of ‘feel good’.
The band describes the sound as a dynamic journey through time, starting in the disco fervour of the 70’s and ending in the vibrant heart of modern Swedish pop though personally I hear a lot of the former and not much of the latter. It certainly isn’t anything approaching ‘Scandi-pop’.
What it also has is the main riff to Chic’s ‘Le Freak’ and ‘Good Times’ or at least something so close to them that you can barely tell the difference. Whether ‘channelling’ that sound so closely is a good idea I’m not sure.
Lyrically, there’s a fair amount of introspection appropriate to the times (these times, not the 1970s) but in an upbeat way.
They say, “We want to make music that can act as a remedy to the slight despair we all feel, living through the 2020’s”.
Following a few formative years in the studio, Tomode will release several singles during the spring and summer from their forthcoming debut EP, arriving this autumn.
“Destiny No. 20” was released on 26th June on Soundcloud, Spotify and other streaming services.
Find them on Facebook.