Cornelia Andersson

Newcomer bands hardly come any younger than these five Swedes who only began playing together in the beginning of this year. Consisting of teenagers between fifteen and eighteen years, Vansinnet has ventured into a musical territory which is normally associated with artists double their age. Instead of dabbling in punk rock, metalcore or other hype genres, the quintet plays contemporary art rock that I would never have expected from such tender-aged people.

After not even one year of existence, Vansinnet have now released their self-titled debut EP which they offer as free high-quality MP3 downloads, which should already be reason enough to give it a try. The opener Polymesmerized instantly sets the mood with a laidback atmosphere, warm synth sounds, a subdued guitar and a discreet rhythm section. Vocalist Lo trumps above it all with a mighty voice that you have rarely, if ever, heard from a sixteen year old girl. The following Toolscontinues in a similar vein, is even mellower and could have given more room to the guitar. On the concluding Out Of Time, the Swedes show their prog influences most clearly. Not only is this seven minute track their longest one, but it also features a wholesomely unpredictable structure.

Vansinnet are naturally still far away from established new prog bands, but considering how incredibly young they are, you can’t help yourself but predict them a glorious future. An interesting anecdote is that they have played already with Moloken, a much more extreme band, that comes from the same town. This proves once again that stylistic barriers only exist in people’s minds. Fans of ambitious art rock with a tendency to flirt with other genres (indie, electronica, prog,…) absolutely should get this surprising debut from one of Sweden’s most promising bands.

Lo tyckte det var helt ok, som ni ser