Listen: Solander – “The Woods Are Gone”

Gothenburg’s folk-pop duo Solander have this week released “The Woods Are Gone”, the second and somewhat understated single from the band’s upcoming album Monochromatic Memories.

For a band who like to describe their music using imagery of forests and other such rustic terrains, naming a single “The Woods Are Gone” could only be a sign that things are not all well in camp Solander. Certainly, there is a sense of absence in guitarist and vocalist Fredrik Karlsson’s lyrics that is reflected in the stripped-back and subtle timbre arrangement.

But this is a band who have admitted that playing sad songs makes them happy, and don’t they do it well; the ex-trio-now-duo have just finished a Swedish tour supporting the revered Junip, and are soon to embark on their second helping of Austin’s SXSW Festival.

And so, if absence does makes the heart grow fonder, then “The Woods Are Gone” suggests many more will grow to love the subtleties of Solander in 2014.

Monochromatic Memories is set for release February 2014 via Tenderversion.