FREE FALL - Power & Volume

Many people have been asking themselves, why has Sweden given us so much good music for the last 20 years or so? The answer is simple: it’s the welfare state system, based on high taxes and high public expense. As early as the 80s there were public schools in each town where children could learn, free of charge, to play a musical instrument; the state would also subsidize musical instruments for gifted children with limited resources. And, last but not least, English is mandatory in schools starting with the age of 8. Furthermore, the fact that most of the music coming from Sweden is rock and recently the Swedes have developed a fixation for the sounds of the 70s proves that they have good taste.

This brings us to Free Fall, the latest Swedish sensation in classic rock. While they have only recently appeared in a niche where their compatriots from Graveyard, Witchcraft, Horisont, Spiders Troubled Horse etc. (and, further back, The Hellacopters) have been active, we would be mistaken to suspect them for being a marketing creation, meant to milk more money from a trend. I say this because both guitarist Mattias Bärjed and drummer Ludwig Dahlberg are veterans in the field, having played since the 90s in two well-known retro/psychedelic/garage rock bands: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and International Noise Conspiracy.

With Free Fall, the two move towards pure and uncompromising hard rock: Power & Volume, as the title puts it. Or, in other words, towards a state of mind that the band members called, in a recent interview, “freedom rock” - a term by which they want to describe the feeling you get from the first Van Halen albums, for instance. If we consider Mattias Bärjed and Ludwig Dahlberg’s passion for Humble Pie and Kim Fransson’s voice, reminiscent of Bon Scott, we start to realize what Free Fall sounds like. What sets them apart from other bands with the same influences? First: the quality of the song, managing (a rare thing today) to stay with you after you hear the album - see the ambitious Power & Volume, Top of the World, World Domination, and also Midnight Vulture, Meriola Blues or Meat. Second: the elegant performance, clearly derived from The Who - see Free Fall or the band’s stage act and look. The only song that I find questionable is Attila, a little too Innuendo for this album.

The Swedish social system has undergone a reform during the last few years; there’s no point going into details. I just hope it continues to produce bands such as Free Fall.

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