Children Of the Sün: Roots

What a great find this has been! Swedish retro rockers Children Of The Sün have only been around for a few years, releasing their debut album titled Flowers in 2019 and three years later we have their sophomore effort Roots to sink our collective teeth into. I gave Flowers 4.5 stars and with Roots the band has made another excellent release.

This is retro rock at its finest. The music is centered around the wonderful vocals of Josefina Berglund Ekholm. If you take a little Janis Joplin, Kate Bush, Grace Slick, and Ann Wilson, you might come up with Ekholm’s passionate and soulful renderings. Plus, the harmony vocals from Ottilia Berglund Ekholm and Wilma Ås add another layer of beauty to the arrangements. That said, the players are not to be outdone, providing mesmerizing layers of instrumentation that will transport you to a time when rock was at its mightiest. The band varies between gentle intimations and more forceful riffs, and there are many nice grooves throughout the disc. Opening track “Reflection� is marked by soaring vocals and a riveting guitar solo. The band are not in your face loud, the intensity comes through in their passionate delivery, both vocally and instrumentally. With “Leaves� the riffs hit immediately, then soften for the verse and build up towards the chorus. I really love the use of piano here and the lead and harmony vocals are once again superb. “Blood Boils Hot� has more atmosphere and moodiness but again earmarked by the vocals and some nice slide guitar. When listening to this album one wonders if these musicians were born in the wrong decade, that’s how strong the retro flavours permeate their music.

Roots is a fine rock album, bluesy, retro, and completely sincere, which is perhaps its greatest strength. Highly recommended.

The players:
Josefina Berglund Ekholm (lead vocals)
Ottilia Berglund Ekholm (vocals)
Wilma Ã…s (vocals, keyboards)
Jacob Hellenrud (guitar)
Ida Wahl (bass)
Johan Lööf (drums)

Track Listing:
1. Reflection
2. Leaves
3. Blood Boils Hot
4. Gaslighting
5. Meet You In Eden
6. Willow Tree
7. Roots
8. Man In The Moon
9. The Soul
10. In Silva
11. Thunder
12. Reaching For Sun
13. Epilogue

Added: February 3rd 2024
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 294
Language: english

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