A slow-burning album that captures deep spiritual yearnings.
In the late 90s, Swedish singer Christian Kjellvander was part of the roots-influenced alternative rock band Loosegoats, with which he recorded several albums before their disbandment in 2001. Although they would reunite for a series of concerts and a final album years later, since parting ways, Kjellvander has followed a different path as a solo artist, characterised by a steady output of albums. His first solo LP, “Songs From a Two-Room Chapel”, was recorded in 2002, after which he toured extensively with The Cardigans. Since then, his dedication to music has remained constant, with a new album out every few years.
His latest work, “Ex Voto / The Silent Love”, brings some changes to his usual sound with a more stripped-back instrumentation, which can seem less immediately accessible than his previous material. Kjellvander’s original intention was to record a collection of soft country songs, but as the creative process advanced, the sound gradually evolved. Recorded in an old country house in Sweden, producer Tobias Fröberg made good use of the room’s acoustics, recording live with Kjellvander’s rich and expressive vocals playing through a PA. The result is a rawness punctuated by background noises like the creaking of floorboards and a static hum from which every song emerges and finally dissolves back into. These idiosyncrasies keep your mind anchored to the recording space, creating a feeling of greater authenticity.
“Ex Voto / The Silent Love” is a slow burner that might take some patience to get into. The first ten minutes of the album offer little variation, feeling almost like one lengthy song in which Kjellvander’s voice drones over an atmospheric accompaniment. However, it’s time worth investing. After this, fascinating instrumental ideas are brought to the table in songs like ‘The View is Watching’, a dark and winding psychedelic ride in which the backing vocals reinforce the material’s spiritual aura while the guitar creates a sense of menace or urgency. It is one of the best tracks on the album, which is most captivating at its darkest points, including other songs like ‘Deathrider’, with its interesting shifts in tempo.
Kjellvander works with familiar themes of mortality, belief and love, creating lyrics that are works of poetry. “Ex Voto / The Silent Love” elicits ideas of both physical isolation and spiritual connection (not seldom found together), or at the very least of spiritual exploration. It’s a slow musical journey in which Kjellvander communes with higher spiritual ideas, one that must be followed with both patience and attention.
