Believe it or not there are three bands or artists carrying the name Lazy Afternoon on Spotify, not to mention another called Lazy Sunday Afternoon, which was the title of songs by The Small Faces and The Kinks, while ‘Lazy Afternoon’ are albums respectively by Barbra Streisand, Jeff Goldblum (!), Copenhagen Jazz Experience and ‘Various Artists’, the most prolific of the lot.
Our Lazy Afternoon are from Gotland, the Swedish island in the Baltic Sea with a laid back, touristy olde worlde charm about it but also where what’s left of the Russian navy would meet a watery grave if it ever tried to invade northern Europe.
Founded on Swedish folk-rock and Americana and led (eight of them in total) by lead vocalist Bo Ahlbertz, who wears a bandana around his forehead like me, bless him, so gets kudos for that, they are recognised for creating melodic music suited for both dancing and listening, with rich harmonies and a vibrant sound often compared to classic, storytelling-focused genres.
This latest release, ‘Only Memories Remain’ is a song on a three-track EP which also carries that title.
On a dull, heavily rainy and typical Manchester day it cheered me up no end. A jaunty, tuneful sing-a-long to a veritable orchestra of acoustic instruments including fiddles, accordion, a banjo and assorted others.
And some of their harmonies remind me of Katzenjammer.
I’m sure they excel as a live band – they’ve got that je ne sais quoi – and that ‘Only Memories Remain’ would go down well everywhere from Dublin to Dallas.
The only problem I have – and I might as well be candid about this as a first time listener – is that I like to know what a song is about and comment on the lyrics but couldn’t pick up the drift of it because I couldn’t make out what Bo was singing some of the time. The mere word ‘Memories’ often suggests some deep and introspective.
Even allowing for the state of my hearing – it is knackered – his voice is either mixed down a little too much here or is on the weak side, or both.
Overall it didn’t spoil enjoyment of the song though. There is a joie de vivre running through it (where’s all this French coming from tonight?) and we are all in need of some of that.
Find them on:
Website: https://www.lazyafternoonmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lazyafternoongotland
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lazyafternoonmusic/
Bandcamp: https://lazyafternoonmusic.bandcamp.com/
