SDP – The Kissaway Trail SDP – The Kissaway Trail

Don’t Wake Up – The Kissaway Trail Don’t Wake Up – The Kissaway Trail

There is a growing movement in the indie/alt rock world of Scandanavia. Over the past couple years, the multitude of bands that have emerged from the region has increased exponentially. They often carry a unique sound and humble swagger, which is not commonly found in American bands. The Danish five-piece band known as The Kissaway Trail, is no exception as this “rule,” and have just a released their second EP titled Sleep Mountain.

Sleep Mountain is the first new release from the band in over three years and the members of the band are all very multi-talented, which comes across clearly even at first listen.  For example, The Kissaway Trail’s front man Thomas Fagerlund, not only carries the record’s tunes with strong vocals, but he also plays an acoustic 12-string guitar as well as the synth, piano, organ, xylophone, and banjo.  Such versatility allows for the quintet to be very exploratory and make each individual different than the one that preceded it. The aforementioned humility is also evident on the album, which provides for a nice organic sound that can even reach the fringes of indie folk.

Aside from the variety of sounds, perhaps’s the band’s biggest strength are their deep lyrics, which can really make feel you like you’re listening to a really influential, moving creation. Back in 2007, their single 61 dealt with the gravity of waiting to hear about a diagnosis of a family member’s illness for 61 days. The band certainly does not discuss such serious topics on Sleep Mountain, but they do provide a nice picture for the listener. The 15-track ensemble is very nicely organized with more positives than negatives. New Year highlights the record with a very serene intro that progresses into a song with a phenomenal beat and a catchy sound, while sounding very Arcade Fire-ish.

While The Kissaway Trail provides no bad tracks on this record, all their songs are too safe for what they’re capable of. When you can take Freelance Whales’ versatility and humility, fused with the flowing simplicity of Arcade Fires’ riffs, you create a situation where you have so much potential.  This album, however, barely explores it. Instead, the lack of drive and temporarily aimless sounds leave a slight disdain for being too conservative. It ends up sounding like a comparable version of their native countrymen, Mew. However, the overall positivity should not be ignored, and it deserves a 3/5 rating for being a really pleasant album that deserves a one-time listen.