At the barrier

BACK FROM THE BAROQUE

View From The Sky Road, the album opener, is a poignant love note that meanders through a simple but expansive soundscape of birdsong and elegant finger-picking guitar. At the very start of the soundscape, a distinctive bike bell also chimes, setting the scene that this is a stroll through what many may consider a perfect morning. Britt Ronnholm even sings: 'should I wake you up or exist in this moment', perpetuating the idea that existence is not one to be rushed, but taken and enjoyed. This opening sentiment exists across each track within the album.

There is further traditional, whimsical folk in the aptly named second track, Around The Maypole (Once Again). Featuring baroque guitar playing and a voice of a time past, it's a recognisable sound from Nordic folk and fits magically alongside the storytelling for which traditional folk is seldom matched.

THE SPOKEN WORD

Get In The Swing has been teased as the leading single from the album and best represents the sound that has given them a rich following in the esoteric folk scene. Britt's voice here dominates and creates intentional tension in the track, designed to pull listeners away from the ease of the opening tracks: 'look round the corner, climb up a hill'. There is an unsettling eeriness here, and it is clearly no accident. It justifies the intentional structure if the album opening.

The acid-folk experimental sounds continue through Me And The Ones Before Me – the wide, unsettling strokes of sweeping vocals juxtaposed alongside deep harmonic backing vocals that cascade away effortlessly from the metronomic piano refrain. Yet, it's when Britt drops in with a spoken section with existential questioning that the track truly sets itself apart from others on the album, and it shrieks with prog-folk: this is the genre at its crushing best.

PATCHWORK PINK FLOYD

Seldom, and perhaps to the loss of the music scene as a whole, does an artist release a self-titled song. Yet, in Us And Them, the band pen an unmistakable ode to the band, through their own release that gave them their name. This song serves as a fitting tribute to Pink Floyd, with layered sounds exploring multiple elements of prog rock and prog folk, alongside the whispering and purposefully diminutive ability of Britt Ronnholm. Taking folk into the realms of prog rock takes an audacity that they dish out freely in the Scandi-based heartlands: "we took it all for granted; now we're the ones we always were" – a very fitting line for a warm nod of the cap to those that went before them, both lyrically and sonically.

There is further evidence of the rich veins of influence that have emboldened the Us And Them sound. If The Summer Lingers harks back to a softer folk sound, contemporary fans may think back to Midlake's 2006 Van Occupanther for reference here. There's muted percussion, rich imagery in the lyrics, and some neat chord patterns that are altogether softened through backing harmonies that give us that end-of-summer sound, the one that's hazy yet amid a cooler wind.

SPACE EXPLORATION

Things Obvious To Others subtly holds further, bolder exploration in the deep layers of the track. Sitting below a continuous piano refrain and some solid percussion, are the building blocks of a modern prog-folk sound that may well direct the next wave of Scandinavian sound. This is a track that elevates the closing of the album and offers new layers and a twisting ambiance that shows development not just as a group but within the album itself. This might well be the album's most avant-garde track; there's exploration of sound within the gaps of the track and it, without doubt, hits home.

This edgier slant is gets further space in I Was A Wayward Child. As the title suggests, it is a twisting, haunting delve into the experiences of a band unafraid to address the darker side of their recall. There is ease and unease threaded throughout the track, both in terms of the lyrics offered and the sculpting of the soundscape – yet nothing gets lost amid the vast array of sounds, themes and instruments featured throughout the track. At no point here, as the album draws to a close, do Us and Them intend to drift back to an easy, one-size-fits-all sound. That's what compels here. This work moves at its own pace through the sounds and influences that are rich in bands who are unafraid to play against the grain.

A WIDE & RICH PALETTE

Us And Them have no desire to hide their influences, and of these they have selected from a wide and rich palette. This is folk music as it must be now – brave yet whimsical; narrative without ambling; instrumentally diverse with the roots firmly grounded in tradition. This latest release from Us And Them is melancholy for those who want it in spades, yet with space for wide-ranging lyrical landscapes. The album showcases a notable maturity in sound compared to their previous three releases, hinting at promising future directions. The Pink Floyd influences don't end with the name, but continue with rich instrumentation and excellent storytelling. There are no UK tour dates in the pipeline yet, but do not let that put you off digging deep in this and their previous three albums.

Time Machine productions

Skriv dEmerging once again from the misty crossroads of introspection and dreamlike reverie, Swedish duo Us and Them return with their most nuanced work to date, "The Lights and the Shadow". Long-time torchbearers of a fragile, timeless psychedelia steeped in folk melancholy and baroque shimmer, Britt and Anders continue to blur the lines between inner landscapes and outer realities. Since their debut with Fruits de Mer Records in 2009, the pair have steadily carved out a space uniquely their own – equal parts pastoral escape and melancholic reflection.

Their fourth full-length album, released on FdM's Friends of the Fish imprint, feels like the natural evolution of 2022's "…and I observed the blue sky", but the lens is darker now, more focused. Conceived in a world where the boundaries between light and shadow feel increasingly fragile, the songs on this record drift between moments of warmth and warning, serenity and tension. If you step carefully into "The Lights and the Shadow", you will experience that every harmony hides a ghost, and every melody leads somewhere just out of reach. The album contains 9 songs, let's have a closer look/listen…

"View From Sky Road" opens the album with a tranquil sigh, a pastoral daydream where birdsong drifts behind Britt's ethereal voice and a gentle acoustic melody carries us skyward. Pure serenity… Still rooted in folk's golden fields, "Around The Maypole (Once Again)", darkens the scenery just a touch. A wistful circling-back, where harmonies feel like faded memories and the acoustic licks recall rituals long past. A soft spiral around something sacred and lost. Things get moodier on "Get In The Swing", echoes of early-'70s British folk-psych (think Trees) drift through a mist of baroque instrumentation and haunted nostalgia, elegant, eerie, and utterly mesmerizing. Arguably the album's shadowy centerpiece is "Me And The Ones Before Me", mysterious and melancholic, it unravels like a psychedelic séance. Britt's spoken-word passage adds to the otherworldly pull – imagine Nick Cave (Murder Ballads period) lost in a mushroom folkie field. Beautifully strange and deeply affecting. The title track "Us And Them" walks a fine line between light and shadow. Acoustic psychedelia meets soft-focus folk-pop, constantly trying to break into the sun but tethered to twilight, one of the album's strongest moments. "If The Summer Lingers" shows a glimmer of light, at last. Despite its title, there's warmth in this melody — bittersweet but gently uplifting. It hums with acoustic simplicity, like a long-lost tune whistled in late August, knowing autumn waits around the bend… The duo tries a subtle shift into experimental folk territory with "Things Obvious To Other People", the drum machine lays a soft kraut-like pulse, while synth textures shimmer behind the acoustic frame. A blissful blend of tradition and electronics, dreamy, hypnotic, and quietly bold. The next one, "I Was A Wayward Child", is another descent into darker woodlands. Haunting vocal harmonies and hushed acoustics lead to a spellbinding, slightly sinister middle section. The monologue returns, conjuring Weird Folk vibes… Superb… The closer, "Tear Apart", stays in the shadowed garden. Acoustic, melancholic, and draped in medieval mist, this track leans into the band's storytelling instincts. Harmony vocals float like lost prayers, and the song fades out like a candle guttering in a stone chapel!

In conclusion, with "The Lights and the Shadow", Us and Them don't just offer a collection of songs — they craft a world suspended between the real and the unreal, the seen and the unseen. Us and Them have woven a fragile tapestry of half-light and haunted melodies, where every gentle harmony carries a hint of sorrow, and every pastoral escape is shadowed by the world we try to forget. This is not an album that offers comfort, but one that keeps you company in the silence, a soft, spectral soundtrack for those still dreaming in a world that's forgotten how. Let it play, and let yourself driftin.

Exilsh magazine 

Here is the whole review in Spanish:

Una banda que combina, en este su último trabajo, la suavidad de los pliegues de las sábanas con los comentarios de ácida soledad. Son por ello entrañables, tocan nuestra fibra diaria, doméstica (del "domus" latino), llaman a tu puerta y entran en tu habitación para quedarse permanentemente en ella…

Dejo la habitación en penumbra, a propósito, tan solo encendida la tenue luz de una lámpara en una mesa cercana mientras escribo. Durante las últimas noches he tenido sueños reveladores, barcazas repletas de pasajeros sumergiéndose en las aguas de un puerto, babosas introduciéndose en cerrojos oxidados, lejanas ciudades iluminadas con un brillo de horizonte viejo.

Us and Them. Desconocía a la banda sueca formada por Anders y Britt, una pareja de músicos que lleva dando a conocer su propuesta musical desde un ya lejano 2007. Su último album, "The Lights And The Shadow", ha sido recientemente publicado por el sello inglés Fruits de Mer y, debo reconocerlo, ha supuesto para mi una gratísima sorpresa, necesitaba un bálsamo como este.

Recurro por tanto ahora a los textos de los 9 temas que ocupan esta obra para saber si mis primeras impresiones oníricas coinciden con las de la niña protagonista de la fotografía en la portada.

Algo menos de la mitad (4 de 9) de los temas que componen la obra contienen referencias de este tipo; lo hacen convocando el propio hecho orgánico del sueño, "View From Sky Road", "Me And The Ones Before Me", "I Was A Wayward Child" y "Tear Apart", esta última enriquece la experiencia con un bellísimo verso… "Now we are weightless, do we exist at all?"

Ante este aparente despiste, ¿dónde buscar entonces el hilo conductor del disco? En el propio texto promocional que lo acompaña se plantea la solución. El álbum, en su conjunto, contempla lo pastoral, lo idílico, el escape de la realidad, un mundo interior representado por La Luz, enfrentado a otro mundo exterior, endurecido por la realidad cotidiana, donde las relaciones personales quedan expresadas en toda su crudeza. La Sombra.

Y es en esta dicotomía (hasta cierto punto inesperada) donde se asienta la fortaleza del disco de Us and Them. Frente a la crudeza de muchos de los textos – poblados por recuerdos traumáticos, rutinas y vacíos existenciales, cúmulo de experiencias desasosegantes (junto a los temas ya mencionados, el resto, "Around The Maypole, Once Again", "Get In The Swing", "Us And Them", "If The Summer Lingers" y "Things ObviousTo Other People" ahonda en estos criterios) – aparece envolviéndolos una música celestial, idílica, íntima y paradisíaca. Los extremos se tocan y de su choque creo atisbar un esperanzador destello final.

Us and Them, una banda que combina, en este su último trabajo, la suavidad de los pliegues de las sábanas con los comentarios de ácida soledad. Son por ello entrañables, tocan nuestra fibra diaria, doméstica (del "domus" latino), llaman a tu puerta y entran en tu habitación para quedarse permanentemente en ella. Hazles un hueco.

Kraut Nick Magazin

Was behutsam und brüchig als eine Art akustischer Freak-Folk beginnt, bekommt im Verlauf zwar einiges an Futter, bleibt aber im Dezenten. Us And Them ist ein Barock-Pop-Duo aus Stockholm, und auch, wenn dessen neues Album "The Lights And The Shadow" vordergründig still und entrückt wirkt, birgt es einiges an Besonderheiten. Nach Pink Floyd indes klingt es nicht, könnte man dem Namen nach annehmen, und das ist auch gut so.

Mit Vogelgezwitscher eröffnen Us And Them das Album, "View From Sky Road" besteht aus Akustikgitarre, dezenten Hintergrundflöten und dem klaren Gesang von Britt Ronnholm; Anders Håkansson komplettiert dieses Duo. Zwischen melancholisch und aufmunternd bewegt sich die Musik, entrückt zerbrechlich wirkt dieser spirituelle Pop. Das Duo selbst spricht von "Baroque Pop", was der dritte Song "Get In The Swing" bestätigt: Nicht nach schwingender Schaukel klingt der, sondern nach wie ein überkostümiertes Menuett im Schloss. Ein dezentes Schlagzeug, besinnliche Chöre und ein Piano vervollständigen allmählich das Soundbild, und dabei wird es nicht bleiben.
Ebenso wenig beim reinen Pop, denn Us And Them setzen Elemente ein, die bei einer Pophörerschaft vermutlich auf Unverständnis stoßen würden. So bekommt das beatlose "Me And The Others Before Me" ein langwelliges Pulsieren, wie man es von den älteren Sachen von Sigur Rós bisweilen kennt. Der Song läuft als Spoken Word mit dezenten abstrakten Sounds aus. Wieder mehr in Richtung Pop geht "In The Summer Lingers", die Instrumentierung wird voller, in "Things Obvious To Other People" sogar mit elektronischer Unterfütterung zum poppigen Song mit angenehmen Störsounds. Hernach fällt die Intensitätskurve wieder ab, das Album endet so besinnlich, wie es begann. Eine schöne Gaußkurve.
"The Lights And The Shadow" besticht mit seinen detailverliebten Arrangements, die nicht einfach nur den Song begleiten, sondern dem Gesang etwas zum Entdecken beiseitestellen. An mancher Stelle fühlt man sich an die alten Alben von Beth Hirsch erinnert, die seinerzeit als Sängerin von Air auf den Plan trat. Nicht hingegen klingen Us And Them nach "The Dark Side Of The Moon" von Pink Floyd, gottlob, und auch nicht nach "Us V Them" von LCD Soundsystem. Das Duo veröffentlicht seit 2012 unter diesem Namen, Auftakt war die "Walk Light EP". Zuletzt zu hören waren Us And Them als Teil des Projektes Himmelaya, KrautNick-Lesende mögen sich erinnern.

Betreutes proggen

Butterweicher, brüchig-melancholischer Psych/Baroque Folk aus Schweden für den nahenden Herbst. Ohne viel Brimborium wird dich dieses Album über Licht und Schatten schnell in sein sehr individuelles Szenario holen bzw. sanft dort hineinziehen. Fragile akustische Gitarren, erzählerisch/lieblich weibliche Vocals – immer etwas nebulöse Drones-/Ambient-Schleifen als akustischer Hintergrund – dazu addiere noch einen wehmütigen Hauch der guten alten psychedelischen Neo-Folk-Ära in den Neunziger Jahren (Current 93 oder In Gowan Ring fallen mir dazu ein). Die Produktion ist warm, füllt wie ein Mantel die kleinen Melodien auf, die erst unaufdringlich und unscheinbar mit jedem Hördurchgang feine, weitere spezielle Nuancen offenbaren. Lass dich mitnehmen auf diesen mysteriösen Trampelpfad, den niemand sonst zu finden vermag, und ab damit in die einsamen Abendstunden spaziert.  

Keys and chords

 Zo verschijnt weldra het vierde album van het Zweedse duo Us And Them. Britt en Anders maken dromerige folkpop met poëtische inslag. Britt's zangstijl straalt rust uit terwijl Anders zijn akoestische gitaar gevoelig streelt. Het nieuwe album The Lights and The Shadows laat ook nog een andere, meer donkere kant horen. Net zoals in het echte leven zal je beide proeven. Het album herneemt enkele songs van een vorige EP zoals het Sandy Denny stylish 'If the Summer Lingers' en het fantastische 'Tear Apart' met synths en mellotron.

Borders and Northumberland Culture Vulture 

This sonic, modern take on medieval minstrel music washes over the listener like a cleansing sound bath.Part modern electronica, part early music, this heady mix is a treat for the senses.Exploring both sides of life, the light and the dark, this collection would be a good soundtrack for a warm lazy summer's day or a cold winter's night alike. / Andrew Dickson