Following on from last year's excellent Radius EP release, Sweden's Hater have now prepped their debut full-length record. You Tried drops on Friday on PNKSLM and I'm here to tell you that it is, like everything on this label, a superb release.
The excellent "Mental Haven" chimes with a sort of resigned charm, while the fine "Had It All" alternates down-tempo wistfulness and more upbeat bursts of yearning. Elsewhere, "Cry Later" rattles with the sort of tunefulness that one found in the tune-age of the best alt-rock bands in the Nineties, while the all-too-brief "Stay Gold" wraps its tune around a big hook and a bit of noisy guitar. The languid title cut and the equally mellow "Common Way" use an approach similar to what The Delgados mastered a decade ago. These tunes are, at times, understated, but never dull, the simple bits sometimes suddenly erupting into a blast of mild feedback, or a vocal line that allows Caroline Lindahl to inject a dose of emotion into things.
At their best, Hater serve up post-punk that owes as much to predecessors like The Pretenders as it does to the music of earlier acts on the PNKSLM label. Hater have retained a kind of DIY aesthetic while making wholly melodic and accessible music.
You Tried will be out on Friday from PNKSLM. Follow Hater via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited press photo]