Wait for a Light to Come

Personnel: Johan Holmegard (drums).
Starting with the airily sung and briskly performed acoustic/electric guitar plus flute rock arrangement of "Evil," Wait for a Light to Come finds the Amazing whipping together six songs for a quick but enjoyable dip into their take on 21st century indie/folk grooves. If the Swedish group's music isn't deathless, it's never less than attractively pleasant, sometimes finding something that brings in the lush overflow of shoegaze, as on "Head Beaches," without completely sounding like yet another Ride or Cocteau Twins knockoff. A song like "And It Looks Like Today" or the title track clearly sounds beamed in from a mid- to late-'60s West Coast session of folk dreaminess. In slight contrast, "Islands" allows a little polite R&B groove to slide under the warm glow of the music while keyboards and piano echo off into the distance, while "Defect" brings in some fuzz guitar for further period coloring -- as well as showing how to do grouped harmony vocals that don't sound like the Beach Boys, perhaps a rare thing these days. ~ Ned Raggett