Jackob Olauson

There’s something comforting about the Swedish, something foreign yet familiar about this nation of people whose culture seems to fit so easily with ours. This is best illustrated by the bookcases and cheese graters in houses around our country but their music is something that seems to glide effortlessly into our record collections as well, from ABBA to Jose Gonzales. Moonlight Farm is likely to join the aforementioned bands in the warm spot of your heart. A former beet farmer, Jakob Olauson tries his hand at psych-folk and does a dazzling job. From the opening guitar and melancholy strings on "What Will Tomorrow Bring,” Olauson’s folk takes on a darker quality. With its deep, gloomy, echoing vocals "Queen Bee” is reminiscent of Jandek, though his lyrics are nowhere near as disturbing. There is a broken down quality to these tracks, a cryptic buzz or out of tune refrain, which gives the album tangibility. It’s easy to imagine the tracks being played live, Olauson hunched over his guitar, with the crowd encircling the musician in a dilapidated bar.