Wild Hxmans

by Christian Kjellvander

Overview

His eighth studio album as a soloist, Wild Hxmans is singer/songwriter Christian Kjellvander's first to arrive after the 2016 U.S. presidential and U.K. Brexit elections. Though not overtly political, his lyrics address intimate encounters, separations, and forces of good and evil, in international settings across open borders. Expanding his delicate, poignant songcraft and arrangements in subtle ways, he arrives at a more epic, ominous sound without deviating too far from Wild Hxmans' consistently elegant predecessors. The album opens with the over-eight-minute "Strangers in Northeim," a track that begins with two minutes of eerie, ambient strings and synths and irregular, distant percussive sounds, like a film score for a tragic setting. When Kjellvander's cautionary baritone finally enters, it's to emphasize "Take only exactly what you need." Light jazz drums enter shortly thereafter on the words "The road the long/But silence is longer." It eventually morphs into an atmospheric rock, electric guitar solo and all, before fading out on a dull howl. He follows that song with the nearly ten-minute "Curtain Maker," which is also explorative, if more melodic and rhythmic. The album moves into a more forceful rock beginning with "The Thing Is" midway through, part of a three-song span that acts as an anxious, sonic climax before winding down on the sparser "Faux Guernica," a song inspired by a road trip through northern Spain with his son. However, the album never breaks out of its haunting, deeply reflective state. A searching set with not one but three tracks that run over seven minutes, Wild Hxmans only extends Kjellvander's well-established legacy as an affecting, often engrossing artist. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	11/09/2018
Label:	Tapete Records
UPC:	4015698019681

Tracks

1. Strangers in Northeim
2. Curtain Maker
3. Stiegga
4. The Thing Is
5. Halle Lay Lu Jah
6. Love Xomes
7. Faux Guernica

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Christian Kjellvander   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar
Pelle Andersson   Synthesizer,Piano,Organ
Ruben Engzell   Bass
Per Nordmark   Drums

Technical Credits

Srta Swallow   Graphic Design
Christian Kjellvander   Producer,Composer
Ruben Engzell   Engineer
El Senor Gomez   Graphic Design
Karla-Therese Kjellvander   Cover Photo
JJ Golden   Mastering
Frans Haegglund   Mixing