Vi är värda så mycket mer

Album review

A little more electric than the last album, Ett Slag För Dig, Vi Är Värda Så Mycket Mer shows more or less the same strengths and weaknesses. The lyrics are still brilliant, with "De Gröna Vagnarna" and the title track resembling the best tracks on the preceding album. Maybe the stories are a bit more abstract this time, making them somewhat less moving, but they are still more convincing than most pop lyrics and do contain an existential concern rarely heard. It can also be argued that the singing is somewhat strained and that Andersson Wij puts on a tragic mask even when the lyrics don't call for it, but these are minor remarks. A bigger problem is found in the musical backing. The last album suffered from a somewhat dated production, and if the production is more modern this time, it is still mostly like a layer of paint over '80s singer/songwriter rock, with Ulf Lundell as a likely main influence. That is not bad in itself, but mid-tempo guitar rock can be very uninspiring if it lacks a big amount of energy, and at times on this album it does. Andersson Wij does manage the hard task of writing melancholy and nostalgic lyrics without almost ever becoming sappy, but only in a few songs is he able to give them the musical coating they deserve. When he does, it is mainly in the more acoustic numbers, which hints at the production as a bigger problem than Andersson Wij's musical skills.

© Lars Lovén /TiVo