Trummor & Orgel - "Indivisibility" (2018)

Last Christmas meant another gift in the form of an LP, and a continuation of my brother's tradition, to give me records with Uppsala-based music (Uppsala is our home town in Sweden). Trummor & Orgel (which translates to Drums & Organ) is a duo from Uppsala, consisting of the brothers Staffan and Anders Ljunggren. As the band name suggests, the band's setting is primarily drums and organ, although some other instrument might sneak in, such as guitar (and synthesizer, but I kind of see that as belonging to the organ landscape). According to Discogs, Indivisibility is the seventh album by the duo, and the first in my collection.

So, how fun can it be with music that's only created with drums and organ? A feeling of doubt might arise. Is it possible to vary? Isn't the soundscape a bit empty? Although I'm from Uppsala, this record is my first meeting with the band, and because of its unusual setting, I had a somewhat cautious attitude. But already the first song forces me to open up, and embrace the music. I suddenly understood all the praise I've heard about the duo. It's a really groovy and fun album.

It's somewhat difficult to describe the music. A mixture of pop, jazz and psychedelia. It's quite uptempo, and even though the setting has a 70s aura, the sound feels new and fresh. The soundscape is also larger and fuller than one might expect, and it doesn't in any way sound stripped. It's music that you can both sit down and listen to carefully, but it also works well as background music, when doing other things. The band may be tired of the constant comparisons with Hansson & Karlsson, the Swedish duo from the late 60s, with a similar setting, but the similarities between them makes the connection difficult to ignore. Now, the fact is that I haven't heard much with the 60's version of Trummor & Orgel, so I'm just going to mention its existence. Neither do I have any of Trummor & Orgel's previous albums, so I can't compare Indivisibility with their earlier work either. I'm content with the fact that this is a really good album I'm happy to own, and can recommend it, especially if you like the Hammond organ and music with a slightly different sound.

Tracklist

Side A
1 Metropolis
2 Imaginary Friends
3 Debonair
4 Hindsight
5 Slippery

Side B
1 Enigma
2 Togetherness
3 Transcendence
4 Zodiac