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The Nautilus Years

The Nautilus Years

Drowned in Sound(UK)
It's an album that has hopefulness etched deep in every note, such is its power. One could argue that it doesn't actually go anywhere – archaeological digs move with greater speed than this – but that's not the point. Nine seconds into opener '21st Century Paradise Traveller' you're convinced you've strayed into a gloriously melodic bridge where there's some epic, shattering chorus around the corner. It can be disconcerting, waiting for the change that never comes, until you realise that every second (more or less) of the album is tinged with a gossamer-light touch that imbues it with the sense that rather than anticipating the drop, sitting back and bathing in its glow would be a much better way to enjoy it. 'The Nautilus Years' is a work of such understated, almost casual beauty that it would be a crime for it to go unnoticed. It's about as far from the zeitgeist without being purposely contrary and wears its massive heart on its sleeve. (9/10) (DISCOVER ALBUM OF THE MONTH)

Rock Sound Magazine(UK)
Some hearty souls have never lost that big-dreaming sensibility. Take Sweden's Marten Rydell; Surrounded is his baby- it's his imaginatively evocative lyrics, kitchen-sink-embracing tunesmanship and heart-swallowing vocals that dominate proceedings-and what a rightly proud father he must be. '21st Century Paradise Traveller' is a mammothly technicolor first strike, while the string-driven soar of 'Paper Tangerine Crush' is both surreal and yet astoundingly stirring, and although there are flashes of joyous liberation('The Oceanographer' or 'Fellow Citizen Stars') they give way to an abiding hurt that renders 'The Nautilus Years' a moving and ultimately all-consuming experience. (9/10)

The Star/Independent News and Media(SA)
If Sparklehorse were to do team-building exercises with Mercury Rev at a mountain retreat, with The Flaming Lips as guest speakers and Sigur Ros as resident spiritual gurus, chances are Surrounded would be the entertainment at the fireside jamboree. The mood is ambivalent and vacillating; ebullient with an underlying melancholy and Surrounded's epics are saved by actual songs beneath the dense atmospherics. The album should, by all dictates of logic, get boring, but it doesn't. 'Paper Tangerine Crush' manages to sound both unassuming and steeped in high drama and it would be curmudgeonly to relegate 'The Nautilus Years' to dinner-party background music as the album does contain frequent moments of great beauty. The surreal lyrics occasionally lapse into absurdity, but are earnest elegies to the redemptive power of nature and the transience of the human experience. (4/5)

The Guardian(UK)
Actually they're a rare hybrid of shoegazing and Americana, like alt-country from outer space, with twangy vocals and often acoustic melodies smothered by cosmic static and alien ambience. Sparklehorse and Grandaddy have ventured this way before while arch early-'90s shoegazers Slowdive actually transmogrified from a noisepop outfit into a new country act called Mojave 3 so it's not exactly virgin territory, but it is a field worth ploughing. (BAND OF THE DAY)

Q Magazine(UK)
If Brooklyn's MGMT borrow Flaming Lips' LSD-laced sense of humour, Sweden's Surrounded channel the more dreamy, beatific end of Wayne Coyne and co's output. In other words, they're more 'Do You Realize?' than 'She Don't Use Jelly'. There's an intriguing undercurrent of rustic Americana lurking beneath the echo-pedal atmospherics. (TRACK OF THE DAY)

NME(UK)
Now they're back and have melodically submerged in a percussive diving bell somewhere off the rugged coastline of the Baltic Sea. Influenced by The Flaming Lips, Sigur Rós and Sparklehorse, these Nordic shoegazers have their heads solely in the stars. (7/10)

Clash Magazine(UK)
My iTunes has labeled this second album 'pop'. It's not. If you want to know what this sounds like, then it isn't a million miles away from Mercury Rev's 'Deserter's Songs' - that kind of effortless mix of sound, rising and falling as it grips you with its strong reassuring hand and pulls you along like a funky uncle taking you shopping in Camden market. (unrated)

The Music Magazine(UK)
Though this is not a significant alteration in sound, it is a distinct change in approach. Surrounded not only depict their talent, but they do so with an effortless grace which would be befitting of any great band in years gone by. A poignant combination of the devastating bitter and the beautiful sweet. (8/10)

Heaven or Las Vegas(UK)
Swedish indie rockers Surrounded already look set to be one of the HOLV acts of 2008. With strong nods towards alt-rock kings The Flaming Lips and at points an uncanny similarity to Vampire On Titus era Guided By Voices, there is more than enough for a seasoned or casual listener.Cracking, artistically intriguing stuff. (8/10)

Organ Magazine(UK)
Glowing euphoria and fuzzy utopia and far far more than just "Sweden's answer to The Flaming Lips". Marten Rydell's vocal delivery is right up there with the very very best – Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse or Remy Zero's Cinjun Tate - Beautiful details and quietly ambitious intent, words that colour everything. Mournful gentle whispered melodies, orchestral highlights. So much depth.(ALBUM OF THE WEEK)

Subba-Cultcha(UK)
Equally reminiscent of Deus and Sigur Ros, Surrounded have carved themselves a niche in a world between light and shade - and are ready to ensconce themselves within to hold court. It's a big, angry, melancholy sound that too manages to be tender and intimate. (4/5)

Snaz Music(UK)
Part of the beauty of this release is trying to fathom where it fits in currently, and who cares? Music this epic is timeless and furrows its own brow. (4/5)

This is Fake DIY(UK)
For us, it's the tracks that don't attempt to be too obscure that are the most successful; 'The Oceanographer' is a thing of shimmering, simple beauty, about taking a trip to escape from the world and its woes - and just occasionally it's possible to feel like you're a little lost at sea on Surrounded's epic adventure. (3.5/5)

Channel 4(UK)
Fuzzily lush Swedish band Surrounded steal Sparklehorse's sonic crown with their Flaming Lips-esque beauty of an album. Yearning and melancholic, 'The Nautilus Years' makes misery sound a gloriously appealing thing. (7/10)

AU Magazine(UK)
Surrounded have created somehing that is simultaneously epic and intimate, evoking both Disintegration-era The Cure and Mercury Rev. (6/10)

The Citizen(SA)
Each track is a soundscape that requires exploring, making listening to the whole album at once relatively heavy, but only the song titles suggest that whatever the band is using to get them through the long northern nights is powerful stuff. (3/5)

People Magazine(SA)
Dripping with the sounds of ingenuity, 'The Nautilus Years' would fit the perfect soundtrack for a spatially motivated road trip to another galaxy. (3/5)

The List(UK)
Aching melodies and lush interludes enveloping tracks. (3/5)

Crud Magazine(UK)
Philosophical, unearthly and vibrating with all kinds of cosmic energies. A delicate bee-like buzz of pretty melodies so affectionally weaved. (3/5)

Leeds Guide(UK)
Clearly influenced both by fellow Scandinavians Sigur Rós and American indie acts like Elliott Smith, this is an album made of pleasant noises and nicely executed fuzzy, ethereal post-rock. (3/5)

New-Noise(UK)
The second album blues or the sophomore jinx seems to trip a lot of bands up. Not so Surrounded who with this newest offering have taken everything that made their first album great and made them better. (unrated)

The Times(SA)
The melodrama is a little thick throughout, with sweeping orchestral melodies and mournful vocals. All of which may very well be your thing, but the highlight for me from the Swedish quintet is the seemingly accidental psychedelic country song, "Easy Piranhas". File under "Interesting".(unrated)


Smålandsposten(SE)
"Tidernas Växjöplatta" (4/5)

Sonic Magazine(SE)
Allt är tjusigt ihopsnickrat och vill man drömma sig bort med en atlas i fickan kan det vara en skiva att dyka ner i. (6/10)

Expressen(SE)
De snor snyggt Sparklehorse' harmonier, den förvrängda rösten, känslan av spöken som tyst valsar runt en äng vid midnatt. Originalitet är ibland överskattat om originalet är bra. (3/5)

Norrköpings Tidningar(SE)
Det behövs band med den icke omedelbara närhet som Surrounded har. Band som tillåter dig att få drömma. Band som kräver stor koncentration för att du ska upptäcka spänningsmomenten. Ett band som kan och vill föra Grandaddys arv vidare. (3/5)

FUZZ(SE)
Surrounded borde omedelbart tilltala lyssnare som redan tycker om exempelvis Mercury Rev, Idaho, MBV och Sparklehorse.
Det är tre saker som jag tycker gör Surroundeds musik skön att lyssna på. Först och främst är det känslan; en slags drömsk, surrealistisk ton. Sedan är det den massiva ljudbilden som samtidigt är mycket skör.... Lyssnar man in sig på de enskilda ljuden så förvånas man över hur fula och falska de kan vara. Och ändå låter den ljudvägg de tillsammans målar upp så vacker!
.....The Nautilus Years är lika bra som 2003 års debut Safety In Numbers så gillar man musiken kan man lika gärna köpa båda på en gång.

Soundvenue(DK)
"Kongerne af svensk melankoli", bevæbnet med skramlende rocktrommer i langsomt tempo, masser af keyboardstrygere, smukke og direkte guitarfigurer og ikke mindst en yderst fornuftig og present frontvokal. (5/6)

DR P3(state radio)(DK)
Et eller andet sted i ingenmandsland mellem Shoegazing og Americana bor drengene fra Surrounded i et solbeskinnet hus med en hyggelig veranda - forstiller jeg mig.Du ligger i højt græs med lukkede øjne, men kan mærke varmen og se lyset gennem dine øjelåg - hvis det var en lyd ville det lyde sådan her! (TRACK OF THE WEEK/15) (unrated)

Nettavisen/Side2(NO)
"The Oceanographer" høres ut som en Eels-ballade drysset med en teskje nordisk kulde. Rett og slett utsøkt. Stemningsfull melankoli og hviskende stemmer i saktefilm, velbekomme. (5/6)

Kulturo(NO)
Surrounded har absolutt ikke rotet seg vekk på den vanskelige oppfølgerplata. De aller fleste låtene glinser av kvalitet, og når man hører på dem forsvinner man inn i Surroundeds egen lille verden og blir nærmest hypnotisert. Bør egentlig anbefales til alle uansett musikksmak. (8/10)

Musikknyheter(NO)
Bandet er utrykksmessig mest lik Grandaddy, mye på grunn av stemmen men også musikken har store likheter, ikke minst de ti herlige minuttene man opplever i "Human Pelagic". For selv om 'The Nautilus Years' inneholder mange gode låter, så fungerer de best som enkeltlåter. (6/10)

Studvest(NO)
Surrounded har kokt ihop noe elegant på andreplata si, og viser stort potensiale. Mårten Rydell synger troverdig og det beste med plata er ikke sangene med «hitpotensiale». Det er fyllstoffet som er godt. (4/6)

Visions(DE)
Verglichen mit dem Debüt wird's weniger laut und unkontrolliert – zumeist regiert eher eine leicht verhuscht wirkende Schönheit im Arrangement, untermalen eine Stimme, die wirkt, als erzähle sie von endlosen Nächten unter freiem Sternenhimmel. (8/10)

Intro(DE)
Immer eine gute Idee, sich bemühen Popmusik spannender zu machen. Mehr zu haben als die sprichtwörtliche Summe der einzelnen Teile. Sie schicken ihren Pop einmal durch die grosse
Effektmaschine, trotzdem bleiben sie näher am song als ihre Vorbilder. (unrated)

Tonspion(DE)
Surrounded hat sich mit diesem Nachfolger zwar viel Zeit gelassen, was sich aber auch hörbar rentiert hat. Die Songs, die Sounds und ihre Stimmungen greifen alle ineinander und lassen ein intimes, ruhiges, schwermütiges Album erstrahlen. (5/6)

Alternativenation(DE)
Diese dunkle, weite Welt Surroundeds will nicht verlassen werden, das Schweben in ihr zu schön, zu fantastisch, zu märchenhaft. Sie errichten mit 'The Nautilus Years' Abgrund und Himmel zugleich. Dieses Spiel mit den Gezeiten der Gefühle beherrschen nur wenige. (8/10)

Westzeit(DE)
Zudem ist es mehr als angemessen, die Singer- Songwriterqualitäten des musikalischen Kopfes Marten Rydell zu erwähnen, und dass dieses Album über fünfzig Minuten eine große und erhebende Frühlingssehnsucht auszulösen vermag. (4/5)

Plattentests(DE)
Das schönste aller Lieder ist gleichfalls das längste. "Human Pelagic", eine zehnminütige Ode, ein fast traumhaftes Schwelgen, schwebt mit zärtlichen Klängen und viel Gefühl direkt ins Herz. "Bolder Acrobat" ist einer dieser Popsongs, die niemals enden sollten, und der orchestrale Abschlusstrack "Swimming to Galapagos" ist ein fantastischer Soundtrack zum schönsten Songtitel seit Ewigkeiten. (7/10)

Eclipsed Magazine(DE)
Spacigen Experimentalrock, aus dessen sphärischer Erhabenheit unerwartet immer wieder wunderschöne Melodien kriechen. Neben zahlreichen Synthesizern und Gitarren kommen dabei auch Oboe, Cello und Mellotron zum Einsatz und der Gesang wirkt stets wie durchs Megaphon gejagt und dennoch unheimlich präsent. Ein maritimer Rockoper. (7/10)

Rote Raupe(DE)
Surrounded offenbaren ihre Zerbrechlichkeit nur zögerlich, dann aber mit jedem Lied mehr und mehr und der Höhepunkt ist erreicht mit das 10 Minuten Epos "Human Pelagic". Der Sänger traut sich hinter den Instrumenten und hinter den Verzerrern vor um sich im zwischen den Luftblasen und im dem gleissenden Licht zu offenbaren. Das Gitarren-solo spielt den Hörer in die Melancholie und treibt ihn mit geschlossenen Augen durch den Ozean und wieder züruck.
(unrated)

In-Your-Face(DE)
Nie kitschig oder langweilig, ingesamt sind die elf melancholisch und ruhigen Stücke auf "The Nautilus Years" der perfekte Soundtrack zum entspannen, den man ehesten mit band
wie Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev oder Elliott Smith vergleichen kann. (7/10)

Blueprint Fanzine(DE)
Sie verpacken ihre durchweg angenehme Schwermut in vollmundige Arrangements, ohne gleich aufdringlich zu werden. Umgehen geschickt die Pathosfalle und nerven auch nicht
mit banal platten Texten. (7/10)

Waste Of Mind(DE)
Man würde sich wünschen, dass all die abertausend Leute, die Ihr Geld für Keane oder Snow Patrol-CDs ausgeben, auch mal ein Werk von Surrounded in die Hände bekommen.
Jagt einem derart wohlig-warme Schauer über den Rücken. (7/10)

Unclesallys(DE)
"The Nautilus Years" ist eine Reise 20.000 Meilen weit weg, voll gepackt mit Träumereien und Sehnsüchten. Diese Melodien müssen vorerst ausreichen, uns mit der Härte des Lebens
im Hier und Jetzt zu versöhnen. (6/10)

Ox-Fanzine(DE)
Bei den Schweden, die sich hier quasi als Emo-version vom Lambchop oder den Flaming Lips präsentieren, hängen die emotionalen Gewitterwolken recht tief, was aber durchaus gut zum spacigen, orchestral arrangierten dreampop der aktuellen Platte passt, der ebenfalls Einflüsse von Neil Young bis Sebadoh oder Built to Spill ausweist. (6/10)

Incendiary Magazine(NL)
There is a stately beauty to the album and an understated charm that contrasts sharply with much of the current crop of indie tosspots. On the whole it seems to be despair that wins out, at least lyrically. Musically, as with their dream-pop forbears, hope shines through. (unrated)

VelvetMusic(NL)
Een schoolvoorbeeld van een plaat met psychedelische, vaak zelfs symfonische muziek vol toverkracht. Ongrijpbare en atmosferisch, maar tegelijkertijd toch ook muziek met een duidelijke structuur en richting. Muziek waarin je steeds weer nieuwe geheimen ontdekt. In alle opzichten een droom van een plaat. (unrated)

KindaMuzik(NL)
Het geluid doet een beetje denken aan Mogwai: intense postrock-composities die heel subtiel tot grote hoogten worden gebracht, terwijl zanger Marten Rydell surrealistische teksten meefluistert met de muziek. Deze combinatie geeft Surrounded een unieke en wonderbaarlijke eigen stijl waar je wel even aan moet wennen.(unrated) (DE 7EVEN/BEST OF WEEK 15)

8Weekly(NL)
Een dromerige cd met een mysterieuze sfeer die veel makkelijker weg luistert dan hij in werkelijkheid is. Juist omdat de plaat en de afzonderlijke nummers zo goed doordacht en opgebouwd zijn, kom je ongemerkt in de wilde wateren. (unrated)

File Under(NL)
Een Zweeds bandje, dat op hun tweede album een meer dan aangename mix van The Flaming Lips en Sparklehorse. (unrated)

Gonzo(circus)(NL)
We ontkennen niet de kracht die van deze überemotionele symfonische pop, met als thema de diepe oceaan, uitgaat. Een mens zou er haast weer het woord Weltschmerz voor durven gebruiken. (unrated)

Plato Mania(NL)
De groep heeft duidelijk een tik van de molen gehad van de eerste Sparklehorse-cd. Toch legt ze veel eigenheid en authentiek gevoel in deze nog jonge traditie. Eigenlijk is het allemaal Pink Floyd alleen dan very indie. (3/5)

Heaven Magazine(NL/BE)
'The Nautilus Years' is geen cd die bij de eerste kennismaking al meteen zijn kaarten op tafel legt, maar weet op zo'n sluimerende wijze te imponeren dat je er eigenlijk voordat je het echt beseft zwaar verslaafd aan raakt. (4/5)

RatatoskOnline(NL)
Elf nummers met een totale duur van 51 minuten maken een dit album tot heerlijke luister-cd.
Dit is gewoon muziek met een hoofdletter M, een 10 met een griffel. (unrated)

De Morgen(BE)
Droommuziek, we kunnen er eindeloos naar op zoek gaan. Door de vervormde stem en de bedachtzame, breed geborstelde instrumentatie lijkt alles te vertragen als een onderzeeër die statig onder de noordelijke ijskap schuift. Poëtisch, rijk en dieper dan de Grote Oceaan. (4/5)

Soundslike(BE)
'The Nautilus Years', een troostplaat van het kaliber waarvan er pakweg slechts elke drie jaar één geboren wordt, een plaat die meteen naast het beste werk van Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse en Grandaddy. (5/6) (TOP ALBUM WEEK 17)

Rif Raf(BE)
Fantastische single("Safe Tomorrow Sun"). Wondermooie plaat. (unrated)

Blow Up Magazine(IT)
Nulla da dire sulle canzoni, ben fatte, perfettamente orchestrate. (6/7)

Kronic(IT)
Il quintetto tesse atmosfere oniriche in cui gli arrangiamenti a bassa fedeltà colorano il tutto di un forte impatto emotivo.
Caldamente consigliato per tutti coloro che hanno ancora un briciolo di cuore. (4/5)

Rumore Magazine(IT)
Da elegie soniche costruite tra crescendo e cadute di forte impatto emotivo, mentre chitarre shoegaze erigono un "muro" che suona come il più dolce dei tormenti. (7/10)

Ondarock(IT)
A favore di questi cinque ragazzoni muovono le splendide melodie e una trascinante narrazione favolistica. I testi (sinuosi e ben articolati) cavalcano costantemente metafore marine, o meglio: è netta la volontà di collegare l'evolversi dei problemi quotidiani a un'ipotetica odissea tra le inquiete onde del mare, raffiguranti per l'appunto i singoli drammi/sogni personali. (6.5/10)

Vitaminic(IT)
Con una voce soffusa, gli arrangiamenti a bassa fedeltà e quella subdola malinconia che lentamente si infila sottopelle e non ti lascia scampo. (unrated)

Ondalternativa(IT)
"The Nautilus Years" è un disco che richiede un accostamento particolarmente e attento , che ha bisogno di aver una certa atmosfera attorno e un'attitudine al suo ascolto. (3.5/5)

Indie-Zone(IT)
La band ripropone un suono evocativo in cui pochi accordi ben arrangiati definiscono strutture oniriche e Marten Rydell disegna atmosfere che dondola tra l'intimismo esasperato e il salto nella luce alla Jason Pierce. (3/5)

POPnews(FR)
À l'arrivée "Swimming to Galapagos", tout en lyrisme serein, aurait presque les allures d'une rédemption, ou plus prosaïquement du soulagement d'un but enfin atteint. Ils aient l'air d'arriver bien haut. Signe assurément qu'au-delà de l'étalage de références prestigieuses, ils ont su également toucher notre corde sensible. (unrated)

Pinkushion(FR)
Un disque travaillé comme une enluminure, d'une beauté évanescente et pourtant prégnante. Baigné tout entier de cet éclairage vibrant et nostalgique, l'album s'imprimera sans doute d'autant plus rapidement dans nos esprits vagabonds. (unrated)

Zik Addict(FR)
'The Nautilus Years' est un disque taillé à la mesure de vos goûts, sinon de vos rêves. Un album qui frôle la perfection. (unrated)

Bokson(FR)
Chose peu banale, 'The Nautilus Years' est de ces albums à vous faire complexer d'être heureux. (unrated)

Let's Be Critical(FR)
La force de cet album tient dans le fait que tous les morceaux sont traités de la même manière. Cela donne naissance à une sorte d'album-concept, très uniforme dans ses effets, dans les sensations qu'il procure. (3.75/5)

El Oasis Delta(ES)
Surrounded es una exquisita amalgama de instrumentos analógicos y sintetizados que crean una pared de sonido conmovedora a fuerza de cuerdas, melotrones, una voz quebradiza, guitarras arpegiadas y ritmos cadenciosos. (unrated)

Mass Popper(PT)
É um disco que cria uma representação de mundos. Separados pelo mar e por influencias comuns que tentam e tendem ser limpas. É um disco frio e ao mesmo tempo cristalino, não fosse o gelo também agua. (7.5/10)

PopMatters(US)
How to describe the Swedish band Surrounded: Cure inspired; influenced by Sigur Ros and Coldplay; emotional, large-scale songs. The soft, hushed vocals complement the arrangements to a tee during "In Comfort's Tight Clothes" and the mid-tempo, roots-tinged "Paper Tangerine Crush", the greatest song with tangerine in the title you'll ever hear. While there are some songs that will be heart-tugging, perhaps the highlight is the Floydian aura oozing out of "Fellow Citizen Stars" which brings to mind "Fat Old Sun" or "Saint Tropez."(7/10) - Jason MacNeil

Coke Machine Glow(CAN)
The strengths of Sweden’s Surrounded exist as just inhabiting a gorgeous space with grace and assurance like music is all we have to do, ever. The vocals are capable of a great deal of expression and even sounding like they’re about to crack, which is odd considering that the album is nothing if not completely blissed-out. But perhaps that’s the point: combining intimacy with grandiosity in a way that allows the music to be the songwriter’s consolation. (7.2/10)

The Star(CAN)
Anyone who regards the kitchen-sink lushness of the Flaming Lips as epic instead of overblown should instantly take to this Swedish five-piece. Actually, there's more shading and subtlety in these songs than anything on the past couple of Lips releases, while the lyrics are considerably more impressionistic.(unrated)

Sound As Language(US)
Surrounded are one of those bands that I always find myself telling other people about. And it is not only because they are so good, but it is that they are so incredibly underrated. The Nautilus Years follows the same path as Safety In Numbers and for good reason. Surrounded is a band that only gives subtle hints at what they entail with each listen. Safety In Numbers was an exercise in patience but worth every glorious minute spent searching and listening until that glorious moment of realization. The Nautilus Years is the same experience done over again and I wouldn't have it another way. No matter what the volume, when the music of Surrounded hits you, the mark is permanent. (unrated)

Aversion(US)
Most of the time, Surrounded wanders around in a druggie haze that's perfect for its music. "21st Century Paradise Traveller" merges crackling, super lo-fi vocals with hazy strings and a steadfast stomping beat that's a limbo between Spiritualized's wanderings through the astral plane and The Delgados' earth-bound string-section ruminations. Each song is just leading up to the album's centerpiece, "Human Pelagic," a 10-minute affair that encompasses everything Surrounded can do, moving through the stratosphere to briefly settle down with earthbound pop before shooting off again.- Matt Schild (3/5)

Caught In The Carousel(US)
This eleven-track collection is one of the most beautiful and saturnine albums of the year. "Safe Tomorrow Sun" brings to mind Mighty Joe Moon-era Grant Lee Buffalo, while the spare and stirring "Short Red Blinks" demonstrates the band's vast and impressive musical range. Formed in their native Sweden in 2000, Surrounded's first album Safety In Numbers (2003) served notice that this Pink Floyd-influenced four piece were capable of not only writing lush, atmospheric compositions, but also imbuing those compositions with dark and dazzling elements. - Alex Green (unrated)

Parasites And Sycopanths(US)
Surrounded are Swedish and fall somewhere between Idaho, MBV, Mercury Rev and Sparklehorse. The Nautilus Years is a record submerged in colourful soundscapes with a tone that implies post-melancholy, - the place where direction begins to be found. The music is complimented by humble, but direct and clear vocals. (unrated)

Fast 'n' Bulbous(US)
(8.7/10)

The Rawking Refuses To Stop!(US)
It's been a while since the heyday of the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, whose late '90s opuses (The Soft Bulletin and Deserter's Songs, respectively) broke new ground for spaced-out Technicolor dream-pop which the rest of the music scene promptly forgot about after the Strokes. Until now. Surrounded's tremendous The Nautilus Years sounds like nothing less than a lost Rev or Sparklehorse album from that golden era, filled with hushed vocals contrasting with big, vibrant arrangements. Makes you wonder
why bands stopped sounding like this. - David Greenwald (unrated)


Safety In Numbers

Lollipop(US)
"One aural peek into Safety In Numbers from Surrounded and you'll chalk up another victory for Sweden, as drums crack like burning wood and synths backfire like classic Mercury Rev. And then there are melodies here that resonate the power of gospels and slide in the air like broadcast signals barely revealed underneath all the layers but always felt. Epic? Certainly. But like most Swedish bands, it isn't length or the cosmetics that make them so great; simply the gorgeous songs. Surrounded's might be longer than most of their fellow countrymen, but they're every ounce as emotionally weighted and spiritually swollen."

Bandoppler(US)
"Surrounded creates a truly celestial, compelling record with Safety In Numbers that communicates a meek and frail beauty; an ultimate idea that in some ways can be touched and embraced, yet in reality is always just a fingertip away. Singer Marten Rydell is cryptic, but at the same time earnest and pleading. The ethereal, masterfully orchestrated music can sometimes disconnect one from his grim tales of kitten murders and crowds of apes, but serves to provide a shocking, invigorating reconnection."

All Music Guide
"Surrounded creates lush, modern rock on its artfully crafted debut album, Safety In Numbers. Launched with Linear Elevator, a mournful but captivating instrumental stomp, the disc soon drifts into the abundant soundscape of Exit Serenade. Safety In Numbers gives a little more away with each listen, and with adventurous songcraft like this, it's doubtful that disciples of Mercury Rev and Sparklehorse will mind dissecting pieces of this triumphant entry." 4/5

Magnet(US)
"Safety In Numbers is of the soaring, spaced-out variety; Guitarist Marcus Knutsson borrows the epic haze of Mercury Rev and Emil Petersson adds grandiose, orchestral keyboards that bring to mind Sigur Ros. It's all very innocent and playful, but you get the vague sense Surrounded may be using innocence to veil a deep political statement; the reality of American gluttony and the incompetence of our current administration are two easy targets that spring to mind. But the beauty of Safety In Numbers is that Surrounded coats these political truths in layers of gorgeous melody and opaque guitar noise. As any trickster knows, sweet always tastes better going down."

Bettawreckonize(US)
"Safety In Numbers is one of those albums that's soothing to the ears, and Surrounded have created a sound that is strange, yet beautiful at the same time. Melodic guitars, spacey synth and deep, complex lyrics make this album what it is. Sometimes sad, sometimes uplifting, these songs make you sit back and think. Marten Rydell's voice lingers in the background just like another instrument in the symphony of sound. The album is experimental, original and symphonic. Hard to believe it's their first release."

Lost At Sea(US)
"Surrounded put together a darn good album with Safety In Numbers. Much like Grandaddy without the psychedelic meandering, the band has similarly cryptic, strikingly obtuse lyrics which sometimes take a backseat to Martin Rydell's beautiful arrangements and emotional vocal delivery. Within Safety In Numbers lie melancholy and introspective moments where there is a subtle, twinkle-of-the-eye optimism conveyed through unhurried guitar, quiet organ and sparse percussion. Layers upon layers of hushed electric guitars are lovingly wrapped around strings, ambient noise and radio chatter. Safety In Numbers is great soundtrack for quality time with oneself."

Rock Sound(UK)
"Safety In Numbers is a purposefully conceived and delicately recorded album. The time and care taken is telling when Surrounded gently seep into your stereo and wash out of your speakers. Gentle Mercury Rev-esque songs haunt and sedate you almost simultaneously as deep laments are carefully concealed within layers of metaphors and richly textured tracks. Orchestral backing on songs like On Top Of The World send the band into orbit and add an ethereal feel to their music. Calling them lo-fi would be insulting as each song is a grand project rather than a mere musical meander; synthesizers and mellotrons add a sensibility to some tracks like Blood Orange Wheels but the metronome rhythms and mood-inducing peaks ensure that Surrounded are heard in glorious surround sound." 9/10

Cosmik Debris(US)
"Safety In Numbers from Surrounded is a moody and dreamy description of life in a dark domain. Marten Rydell's vocals are gargled over, sometimes hushed and tender, but always haunted. On Top Of The World is a great emotional, looking up at you song, while maudlin gets a fresh shine with Blood Orange Wheels and Better Not Be So, where the fingerprints of contemporary artists like Azure Ray and Idlewild are only a light dusting away."

Dance Of Days(US)
"Surrounded plays dark, orchestral and atmospheric music not unlike Mercury Rev or Sigur Ros. The vocals of Marten Rydell sound filtered, which makes them even more mournful. The label speaks of an celestial epic....I'd call Safety In Numbers the best autumn record of 2003. Highly recommended."

Amplifier(US)
"Layered in lush instrumentation and deep sonic textures, Safety In Numbers from Surrounded is a complex and elaborately woven album. Owing as much to the Jesus And Mary Chain as to My Bloody Valentine, their strength lies in the fact that they're in no hurry to get to catchy choruses and instead let the songs breath and expand in dreamy bursts. From the fuzzed-out melancholy of Exit Serenade to the ethereal bliss of Pro-Files, Surrounded are a band that possess a rare hypnotic intensity."

Soundcheck(US)
"Surrounded - who seem to be disciples of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and that band's progenitors, Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips - create arresting soundscapes of a quality on par with their influences. On Safety In Numbers, the forcefully whispered and spoken, distorted vocals are reminiscent of Slint's Spiderland and are laid over a hypnotic bed of effected guitars, keyboards, and samples. The lyrics are of the abstruse, poetic variety and the music is just too good to deny."

Culture Bunker(US)
"Safety In Numbers from Surrounded is another beautiful and brilliant achievement from Sweden. With music this delicate, mellotrons dancing with cellos, lines from poems whispered so close to the microphone you hear every nuance of the voice, it has to be that Surrounded are beyond petty distractions. The songs and images approach at an oblique angle, insinuating themselves into your mind by slipping around the barriers. If you're allergic to pretty music or atmospheric bliss, you might find yourself resisting, but that resistance will be futile. To go off by yourself and think dark, impenetrable thoughts, spending time in your own mind contemplating the chaos of the external, illusory world, needs a soundtrack, and Surrounded is there for you."

Music Emissions(US)
"Surrounded bring an atmospheric rock sound to your doorstep via Safety In Numbers. They have a lot in common with Iron and Wine but they're even more lush and expansive. Surrounded take the listener away from reality for a moment and the band has created quite an original album here. The music is compelling, lush and beautiful, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Safety In Numbers end up on a few best of 2003 lists later on this year." 4.5/5

30music(US)
"The very name Surrounded proves apropos in that Safety In Numbers comes at you from almost three-dimensional directions with multiple layers of texture. For 47 minutes you are literally surrounded by sound. If ever there was an album deserving of the term 'headphone-core,' this is it. You could spend hours dissecting the various guitars, keyboards, samples and strings. Even the boundaries of drum sounds get pushed into new, experimental directions at times. With their soothing, glassy guitars and pensive lyrics, Surrounded may have created the perfect album to either chill out to, or contemplate the nature of the world and human existence. Honestly, it doesn't matter much so long as you check out Safety In Numbers." 8.8/10

Aiding & Abetting(US)
"Safety In Numbers is grandiose, sweeping rock, with reverb-filled yet delicate guitar lines, anthemic melodies and loads of special effects. Surrounded has put together a fine album. It's a most engaging effort and these guys have real potential."

Impact Press(US)
"The most compelling thing in Safety In Numbers from Surrounded is Marten Rydell's vocals. His style is low, almost whispered. With little effort though, he conveys great emotional content. Of course it doesn't hurt that he is backed by mellow drumming and layers of strings, keyboards, and other sounds to create a lush environment."

Indieworkshop(US)
"Safety In Numbers from Surrounded includes a myriad of instruments and inspirations that create a symphonic blend of poetry and music that melds together smoothly for a humbly fleeting resonance of beauty and art. Surrounded has a very distinct sound. Marten Rydell's vocals vary in pitches and tones throughout this record with a home recording muffle that sounds like the tape is about to break at any moment. Safety In Numbers is full of deep, poetic lyrics and beautifully dense instrumentation. If you're familiar with Deep Elm, then you know the abundance of high caliber bands that are on their roster, and Surrounded fits in like a like a turtleneck at a MENSA banquet. This five piece packs a sweeping slap that's sure to leave a red mark on the face of emotive rock."

Babysue(US)
"Beautiful swirling dreamy pop music, Surrounded hail from Sweden, but they don't have that Swedish pop sound that has become increasingly familiar over the years. Instead, the band's hazy sound layered with guitars and airy keyboards is more reminiscent of bands like Sparklehorse and early Starflyer 59, with a hint of Leonard Cohen thrown in for good measure. Safety In Numbers would already be an impressive album, but it is even more so because this is the band's debut. For many, it would take years to reach a plateau like this. Surrounded's progressive pop features intriguing arrangements and super soft vocals that give the music a shaky sound that is strangely calming. And yet underneath it all there is a undercurrent that is difficult to define. Safety In Numbers is an ultimately satisfying platter featuring such gems as Linear Elevator, Diesel Palace, Blood Orange Wheels and Neglectarine. Superb." 5+/6

Kill The Noise(UK)
"Safety In Numbers has to the most surreal yet beautiful music I have heard in a while. Surrounded has this air of experimentation about them that gives off a soothing feel. I've never come across a band that mixes in the orchestrated sounds of the cello with electric synth, but it creates an obscure atmosphere that is aided by Marten Rydell's vocals and unusual lyrical metaphors. Honestly this is such a new, unique concept. To summarize Safety In Numbers...amazing!"

Journal Review(US)
"Sometimes the most beautiful, fully-realized music will originate from the middle of nowhere. All twelve songs on "Safety In Numbers" move at a languid pace, some punctuated by various stringed instruments. Many of them begin in a naked state, quietly and steadily building and picking up layers of sobbing strings and ethereal embellishments, eventually to climax in an almost astral orchestra of pain disguised in angelically flowing currents that run the gamut of emotions. And they end suddenly, often with cryptic voices chattering in the distance. Think of "Safety In Numbers" as a rainy day forecast, with the possibility of some sun breaking through the grey."

Voice Of Reason(DE)
"Safety In Numbers from Surrounded is a laid back, epic, sometimes fragile body of music that's the perfect soundtrack for these late summer days that are getting shorter, darker and colder. Melancholic and a little bit sad at the same time, this is music that makes you dream."

 

 

Live reviews

Tiny Mix Tapes(UK) The Social - London - April 7, 2008
For those of us dwelling within the confines of modern day, urban London, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzied rush for the next big thing. Whether it’s the fast fashion clothing stores lining the streets or the glut of free tabloid newspapers competing for attention with pictures of the latest Z-list celeb stumbling out of overpriced drinking dens, the sensory onslaught is as overwhelming as it is intoxicating.

It’s a characteristic that often transfers itself over to music with numerous nightclubs attempting to hawk the same latest house/techno/disco variant or grotty rock dive after grotty rock dive filled with the latest indie pop puppets slinging their guitars around in the hopes of landing their first magazine cover. For a city that can be absolutely everything you want it to be at times, it’s surprising how narrow the musical spectrum can occasionally feel.

It’s on a cool Monday night in April, then, that the sparse audience at the Social, a hipster bar hidden behind the mass commercialism of Oxford Street, finds itself witness to a band quietly performing a sound that’s so far outside the current media-approved noises of the moment, it almost feels shocking on first impression.

Led by a school teacher named Martin Rydell, Surrounded are a Swedish quintet who specialize in crafting their own take on a lo-fi Americana that’s best compared to the likes of Sparklehorse, Summerteeth-era Wilco, and the quieter moments of The Flaming Lips’ back catalogue. Performing with that perfectly balanced, crystal clear style that appears to be the genetic birthright of all Swedes, Surrounded offer the audience a gentle sampling of highlights from their latest long player, The Nautilus Years. On record, it’s a fuzzy, slow paced emotional affair that wears its heart on its sleeve alongside the best of the modern day troubadours. Transfer it into a live setting, and Rydell’s whispering croon takes on a world-weary weight that injects his songs with some much needed gravitas — one that, unlike so many bands living in the queen’s realm, avoids being pinned down and neutered by recent music history.

An alternative to the dreary norm, then, this also means that there’s little chance Surrounded will be making much headway in today’s one-night stand attitude toward music. There’s little flash witnessed on stage tonight. No neon hues or tight leather jackets for this bunch. No musical hybridization or even reactionary poses against the status quo. Instead, all we get is solid craftsmanship that doesn’t ask for much. They may not cause a stir among the bloggers or find themselves on the cover of the NME next week, but that doesn’t really matter. The only thing that does is the fact that, for just a few minutes, Surrounded are a welcome relief from the storm that awaits us all outside.

The Independent(UK) Tommy Flynn's - London - April 9, 2008
Vaxjo, Surrounded's small home town in southern Sweden, is twinned with Duluth, Minnesota, the birthplace of Bob Dylan and slap-bang next to the headwaters of the Mississippi river and the start of the iconic Highway 61. It's an interesting detail to savour while taking in a band who so elegantly and confidently channel a very 21st-century take on Americana.

The five-piece's second album, The Nautilus Years, was recorded in true alt.country-anchorite fashion in a ramshackle summerhouse deep within an apparently godforsaken forest where the abundance of tall timber to chop and chipmunks to chase made up for the lack of decent heating, proper toilets and adequate bedding. They've been lumped in with nu-gazers such as Maps, but they're more like a Scandinavian Doves, and, as with that band, their proggy, immersive songs warrant a big space, certainly bigger than a grotty Camden pub where a good proportion of the punters are more engrossed in the football on TV than the acts on stage.

Surrounded's lead singer, Marten Rydell, looks a little like a young Kris Kristofferson, perhaps the Kristofferson who famously landed his helicopter in Johnny Cash's backyard so he could give him a demo tape of "Sunday Morning Coming Down". In fact, "Kris Kristofferson in a helicopter" almost captures Surrounded's spacey, wheeling sound, which is so close to that of Sparklehorse that it verges on spoof, but is less sepulchral and more expansive, rounded out by Rydell's woozy vocals. These are allegedly protest songs, but with harebrained lyrics about "traitors' tangerines" and "lepers' drowned trombones", the only remonstrations here seem to be against basic verbal comprehension.

But it's somewhat bracing to be on the wrong end of some genuine madcap doggerel for a change, and delivered so artfully within a lush, yes, sonic cathedral. The names of the songs – "Paper Tangerine Crush", "Bolder Acrobat" – may be endearingly daft, but communicated with that ineffable Swedish poise, they're irresistible. "This is a song about possibility... and impossibility" is pretty much the sum total of what could be discerned from Rydell's interaction with his audience, but in the context of the band's thrilling jamming and extended outros, it all makes perfect sense. 4/5

Drownded In Sound(UK) The Social - London - April 7, 2008
But when Sweden’s Surrounded step up everything shifts up a gear or two. The Nautilus Years is the best album of 2008 so far by a country mile and as ‘Safe Tomorrow’s Sun’ starts to unleash its melodic majesty the mood gradually develops into that of euphoria. Eyes are closed, toes are tapped and words are mouthed as Marcus Knutsson’s guitar chimes over Marten Rydell’s vocals, creating a far larger sound than you’d think could come from the Social’s tiny stage. ‘Swimming To Galapagos’ is so sweet and tender it feels like waking up in the arms of a new lover and ‘Bolder Acrobat’ develops from being a straightforward Flaming Lips homage on record into some organic, swirling masterpiece that more than confirms the quiet majesty of these five unassuming guys in black T-shirts. And while there’s no rendition of the effortless epic ‘Human Pelagic’ it’s hard to shake the feeling that Surrounded are a very, very special band indeed. And tonight they were utterly fabulous for every conceivable reason.
9/10


Safety In Numbers

Live reviews


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