Reviews of Behold A New Traveler
JULIAN COPE REVIEWS BEHOLD A NEW TRAVELER
I’m also digging the huge & Cosmick heathen folk of The Goner’s BEHOLD A NEW TRAVELLER, seven tumbling & loud loud acoustic-driven tales geyser’d forth from the pen and guitars of Swede Daniel Westerlund. Recorded deep in the heart of some Cretan antron by the sounds of it; this singular reverb pervades the entire record, lending, nay, endowing BEHOLD A NEW TRAVELLER with a hefty Post-Punkiness, a kind of Chills-like frosting that candy-coats each song. When the banjos plunk, the log drums clunk and the backporch harmonies yodel, the spectre of Stone Breath’s tiMOTHy is inevitably invoked. But there’s precious few others nowadays peddling such a rich and thorough Trip as the Revelator, so any artists daring to plough that same agri-furrow should be welcomed and shared around. Besides, the Goner’s Trip is entirely his own. It’s psychedelic, it’s glorious and – best of all – it’s useful. Released on the Deep Water label, this record is a highly complete statement, and a beautiful thing well worthy of the scoring.
- Julian Cope (September 2010)
IT’S A TRAP REVIEWS BEHOLD A NEW TRAVELER
9/10
The Goner is most definitely a grower! The first listen to any of Daniel Westerlund‘s releases always has the same result: it’s always pleasurable with immediate effect; it always leaves a sort of eerie quirkiness that has you wondering what in the hell is going on in Westerlund’s mind; and it always reassures you that the next few times the record gets a spin it’s only going to get better. “behold a new traveler” continues this particular aspect of The Goner‘s listening experience as unconventional vocals meet atmospheric, eccentric musical passages that interweave to create a truly captivating and addictive sound. The album’s strongest moments are found on “Within the hour”, one of the more uplifting sections of the recording, albeit in an oblique sort of way, and closing track “En route” with its drone-meets-grunge progression toward some pseudo-insanity. The production on “behold a new traveler” is somewhat repressed, yet it fits The Goner’s style perfectly. Anything brighter would definitely be to the detriment of the music and it’s this choice of sonic output that really elevates the album to such high regard. Musically, he’s hard to pin down. Think Rusted Root meets Wardruna meets Michael Stipe-gone-Cajun and you’re pretty close to what Westerlund manages to create in his music. And the best thing about this album? The fact that even though it already sounds amazing, I know it’s only going to get better! A tall order indeed, but The Goner has hit the nail firmly on the head.
- John Norby (May 11, 2010)
FOXY DIGITALIS REVIEWS BEHOLD A NEW TRAVELER
7/10
The Goner appears to be a primarily one-man project based in Stockholm, Sweden. The artwork seems to have some sort of mystical medievel thing going on, and the songs are generally folky tales embellished with accordions, mandolins, and other acoustic instruments. The Decemberists are the first band that come to mind, but this band doesn’t quite reach the levels of progginess as Colin Meloy and crew.
First and foremost, I really enjoy the song “Within The Hour”. It basically sounds like a standard midtempo (but steady) ’90s sadcore type song, but with a strong driving rhythm and a memorable melody picked on what sounds like a banjo or mandolin. Lyrics are minimal and not the focal point of the song, and every note seems to be important. The tempo or velocity doesn’t change much during the song’s five minutes, but it’s hypnotic and makes a lasting impression.
“Strong Interactions” follows, and is slower but with a slightly more varied rhythm. Cellos and classical guitar guide the song, the drums subtly get more intense, and some dark synths top things off. The next few tracks are more (decent) midtempo drone-folk, but the last track is a heavy instrumental psych jam that barely even sounds like the same band. Just to confuse things even more, it ends with two minutes of slowly decaying feedback and static, with a quiet bit of acoustic guitar picking over it.
For an album with only seven songs, this release covers a bit more ground than I had initially thought. The instrumentation is fine, and the music never veers too much off into a direction that it doesn’t seem confortable with. I’m not really sure what to expect next from The Goner, and I think that’s a good thing.
- Paul Simpson (4th of August 2010)
PINKUSHION REVIEWS BEHOLD A NEW TRAVELER
Comme tombant d’un vieux carnet de notes, The Goner semble posséder les traits d’un itinéraire énigmatique. Côtoyant l’univers folk et country, cette formation suédoise, réunie autour de Daniel Westerlund, offre dans Behold a New Traveler une matière musicale qui survient ou, plus précisément, fait émerger un destin dont la force exige l’attention. Si le détachement par rapport à un cadre sonore conventionnel ne se fait pas sans peine, cela est en partie lié à l’exploitation d’un instrument tel que le banjo, objet immédiatement catégorisé comme exotique. Son utilisation au sein de l’album, et notamment dans “Within The Hour”, “Behold a New Traveler” ou encore “I Traveled Far Away From You”, génère une impression somme toute singulière, qui se donne ici à travers la répétition, articulation en boucle et révélant toute une série de fresques éloignées. Ces dernières ne sont point les territoires désertiques d’un pays rêvé, ni une espèce de fuite pour l’expérience dépaysante. S’il est question d’une route, elle paraît être celle d’un exilé, reproduisant à l’infini le moment de rupture — intervalle réitéré, une coupure que Westerlund tient peut-être de la tradition progressive et psyché de la musique suédoise des années 70, un aspect qu’illustre parfaitement des morceaux comme “Heaven Send You Love” et “En Route”. Dans sa clarté et sa fulgurance, Behold a New Traveler parle à travers le cœur ouvert d’un poète qui s’ignore ; de celui, en somme, pour qui la beauté s’éloigne inéluctablement, laissant derrière elle un visage familier. A mesure qu’elle recule, elle fait du trajet un nœud, une ligne abstraite et qui n’a de sens véritable qu’aux yeux du banni.
- Umut Ungan (14th of June 2010)
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