DRAKKAR NOWHERE - s/t LP

"Written largely in a rented house in Stockholm, Sweden, with a gaggle of local musicians including members of rock bands Dungen and the Amazing, Drakkar Nowhere is Daniel Collás and Morgan Phalen’s strongest, and most eccentric, work to date.

While Phenomenal Handclap Band grounded itself in the music of the ‘80s, Drakkar Nowhere finds its reference points in early psychedelic rock.

The album opens with “Any Way,” where sweet piano and crystalline vocal lines are a delightful dead ringer for the Zombies’ “This Will be Our Year,” before things move into headier territory. True to its name, “Higher Now” delivers a barrage of intergalactic synths over a hypnotic, deep bass loop, and “Did It Ever?” boasts an unironic flute in the vein of Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung.”

While the expansive and mostly-instrumental closing track “Salutation to the Sun” drifts a bit into Spinal Tap “Stonehenge” territory with its drum freakout and Gregorian monk vocals, it maintains an elegance that overrides any whimsical or parodic read. Throughout their debut as Drakkar Nowhere, Collás and Phalen haven’t abandoned their affinity for musical hodge-podge as much as they’ve tackled it, demonstrating a newfound, and bold, sense of adventure." - Bandcamp Daily Album Of The Day