By Henry Lipput
It’s not surprising that Futureman Records decided to release the very cool and tuneful new album from Sweden's The Tor Guides. On Backwards In Reverse you can hear echoes of Futureman artists both past and present. There's some of the pop tunes that are the trademark of The Hangabouts as well as the harmonies of The Legal Matters. In fact, Keith Klingensmith, head honcho of Futureman and one-third of The Legal Matters, adds vocals to one of the tracks on Backwards In Reverse.
Your tour guide for the journey through Backwards In Reverse is Torbjorn Petersson who, except for a little help from his drummer friends, plays all of the instruments on the new album. In addition, he's written all but two of the songs. One of the covers is his delightful take on "Just A Smile," a song originally performed by the Scottish band Pilot in the 1970s. The pop music of that decade seems to be a big influence on Petersson.
"To Be" has a swell pop melody, a Macca-like bass riff, and a clean, crisp guitar solo. If you told me that the piano-led "In A Good Place" was a song from Raspberries" back catalogue, with its Eric Carmen-sounding lead vocal and 70s backing vocals and guitar solo, I would have to believe you.
"My Midas Touch" is a jangle-pop treasure with a wonderful bridge and terrific harmonies. And "My Hippie Mess," one of my favorites on the album, features a cool 60s organ. Like most of the songs on Backwards In Reverse, it has more hooks than most albums.
Backwards In Reverse is out now on Futureman Records.
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