Pocket Size – Immortality

Pocket Size – Immortality

Mill Hill Productions – 2018

Rock, Prog, Jazz, Instrumental

Rated: ****

Pocket Size Sthlm or simply Pocket Size is the brainchild of composer/guitarist Peter Pedersen. This conceptual musical unit was brought into daylight early 2010. There were some ideas and fragments of songs floating around in the pool of creativity. They were developed together with others. So, two years ago we had Vemood, the first edition of the Cleaning The Mirror series by Swedish jazzy prog outfit Pocket Size. And now they’re back with a second installment (to a trilogy) named Immortality. It feels even more jazzy and exhumes a lot of sixties vibes. It puts the saxophone in a majestic spotlight and Kristian Brink knows how to move around in that diamond shaped glare. Just listen to the Cyclopes And Pine Trees track and feel his whirling dervish dance. The entire album feels like a cool, calm and collected labor of love. And less a laborious birth. Even though it might come across here or there as an extremely complicated tangle of lines it sounds highly natural and vibrates with intensity. You’re in the boiler room now. And it is steamy hot!

(Written by JK)

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Pocket Size – Vemood

Pocket Size – Vemood

MillHill productions – 2016

Rock, Instrumental, Jazz, Prog, Psych, Jam

Rated: ****

As main man Peter Pedersen and the rest of his Pocket Size guns for hire finished up the last record Exposed Undercurrents the man felt fatigued and drained. The artistic adventure had taken its toll and there was no way out. The undercurrents project twisted his mind in such a way that the only route left was to take up the stream of consciousness approach. Recorded live and with only a bare framework present at the start for each of the songs, the players had to dig deep into themselves and into the energy floating around to come up with the right parts to invest in. And man, did these guys connect. Okay let’s make this quick and get the one point of criticism about the new Vemood record out of the way, it is the fact that between songs the man directs words of wisdom at us. But mostly in his native tongue. Which we unfortunately can barely understand. It also takes some of the flow out of the otherwise excellent songs. Moving distinctly into the more classic jazz-rock landscape on most of the tracks there is not one brush stroke in the wrong color. And the dynamics of the nine players working to make every painting a masterpiece seem to have been in perfect synch at the moment of recording. What views, what vistas. They definitely leave a lingering image of inspiration in the mind…

(Written by JK)

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Pocket Size Sthlm – Exposed Undercurrents

Pocket Size Sthlm – Exposed Undercurrents

Self released – 2014

Rock, Prog, Experimental, Art, Jazz, Psych

Rated: ***

The new album Exposed Undercurrents by the Swedish musical mercenary squad Pocket Size Sthlm is not just a little psychedelic ditty one can enjoy on a lazy afternoon. No, this experimental jazz infused adventure desires your full attention. The man behind this endeavor is Peter Pedersen who has enlisted the aid of a multitude of artists from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to help him surf these newly found undercurrents. It is a slippery ride that feels forced on a few moments but generally comes across like that tightrope acrobatic you once knew that loved his drink and drank his vodka like he was on a mission. Which is a dangerous mix that will sooner or later lead you to cross the wrong wire at the wrong time. And on some of those days you will be lucky and only break a finger or two and make a fool of yourself. But luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance. Peter and his band of brothers seem to be experts in surviving. They maneuver themselves into musical Cul-de-sacs where you think there is no way left to go. But they then manage to either find tight little hole to squeeze through or just turn around and stampede the way they came in from. This is high art and not to be taken lightly. This is a festive and highly fluid way to arrest a certain undercurrent of life. Not to hold it fixed for future generations but to expose it now for entire world to see. Or at least the lucky few who knew and who will understand…

(Written by JK)

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