Unrelated Statements album back in 2004, and that’s clearly a pub-rock tune. You also have the song ‘Repo Man’ from our latest album (In Pure Spite, ’07) where we perform the typical little-finger rockenrolla that is the essence of pub- rock.”
Beginning with ’01’s h-minor, each of their four full-length albums has seen the repertoire expand above and beyond their garageband roots – although the songwriting and melodies of the ’60s that so inspired each member are still very evident. “The most important thing though is that we are not stuck in any particular genre and era, and that comes with age I guess,” says Jens. “Mathias and I, for example, were straight-edge garage fanatics for many years and would spit on anyone trying to play other styles. Today it isn’t that important. We love all rock ’n’ roll whether it’s Kiss, Black Sabbath, New Dawn, Dr Feelgood or Little Richard. The thing that unites us is the love for good songs performed with all the brains and bollocks that you can muster.”
HIGH KINGS OF THE NORTH COUNTRIES
Sweden’s – nay – the world’s best kept secret band of 2011 could well be the slow burn rock ’n’ roll time bomb that is THE MAHARAJAS.
JON ‘MOJO’ MILLS bows down to Jens Lindberg and Ulf Guttormsson
Sweden: a cold, beautiful land. Ingmar Bergman, Tages, Britt Ekland, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives... and saviours of 21st century rock ’n’ roll! Forget IKEA, meatballs, pickled herring and the chef from The
Muppets.The Swedes are cool!
The best of the Swedish ’80s garage scene has recently been anthologised on the 2- CD set A Real Cool Time Revisited – which contains fabulous material from The Crimson Shadows, The Wylde Mammoths, The Stomachmouths and The Highspeed V – all of whom featured, in one capacity or another, Jens Lindberg. Lindberg may well be to Swedish garage bands what Billy Childish is to the English ones – just much, much better. So what would happen if said garage veteran was to meet a younger flag-waving ancestor in the form of Mathias Lilja, the mighty vocalist and guitarist from The Strollers?
The answer: Sweden’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band of 2011.
However, The Maharajas are certainly not a 8
new band. Formed in 1997 when Jens had a certain urge to play moody, ’60s Greek- sounding garage music, the Mark I version of the group released a couple of excellent vintage-sounding garage EPs before a more stable line-up was cemented in 2001 with Mathias Lilja joining the fray. Today sees the triumvirate of Jens Lindberg (vocals and guitar), Mathias Lilja (lead vocals and guitar, harp and organ) and Ulf Guttormsson (vocals and bass) along with more recently recruited drummer, Ricard Harryson (formerly of another brilliant purist ’90s garage/beat band The Roadrunners).
Their brand new EP contains four songs of stellar Canvey Island inspired rock ’n’ blues and country-tinged powerpop/rock. Aptly, it’s titled Sucked Into The ’70s. “I think we’ve always liked that kind of music and now felt it was time to make our tribute to this fantastic genre and way of life with a full-grown pub-rock EP,” says Jens. “I mean, these influences go a long way back for The Maharajas considering that Ulf wrote ‘Odd Socks’ for the
The ’07 album In Pure Spite epitomises this with its spectrum of approaches: the revved up garage of ‘The Boy Inside’ (featuring yet another nice lift from We The People’s ‘My Brother The Man’ and an energy that recalls the ’80s Oz garage- punk of The Lime Spiders), the moody ’60s garage/folk-rock of ‘Alaska Beach’ and the kind of incessant Stooges punk that The Hives made their name with on ‘Suckerpunch’. Throw in the US powerpop/rock sensibilities of The Real Kids, some beat band edge and even a dash of psych and you have a perfect hybrid that even a contemporary audience could cherish. Much like The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Maharajas make music dumb and riffy enough for the masses but are tuned in to their influences in such a way to win over the elite.
“The thing that unites us is the love for good songs performed with all the brains and bollocks that you can muster.”
So why aren’t they mega rock stars then? “Well, we all have to live regular lives: working, eating, taking care of the offspring and trying to make our women happy,” opines Jens. “That leaves very little time for doing the really fun stuff in life, in other words tuning guitars, travelling and composing songs.”
This Easter the band will play a string of dates in Norway, so fingers crossed they will bring their well crafted rock ’n’ roll action across the world in the not too distant future.
New EP Sucked Into The ’70s is out now on
www.crusherrecords.com
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