On its adventurous new album, the Gothenburg quintet expands on its pitch-perfect blend of post-punk, jangle pop, and shoegaze.
Since Makthaverskan formed in 2008, their keen-edged brand of dream punk has remained uncannily consistent. Across their last three full-length releases—held together as a kind of conceptual trilogy—the Gothenburg quintet has curated a mostly unchanging, pitch-perfect blend of post-punk, jangle pop, and shoegaze. Their latest album, För Allting, keeps the same essential framework but expands on it, encompassing a full-bodied reflection on regret and stagnation.
In contrast to the languid, meditative moments from 2017’s III, the songs on För Allting return to the youthful bite of the band’s early music with newfound urgency and attention to detail. Although every song is still steeped in classically dreamy textures, the band substantially varies its musical palette. The synths on “Caress,” a new element in their repertoire, suggest an intimate fondness for Power, Corruption, and Lies; the storm-tossed “Lova” takes on a serrated, gothic tone; closer “Maktologen” explodes in a Close Lobsters-like expression of pure C-86 joy. Both “Tomorrow” and “Ten Days” deviate from the indie pop formula with tremendously cathartic breakdowns—the latter brings a post-punk revival edge in its beautifully bitter outro, like something out of a classic Western film. Even the ambient transition tracks “(-)” and “(--)” form a lush, thoughtful susurrus in and of themselves.
Romantic tracks like “These Walls” and “All I’ve Ever Wanted to Say” bring the band closer to a shoegaze sound. Frontwoman Maja Milner has a voice seemingly built for dream pop—thin but strong, hitting a violent edge as easily as the flick of a butterfly knife. Her vocals narrow with accusation as she laments “but you used to be mine” on “Lova” and denounces “all of this world’s sorrow” on the sweetly misanthropic “Tomorrow.” Her sonorous lyrics are never complex but they’re never sophomoric, either; her euphoria and grief sound arresting and empathetic through the speakers.
Milner’s lyrics remain visceral, but there’s a gentler tilt to her writing now. While the lyrics of II were characterized with incisive fuck you’s, För Allting is more subtle, carrying the taut restlessness of a waiting room. Milner’s tone is urgent and existential. The lead single “This Time” is suffused with a sharp, wistful regret, one only brought about with age: “This time it’s too late/This time it won’t matter,” she admits. “This time I said things I shouldn’t have said.”
At this stage in Makthaverskan’s career, it could be easy for them to hit a ceiling: It’s common for contemporary dream pop bands to grow complacent with their sound and begin repeating themselves. But more than a decade after their debut, Makthaverskan still find a way to retain their ‘80s influences and joyful pop formula while reshaping their identity and evolving. On För Allting, there’s more room to breathe and more time to bask in their endless disquiet.
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