Civilistjävel!

(This article’s English version was produced with AI-assisted translation)

Sweden has always been one of the driving forces pushing Tomas Bodén to transfigure the nostalgia of his homeland into sound. With the Civilistjävel! project, launched in the late 2010s, he gave life to dreamlike impressions whispered in lo-fi tones, laid upon delicate ambient crackles, in a series of releases that evoked minimal synth unease (as in the debut album 1 from 2018) and a darkwave that, intertwined with dub-techno jolts, absorbed its most languid and clear-cut inflections. From the very beginning, Bodén’s has been a muted, twilight art, carved from measured contrasts and subdued sound design, unfolding between hypnotic immersions ("XV"), somber atmospheres, and drum machines sketching fragile post-tribalisms ("XVI").

Stripped of (almost) all lo-fi intent in favor of a more crystalline reproduction, with "Följd" the sound has also become less dense, transporting the low fidelity of past works into a new, direct and melancholic incarnation. In a way, it is as if the outer shell—once an integral part of the previous pieces—has given way to a core suffused with evanescent sonic textures, as though an orchestra of faded specters were conducted by a faint glow about to fade away. What emerges is a solitary communion between a few instruments: a subtle dialogue between electronic sounds and material components like organs and guitars, all chiseling a sound fabric that is gentle and nostalgic ("XVIII"), yet also misty and diffuse ("XVII").

The tracks follow one another like mournful narratives with a bucolic breath, as if the very idea of damp earth had been translated into an instrumental palette that lies somewhere between the cinematic—though never theatrical—and the intimate. While moments of lyricism and poetic grace surface, elsewhere a hypnotic, almost eerie sentiment takes shape. Stripped of its lo-fi legacy and with its essence revealed, Bodén’s project continues to work. Whether this is a momentary detour or a new path, Civilistjävel! seems destined to keep leading us toward new and fascinating territories.

07/03/2025