EP review: Sonika Howl “Sonika Howl”
A new Swedish band gives us groovy haze rock on debut EP.
Stockholm-based trio Sonika Howl is a Swedish rock band with a focus on guitars, groovy melodies and a love for playing music. The band formed out of casual jam sessions that grew longer and longer and resulted in a band. The band’s self-titled debut EP is a labour of love. It contains four tracks; “Pieces”, “Coming Through”, “Villain” and “Stenen”. The recordings were made during live sessions and thus sound alive and unpolished and all the better for it. Long live proper rock that is alive as opposed to over-polished studio creations. The EP’s groovy rock has some psychedelic touches to it as well. At times it reminds me of one of my old favourite haze rock bands, The Shades of Orange from Sundsvall, Sweden, as well as Gothenburg’s The Soundtrack of Our Lives. This EP also makes me think back to another band from Stockholm, Solid Ground and its legendary “Made in Rock” album from 1976. Sonika Howl has a great retro vibe to it but in an unpretentious way. This is not about being true to a genre’s roots or anything like that. This is about having fun while creating and performing great music. Sonika Howl consists of Andreas Bohman on lead vocals and guitar, Martin Nordström on lead guitar and Andreas Henningson on drums. This is a rock band that is off to a good start.
