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A wildly ambitious project, this has Swedish rocker-gone-soft David Sandström grasping for, and working out and over his own past, by drawing up an image of his late grandfather, his life, his work, and â?? impressively in the almost 14 minutes long 1968 â?? his death. Sonically, the album takes in anything that may have crossed Sandström's sensors, amazingly managing to turn everything into one united whole â?? which is what storytelling is all about, right? The words may be in Swedish, but they are few in number and the album succeeds in making narrative sense primarily through music alone â?? an impressive feat. Perhaps overreaching, the album goes beyond making sense of the artist's specific search for his own past and present, and becomes an attempt at understanding an entire generation ('X' don't you know) through describing the sociological context that branded it and that it, in turn, helped to shape. It is an impressive and exhausting ride, and it may be easier to admire this one than to actually like it; however, Sandström is first and foremost a songwriter: Live with it, and you will find that there is more musical chops at work than you can throw a bundle of sticks at.

Stein Haukland
CWAS #9 - Winter 2002

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