Swedish, Gothenburg-based vocalist Lindha Kallerdahl and pianist Fabian Kallerdahl describe themselves as making music together for 17 years knowing each other “extremely well musically”. This understatement does not tell that they have been married now for 15 years and running together the Hoob label. The title of their duo album, The Thrill Is Gone, may be misleading too. Their thrill is far from being gone. They just wanted to play free interpretations of a few classic songs from the American songbook plus few improvisations, with no predetermined ideas or rules.

The album was recorded in the countryside, outside of Gothenburg, in a former old spinning factory with a piano that had an “atmospheric mystic sound”. The Thrill Is Gone matches Lindha Kallerdahl experimental, uncompromising approach, as an improviser who has collaborated with artists as Ikue Mori, Sonic Youth, Marina Abramovic and William Parke, with Fabian Kallerdahl more straight forward approach and even naive playing, as featured in his own groups MusicMusicMusic and The Splendor.

“Dream Away” that opens The Thrill Is Gone, a song identified with Frank Sinatra, attempts to balance these approaches. Lindha Kallerdahl, as the lyrics suggest, simply runs wild with the song, making it totally her own while Fabian Kallerdahl anchors gently her ecstatic, urgent vocal flights. The mystic sounding piano adds an old jazz club, smoky atmosphere to the title-song and to the Duke Ellington melody of “I’ve Got It Bad”, played by Fabian Kallerdahl with an economic, elegant sense of time. The improvisations and the cover of “Send In The Clowns” stress the different approaches between these partners. Lindha Kallerdahl singing always pushes the boundaries while Fabian Kallerdahl always attempts to articulate clear narratives and boundaries, but as Lindha Kallerdah sings-shouts-whispers on the last “Marengo”: “everything is love”.

Eyal Hareuveni

Lindha Kallerdahl (v), Fabian Kallerdahl (p), Josef Kallerdahl (b), Emil Strandberg (tp)