Extant in Sweden between 1970-72, Life were, on the face of it, an archetypal, hirsute guitar-bass-drums trio of the era: except that they were considerably classier and more imaginative than most. At the turn of the decade in question, Paul Sundlin, Anders Nordh and Tomas Rydberg released two versions of their debut album: one in Swedish and an evidently rarer edition in English, which is the one Golden Pavilion has opted to reissue on a limited-run vinyl.
Life’s entry-level default setting, as heard on One Of Us and Many Years Ago, is marvellously slothful, pendulous-genitalled, curly lead stoner psych, kind of reminiscent of May Blitz, Human Beast or Third World War. In similarly troglodytic vein, Sailing In The Sunshine – despite the idyllic imagery suggested by its title – sounds more like a muddy dredge down a congealing river Styx. They did, however, elegantly slip into a lower gear from time to time, best evidenced on the Rundgrenesque felicity of Nobody Was There To Love Me, She Walks Across The Room and Quo Vadis, a sultry neo-classical figure that tops and tails the album. Best of all, Once Upon A Time is earnest, chest-beating, Mellotron-stoked Euro-balladry with dizzying orchestral surges – worthy of Aphrodite’s Child, even.
