The Lost Poets - Insubordia Pt. II (Self-Released)

The Lost Poets is an enigmatic duo hailing from Stockholm. It almost seems as if Sweden naturally has a proclivity towards the darker and less trodden realms of music. Sure, The Lost Poets are by far not as sinister as a band like, say, The Brainbombs, but they nevertheless leave the listener with an uncomfortably close sense of foreboding. Their new full-length, Insubordia Pt. II, is a follow up to their 2014 debut EP, Insubordia; and for the most part picks up where the previous release left off, while simultaneously beefing up the dirge-like swamp rock sonics to an even grander scale.

Donning top hats and suits, The Lost Poets’ image seems at once to be diametrically opposed to their sound, yet it only augments the mystery of their ethos. Songs like “Bound” and “In A Wasteland” are so doom-ridden, the band sounds as if Joy Division had instead spent their formative years listening predominately to Southern rock and early proto-metal. Almost every song’s tempo is stretched and slowed to its breaking point, case in point “In Filth,” but it creates a wonderfully tense and panegyric quality to the atmosphere. Insubordia Pt. II is an album perfectly nestled in the crossroads between the melodic and pure, beautiful sludge.