For the Books
As a self-reflective act on the transmutation that occurs when you put your experience into music, Land of Trees’ new single “For the Books” reshapes the narrative of your past in order to get beyond it. Swedish singer/songwriter Marcus Friman, the mind and soul behind the project, presents us with an upbeat tune that feels like a cheerful aftertaste to a foggy morning.
“For the Books” is a slight departure from the more reserved character of Land of Trees’ recent songs that got him a broader audience and features on, among others, alexrainbird and New Nordic Folk & Roots. His distinct vocals are now supported by a fuller acoustic ensemble under the production of Alexander Asp (better known for “Cold Winter Love”). A sound with some hints of Passenger’s most cheerful side.
From the very bouncy intro, “For the Books” shakes off from any complicated ruminations. In Friman’s own words, “We can’t do anything about what has already happened, the past is beyond our control and I want to believe that writing such stories in books helps, partly in order to read and learn from them, but also in order to release them from your mind.”
From then on, it’s your choice: Either lingering on all the what ifs and any roads you did or did not take, or clap along to such an inevitable musical feast and who knows, maybe also write down your own story to leave behind.
A musical bird of passage as he is, Marcus Friman seems to be inspired by a constant wanderlust. He’s currently hitting the road for a European summer tour that will take him, besides his native Sweden, to Denmark, Germany and Holland.
