“Chrysanthemum Rock” is the newest track from Swedish artist Mathias Engwall, better know by his stage name llawgne (pronounced love-gney, also Mathias’ last name reversed). We’ve covered him previously over here on the BLOG, and haven’t changed our minds in the ensuing three years.
llawgne’s style is best enjoyed with a good set of headphones – all music, but particularly shoegazier tracks like this all but call for it. The swimmy guitar (with some backbone of jangle and wail) brings to mind Slowdive, Joy Division, and My Bloody Valentine – complete with a rhythmic chant-like vocal style that urges you to, quite literally, stop and smell the roses – er, crysanthemums.
Described as a “… powerful celebration of personal decline and lowered ambition as a recipe for success” you’ll find yourself drawn into Engwall’s (self-produced) effort here and is a great jumping off point for his other tracks. Be sure to give it a listen over on Spotify or Soundcloud.