'Piggies,' the new album from The Amazing, is severely being slept on

Plus, a phenomenal Saturday night show in Santa Fe with Betty Benedeadly and Dandelioness.

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I was late to The Amazing game when I came across their fourth album, Ambulance, all the way back in 2016. As easy as it is to keep up with all of the great indie bands in Sweden, the unhurried textures of three guitarists, along with singer Christoffer Gunrup’s knack for muttering lyrics in a fashion that would make I.R.S.- era Michael Stipe blush, made Ambulance a dream pop smash. At least on my headphones.

In Transit followed two years later and cranked up the psych nob while staying true to The Amazing’s formula. Like Ambulance, it stayed in heavy rotation for a year or two, and both were ones that I often revisited when I needed a break from all of the ugliness at the beginning of this decade.

The Amazing isn’t a band you hear much about stateside, and six years later, I figured they had disappeared into the ether like all of the other great acts who have come and gone. So color me surprised when last week, MusicHarbor, the nice lil app that scans your library and keeps you posted on new releases by artists within your non-existent digital collection, told me that Piggies, the latest from The Amazing had arrived.

What a pleasant treat this album is. It still sounds like the Stockholm band always has, but things seem to have chilled out even more. Piggies slowly slops through the indie folk mud with fantastic results. Maybe it’s because their last few records were on Partisan Records, an indie label with a reasonably great roster that lent to some press, and now this one is on an indie out of Sweden called Fashionpolice Records. Still, I can’t find any reviews or press for this lovely winter offering. Maybe it’s because Piggies is eight songs of wandering textures that often land over the four-minute running time, and it’s not great music for making TikToks.

I’ve tried to avoid this comparison, but the best way to describe this version of The Amazing on Piggies is like listening to Red House Painters without the guilt of knowing what a predatory piece of shit Mark Kozelek is. If you want to listen to Red House Painters I or Songs For a Blue Guitar like I often do but can’t listen to Kozelek’s voice anymore, reach for this one instead. The back half is especially worth the ticket, as the dualing E-bows on “Cinnamon” make for the album highlight, and “I Think I Found A Way,” “Figurehead,” and “Through the Cracks” finish a fantastic run. I also really appreciate Lisa Isaakson’s vocal additions to “Streetfighter,” “Last Stand,” and “Cinnamon.”

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Another weekend of great shows here in Santa Fe and a few local artists you should have on your radar.

On Saturday night, we had a double bill at the hotel, which I had been really looking forward to, with Betty Benedeadly headlining and Dandelioness supporting. Benedeadly just relocated to Santa Fe from Austin, and wow, we are lucky to have her in town. Also part of the band Sheverb, Benedeadly’s solo material is instrumental ambient western that offers a campfire familiarity while placing you on another planet with her music’s otherworldliness. With just a guitar or banjo and some backing tracks, Benedeadly had the packed house following each note.

Dandelioness at The Mystic, February 3, 2024

Dandelioness pulled in the crowd and set the mood with her ethereal voice and sparse electric guitar-picking. I’ve seen her a few times over the last year-plus, always outside in some odd setting. Those shows were strong enough to invite her to the hotel for this show, but talk about meeting the moment and vibing with a room. Her 45-minute set of self-described “southwest soft goth” had the entire bar in a collective hush as she ranged from a whisper to coyote howls. At that moment, I told a friend this version of Danelioness reminded me of early PJ Harvey, and listening to “Teclo” off of To Bring You My Love, confirmed this notion.

Both released albums last year, with Benedeadly teaming up with Braden Guess for At the Institute of Mentalphysics and Dandelioness’s debut, Scorpio Ballads - I highly recommend listening to both.