
Continuing Sweden's somewhat surprising ability to turn out quality Americana comes a new name in the shape of Rike. Consisting of songwriters Rickard Johansson and Nike Sellmar, their single "This Town" has a gloriously authentic Americana feel,
There is a wonderful live sound to the drumming and the guitar work is certainly attention grabbing but the stand out feature are Nike's vocals which are the star of the show here as they weave their way around something of an unfolding plot.
Trimmed from it's 6 minute album version "This Town" the single still weighs in at a healthy four and a half minutes - with a tale of separation.
"Day after day everything’s the same this home bereaved me of you".
It is when the chorus comes that Nike unveils a spectacular vocal as she sings
"God take me away from this town take me somewhere I can rest my mind" where folk and country blend together and at times it becomes almost operatic as her voice rises through the scales. There are elements of bands like Calexico but this is simply out there in a class of its own - intriguing and unusual leaving you definitely wanting to hear more.