In Transit is the fifth LP from elegant psych-rockers the Amazing out of Sweden. Self-produced and recorded at the same Stockholm studio as 2016's Ambulance, it follows in that album's footsteps with dreamy, heartfelt improvisations that might pass for low-key stadium anthems if they weren't so devoted to shimmer, echo, and beauty. Per usual for the group, lyrics aren't always distinguishable, but steady time keeping, lush harmonies, and slow-shifting chord progressions are, especially on a song like "A Million," which has one of the album's stronger melodies and a more palpable sense of direction. Organ- and harpsichord-like guitar tones and keyboards that sound like strings are among the track's meshed palette. "Never Be" sharpens focus on melodic lead guitar and jammy drum fills while surrounding them with vocal echo and swirling keyboards and guitars. The more rumbling "Voices Sound" settles into a rippling eddy of blended guitars. The patterns are briefly interrupted by more rapid chord progressions in the choruses, which add tambourine and an extra layer of metallic treble to the strata. For all of the hypnotic, graceful transitioning on the album, they set up contrasts, as well. The over-the-top, "furious" guitar solo by Reine Fiske that closes the ten-minute "Benson Se Convirtio Completamente Furiosa," for instance, is followed by In Transit's only acoustic guitar intro ("For No One"). Altogether, it's an unhurried, immersive album, even relative to other records by the band, and continues a trajectory toward more lavish arrangements that stay afloat without losing sight of the ocean floor.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo