Millencolin
True Brew

It was the spring of 2008, and it dates back to this period, “Machine 15,” the last postcard from Sweden, followed by several tours to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the release of their instant-classic “Pennybridge Pioneers” (2000) and many silences.

But let's be honest, early retirement would have left us with a faded image of what the Millencolin truly were in the '90s and early '00s. I said it seven years ago here (how time flies, alas) and I repeat it here: “Machine 15” was a bland album without a backbone.

Time, people, and even tastes change, but the curiosity to listen to new music remains unaltered.

Fortunately, and it's already hinted at by the exceptional initial four (“Autopilot Mode,” namely Nikola sitting at the table listening to Dr. Gurewitz's advice), the boys from Orebro managed to redeem themselves, emerging from the shadows and avoiding the jingle-bell-punk trap that has infected the latest Rise Against.

An artwork in line with their animalist orientations that strongly harkens back to “Kingwood,” with the mind soon racing back to the jubilee of 2000, where we find the great tracks stamped with joy and a contagious underlying cheerfulness tightly bound with an ever-present nostalgia projected on the yellow-blue horizon.

Evergreen bears.