In the twilight between Psychedelia and the first bloom of Progressive Rock, Sweden produced a clutch of records that have, for decades, existed more as whispered legends than as stones on any mainstream map. “Belsebub Är Lös,” the lone album by Midsommar, belongs precisely to that liminal territory: raw, restless, and stubbornly inventive. Thanks to PQR-Disques plusqueréel’s first official vinyl reissue—pressed on heavyweight vinyl and limited in a strictly numbered run—this curious artefact finally steps into the light for new listeners and collectors alike.
From the opening bars of the title-track “Belsebub Är Lös,” Midsommar announce their agenda: muscular rhythmic propulsion, jagged guitar lines and a wind of brass and woodwind that colours the guitar-driven core. The instruments sit in a muscular mix—organ and piano weaving under the riffs, sax and flute punctuating with a timbral eccentricity that gives the piece an immediately Scandinavian character. The Swedish vocals — urgent, textured and untranslatable to many listeners — become an instrument in themselves, adding a shade of ritualistic mystery that suits the era and the aesthetics the band pursue. “På En Strand” deepens the record’s momentum. Here the band proves a fluent ear for arrangement: guitars and keyboards interlock, the groove moves through shifting meters, and sudden accelerations keep the listener slightly off-balance in the best possible way. Where many contemporaries might milk the verse/chorus machine, Midsommar treat composition as an unfolding journey; brief melodic passages give way to more aggressive, guitar-led episodes and then back to melancholic interludes. The track is a compact demonstration of how the band manage dynamics—energy and restraint—within a relatively short runtime. “Drömmens Värld” is one of the album’s more ambitious statements. Beginning on tribal-tinged percussion, the piece blossoms into a proto-Prog tapestry: bass and guitar suggest funkish stiffness at times, yet the piece swings back into Nordic proto-Psychedelia with flute and sax often carrying melodic weight. The band’s willingness to pivot from tight rhythmic blocks to freer, more textural sections gives the track a cinematic quality—equal parts trance and explosive release. “Jag Vill…” foregrounds the brass section more directly, offering an engaging hybrid of Psychedelic brass Rock and accessible melodic hooks. The vocal lines stay catchy while the instrumental breaks show the group’s technical competence—tasteful solos rather than indulgent showcases—an effective balance that keeps the record from collapsing into mere virtuoso display. The title “Midsommar” perhaps best illustrates the band’s Baltic sensibility: a folksier, more pastoral opening anchored by bass and voice moves into gentle acoustic arpeggios, then clothes itself in Jazzy inflections. The flute work and the band’s sensibility here point at how regional folk elements can be recomposed inside a Progressive framework—yielding a track whose emotional register is immediately northern: melancholic, wind-blown and intimate. “Staden” returns us to a more Atmospheric, late-’60s Psych/Garage palette, but with a rhythmic sophistication—organ and duetting guitars push the piece toward a Jazz-tinged conclusion. The second half introduces brass solos that hint at Jazz-Rock crossovers; again, rather than feeling patched, the hybridization reads as organic to the band’s palette. Then comes the album’s centrepiece: “Fantomen” (the longest track). Over six minutes, Midsommar synthesize the record’s many tendencies—Hard Rock propulsion, improvised Jazz detours, Psych textures and orchestral brass moments—into one sustained narrative. The organ/guitar interplay is reminiscent of early Prog-Jazz experiments (Colosseum or Soft Machine are relevant touchstones), but there is a uniquely Scandinavian austerity here—less florid English Psychedelia, more concentrated, icy improvisation that resolves into a vehement guitar climax. In terms of structure and tonal adventurousness, “Fantomen” is the moment when the band’s ambition is clearest: the composition breathes, stumbles, returns, and ultimately asserts its identity. (If you enjoy Canterbury-tinged Prog-Jazz with a harder edge, this is the sequence that will capture you.) The record closes with “Till Morsan,” a compact, riff-driven piece—an energetic, satisfying coda that reaffirms the band’s love of Heavy Psych grooves. The track’s driving bass, sturdy drum work and organ underpinning bring the album full circle, returning to a groove that feels lived-in and immediate.
Personnel deserve mention: the group’s line-up—featuring Weyne Petersson (vocals, percussion), Lennart Andrén (guitar, vocals), Dan Pihl (organ, piano), Reg Ward (sax, flute), Hans Olsson (bass, vocals) and Peder Sundahl (drums)—is a tight ensemble that privileges collective texture over star turns. The presence of seasoned sax and flute work (Reg Ward) is one of the record’s defining colours; it is these wind-instrument textures that often shift the band’s sound from straight Hard Rock into more adventurous Jazz-Psych territory. Contextually, sources vary on the exact original release year (some archival references point to 1970, others to 1971), which is not unusual for small regional pressings of that era. What matters artistically is that “Belsebub Är Lös” occupies the crucial window when Scandinavian Rock was absorbing Psych, Folk and Jazz influences and recombining them in ways that would later crystallize into recognizably Nordic Progressive idioms.
This PQR reissue is scrupulous: 180-gram vinyl, a two-page insert with the band’s bio and archival notes, and a strictly numbered pressing—200 copies on black vinyl and 200 on a splatter edition—make this a bona fide collector’s release. For listeners who prefer to preview the music digitally, the reissue and select samples are available on PQR’s Bandcamp page.
“Belsebub Är Lös” is not merely a curiosity for completists; it is an essential listen for anyone tracing the crosscurrents of early-’70s Nordic Rock. Midsommar move between raw, guitar-fuelled heft and more refined Jazz-inflected experimentation with convincing authority. For collectors and adventurous listeners—especially fans of November, early San Michael’s, Trettioåriga Kriget and the harder edges of Nordic Prog—this reissue should be welcomed and pressed into heavy rotation. PQR’s limited, numbered edition makes the physical object desirable; the music itself makes it necessary.
Tracklist
01. Belsebub Är Lös (3:20)
02. På En Strand 3:30
03. Drömmens Värld 5:50
04. Jag Vill… 4:20
05. Midsommar 3:50
06. Staden 4:00
07. Fantomen 6:25
08. Till Morsan 3:35
Lineup
Weyne Petersson / Vocals and Percussion
Lennart Andrén / Guitar and Vocals
Dan Pihl / Organ and Piano
Reg Ward / Tenor and Soprano Sax, Flute, Percussion
Hans Olsson / Bass and Vocals
Peder Sundahl / Drums
[…] Midsommar’s seminal album “Belsebub Är Lös” is reissued on heavyweight vinyl, offering a rare blend of Nordic Folk Prog, Psychedelia, and Jazz-infused textures. This classic record remains as intense and atmospheric as ever.[Full review here] […]