Audiopile Review: For those who were taken aback by the Sternpost’s Ulrika, which we had highlighted earlier this year, prepare yourself for the newest release from Testbild!, the long-running project spearheaded by Petter Herbertsson, who also doubles as Sternpost. With the recent underground success of Ulrika (the original pressing now runs in the triple digit range), Herbertsson’s previous work with Testbild! has had a surge in interest, making the timing of this new mini-album, issued on Italian imprint Quindi Records (Forunato Durutti Marinetti, Woo), a perfect starting point to further investigate this unsung collective from Malmö, Sweden. Much like Herbertsson’s Ulrika, Testbild! are clearly enamoured with the hallowed Canterbury scene, fusing the proto-prog rock motifs with whiffs of sea-breeze jazz, chamber-pop and, dare we say, a near folktronica style, recalling the kitchen-sink approach of late ‘90s Stereolab or the mighty High Llamas. Funny enough, these tracks are actually culled from the early days of the group during the early ‘00s, the through line with Herbertsson’s newer work still holds a clear bent towards a lush surrealist pop that retains a timeless feel, no matter which decade it was recorded in. Not much time to ponder this one, staggeringly meager pressing of 109 copies, of which we only have a few (our big order for this one got cut almost in half). Act fast.

Matching breezy, Bossa nova-tinged sophistication with softly spiralling psychedelia, Testbild! arrive in the Quindi lounge as though they’ve always been there. On their 12th album, Bed Stilt, the Swedish collective cast their attention back to the earlier days of their 25-year trip through sweetly mysterious pop-not-pop rendered in warm tones and shot through with surrealism. The project was spearheaded by Petter Herbertsson in his hometown of Malmö in the late ’90s, although the story on their website credits the inspiration and source material to a chance meeting and unpublished manuscript from a retiring scientist. The collective’s evolution since then is a tangled web of facts and fiction spun by a revolving cast of collaborators including Siri af Burén, Katja Ekman, Rikard Heberling, Douglas Holmquist, Mattias Nihlén, and Petter Samuelsson. Along the way, their music has touched on chamber pop, post-punk and modern jazz with the elaborate harmonies and catchy songwriting charm of the Canterbury scene. The tracks which make up Bed Stilt were in fact track recorded in Malmö back in the mid-’00s, lying in wait for the right opportunity to be brought to light with some delicate overdubs and finishing flourishes in the here and now. Tomas Bodén — better known as Civilistjavel — lent some additional synth work as well as mastering the record. Musically, Testbild! stay true to their idiosyncratic approach on Bed Stilt with six immaculately rendered sojourns through lilting harmonies and brushed rhythms, feeling nostalgic but beguiling in equal measure. The finger-picking delicacy and languid harmonica of “Streams” strike a pastoral mood neatly countered by the elegant slide into dislocated ambience for the track’s final stretch. By contrast, “And Her Eyes Are Red” surges with a big beat urgency which plays beautifully with the mellow jazziness of the chord sequences, boldly toying with song structure to dart down curious tangents without losing the immediate impulse of a great pop record. Somewhere in this tension between clarity and chaos we can understand the addictive charm of Testbild! — a band steeped in the considerable craft of making accomplished and unconventional music so very easy to sink into.