Weeping Willows - Broken Promised Land [1997]

Review by Lars Lovén [-]
Sentimental music with millions of strings, choruses, and horns, with country guitars and Magnus Carlsson delivering song after song with titles like "So It's Over" and "Blue and Alone." All of the lyrics being about heartbreaks and pain, Broken Promise Land could have been the most pathetic record of the '90s. And in a way it was, but in a positive way. Selling impressively good for being a debut and getting great reviews, the album has been credited with teaching the pop kids to listen to sentimental music and to have started the wave of Swedish country in the late '90s. The title track, of course a song about heartbreak, has even been used as a symbol for the people's disappointment with the depression of the same decade. It's true that Weeping Willows managed to revive a long-dead style, or rather merge a few dead styles, creating a thickly arranged sentimental music that is part Elvis in Vegas, part '50s ballads, and part Roy Orbison. And for the obvious complaint about retro music, this album is retro -- more retro than most. It will make Elvis fans happy or mad, depending on if they're purists. It is also pompous -- just listen to "I'm Falling in Love" or the title track, dreams for anyone looking for a soundtrack for an overly romantic/dramatic movie. What saves the album, or not only saves it but makes it really good, is that for all its retroness and pompousness, Broken Promise Land is made without a hint of irony, and with great skill. It also mixes a number of obvious influences without trying to be any of the artists. Maybe the album can be too much for those who listen to it straight through a couple of times, but they don't overdose it, listeners will find it does not contain one weak track. (4/5)