Arv & Miljö - Arv & Miljö

Arv & Miljö
Arv & Miljö
Discreet Music
Sweden, 2025
LP

Beguiling swansong from Gothenburg’s Arv & Miljö, “based almost entirely on field recordings” from Matthias Andersson’s hometown. For someone who has often daydreamed about Gothenburg without having much idea what it’s really like, this collection of street sounds, chat, buskers, heavy machinery, & small gigs proves irresistible. I get a whiff of damp air, soft grey skies, hard luck & high spirits, cozy beer-scented interiors, an easy pace & instinctual camaraderie.

Comes with a lovely “self-zine” in which Andersson gives a rundown of every Arv & Miljö release & gig he can remember, though he’s the first to admit he has forgotten some. I have mixed feelings about this being his “last,” but I can only imagine the designation signals a metamorphosis more than an ending. A lovely companion to Five Years Of Failure, once again finding the anti-nostalgists of Discreet Music nevertheless trying to making something of the recent past.