New Reviews: May 15, 1998

Minneapolis' NorthSide has the most eclectic catalogue of Scandinavian roots music releases. The self-titled debut by quartet SWAP combines both British and Swedish musicians for a musical feast of Celtic, roots, folk, waltz, polska, and vals. Karen Tweed on accordion and Ian Carr on guitar are the Brits of the band. Fiddlers Ola Bäckström (also in the band Den Fule) and Carina Normansson provide the backbone of the band's sound, which is light, but not in a shallow way -- it is obvious these musicians have passion for their work and it comes across with a lot of ease and flow.