Alimony

Biography

In the late '90s, country music got respectable in Sweden again, after 20 years of obscurity. A few years of growing interest for American country was followed by a number of domestic lo-fi and alternative country bands that led the way for a wave of more pure country. Alimony was into this and was formed in 1998 by singer Fredrik Öster, keyboard player Bjarne Karlsson, and guitarist Anders Lindström, who had played together in the little-known rock group Road Apples. Soon a pedal steel player, Gunnar Frick, was recruited, and for their first gig, the band also found a temporary drummer and the bassist Tommy Moodigan. Playing at cafés and bars in Göteborg, they received an unusual amount of attention from the press before the release of their first album. The melancholy alternative country, with strong influences from Gram Parsons and no depression bands like Son Volt and Jayhawks, was quite rare in Sweden at the time, and the band soon got signed by Ramblin' Records from Lund. Bottomless, Alimony's debut album, had a bit more polished sound compared to the live act and did not stay as true to the country roots. Nevertheless (or because of this) it got very good reviews, being seen as the most solid debut album of the year. This was followed up by tours of various festivals around Sweden which resulted in more good press. But the band did not manage to break through into the big market the coming years, but stayed a critically acclaimed, well-liked, but minor band. A fate that it shared with maybe all country bands in Sweden at that time. ~ Lars Lovén, All Music Guide