Getting info on the Swedish band Spiders was a little difficult, but their 3-song EP Why Don't You? brought back enough memories that I felt obligated to give it coverage. When I was in the 7th grade I had a friend with whom we skipped classes once in a while (something I'm not entirely proud of). He had an older brother who was very much into 70s Rock, so there were posters of Kiss and Suzy Quattro adorning the walls of my friend's brother's room. Part of the lure to sneak into that room, there were not only posters, but also an old LP player and we span some vinyls. Not foreign artists (impossible to get on vinyl in the Soviet Union circa early 80s), but whatever we were listening to we pretended those were the artists staring at us from the wall.

Spiders, the quartet from Gothenburg, despite what their city of origin suggests, play that super catchy mixture of classic, stone and psychedelic rock which calls 70s home. After a pair of full-lengths (most recently Shake Electric on Spinefarm) the Swedes have been touring all over the place supporting their countrymen Graveyard among others. This year they are coming to the US.

Why Don't You? is a glimpse into Spiders roughhewn electricity. After I had to turn the volume all the way up (one knock on someone who produced this release), I could enjoy catchy riffs of the title track, smoke filled chugging of In a Room, indulgent solos, mischievous beat, where every player gets his 2 cents in. Front and center, however, is female vocalist Ann-Sofie Hoyles, who, well, reminded me of Suzy Quattro with more howl in her delivery. Why Don’t You? is vintage stuff, the solo in In a Room is almost begging for harmonica, but it is produced today. To further reconnect with the past Spiders cover ABBA (who else?), but they do it with less recognizable Watch Out. The song apparently allows Spiders to continue chugging along, yet vocal u-la-las and handclaps keep firm connection with the original and the 70s.