Les Big Byrd

Les Big Byrd emerged around 2011 in Stockholm when Joakim Åhlund and Frans Johansson, two fixtures of the Swedish underground, joined forces after their previous groups disbanded. Åhlund had previously played in the garage-tinged Caesars, collaborated with Bjorn Yttling in Smile, and helped launch the electronic outfit Teddybears, while Johansson had handled bass duties for the dark indie rock act Fireside during its stint on Def American. The pair bonded over experimental rock textures and assembled the lineup by bringing in keyboardist Martin “Konie” Ehrencrona and Caesars drummer Nino Keller. Early rehearsals yielded the self-released 2011 single “Zig-Smile.”

A chance meeting with Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre at a record store led to an invitation to his Berlin studio, where several days of improvisation produced the material for the band’s 2014 debut, They Worshipped Cats, issued on Newcombe’s A Records imprint. A limited vinyl companion, the Back to Bagarmossen 10", appeared concurrently.

For the follow-up, Åhlund and Johansson recruited producer Pete Kember, also known as Sonic Boom, and began tracking in Stockholm. When Newcombe joined the sessions, conflicting production visions between Kember and him prompted Åhlund to assume greater oversight, causing mounting frustration that ultimately halted the project. Returning to the material independently in 2017, the duo completed Iran Iraq IKEA, which PNKSLM released in late 2018. The title drew from political graffiti observed in Germany, and the album introduced a more streamlined yet expansive palette, incorporating additional synths and occasionally approaching stadium-scale indie textures.