I remember when I found out that the surfers were going to release this album. I owned their Hero of Our Time and 666 Motor Inn albums and expected that the next album would sound somewhat similar.
Man, was I dissapointed when I heard Fragment... for the first time. It's a lot slower and the sound quality isn't great (it isn't terrible either so don't let it scare you away).
I put this record away for a while because of the shock of the sudden change. Then I saw these guys live and they put on one hell of a show (they really did, so I suggest that you check them out if they come to your town). When I got home from the show I felt like giving the album a second chance. This time I was blow away!
First off, the songwriting has improved a lot and is, in fact, impressive. Rodrigo (drummer, singer, songwriter) has probably made them Sweden's most intelligent band.
On the album we see a more mature band and the songs have deeper meaning. In track 4. Rodrigo sings "Cuz somewhere along the way at some point in my life I realize they must be wrong there must be something more than this...I have heard the hymns, the songs and the poetry of hope. I want more life".
One thing that is sad is the departure of bass player Tomek on this album. Tomek did the most fantastic job on 666 Motor Inn. He must be one of the best bass players in the punk scene. I'd also like to say that Rodrigo has to be one of the best drummers in the scene.
The album has a few fast song but I actually think the slow ones are the best.
To end this review I would like to say that if you are looking for good fast paced punk-rock I think you should go out and buy Hero of our Time. If you're looking for more mid-tempo punk-rock album with a deeper feel to it you should go out and buy this one right away.
One last thing. I would like to praise this band for going one step back and becoming more independent by changing labels from Burning Heart to Bad Taste and they also deserve a praise for writing a mid-tempo album without making the songs into Pop-punk songs.