Wonderful things are happening to Terra: Göteborgskalaset live review
There has been a lot of buzz around Gothenburg-based Terra in recent years, and their appearance at Göteborgskalaset showed just how far that momentum has taken them. Their music sits somewhere between Swedish indie rock, alternative rock and melodic indie pop, with strong guitar melodies, Swedish-language lyrics and occasional touches of shoegaze and dream pop. Comparisons with early Kent and Hurula are understandable, although Terra tend to be considerably more uplifting.
With their latest effort, Musik för alla, released in 2026, Terra have continued the trajectory that began with Underbara saker and carried on through 2023’s Livslinjen, establishing themselves as one of Sweden’s more prominent contemporary guitar bands.
With vocalist and guitarist Karl Sundström, guitarist Petter Lagerlöf, bassist Alexander Jubell and drummer Mathias Ek, Terra have developed a sound built around the interplay between acoustic and electric guitars. Sundström’s acoustic guitar often adds a shimmering texture over Lagerlöf’s heavier electric playing, while the band’s live line-up is further expanded by Alma Westerlund of Beverly Kills fame on keyboards.
On Friday 28 August, that combination was given the kind of stage that suggested Terra are no longer merely a band to keep an eye on. They were scheduled for 20:30 on the main stage at Götaplatsen, right in the middle of Friday evening prime time.
I expected a decent crowd.
I was nowhere near prepared for this.
A hometown gig on a rather enormous scale
After shooting the first three songs from the photo pit, I tried to make my way to the opposite side of the stage, hoping to find a higher vantage point at the serving area. That proved rather optimistic. The area in front of the stage was completely packed, while people continued to pour up Avenyn towards Götaplatsen.
I tried going around the area via a road behind the stage, but after walking for a while I realised I was getting further away rather than closer. I abandoned the manoeuvre, walked all the way back and eventually found a position at the very rear of the concert area. Getting any closer was essentially a job for a snowplough.
What made the situation particularly remarkable was that the crowd kept growing throughout the concert. From the back of the area, I could see a steady stream of people heading towards Götaplatsen, presumably drawn in by the music. Some may have arrived specifically for Terra, while others appeared to have heard the band from further down Avenyn and simply followed the sound.
Either way, it was an impressive sight.
Dreamy guitars and a 90s state of mind
The Kent comparison is probably inevitable, particularly when it comes to the band’s more guitar-oriented material. Hurula is another obvious reference point, although Terra have a noticeably more positive and accessible approach. Their songs can be melancholic without becoming relentlessly miserable, and there is enough humour and energy to prevent the whole thing from collapsing into Scandinavian existential despair.
The strongest impression on me came from the guitars. Terra are melodic without becoming overly polished, and their songs have enough weight to retain an alternative-rock edge. “Glöm mitt namn” brings in a dreamy lead guitar that adds a hint of My Bloody Valentine-style shoegaze, while “Oåtkomlig” explores a more atmospheric indie-pop sound, with floating melodies over driving drums.
There is also a distinctly 1990s quality to Terra’s visual identity. The layered clothing, sportswear touches from brands such as Adidas and Fila, and slightly spacey stage persona brought to mind a young Failure or Muse. The name Terra, meaning “Earth” in Latin, adds another layer to that association, although the band’s songs themselves tend to be considerably more down to earth, dealing with ordinary experiences and relationships.
That combination of nostalgia, guitar-driven indie rock and catchy melodies seems to be working particularly well for a younger audience. It was genuinely refreshing to see a relatively new Swedish rock band attracting this kind of crowd.
An accidental headliner
The evening had already gone somewhat wrong before Terra even took the stage. On the way to Gothenburg, I managed to drop my camera backpack and damage one of my lenses. I therefore had to work with one camera instead of my usual two-camera setup, which is why there are no ultrawide shots in this review.
Then, later in the evening, the weather intervened. Teddybears were due to play after Terra, but their performance was cancelled because of heavy rain and thunderstorms. With that cancellation, Terra effectively became the headline act of the night, albeit for reasons nobody had planned.
And it is difficult to imagine that Teddybears would have drawn a significantly larger crowd anyway. After Terra’s set, considerably more people seemed to be leaving the festival area than arriving for the Teddybears show that had been scheduled roughly half an hour later.
“Poseidon’s arse looks magnificent from here”
Towards the end of the concert, Karl Sundström took a moment to look out over the enormous crowd. He spoke about how special it was for him to play at Götaplatsen, a place where he had previously stood in the audience and watched concerts himself. He had always wondered what the view from the stage looked like.
Then, in characteristically Gothenburg fashion, he put it rather more bluntly: “Poseidon’s arse looks magnificent from here”.
The band followed that observation with “Underbara saker kommer hända oss”, one of Terra’s best-known songs and a particularly fitting choice given the circumstances. The title translates roughly as “Wonderful Things Will Happen to Us”, and standing there looking out over a packed Götaplatsen, it was difficult to think of a more appropriate moment for it.
No longer just a hometown band
Terra may still be a relatively young band, but this was beginning to look like something considerably bigger than a promising local act. Sweden has been missing guitar bands capable of connecting with large, young audiences in this way, and Terra are showing that there is still a substantial appetite for Swedish-language indie rock.
For Terra, this was a spectacular homecoming. For everyone standing at the back of Götaplatsen, watching the crowd continue to grow around them, it also felt like a reminder that Swedish guitar music may have considerably more life left in it than some might have assumed.
Setlist
- Musik för alla
- Lilla liv
- Terra
- Aldrig bli mig själv
- Glöm mitt namn
- Sällsynt
- Jag hör också rösterna
- Oåtkomlig
- Ingenting om dig
- Tack och förlåt
- Skam
- Underbara saker kommer hända oss
- Du ser bara ljuset i mig
- Svarta lådan
This show was shot with
Camera bodies
- Sony a7 IIIClose-ups, long-range shots
Sony a7R IIBrought but sidelined due to damaged lens
Camera lenses
- Samyang 35-150mm f2–2.8Close-ups, long-range shots
Tamron 16-30mm f2.8Damaged in a drop – temporarily out of action
Concert photo gallery
