As if there wasn't enough abject misery in the world, Sweden's The Bogart Surprise lay it on thicker than most on their debut album 'The Road To Loneliness'. Thanfully despite some overbearingly depressing titles ('Hopeful Dreams, Hopeless Lives' and, unfathomably, 'Years Of Anticipation Ruined By A Doctor's Words' that's actually one of the lightest moments on this album) the trio manage to breathe new life (or death?) into the miserablism genre. 'Praise The Police' could quite feasibly have been Low heading straight into the studio after hearing Joy Division. The undoubted centrepiece is 'Shower Of Bullets' based on a slow, repetitive echoing riff, it starts off with Johan Nyth's impressive doom-laden vocals, then features what sounds like an Indian mantra only for Nyth to return with a distorted, tortured scream accompanied by a much angrier guitar sound. Over 10 minutes long it may be but it's nevertheless riveting stuff. The omniprescent sense of decay will be too much for some but on the whole this is dark music performed more than adequately.