Prince Valiant - Barricades

Four years after the acclaimed album “Oceans”, the Swedish post-punk band Principe Valiente is back with a brand new album!

If you have ever visited the world of Principe Valiente, the ten songs on the new album Barricades will feel pleasantly familiar. The dramatic soundscape rises like a fairytale forest around singer Fernando Honorato's warm and unassailable voice. It’s all there: the beautiful melodies, the post-punk energy, and the cinematic drama. At the same time, it is the quartet's most intimate album to date. On Barricades, the songs have grown out of melodies and chords rather than guitar riffs.

Lyrically, Honorato has been seeking new paths. In the dark and sometimes desperate tone, there is always a streak of hope. "I haven’t had the same need to express desperation and frustration this time. Now I wanted to try to sing more sensitively," Honorato says. Barricades is an album deeply affected by the Corona pandemic. Most of the songs have been recorded from home, with the members recording their individual contributions alone. This has given the album a special, almost thoughtful, atmosphere.

“I’ve had more time to reflect freely both in terms of lyrics and recording; I’ve been able to try different approaches. In the end, I knew exactly what I was doing with the vocals," says Honorato. While the band has previously been somewhat of a solo project for him, this time all four members – Honorato, guitarist Jimmy Ottosson, keyboardist Rebecka Johansson, and drummer Joakim Janthe – have all contributed to the album.