Press

"...beautiful..." Marquee Magazine - http://marqueemag.com/2020/02/lief-sjostrom-boyish-dreams-of-heroic-deeds/?fbclid=IwAR024GfgulcoALArKbdRMkYxeEQ-1ibZtRFgvmXX8vJrTdIpVbQrbOZgAlE

"the album sounds in some places like a neoclassical soundtrack to some intriguing movie, in other, like excerpts from a discography of a post-rock band, especially in the noise-dirty Light Pollution." -Labandzi - https://labandzi.blogspot.com/2020/02/lief-sjostrom-boyish-dreams-of-heroic_7.html?fbclid=IwAR09mkoeFFCn0PVHrzf6rd1ztD5KwsxxiX9GZSm4rPlEwuq7kkWdt_SqyL4

"Lief holds little back while delving us into the haunting progressions and counter-melodies that are signatures of his sound." -Norman Hittle; Bolder Beat- http://bolderbeat.com/musicnews/2019/12/19/lief-sjostroms-newest-ep-is-a-perfect-winter-listen?fbclid=IwAR1gVVHUIrCOhPkTPwXSMdGawsZkfWmzPk1AVQiGHJAL3YS4XgD0yldIK60 

"Colorado's Top 20 Albums of 2019" -Marquee Magazine - http://marqueemag.com/2019/12/colorados-top-albums-of-the-year-2/

"awe-inspiring" -– Camila Biddulph; 303 Magazine - https://303magazine.com/2019/07/42-must-see-acts-at-ums-this-year/?fbclid=IwAR0LK44uXO-u_oheYMSXe0qTG0gjc2FXW4ic1HjSi5DDf7XRXkSGdcKwZ2I

"cello-wielding force of reckoning...his songs have a stygian Celtic folk feel that resonates with an almost enchanted medieval era. " -Norman Hittle; Bolder Beat - http://bolderbeat.com/musicnews/2019/3/30/review-lief-sjostroms-impossible-parade-focuses-on-post-rock-vibes-in-a-neo-classical-fashion

"With Impossible Parade, Sjostrom puts forth an orchestral post-rock album that is at once as brooding as Sigur Ros and as devilish as If These Trees Could Talk, all with a classic cinematic flair...overwhelming depth of emotion that comes from the arrangements...With very, very little, Sjostrom manages to reveal a whole heck of a fascinating lot." -Marquee Magazine - http://marqueemag.com/2019/04/lief-sjostrom-impossible-parade/

"At Christmas, he released a record that, in my opinion, best captures the atmosphere of a long, winter night when a miracle happened" [google translation]  -J.P. Biernacki - Łabandzi Śpiew https://labandzi.blogspot.com/2018/12/lief-sjostrom-longest-night-2018-pl.html

"Lief’s take on the classics is an interesting divergence in his own melancholic style with compositions that sound like they would fit right at home in the Lord of the Rings trilogy or perhaps in Vikings or on the Skyrim soundtrack." -Norman Hittle; Bolder Beat -http://bolderbeat.com/musicnews/2018/12/16/lief-sjostrom-released-a-christmas-record-you-should-add-to-any-holiday-playlist

"Each one is beautifully composed and provides a full display of Sjostrom’s talents as a cellist. These versions of the popular holiday tunes are simple, raw and strip away all of the overwhelming glee that often spoils the original musical arrangements."  -Emma Jerry; 303 Magazine - https://303magazine.com/2018/12/local-listen-27/

"Counting Breaths is a 14-track journey that takes the listener through cinematic soundscapes that alter in movement from track to track. One moment the listener may feel like they’re at the top of a verdant mountain range in Middle Earth, and the next they’ll be guided into the high tension of the misty woods of M. Night Shamylan’s The Village. Next they’ll find themselves gliding through a beautiful glade on sparkling waters along with some Game of Thrones-like heroes all before being taken to the doors of a sepulcher in a Lovecraftian-inspired horror tale. Both beautiful and emotionally captivating, these compositions could easily be on some epic gaming playlists and I know I’ll be adding them to my own." -Norman Hittle; BolderBeat - http://bolderbeat.com/musicnews/2018/7/7/denver-cellist-soundscape-artist-lief-sjostrom-to-release-new-ep-counting-breaths

"....he creates an intense, cinematic soundscape with cello.  It's gripping to watch the collage of loops and melodies come together..." -Daniel Mescher and Jessi Whitten; Open Air CPR -http://www.cpr.org/openair/story/colorado-artists-showed-up-for-the-2018-tiny-desk-contest-here-are-our-favorite-videos

"...an immersive listening experience...Lief has an amazing ability for establishing mood, for conjuring dark drama with compelling leads." -Chris Doxtator; Head Room Sessions - https://www.headroomsessions.com/write-ups/2017/12/7/lief-sjostrom-hrs-no-15

"phenomenally gorgeous soundscapes that follow in the vein of what Explosions In the Sky and David Wingo scored for the Prince Avalanche soundtrack...Her Prayers Sound Like Warnings is full of spacey, ethereal, bowed meditations over finger-picked guitar that produce sounds so vast they sound as if they were recorded inside a cooling tower" -Brian F. Johnson; Marquee Magazine - http://marqueemag.com/2017/08/lief-sjostrom-her-prayers-sound-like-warnings/