For 1985's
Tonöga,
Lars Hollmer brought a few friends into the Chickenhouse to help out here and there -- notably
Zamlas guitarist
Eino Haapala and drummer
Hans Bruniusson, as well as trumpeter
Kalle Eriksson and soprano saxophonist
Ulf Wallander. The musical palette is even wider and deeper than the preceding
Från Natt Idag, ranging from the full-on
Zamla prog of "Slutet Pa Tangon" (sounding like a
Familjesprickor outtake) to the gentle lullaby of "Höstvisa," the tick-tocking percussion experiment of "Klipp en Apa," and the nearly funky worldbeat of "Karlafrique." Elsewhere, meters and harmonics are particularly adventurous in "Lilla Pas du Valse" and the title track, "Damernas Rumango" is a fairly straightforward prog tango, and "Arvevals" is an accordion waltz accented by a spectral flutelike melody. As the ever-changing program wraps up with "Simflageldans," a tune as engaging as anything dreamed up by
Simon Jeffes at
the Penguin Cafe, and the dramatic "Harmonium III," with an emphatic march-like cadence and dramatic crescendo, one could only guess what
Hollmer might dream up next, and it turned out to be a leap into bandleading with
the Looping Home Orchestra's 1987 release,
Vendeltid. [Several selections from
Tonöga were later included in the 1993 single-CD
Hollmer comp entitled
Lars Hollmer 80-88 (later re-released as
The Siberian Circus), and in 1998 Resource Records included the entire album in the very worthwhile two-CD set
Tonöga/Från Natt Idag/Vendeltid. Among the bonus tracks on this set is a hyper live version of "Lilla Pas du Valse," retitled "Alfa Beta Pas du Valse" and somewhat mysteriously presented as a bonus track to
Vendeltid rather than
Tonöga.]