IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Obstacles tour plus member changes

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:49:31 -0800

Danish math-rockers Obstacles are heading out on tour in January:

01/18 - Zoro, Leipzig (GER)
01/19 - JUZI, Göttingen (GER)
01/20 - Vortex, Siegen (GER)
01/21 - El Bar, Mouscron (BEL)
01/22 - tba, Brussels (BEL)
01/23 - Le Rigoletto, Paris (FRA)
01/24 - Help!
01/25 - Villa Rosenau, Basel (CH)
01/26 - Binz Squat, Zürich (CH)
01/27 - COX18, Milan (ITA)
01/28 - Point, Bolzano (ITA)
01/29 - Menza, Ljubljana (SLO)
01/30 - Rhiz, Vienna (AUS)
01/31 - Fleda, Brno (CZ)
02/01 - AZ Conni, Dresden (GER)
02/02 - tba, Prague (CZ)
02/03 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
02/04 - UJZ Korn, Hannover (GER)
02/05 - 1000Fryd, Aalborg (DK)

They've also announced that they have parted ways with keyboardist Niels-Peder Hjøllund and will be continuing on as a three-piece.

Obstacles - Oscillate

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:05:06 -0700

Oscillate by Obstacles

Danish instrumental math/noise-rockers Obstacles have a new 4-song EP called "Oscillate" up for free download/streaming.

Obstacles working on new EP, Russian tour

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:45:04 -0700

Obstacles are working on a new 12" EP for release via PlayRec in the next couple months. Four songs supposedly showcasing "a new side" of the band, whatever that means. They're also heading over to Russia in mid-April for a string of dates:

04/14 - Squat Café, Moscow
04/15 - tba Moscow
04/17 - V-Club, Saint Petersburg

MP3: Trust - Battle rattle

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:17:55 -0800

There's more than a few bands who call themselves Trust, but only one of them is a gnarly math-rock band from Denmark. Forget the French thrashers, the Canadian synth act or whatever other variation might pop in your head because none of them will be covered here. Much like their PlayRec labelmates Obstacles, Trust excels at matching their instrumental acuity with heaviness and melody and comes out sounding very similar to two excellent bands local to me: C Average and Helms Alee. The former is an obvious comparison due to the drums + guitar duo format (stir it up, add plenty of octave pedal), but it's those soaring vocals and epic riffs that really make the band and are far more comparable to the latter. Similarily, I can only presume that they are likewise underrated, as these kinds of bands so often are. Get through the flurries of notes and take note of what you find on the other side!

Trust album confirmed

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:00:50 -0800

Play/Rec has confirmed that Trust's full-length debut "From light into mass" will be released on January 31. I managed to listen to about 2/3rds of it last night and it's pretty cool; definitely well worth checking out for anyone into the label's other releases (Menfolk, Obstacles, etc.) or heavy math-rock in general. The band will also be touring Europe in February and you can get dates here: http://playrec.dk/default.aspx?section=schedule

MP3: Obstacles - Twilight of the Idiots or, how to philosophize while hammering on

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 20:01:55 -0700

This is a good choice of a track to showcase Obstacles' many strengths. Though undoubtedly a mathrock band, they know how to properly employ empty space and held notes and also, most importantly, they understand how to maintain a proper melodic theme. Yeah, they do get to hammering on, but it goes with the territory (and title). And really, as far as this sort of stuff goes, it's all done quite tastefully. Doubt it'll convert any non-believers, but anyone already down with the scene would do well to check these dudes out.
Direct video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1GwmL-TrA

Obstacles Dividual PlayRec

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:52:25 -0700

With very few exceptions, purely instrumental rock albums get very tedious very quickly, often highlighting the importance of the vocal element in adding an extra, somewhat essential, dimension to the overall experience. København's Obstacles fall somewhere between exposing this shortfall and revealing that the inclusion of a singer isn't as important as some may think. The album displays an insane amount of technical wizardry, falling in and out of rock and free jazz, at times sounding like an intense math-rock jam session. Closing track "Locomotive" is where "Dividual" both rises and falls. Featuring the only vocal performance on the album, it makes it very clear that the music Obstacles plays benefits greatly from having a singer -- in this case Henrik W. Hald of Trust and Rising fame -- in the fold. His inclusion offers a distinct Mastodon vibe and shows, undeniably, that this is a band who has the potential to reach a level of appreciation that will escalate them to a greater international recognition. The music is of the same style as on the rest of the album; it's just that where the other, voice-free, tracks often wind up sounding a little too much like fret-wankery of the highest order, the vocal addition gives us something additional to concentrate on, resulting in a greater, true appreciation of the musicianship on display. There's great potential here. Whether or not the band decides to capitalize on that is entirely up to them.

Sirius playlist week #35

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:06:56 -0700

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:

01. Bastard Priest - Power of death
02. TALK 1
03. Mindy Misty - Dead pan frenzy
04. Mother of the Forest - Kingdom
05. Säkert! - Fredrik
06. TALK 2
07. Pistol Disco - Pool
08. Obstacles - Rorschach
09. Radar - Paradigm shift
10. TALK 3
11. The Bear Quartet - Fist or hand
12. Niels Nielsen - Dpend
13. Adam Tensta - Young black boy
14. TALK 4
15. I'm Kingfisher - Willing night plants
16. Joel Alme - No class
17. Dear Euphoria - Coming down
18. The Genuine Fakes - When reality hits you
19. TALK 5
20. Brick - Call Batman

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

New music from Obstacles

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:43:04 -0700

Danish math-rockers Obstacles are now streaming a couple new tracks at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/obstaclesband
The band's debut full-length "Dividual" comes out September 20 via PlayRec.

Obstacles on tour

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:15:46 -0700

Danish instrumental act Obstacles are heading out on an extensive European tour next month:

08/02 - Tancy, St. Petersburg (RUS)
08/03 - tba, Petrozavodsk (RUS)
08/04 - tba, Novgorod (RUS)
08/05 - Aktzal, Moscow (RUS)
08/07 - tba, Riga (LAT)
08/08 - XI20, Vilnius (LIT)
08/09 - Przepompownia, Szczytno (POL)
08/10 - Jazzga Club, Lodz (POL)
08/11 - Eufemia, Warszawa (POL)
08/12 - eNeRDe Club, Torun (POL)
08/13 - La Putika, Hradec Králové (CZ)
08/14 - Mitril, Olomouc (CZ)
08/15 - tba (CZ)
08/16 - Rhiz, Vienna (AUS)
08/17 - NOISE PARTY vol. III @ Velbloud, Ceské Budejovice (CZ)
08/18 - Deja Vu, Cadca (SLO)
08/19 - tba, Graz (AUS)
08/20 - Brownstahlfest, Erfurt (GER)
08/21 - Club 007, Prague (CZ)
08/22 - Holubník Club, Kolín (CZ)
08/23 - tba (GER)
08/24 - Liwi, Leipzig (GER)
08/25 - tba (GER)
08/26 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
08/27 - Gängeviertel, Hamburg (GER)
08/28 - tba (GER)
08/29 - UJZ Kornstraße (Brunch Show!), Hannover (GER)
09/02 - tba, Zürich (CH)
09/03 - La Taverne du Théâtre, La Louvière (BEL)
09/04 - Why Not? Bar, Dudelange (LUX)
09/05 - tba, Wiesbaden (GER)
09/06 - tba (GER)
09/07 - AZ Conni, Dresden (GER)
09/08 - JuzI, Göttingen (GER)
09/09 - Limes, Köln (GER)
09/10 - Vortex, Siegen (GER)
09/11 - 1000Fryd, Aalborg (DK)
09/12 - Images Festival @ Mayhem, Copenhagen (DK)

Obstacles: more than music?

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:35:48 -0700

The Austrian blog GLW/DRK talks to Danish instrumental act Obstacles about their music and their ideology: http://glwdrk.blogspot.com/2010/06/its-not-just-about-chords-and-beats.html

PlayRec signs Obstacles

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:27:48 -0800

PlayRec has officially signed Danish instrumental/noiserock act Obstacles, a fact that shouldn't be too surprising if you read the label's "Top 10s for 2009" list. Look for them to release the band's debut full-length in August.

Obstacles/Auxes split on the way

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:02:34 -0800

Danish act Obstacles will be releasing a split 7" with Americans Auxes (ex-Milemarker/Challenger) via Czech label Revolution Summer Records. No exact release date, but it's been sent off for pressing, so expect it to be available in a few weeks.

Top 10s for 2009: Play/Rec

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Ten reasons for Play/Rec to wake from the dead

Brilliant bands all around us:
1 - Marvins Revolt
2 - Adam McCormack
3 - Menfolk
4 - Trust
5 - Obstacles, Rising, Bjørst, Chainsaw Eaters, Snake, Bongo & Friends and many others

Chaos all around us:
1 - Bank Account has hit the floor
2 - Babies screaming in our homes
3 - Need legitimate reasons to go out more often
4 - Will have to stay active to get invited to Roskilde Festival next year.
5 - We can't help doing it.....

---------------------------
Recent releases from Play/Rec include the Marvins Revolt album "Patrolling the heights" and a series of digital EPs from Adam McCormack.
http://www.playrec.dk/
http://www.myspace.com/playrec

Obstacles present three new tracks, September tourdates

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:44:14 -0700

Danish instrumental noiserockers Obstacles just finished recording three new tracks for a 7" to be released via Red Tape Records and are streaming them at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/obstaclesband
See them on tour in September:

09/09 - Lokal, Berlin (GER)
09/10 - Cairo, Würzburg (GER)
09/11 - Barka Tocnik, Beroun (CZ)
09/12 - 007 Club, Prague (CZ)
09/13 - Galerie U Mloka, Olomouc (CZ)
09/14 - Yacht Club, Brno (CZ)
09/15 - Rhiz, Vienna (AUS)
09/16 - Kalkbreite , Zürich (CH)
09/17 - AK 44, Giessen (GER)
09/18 - Limes, Cologne (GER)
09/19 - Incubate Festival, Tilburg (NL)
09/20 - Vortex, Siegen (GER)
09/26 - Dödsmaskinen, Copenhagen (DK)

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:43:38 -0700

Pg.Lost's debut full-length "It's not me, it's you!" will get a Japan release this week via Octave Records, a full 4 months before it comes out at home in Sweden. In other news, look for the band to tour Europe beginning in August with Danish act Obstacles. Go here for preliminary details: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=5441486&blogID=394285154