The Silent Ballet reviews Danish ambient/doom/shoegazer act Svartbag: http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/1531/Default.aspx

MP3: Svartbag - Black Capricorn

As I'm sure regular readers are aware by now, I absolutely love music when it's soaked in ominous dread. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Ondo and Raison d'Être are three artists that come to mind when I consider the niche and now I can add the Danes Svartbag to the list. The Rump label has put out a bunch of interesting electronica - Badun, Karsten Pflum, Snöleoparden, etc - but Svartbag's self-titled debut is by far the best of the bunch. Opener "Black Capricorn" is all slow-creeping darkness, the kind of stuff that backs you in a corner before consuming you completely. That the track is so obviously guitar-based is kinda surprising too, especially since so much of this stuff seems to traffic in sounds so heavily processed they end up resembling vague dark shapes. The low-end buzz grumbles and moans as the drums endlessly cycle and taunt, all gradually building and eventually rumbling to a stop like a freight train. Call it dark-ambient, evil shoegaze, whatever you want, it's all good, I just know I like it a lot. Be aware, it's a mighty big download (15mb), but man oh man, is it worth it.

Svartbag - Black Capricorn

Here's this week's radio show playlist:

01. Siena Root - Waiting for the sun
02. TALK 1
03. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom
04. Svartbag - Black Capricorn
05. Kite - Ways to dance
06. TALK 2
07. Eero Johannes - Finnrexin
08. Looptroop Rockers - The building
09. Holiday for Strings - Touch the tiger
10. TALK 3
11. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
12. Thomas Denver Jonsson - My wardrobe
13. Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion
14. Wolfbrigade - Feelings you don't want to feel
15. TALK 4
16. Johndoe - Piggtråd og piss
17. Sol Andersson - All is full of love
18. King of All the Animals - The snowflake song (I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper remix)
19. TALK 5
20. Last Days of April - You don't believe me (Monster & Maskiner remix)
21. Pacta Sunt Servanda - To claim your prize
22. The Goner - Spirit round-up
23. TALK 6
24. Tape - Altamira
25. Letum - Tallriksis
26. Zeigeist - Black milk
27. TALK 7
28. Knife and Ape - Semiotic dysfunction
29. Terveet Kädet - Message
30. Giant Boar - Chronic date
31. The Lionheart Brothers - Time river floaty
32. TALK 8
33. Echo Is Your Love - Lion tamer vs tigers
34. Agent Side Grinder - Lashes of flashes
35. Skitsystem - Solidaritetens sista utpost
36. TALK 9
37. Final Exit - Punk enough

Reminder: my show on Sirius Blog Radio runs Saturdays at 12 noon and midnight ET on channel 26 (Left of Center). My show is being preempted this coming weekend (05/24) for a special Memorial Day Block Party special, but I'll be back in full effect on June 7.

Danish techno/experimental/electronic label Rump Recordings has signed Svartbag and will be releasing their self-titled debut album on May 26. Hear samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/svartbag