MP3: The Sound O.E - Party at the moontower
In Malmö today with a side-trip to CPH on the itinerary to see some Norwegian bands. Viva la internationale!
Everybody always asks me- what is it about Swedish/Scandinavian music that you like so much, that makes it different? Now that's a very complicated question that deserves many hours/coffees/beers worth of discussion or maybe even a full book treatment (someday?), but the short answer is simple. I know what I like and I know it when I hear it. Yes, there is a lot of Scandinavian rock that is derivative of American or UK sounds, but there's also lots of stuff with its own identity. One such scene is Swedish noiserock, a sound I identify with bands like Starmarket and KVLR, bands who took the template of classic US indierock ala Sonic Youth/Hüsker Dü/etc. and added their own touch. The Sound O.E carries on that tradition, especially on songs like the epic album closer "Party at the moontower". You get that angular/syncopated heaviness, but it's tempered by a lovely lyricism and strong melodies. Other tracks on the album tend to be more choppy, more heavy and generally more hardcore and they're fine, but this is the stuff that really grabs me. Some bands did epic indie before Arcade Fire, believe it or not. This draws from that.
The Sound O.E - Party at the moontower