"Helpless", a song that sounds exactly like it should. It's a sublime piece of frail, fragile beauty. The subject matter is depressing, but I like to think that the melody of the refrain offers a sense of hope for an otherwise untenable situation.
The Bear Quartet - Helpless
If someone held a gun to my head and forced me to choose my one, and only one, absolute favorite Bear Quartet record, today I'd say it was "Angry brigade". It's not the most "Important" BQ album (with a capital I), but it is tremendously consistent the whole way through and the one record I find myself grabbing most often when I need my BQ fix. Opening track "Put me back together" for example is fantastic in that it has no chorus, just an endless recurring Melody that builds and builds as the lyrics heap insult upon injury, compiling an endless pile of grief. My favorite line: "We were sure it wasn't loaded." Even without context, you can easily imagine all sorts of terrible scenarios which would result in such a, uh, punchline. "I was only seven and I got knifed" is also pretty good, even if just for being silly (and hey, that's Northern Sweden for you). So is "I tried to fix the TV" too, as again - it's easy to picture how that could go oh-so wrong. In the end, "The last I felt was rain." Ominous.
The Bear Quartet - Put me back together
Today's the day that Logh's new album "North" is officially released in Sweden and Bad Taste Records has kindly given me permission to post my favorite song from the record "Thieves in the palace". Like most of Logh's best work, the mood is dark and tense, but not necessarily in a "doom" sort of way. The best doom music is defined by an overwhelming sense of despair and hopelessness, something that Logh doesn't fully embody. They have moments of grimness, but the recurring lead guitar Melody fills me with a warm sense of optimism. It's something about the way they let the note hang after the string-bend. Pay extra close attention to the way it morphs ever so slightly as it leads out of the breakdown into the song's final coda.
It's funny - every new Logh album is a bit different than the last and not quite what I expected. It always takes me more than a few listens to wrap my head around it and appreciate it, something I fear most (especially America) critics are loathe to do. I like immediate gratification, but I also know that the bands who stick with me the longest rarely make that sort of music. For that, Logh remains one of my all-time favorites and "North" fits in nicely with their ever-evolving progression. Very well done.
Logh - Thieves in the palace
Got a new track today from Norway's My Midnight Creeps and I'm handing it over to Nancy Baym to talk about it:
My Midnight Creeps is the side project of guitarists from Madrugada and The Ricochets, apparently formed as an outlet for all the rocking they suppress in those bands. They've got a Rolling Stones meet The Cramps and Gun Club in Detroit sound and an over-the-top dramatic sweep. This first single from their second record refines and amplifies what was best about their first. The song starts with almost 90 seconds of buildup worthy of a Hitchcock film - cinematic as all get out - but when it finally bursts into that heavy wall of full-out guitar bombast, it's undeniably affecting in the knock-you-over way that only guitar-heavy rock and roll Melody can be. You know you're being manipulated, but there's no denying the raw lure of the sonic environments they build. If it were 5 minutes instead of 7, it'd be perfect.
The band's new album "Histamin" comes out on March 5.
My Midnight Creeps - Don't let 'em bring you down
This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:
01. (02) The Shins - Phantom limb
02. (NY) Lily Allen - Littlest things
03. (08) Tingsek - Proud to be part of these days
04. (03) The Ark - Absolutely no decorum
05. (01) Regina Spektor - Samson
06. (06) The Pipettes - Judy
07. (NY) Badly Drawn Boy - A journey from A to B
08. (07) Joss Stone - Tell me about it
09. (14) Koop - I see a different you
10. (04) Sahara Hotnights - Cheek to cheek
11. (09) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Satan said dance
12. (12) The Concretes - Oh no
13. (15) The Jai Alai Savant - Arcane theories
14. (ÅT) Cold War Kids - Hang me up to dry
15. (17) Pelle Carlberg - I love you, you imbecile
16. (05) Säkert! - Vi kommer att dö samtidigt
17. (11) Kleerup med Robyn - With every heartbeat
18. (10) Klaxons - Golden skans
19. (ÅT) Alex Gopher - Brian Leech
20. (NY) Redo Hot Chili Peppers - Desecration smile
Leaving the chart:
Melody Club - Fever fever
Marit Bergman - Mama, I remember you now
Bloc Party - The prayer
Ison & Fille - Hela dan varje dag
The Cinematics - Keep forgetting
Blackstrap are a band I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot about in the future as the powers-that-be are pushing them hard. They've got that fresh nü-gaze sound - not too dissimilar from Norwegian acts 120 Days or Serena Maneesh, but will less of the Krautrock drone and more Melody. They've also got a much more pronounced rock'n'roll flair ala BRMC, but their Swedish flavor probably leans 'em more towards The Soundtrack of Our Lives. I like it, but there's a distinct lack of personality. It's hard not to listen to everything they do without comparing it to some other band, just as I've done. And I still think Silverbullit is the best band of this style - something that is all too apparent considering that this album starts out exactly the same as Silverbullit's "Arclight". Go find yourself an mp3 of "Run" and compare it to "Winning speech" on Blackstrap's myspace profile. It's ridiculous.
Blackstrap - To far gone
This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:
01. (05) Regina Spektor - Samson
02. (06) The Shins - Phantom limb
03. (01) The Ark - Absolutely no decorum
04. (NY) Sahara Hotnights - Cheek to cheek
05. (03) Säkert! - Vi kommer att dö samtidigt
06. (02) The Pipettes - Judy
07. (12) Joss Stone - Tell me about it
08. (NY) Tingsek - Proud to be part of these days
09. (04) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Satan said dance
10. (ÅT) Klaxons - Golden skans
11. (07) Kleerup med Robyn - With every heartbeat
12. (NY) The Concretes - Oh no
13. (09) Melody Club - Fever fever
14. (17) Koop - I see a different you
15. (NY) The Jai Alai Savant - Arcane theories
16. (NY) Marit Bergman - Mama, I remember you know
17. (NY) Pelle Carlberg - I love you, you imbecile
18. (10) Bloc Party - The prayer
19. (14) Ison & Fille - Hela dan varje dag
20. (11) The Cinematics - Keep forgetting
Leaving the chart:
Cold War Kids - Hang me up to dry
Timbuktu - Karmakontot
[ingenting] – Suzanne (Vi kan inte gå hand i hand)
Weeping Willows - The burden
Juvelen - Hanna
Laleh - November
Superpumas - Clear
I was watching the Musikbyrån 10-year special the other day (thanks Christoffer!) and amongst the bounty of footage was a short live clip of First Floor Power performing "We are the people". In that brief moment, I realized I knew exactly what song I had to post this Friday. I'm mostly ambivalent about First Floor Power's music, much preferring the more recent solo work of members Jenny Wilson and Karl-Jonas Winqvist aka Blood Music, but this song trumps 'em all. The base of the song is a shuffling beat and a ghostly four-note Melody, upon which they pile layers of sound: a little squeezebox, some electronics, handclaps. When they take it to the chorus, the song explodes with heavy tremolo guitar and grand declarations. However, I think the lines that begin the verses are more crucial: "We are the people who tried to create something new / We are the people who tried to invent something true" High aspirations that deserve to be lauded.
First Floor Power - We are the people
Melody Club on tour in the UK:
03/16 - Academy, Newcastle
03/17 - Engine Rooms, Scotland
03/19 - Little Civic, Wolverhampton
03/20 - Engine Rooms, Brighton
03/21 - Water Rats, London
This will be my last Friday post looking back at 2006 artists/tracks I missed the first time 'round. Next week: back to trudging through history for older songs worth highlighting. Moving on...
It's not clear to me exactly how Finland's Ghost Brigade slipped through the cracks. I'm pretty sure I downloaded their demo the first time that Teemu from Lupatarkastaja recommended it, but I guess I must've not listened very hard because they never stuck. Eventually I decided to revisit the band after hearing about their signing to Season of Mist and - holy shit - I knew immediately that I blew it. I've had the song I'm posting today, "Based on you", on regular repeat in my mp3 player for at least a month now. I just love the way the rhythm section pulses steadily like a machine; in this case, a bulldozer that you just know is ready to flatten you. There's tons of tiny little flourishes in the way the band locks together on fills, the mark of true professionals and a high attention to detail. Not a single note is wasted or out of place. The way the verse gradually reintroduces the main riff flows perfectly, too. They get a little 'metal-by-numbers' ("This is the gay part / with Melody!") with the choruses at times, but it's forgivable. If that's their only shortcoming, it's certainly no deal-breaker. It's just that I find that frontman Manne Ikonen lacks the pipes to truly pull off 'clean' singing. His gruff-styled vocals are far more powerful.
Since I know that the metal genre is imposing to a lot of people, consider the following: Ghost Brigade might be extremely heavy, but they are also very melodic and very much rooted in pop song construction. If you can get into stuff like Queens of the Stone Age or even Alice in Chains, there's no reason you shouldn't also be able to appreciate this. It's all just rock'n'roll, y'know?
Ghost Brigade - Based on you
Full disclosure: Blinders On singer/guitarist Jonas Appelqvist is a frequent It's a trap! contributor. We have similar taste in music, so it's no surprise that I also like his band. There is no clandestine financial relationship between us.
As Jonas himself pointed out in his recent review of The Sound O.E, the noisy-indierock/post-hardcore scene in Sweden is still very much alive and well, despite a few quiet years. All those bands Jonas lists? Blinders On fits right in. Like all the best examples of the genre, the songs are built on layers of jagged guitars and a heavy, driving rhythm section, but at the same time, always strongly informed by pop conventions. The textures may tend towards the dissonant, but there's always a Melody lurking beneath the surface and a huge chorus around the corner. Great stuff and y'know what's even nicer? If you like the song I've posted today, you can head to the Blinders On website and download the band's entire new record "Obsolete music" for free. It doesn't get much better than that.
Blinders On - You had me at hello
A lot of recordings get filed under the banner "dreampop," but the word is perfectly apt for this offering from Mikko Singh. It's a soft, shimmering collection of ambience-laced tunes that showcase Singh's impossibly fragile, high-pitched voice. His singing suits these wintery, ethereal compositions, which often sound like they're dancing with the snowflakes Tomita told us about years ago. Mikko has a good ear for melody and the blend of acoustic instrumentation and feathery electronica here is consistently pleasing, although it starts sounding a bit samey after awhile. There's also an innocent optimism at work throughout the disc, although the classic Nordic melancholy also pervades. It makes for an effective contrast. All in all, a most impressive debut.
- Kevin Renick
The video for Melody Club's latest single "Fever fever" is now online: http://www.Melodyclub.com/
"I could say I'm sorry but I'm not / Whatever I promised I forgot" That's got to be one of the most cold-hearted lines ever and it's made even colder on this Jens Lodén remix. He drags down the tempo and strips away the lead synth Melody, letting the vocals carry the song all by their lonesome. They're also the loudest thing on the track and left raw so they stick out even more. I like the original a lot, but this makes the lyric more brutal and impossible to ignore. I love the way the churning bassline segues into distortion for the chorus, too. The video proves the band doesn't always take themselves 100% seriously, a virtue I always appreciate, but you'd never know it from hearing this alone.
Universal Poplab - I could say I'm sorry (Jens Lodén remix)
Swedish student radio's top 20 for the 2006 fall semester:
01. The Knife - Like a pen
02. David & The Citizens - A heart and a hand and the love for the band
03. Mando Diao - Tv & me
04. Deportees - Missing you, missing me
05. The Streets - Prangin' out
06. The Pipettes - Pull shapes
07. Johnossi - Glory days to come
08. The Magic Numbers - Take a chance
09. Melody Club - Destiny calling
10. Jet - Put your money where your mouth is
11. Peter Bjorn and John - Let's call it off
12. Gnarls Barkley - Smiley faces
13. Regina Spektor - Better
14. Salem Al Fakir - Good song
15. Timo Räisänen - Let's kill ourselves a son
16. The Roots - Don´t feel right
17. Marit Bergman - No party
18. Tingsek - World of it's own
19. The Lost Patrol Band - Automatic kids
20. Koop - Come to me