Ok, here's another band that Moloken is touring with (dates posted here, but check myspace for the latest -- they are playing at Ungdomens Hus in Uppsala tonight). This Gift is a Curse aren't just tourmates though, they're also on Moloken's label who co-released the group's new self-titled EP in cooperation with TGIAC's own imprint . The association makes good sense too, as both bands play dark, sludgy metal, though TGIAC forgoes the technical wizardry that makes Moloken stand out. Instead, we get brutal repetitive riffs, far darker melodies and a heavier dismal crust vibe. Problem is, the recording on the EP sounds like they scooped out all the low end and buried the kick. Listen to the part on the intro of "The big sleep" where it's supposed to hit like a ton of bricks and it comes off more like a tap on the shoulder. Even stranger, this was recorded by Tomas Skorsberg at the famed Sunlight Studios which is normally a mark of high quality. I suspect that This Gift is a Curse are more than adequately crushing in-person and the songs themselves are good, but I'm having a really hard time getting past the recording.
Introducing The Bells, a new Luleå-affiliated project featuring Jonas Teglund (Park Hotell, Neverna), Peter Nuottaniemi (The Bear Quartet) and Johan Forslind. They have a full-length album on the way entitled "Threads" which was produced by renown musical genius/recluse Björn Olsson and will be released via the band's own in October. Unsurprisingly, it sounds a lot like a mix of Park Hotell and Bear Quartet (circa "Personality crisis"/"My war), which of course is perfectly fine by me (and should be for you too). Four tracks are up for streaming preview at the band's website, my favorite being the ominous/gloomy "Outside". Much like the Tsukimono track I posted earlier today, the song's spaciousness is a perfect companion to the sound of rain; furthermore, it hearkens back to some of BQ's most powerful work such as "Walking out". Resigned and reflective, revealed by severe simplicity, and yes, starkly beautiful; a song that says a lot with very few words/notes.
Fall came early to the northwest; it's been raining pretty much non-stop since yesterday afternoon. But it's not cold yet, at least I have that to be thankful for. And my fall crops are actually doing quite well which is a huge relief following our lousy summer that never quite was. As for a musical accompaniment to go with this seemingly endless patter of rain, I recommend Tsukimono's "Field hollers" netrelease. In a perfect world you all should have already downloaded it by now, but I know that's likely not the case, so here's your chance to make up for it! Adjust your volume so the sounds of "Sung about, gone" blends with the drips and drops and don't forget to take your vitamin D. Download the rest here.
Lapko's latest didn't leave me with a very strong first impression, but after setting it aside for a few months, I find myself really enjoying it. While far less direct/obvious than previous release "Young desire" (opener "This is aggressive melancholy" said it all in title alone), "A new Bohemia" benefits from a far more developed sense of craftsmanship and confidence. The album title track has so many hanging gaps and odd twisting contrasts that I would consider highly ill-advised, yet never does the song digress into a jumble of aimless riffing. Lapko had shown complex leanings in the past, but never so boldly; deeper listens lead to deeper appreciation.
Slöa Knivar's debut LP "Ingen klas, ingen stil" (out now via ) has occupied a semi-permanent place on my turntable since I received it a week and a half ago, partially due to sheer laziness, but mostly because it rips hard. Also, because it has some of the gnarliest female vocals I've heard in ages. Another bonus: simple, straightforward lyrics deploring the most common, banal hardships of life, at least on the two English-language tracks (I haven't bothered to translate all the rest). Witness the predicaments: "I don't like to make food / I like to eat but I hate to spend so many hours every single day preparing my survival" Also: "I don't like to take showers / I like to smell nice but I hate to get wet and cold when it's not in the sea cause that's a different thing" Even if you don't agree, you can relate because we all have these issues. Reminds me a lot of "Burnt toast" by Anal Mucus, one of the very first hardcore acts I ever saw back as a wide-eyed teen (yeah, I know that video is new-ish, but I'm talking about the original incarnation back from back in the early 90s) -- you can talk about politics, you can scream about the impending end of the world, but if you want universal understanding, you gotta zero in on the little things. Though they transcend all genres, punk rock is surely the best way to express your frustration.
Norrland crust/metal/prog act Moloken, a 2009 favorite, are touring Scandinavia later this month and one of the bands they're playing a string of dates with is Finnish act Radar. Generally speaking, I'm not too crazy about their style of post-metal, but the new EP they recently sent me has a pretty cool 3D cover and the included glasses allowed me to properly view Robyn's video for "Don't fucking tell me what to do", so that's gotta be worth something -- hence this post. It's kind of weird, in the space of a month of so I got a whole bunch of new music in a similar vein and, again -- while not being a huge fan of this stuff, was pleasantly surprised to find it all to be of above-average quality. I already covered Kausal who might just be the best of the lot, but Radar are pretty decent too despite one major piccadillo: I don't care if you want to sing cleanly or scream harshly, but please don't try to do both. 99% of the time it sucks and Radar are no exception. Individually, they do fine with each style... when performed together, it's way corny. That's why I'm posting a track with purely melodic vocals for fellow discerning listeners -- you get the heaviness and the glory and none of the distracting bullshit. RIYL Khoma!
Oh, and those Moloken tourdates:
09/15 - L'Orient, Linköping (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/16 - Sugar Bar, Stockholm (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/17 - Ungdomens Hus, Uppsala (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/18 - Ungdomens Hus, Oskarshamn (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/19 - tba, Karlskrona (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/23 - Nuclear Nightclub, Oulu (FIN) w/Radar
09/24 - Lutakko, Jyväskylä (FIN) w/Radar
09/25 - S-Osis, Turku (FIN) w/Radar
09/26 - Kuudes Linja, Helsinki (FIN) w/Radar
09/29 - tba (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline
09/30 - tba (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline
10/01 - Garage, Oslo (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline
10/02 - Fru Lundgreen, Trondheim (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline
A drumbeat and a whistling melody cribbed straight from Adam and the Ants, the perfect setting for a song so seeped in nostalgia such as this. Sure, the past tense in this case is only "last night," but the wistful feeling remains all the same. "Jonny boy" is the first single single from Kite's forthcoming EP "III", due out September 22 via , and it is a fantastic continuation of their winning streak thus far.
I should know by now to keep my expectations in check, but I was so looking forward to the new Bastard Priest album and have been for so long, it's such a letdown to report that it's merely okay. And the fact that it's only decent is almost enough to make me hate it. Almost. The problem isn't even that the b-side of the LP consists of an updated version of their stellar "Merciless insane death" demo, an obvious sticking point for many discriminating listeners, it's that the new songs on side A aren't that hot. They all stick to the same basic formula more or less with a chorus that repeats the title of the song and it's extremely tiresome the 3rd or 4th time around. I'm fine with cro-magnon lunk-headed metal, but this is too much, especially when the riffs aren't so hot to begin with. Thankfully, the title track "Under the hammer of destruction" sounds just as raging as when I first heard it on the demo over a year ago. The detonating bomb intro: not subtle at all, but a perfect summation of what Bastard Priest sounds like at their best. And yes, the chorus does just repeat the title.
Yes, I am a total sucker for noisy indierock, especially if it has a distinct 90s bent, and Norway's Mindy Misty fit that bill to a tee. Not that I want to get all grumpy-old-man about it, but I like what I like and there's no getting around it and this stuff goes straight to the heart. Anyhow, they've apparently been kicking around for awhile already since the upcoming record "Generic communion" will be their 3rd release (due out September 6 via their own ), but this is the first I've heard of them and I'm way, way into it. They've got tons of thick Sonic Youth-esque harmonies and when they combine it with that oh-so-Scandinavian sense of melody, they can't lose. Give me slightly buried vocals and a hard-driving rhythm section on top of that and I'm sold. Easy and done! So if you dig KVLR, early Motorpsycho, Unwound, Dinosaur Jr., etc etc... you will be into this. And you should.
I like CEO best when he goes for a more ominous tone as opposed to the now-typical Balearic Plague sweeping the world. "No mercy" does retain some of those summer beach vibes, but the first 30 seconds or so before the vocals come in sounds like Death in June and I love it. I know I shouldn't be surprised, considering the title, but then again, I suppose that surprise is the name of the game for . They're constantly in danger of painting themselves into a corner and I'm doubtful that anyone in that circle of artists will ever be able to deliver a confident live show, but once in a while they do something so right that it's worth taking notice. Even for someone like me who could usually care less about this sort of indie/electro pop.
xxx: Ludwig Bell sounds so lame
xxx: Like fucking Jumper
me: hahha
xxx: it sounds exactly the same
me: wow
me: it does
xxx: swindie was not always amazing
It's true: Ludwig Bell really does sound a lot like Jumper, though I disagree with my friend's implication that it's not that great. Yes, prime-era 90s Swindie really wasn't always top-notch and sure, maybe Jumper are justifiably relegated to the list of also-rans, but I really don't mind them at all and neither do I mind Ludwig Bell. It's not "amazing", but it's still good pop music as far as I'm concerned. Probably helps that I didn't grow up subjected to the stuff though; chances are high I might not be so charitable in such a case. But who knows? I find myself enjoying a lot of music I once hated as a surly teen.
I haven't been posting too many mp3s lately because there hasn't been too many releases that I'm really excited about. Of course I could keep on posting negative reviews of stuff I dislike, but that's extremely depressing, not to mention needlessly tedious. I still have to listen to the stuff, y'know? So what I'm going to do is what I've been doing (more or less) which is post more tracks from bands I've already talked up. I pretty much have only been listening to the same dozen-plus bands anyway, so it logically follows that my playlist here reflects that. Anyhow, EL-SD impressed me a lot with their side of their Axe split from a few months back and the group is now working on a full-length album. I've been lucky enough to receive a few preproduction samples and lucky for you, I've been given permission to share one. "Hille" doesn't differ much from the template on display in "Walking sideways"; they're still building walls of discordant noiserock anchored by a heavy rhythm section, but oh man, do they have hooks too! I wouldn't think it possible with such weird vocals, but they pull it off exceptionally well. I guess you could say that weird = memorable in this case. I'm told the band is currently seeking label support and though I'm not optimistic for them, I'm eager to be proven wrong. Personally, I'd go DIY in the face of so few indie labels putting out actual indierock, but hey, like I said, I'm happy to be refuted on the subject. Don't let my negativity rub off on you. Spread the word/music.
Is Kvelertak hyped because they recorded at God City with Kurt Ballou and supported Converge on tour, or did they get to do that stuff because they were hyped before? Excuse my ignorance, but I wasn't paying attention. Regardless, I can't say that I'm much interested in their kitchen-sink stew of modern hardcore and metal. "Ordsmedar av rang" is easily the most coherent, straight-up rock track on their self-titled debut, but that doesn't make it good. When they stick to basics, it's monotony; when they keep throwing odd twists and turns into their songwriting, it's annoying. A can't win situation.
I never paid too much attention to Moofish Catfish because, let's face it, that name is straight up unappealing. Good thing they changed it to Tiger Tape, I'm just sorry I didn't hear about it sooner because the album they put out in April ("I woke up in Hökarängen", released via /) is really really good, maybe even a little bit great. Time will tell, but I've been listening regularly for the past fews days and its luster has yet to fade. Also, considering that a good 98% of all indierock bores me to tears, it's worth noting that these ladies do not -- listen for yourself at Bandcamp: http://tigertape.bandcamp.com/
And for the xenoglossophobic, be aware that this is the only tack på Svenska. Tack igen Mathias for the recommendation!
I like this song a lot. It's really different from Andreas Söderlund's other bands (Niccokick/Sounds Like Violence) material in that it's very beat heavy and loaded with synths. Heavy 80s vibe too, especially with the over-the-top guitar solo ala "Beat it" (though Andreas doesn't milk it as much as I'd like). Curious to hear how the rest of the album stacks up, especially since title track "Daustralien" is more typical for him and far less exciting. I think the more he steps away from his over-emotive rock guy shtick, the better. A solo album is the perfect opportunity to indulge in indulgent sounds and with "Hawaii", he does it well.