Tag: Reviews
7
Our dear editor-in-chief Avi, who is far more learned in this genre than I, jokingly accused Pistol Disco of selling out by adding beats to their no-wave noise approach during an mp3 posting of his. To those of you who truly do feel that Pistol Disco have forsaken themselves by adding danceable beats to a number of their up-tempo compositions, I have no idea what to buy you for Christmas! While unfamiliar with bands such as this Göteborg duo, it was the drum beats, shifting chords, and sense of direction that drew me into "Radiation". Sounding like Wire or "Warsaw"-era Joy Division cranked to eleven, blasted through wrecked club speakers on a night where I already know there's no way I'm making it home, tracks like "Walking with Jesus" and "Upside down" easily converted me to Pistol Disco's manipulated waves of distortion. Though there's also a softer side to this record, with "Sweetheart" and "Air" having been steadfast companions during peaceful evenings spent writing on my balcony; their fluid transition into closing tack "The sunshine underground" ending the record on a powerful and convincing note. While I am an admitted newbie to the noise genre and have no knowledge of the 'similar bands' that appear on Pistol Disco's last.fm page, "Radiation" has been a fun and interesting record to break my teeth on, and to come to enjoy.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
3
The lyrics sound like they were written at the last minute, and if that is not the actual case, then I recommend they look over them before their third album. Therereally aren't any redeemable qualities I hear from this band. First, an opener/title track that betrays the title. It's loud, but paradoxically, there is no attitude. Next there are some other songs that sound the same. Then, near the end of the album, there's a quiet love song that slows everything down, presumably to show their "soft side". This reminds me of 3 Doors Down without the accent. Nothing is new, but if they try to recreate the old, it should be better.
- Jennifer Ma
8
"Private cinema" from Denmark's Slaraffenland is a very smart record, as accessible as it is 'avant-garde'. There is a fair amount of experimentation, but Slaraffenland take many opportunities to find buried melodies and beauty even in the less conventional tracts of noise, their more exploratory segments, or moments of near-free form jazz. Stand out tracks like "Paranoid polaroids", "Watch out", and the magnificent closer "How far would you go" incorporate the strongest elements of the group, creating brilliant pieces that build and build, ending too soon, even as a few pass the five-minute marker. The only track on the record I could have done without is the completely unnecessary "Groen"; less of a song really than two minutes of bizarre noises, not 'noise' in the sense of the oft-misunderstood genre (which, ironically, the counterpart song "Roed" explores), just clamor with no direction whatsoever. Despite this minor failing, "Private cinema" has quickly become one of my favorite records - artier than the Arcade Fire, while still reachable and understandable in ways that some members of this experimental genre are not.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
7
Limited to one hundred CDR copies, "Time canvas" is an admitted step away from Johan Gustavsson's previous work under the moniker Tsukimono. Moving from the far more complex arrangements on album "Née", Gustavsson has stripped down his compositions to focus on fewer and more organic elements and the limits of their range and capabilities. The results are long, thoughtful, and beautiful works, the shortest being over eight minutes in length. As with the far darker Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, the beauty here is in the delicate layering and subtle progression of the songs, which can admittedly take quite a while and might frustrate some listeners. "Time canvas" is structured upon the arrangement of sparse samples of instruments, a soundtrack that neither cast shadows nor illuminates, and one that rewards its listeners' patience.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
8
Tonight saw the debut of the new slimmed down and shaken up line up of The Concretes playing to a sardine packed Luminaire. Minus Victoria Bergsman, vocal duties are now taken care of by drummer-turned-vocalist Lisa Milberg. Phil Collins eat your heart out. Milberg still needs to gain a shade more stage presence, as she came across with a reassuring charm, but needed to give her between-song banter a bit more gusto. However, this can be forgiven when you consider she's spent the last five years hitting skins for the band. The band's eleventh London gig to date was a definite triumph, especially when you consider what a torrid time the band have had over the last year. The band entered the stage to the instrumental chimes of album title track "Hey trouble" which acted as a very gentle rallying cry to war. There was a definitive air of survivorship around them, which possibly was a reaction of the crowd making the band feel like they were playing some kind of homecoming gig. Rather than a comeback, this was the rebirth of The Concretes.
- Nick Levine
8
Like searching for beauty in a canvas saturated with black paint, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words isn't necessarily an easy project to understand or enjoy, but there is magnificence hidden under the convoluted layers and crushing waves of distortion and noise. "Fall, fall, falling" is a soundtrack to fragmenting. In Ekelund's own words, "It's about breaking down...apart... up. It's about grotesque reactions and the distortion of memories..." This is an album for those who found "Requiem for a Dream" beautiful, for those who can see the splendor in fractured sections of marble that once were brilliant statues, who understand the freedom that comes with knowing you've hit rock bottom, and that time and experience and maturity no longer necessarily matter in moments of pure, raw emotion. The most focused of Ekelund's records, "Fall, fall, falling" is a dark, flawed masterpiece, and made the more poignant and impressive because of its imperfections. This album will not lift your spirits, nor will it assure you that things will be alright – it lavishly depicts landscapes that we all have traveled, darkened corridors or self-analysis, painful tracts of introspection in the face of despondent moments of our lives, and ultimately is a record that assure us that others have traveled similar roads and have survived even the worst that we can build for ourselves... and that we can demolish.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
7
Perfectly produced, effortlessly executed, and deftly crafted, "Fractures" is almost an archetype indie-electro-pop record. Listening to tracks like "A3DM" and "Old new bridges" I want to give this record a 9/10, but a few of the tracks on the album verge on becoming overly sugary. This is not to suggest these sweet sections do not work; they do – I just am far more affected by the slower, thoughtful, almost mournful moments of The Domus' songwriting. Overall, "Fractures" is quite an album, even in its more playful moments. An interesting and eclectic mix of influences and interests, sometimes reflecting along similar tangents to lablemates Jettie, and other times almost approaching the mischievous tone of Juvelen, this isn't a record that should be overlooked. Kasual Recordings has always had an ear for great talents – The Domus are a great addition to their accomplished roster.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
4
A wall of sound? Check. Attitude? Check. Lots of harmonies? Check. Breakdowns? Check. Emo? You bet! When Canan from Satirnine teams up with members from The Ackermans, the result is somewhat blurry. Like a job half done. 'Cause when you're in this emorock genre, it doesn't matter if the musicianship is brilliant (and it is on this disc, I give them that), you need strong melodies and big choruses. Something Fare You Well is missing. There are, on the other hand, some tracks that stand out. The poppy "Take me away" offers up a nice touch that sounds a bit like a darker form of The Promise Ring and the heavy "Traps" follows the vein of Bad Astronaut. But as a whole, the album isn't as edgy as I want this kind of music to be and it is certainly not what I expected from Canan. A sign of the times I suppose. Sounds like a serenade? Nah, sounds more like a sleeping pill.
- Jonas Appelqvist
5
Artists are constantly pushing the limits of what consists of art in minimalist measures, but this is going just a tad too far. Not unlike John Cage's "ASLSP" composition for the organ which has been droning since September 2001, song after song fails to pique any interest. Okay, yes, Mr. Henriksen is an experimentalist at heart, interested in Zen meditation sounds and it's good that he's bridging that school of thought to the tones of trumpets, but make some noise! However, the track "Glacier descent" is a surprise as the music suddenly opens up into a beautiful vocal piece. This album brings up the question of where sound becomes music. Listening to the background noise of traffic jams in the street would be more exciting than this. Then again, it could be a good album after a stressful day, for a massage, or just to fall asleep by.
- Jennifer Ma
7
Akin to the soundtrack of a Charlie Kaufman film, "Commuter anthems", the second album from the Norwegian-American duo Opsvik & Jennings, is a bizarre concept album exploring the in-between world one enters when traveling from the realm of their personal lives towards the structured environment of a professional existence; in many ways it's an exploration of being nowhere in particular. Built up through layers of overdubbed instruments, a few electronic touches, and the obvious talents of the pair, the record is an exercise in controlled chaos and improvisation – and somehow it stills retains meaning. "Commuter anthems" is a sequence of daydreams, much like my morning commute from the District's suburbs into the city – eyes scanning the parking lot motorways lining the Metro tracks, the occasional police sirens rushing to an accident, the clacking of the train's wheels. Opsvik & Jennings have replaced all of these elements with instruments, horns replaced with strings, distracted longings traded for tracts of dreamy melodies, and the entire journey is sketched in the bizarre pacing and structuring of their compositions. Of the same tenor as Minotaur Shock, but less focused or restrained, this album isn't one to enhance a summer's day, rather to reflect upon the hours lost scuttling to stay in one place.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
8
For a debut double-EP, "The guest who stayed forever" is a damned fine collection of songs. Echoing the sounds of New Order with a few subtle Smiths-esque touches, and yet still rather at home with their Norrland neighbors, Park Hotell have finally delivered on all the promise and hype that's built around the band. I'm often left wanting for more when presented with an EP, but they quality of the six songs here leaves nothing to be desired. With everyone and their sister starting up an 80s throwback band and the market quickly becoming over-saturated, Park Hotell approach this nostalgic genre with class, skill, and confidence that shines through even the less produced songs on the first disc. The two songs on the second record, "Low on resistance" and "Sentimental endings", seem to point in the direction the band will head when the time comes for a full-length and are a fine culmination of all that's built up throughout. That being said, there isn't a bad track anywhere on this EP; the future looks wide open for Park Hotell.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
5
Confusion reigned supreme during my multiple listens to Rockettothesky's CD "To sing you apple Trees". I honestly have a hard time making sense of a lot of what Jenny Hval throws at me. Maybe I just don't get "it": On the one hand, Ms. Hval's talent is evident in her ability to combine unique vocal styling with catchy melodies to create an air of fleeting, dreamlike fantasy. On the other hand, her failings are evident in her need to shake, almost jar the listener out of the dream state she's worked so hard to create. It seems as though she is hellbent on being her own worst enemy; I simply don't understand why. Nothing exemplifies my point better than the song "A cute lovesong, please". She uses her voice to excellent trancelike effect when she asks, "When you think of me, do you masturbate?"; then follows it up by confessing that "I want you to know that you make me want to menstruate." Huh? Is menstruation a sexual response to you, Ms. Hval? Or do you want to menstruate out of disgust for your protagonist's sexual desire for you? Or maybe, just maybe, you tried so hard to rhyme, you succeeded in ruining what could have been a perfectly good song. Perhaps I'm just being far too analytical. There are some decent songs on "To sing you apple trees" such as "Cigars", "They are bastards!" and the popular "Barrie for Billy Mackenzie" (even though I still don't know what the hell a "Barrie" is). But, the sad truth is, if I want to be entertained by a wacky Scandinavian, there's always Björk. Rockettothesky is simply going to have to do better than this.
- Heinrich Souza
6
It's a shame that Streetwaves couldn't keep up the emotional velocity set out in the powerful opener "Whatever is available will be your next step", by far the best track on the entire record. But the energy is high throughout and I hope that my opening line does not color "The pleasure to end all pleasures" too darkly; while it has it's flaws, it's a fun, vigorous garage-indie-rock album. The bar is merely set very high by the opening track, and it remains a bar that the album doesn't approach again. The gritty Nine Black Alps and The Hives influenced mode, while strongly written and executed, occasionally suffers from a lack of direction and songs that could easily have been shortened by at least a minute. Complaints aside, there are a number of excellent high points. "Choking in the boysroom" is one the better dark indie songs I've heard in a while, its shorter length and lower-fi production benefiting the composition. The Pavement-like "Holy stranger" shows that Streetwaves are just as competent with slower tempos and clocks in as my second favorite song on the album. While far from faultless, "The pleasure to end all pleasures" is a dirty garage rock record, and in this vein it works – we already have enough finely tuned, flawlessly polished, and forgettable acts like The Strokes out there.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
8
Composed of big 80s beats reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, UB40, and, to some extent, Madness, yet remaining distinctly a product of Gothenburg's electro scene, woven together with exceptional production, and as insinuating as a guilty pleasure, "A new chance" is a damned accomplished sophomore record. Infectiously sunny, but still subtle and complex, The Tough Alliance have crafted what is sure to be one of the standout albums of the summer, if not the year. Assembled around the hope that "every day is a new chance, a new romance," the songs on the record flow seamlessly together in their thematic explorations, further strengthening the record. There's not a single composition that I dislike, not even the kitschy, 90s-esque "Miami". Even the order of the tracks is faultless making it a record that can be enjoyed start to finish without any skipping. Summer hasn't technically started, a few weeks remain between us and the solstice, but I'd be rather surprised if I am not still listening to this fine album at a respectable frequency when autumn's chill reenters the evening air.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
8
A new Kristofer Åström release is always something I make a mental note of, as he has long been a sentimental favourite of mine, Fireside being the band that really got me into Swedish music. "RainawayTown" may come as a bit of a surprise, as this is the first full-length to be recorded without his long-time backing band Hidden Truck. To compare this album to one of his peers, It would be safe to say the consistency prevalent on this album, his first full-fledged alt-country venture, is that which Ryan Adams has been searching for, as this surpasses his excellent "Cold roses". After the stellar (and very indie) "So much for staying alive", I wasn't sure what Kristofer Åström had in his bag of tricks, but I'm very glad that he'd still got a lot in there.
- Matt Giordano
Pistol Disco
Tsukimono
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words
Park Hotell
Streetwaves
Kristofer Åström