Tag: Reviews
7
I have been quite interested in hearing the upcoming Moonbabies record ever since hearing "Take me to the ballroom" on "Reader's companion volume two" last spring. The album version of said track is just stellar, which is hard to imagine based on the quality of the older version. I still consider that to be one of the album's top tracks, and actually, the band's success on the album lies mostly in the uptempo numbers. "Don't ya know?" carries the album into the danceable stratosphere, whereas "Weekend a-go-go" harkens back to some of the best alt-rock that come out a decade ago. The production on this album is just so full, yet retains a playful atmosphere. I can see this album really bringing the band a ton of success especially in the States, as I can easily see the songs on both radio and TV.
- Matt Giordano
9
Oh, Scraps of Tape. The critical success of this album means that it is tempting to trash, but I am not going to be one to rain on their parade. Delicate, yet intricate notes, phrases and melodies bloom into a huge resonance of sound and beats. It is the beating of your heart that matches the rhythm of the guitars as it does its sway dance. They live by repetition and also the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' doctrine. The drums come in at the moment the song cries out for drums. But it's the hardness that explodes so suddenly and powerfully that distinguishes this post-rock band. The only stumble in this marathon is the underdeveloped lyrics at times forcing its way into the song prematurely or too late. This dizzy dance should never end, but when it does, you're satisfied.
- Jennifer Ma
9
No rest for the wicked! After giving us the best album of last year ("Jag vet hur man väntar"), Vapnet have now "done an Arctic Monkeys" and released a mini-album (hopefully they will do another "Arctic Monkeys" and release their second full length album this year as well). There are five proper songs on the album - one The Avalanches-like number, and an instrumental outro (which I guess is a version of "Tjernobyl") There is also a song sung by Jens Lekman, which I didn't like at first, but has started to grow on me. The other four songs are of the highest quality. "Tjernobyl" sounds like a song I would consider doing one of those audio tattoos of, in my ear, if those things existed. "Förtjäna mig själv" ("Deserve myself") is another knockout track, with classic Vapnet lyrics and a girl going "baa-ba-ba" in the background during the chorus. I think I love Vapnet more than ice cream.
- Simon Tagestam
8
Samurai Cities delivers. And with a bang I might add. Uncompromising as a supporting act for indie-darlings Ladytron, these guys never made an effort to reach out and play the easy cards. It's dark, gloomy and right up my alley. The crowd however, consisting exclusively of Ladytron-fans waiting for the headliner to get up on stage, didn't really seem to appreciate these Göteborg-lads. But only for that reason, I assume. Nevertheless, with one record released, the band has already great qualities live and the danceable, electronic indierock that is "Cheap deluxe" is well adjusted onto the stage. Being more of a rawkdude I like the more distorted tunes where it sometimes sounds a bit like Dinosaur Jr. but hey, no one can really resist "My modest ones" with its similarities to The Knife and Bright Eyes (aiming at the "Digital ash in a digital urn"-record). Along with Mixtapes & Cellmates, this is by far one of the most interesting electronic acts Sweden has to offer at the moment.
- Jonas Appelqvist
9
Pistol Disco are a coercion in much the same way Josh Wink managed to harmonise the repetitive and extremely limited keys on "Higher state of consciousness". Is there a genre for installation art noise, or has it just been mentioned - bar exposure to the UK's Appliance I am unaccustomed to the likes of Pistol Disco's ilk - who I must admit have the best name of any act naming them self "disco". It's one of those heavy synth-laden, instrumental guitar swirling affairs full of careering soundscapes but with one hell of a callpynous rear and overtly indulgent, not least the final track "Cheree" which runs to 14.36 minutes. Not since Donna Summer's 1980, real Disco classic, "I feel love" (15 minute mix) have I been as vortexed!
- Jason Christie
7
Swedish rock and rollers Murder By Guitar sound like The Ramones, Kings of Leon, Randy and The Clash, albeit not all at the same time. Most of these tracks are pretty decent, although I can't stand the bluesy "See it in your eyes". There are about three songs on "On parade" that are of very high quality, "Ain't no surfer" being the best one with a chorus that sounds very much like The Ramones and goes "I ain't no surfer, but I hope you can love me anyway". Ahh - how sweet! It's not rocket science but it works very well for me (I'm pretty much a sucker for anything that sounds like The Ramones). You can purchase the album from the band's website for the cheap price of €8, and if you're into sweet and simple rock'n'roll it might be worth doing just that.
- Simon Tagestam
10
I've been formualting this review for a the better part of a couple of weeks and now I think I've got something that makes a bit of sense. To start, the album is flawless - and is the work of a band fully realizing a vision and fully realizing their detachment. Laakso has always been a band slightly skewed, in what direction (or directions) I don't know, but it's always been prevalent in their music and part of their charm. This time around, the music is a bit sunnier, yet the lyrics are some of their darkest. "No one is completely faithful" is the acceptance of defeatist truth, yet sung with one of the band's prettiest melodies to date; "Norrköping" is one of the best coming-of-age songs to be written in a long, long time; and "Dropout" just stuns with its Freddy Mercury-esque wall of harmonies bridge. The lead single "Italy vs. Helsinki" is, just as Avi posted before, completely over the top in all aspects. In fact, one may view the whole album as being a bit over the top, but it works perfectly - in fact, if anything played or sung on this album was absent, the album would feel incomplete. Fans of Laakso with fall in love with the record, but its natural detachment may not be understood by all, but then again, not everyone gets the best albums.
- Matt Giordano
7
If ever there were a CD whose playfully loopy, zigzagging synth sound was tailor-made for colorful animated videos, this outing by brothers Matti and Simon Kallioinen is it. The eleven tracks on this disc sound like they were made by robot-children, or perhaps intricately constructed toys that have suddenly come to life. Everything is whirring, bleeping, dancing up the synthesized keyboards and generally running amok with glee. Most tracks are instrumental; the few with vocals, such as "Emerald", rely on vocoder or "Virtual Singer programming" to keep the voices as electro-fied as every other sound. "Marble zone" and "Eon" are thoroughly enjoyable romps, and there's a brightness of color and youthful zippiness throughout that you can't help but respond to. I would have preferred a slightly darker edge and a couple more experiments with pitch-shifting, but that's just personal taste. Overall, this is an entertaining synthesizer/programming foray that pushes the right buttons (literally) in creative ways.
- Kevin Renick
10
And I found this girl. She took the stage alone, armed only with a great big acoustic guitar that seemed to dwarf her tiny frame. Then she opened her mouth and whispered out her first song, and the entire crowd went silent in awe. Her name was Maia Hirasawa, and until then she had been known to most as 'that other girl in Hello Saferide'. No longer. That November night in Glasgow she truly stepped out from the shadows and demanded attention. Hopefully this album will do the same to a much larger audience. Like her live performance, she eases us in slowly, with a breathy ballad that showcases her angelic voice superbly. She doesn't need a backing band or fancy production to massage her music – the girl sighs and boys swoon. It all seems so unbelievably effortless. And simple. Yet listen closely, and you'll hear the same type of smart, snappy lyrics that make her friend Annika Norlin so likeable. There are a lot of love songs on this album, but they're not old and schmaltzy. On the contrary, they're modern and moving, even featuring Myspace in the stellar "Mattis and Maia". Critics are already falling over themselves with praise for feel-good single "And I found this boy", and with good reason. Maia is possibly THE find of the year. Have a listen and you may soon find yourself rushing to join her swelling army of fans.
- Stacey Shackford
7
Steely Dan fans rejoice! Sylvester Schlegel of The Ark has shed his shiny glam rock Eurovision leotard and slipped on some worn leather cowboy boots to deliver a fine collection of country-tinged anthems. Been searching high and low for the perfect soundtrack for the big family reunion you've got planned this summer? Look no further, my friends. Opening track "One of your dreams" will have Uncle Bob doing the two-step quicker than you can say Creedence Clearwater Revival, while "Klara's waltz" will send Grandma Mae into wistful reveries about them good ol' days. I bet Sylvester's mum is very proud. Apparently their first gig was her 50th birthday party. Aw, bless.
- Stacey Shackford
7
Although I'm getting kinda sick of groups influenced by Radiohead or other leading Britpoppers, the Danish indierock band Ave add just enough sparkle and energy to that oh-so-familiar sound to hold your interest. Vocalist Dennis Winterskov has Thom Yorke's style down pat, but for the most part, he avoids outright impersonation. Of course there's the high-register, emotive singing, dramatic shifts from quiet to loud playing and multi-layered production you expect from this genre. But some nicely rendered synth passages and an occasional trumpet flourish (also played by Winterskov) liven up the six tunes on this EP. The mastering results in a clean, crisp sound throughout, and you get the sense Ave have lofty ambitions. It's all fairly pleasant, just a little too familiar at times...something I hope Ave will work to change.
- Kevin Renick
9
As a long-time connoisseur of textural ambient music, my ears are fine-tuned by now to the odd detail, to anything that makes one collection of drones and weird noises sound different from its predecessors. This Swedish outfit have bravely kicked every ambient cliche in the ass and sculpted a wonderland of bracing dark ambient on this amazing platter. Honestly, it takes patience and a singular aesthetic to pull off a record like this. It's divided into two sections (per the sleeve), titled "Circles, fucking circles" and "No ghosts." Hardly matters to the ears though, as what you get is a very steady, self-assured travelogue through alien landscapes or really bizarre dreams. "If you touch me I will disappear" features a sinister low-frequency sound that is genuinely unsettling; other tracks make use of inventive drones, clanging sounds and odd percussion. "Three nineteen a.m." and "Closer, closer still" are just two of the grabbers among many. This isn't friendly music, and if you don't like ambient, much of it will repel you. But in the realm of aurally compelling, mysterious soundscape music to get lost in, this is one truly superb piece of work.
- Kevin Renick
2
Yikes. I'm sure every niche of every genre (in this case 'psychobilly') has its fans, and at least The Defectors can play their instruments, but this is so over-the-top goofy in its schlock horror presentation that it's ghastly. It reminds me of those rote houses of horror people throw together on Halloween, the kind where they put spaghetti in bowls and tell kids it's brains. Oooh. Really creepy. Everything they do has been done so much better by others. I'll grant that they're scary, but not as they intended.
- Nancy Baym
7
This 4 song EP is a nice, straight-ahead, high quality, well done blast of fast country infused with punk energy. It's full of dark tones, the vocals growl, and the pace pushes it all forward with compelling momentum. When it's playing, it sounds great. But ultimately it's missing the standout quality that keeps it in mind when its playtime is over.
- Nancy Baym
1
These songs (all sung in Swedish) sound like something that could be Sweden's choice to compete in the Eurovision Contest - that's how awful they are. If Jonzon would steal a bit more and come up with better melodies, he could become a Swedish Mika, which is not really a compliment, but I guess Jonzon wouldn't mind commercial success even if it meant selling your soul at a low price. An album to avoid like the Australian Brown Snake at a petting zoo.
- Simon Tagestam
Scraps of Tape
Vapnet
Pistol Disco
Laakso
Kallioinia
Maia Hirasawa