Tag: Reviews
After seeing two great live shows, I made sure to snatch a copy of the Real Ones' latest effort. I listened to it when I got home and heard the beautiful harmonies and folk-rock sound and was just floored instantly. This band has a knack for writing great songs and, with perfect production, has delivered a damn fine album. "Home with the girls..." is just one of those records that gets better as it plays through, moreso with each listen. It's one of those albums that you can go back to a few weeks or even months later and still have the same feeling that Real Ones' songcraft is top-notch (at least for me). If you are unfamiliar with their sound, I'd suggest checking out the tracks "The long sentence" (complete with harpsichord), "Orlando" (with its peaceful harmonies), and the centerpiece "Ballad of an old man" (with their neighbourhood choir joining them on the chorus). Real Ones have spent a bit of time in my CD player lately and it's well deserved.
- Matt Giordano
To see a great band from Norway once when you live in the USA is a treat, but tto see them twice (and on consecutive nights) is just lucky (but moreso the benefit of living in a big city). The first night at Sin-E, Real Ones put on a very energetic set, which pleased the crowd a great deal. Although the sound was a bit muddy at times, I believe this was more a result of the venue's acoustics than the band. After playing their set which included such songs as the opener "Oh my", "Orlando", and the purely brilliant "Ballad of an old man", the band found themselves in the midst of accolading fans, with many lining up to buy their newest album "Home with the girls in the morning". Since I was going to review the Real Ones live set and had the chance to see them a second time, I surely took it. I had thought it would help me write a better review, to see the band in a different setting, to just get a better feel of their sound and was I glad to have done so. At the Living Room the next night, the band sounded even better. Each instrument was much more pronounced (and I must say I was expecting it, as the venue is better suited for more "acoustic" based bands). The band played the same songs mentioned above, plus "She's got me good" and my since-then-live-favourite "Bratislava". If I had to gauge how their stay in New York went, I'd say "very well."
- Matt Giordano
"Facts and figures" sees Johan Angergård return to form after last year's disappointingly slow "Public radio". Whilst that record was fine in its own right, the loss of tempo from the band's debut caught me offguard. Luckily, the tempo is back. Always exploring various textures and aesthetics in his music, Angergård relies very heavily on synthesizers this time around and the result is great pop album that sounds as if it is from 1976 or 1986 as opposed to this year. Coupled with his trademark smooth vocals (and heavy effects), this is the soundtrack to a postmodern dance club in some old warehouse in the nefarious part of town. Top on that the aura of seediness and you have yourself one of the best dark pop records since The Bear Quartet's "Ny våg".
- Matt Giordano
After quickly warming up to the debut Johnossi album which V2 re-released earlier this year, I was interested in how they would be live. They came to the USA in June and I honestly just spaced out on it, but when I saw that they were scheduled to return in the autumn, I knew I had to go. Maybe it was the premonition I had that the band would rock in concert. It's a little presumptuous to be, but it was true. These two lads rock hard, and considering that John is using an acoustic guitar, it's amazing that he can get such heavy tones from it. They blasted through the set rather quickly, playing the favourites "Execution song," "Man must dance," "There's a lot of things to do before you die," "Rescue team" and "Santa Monica Bay," complete with it's powerful, balls-out ending.
- Matt Giordano
I've been listening a lot to mediocre albums these days, and unfortunately Fattaru's latest album "Mina drömmars stad" adheres to this pattern. Their first album "Fatta eld" (released 2001) was an exercise in banging beats and hit-making, and one of my favourite hiphop albums ever (seriously). After that, Fattaru "matured" and released the jazzy and horrible "Jordnära" (2003) - an album that's best forgotten. For their third album they've gone back a bit to the more direct approach of making songs, but they've also kept a lot of their more "mature" influences, and taken some new ones on board (electro, grime, etc). All in all, it's a very diverse album that contains one fantastic song ("100 spänn"), some ok ones (e.g. "Ung snubbe", "Den där skiten"), and some other quite bad ones (e.g. "Sthlmsnatt"). If Fattaru had released another "Jordnära", I totally would have given up on them, but thanks to the better parts of "Mina drömmars stad", I'm interested to see what they've got to offer in the, hopefully not too far away, future.
- Simon Tagestam
This sounds like bad karaoke over lost Pet Shop Boys b-sides. The songs aren't that great and the vocals are positively atrocious. While their shtick might be mildly entertaining at times, their music is not. Maybe someday we can all look back at The Embassy and have a good laugh, but for now I ain't having it.
- Avi Roig
The general consensus seems to be that Marit Bergman's third album is good, but a bit disappointing and I'm going to have to agree with this. After a promising start in punk band Candysuck, followed by a rough but super charming debut album, and then a magnificent second album, my hopes and expectations for Bergman are sky high every time she releases anything new. That the first single ("No party") from this album is a party anthem (despite the title and lyrics) almost as good as "Adios amigos" only got me to think that "I think it's a rainbow" would inevitable be the album of 2006. It's not a bad album, it's just too MOR and at places it feels a bit too lackluster despite Bergman "experimenting" with flutes, strings etc. "I think..." doesn't have half of the charm of "3.00 am Serenades" nor the fantastic songs of "Baby dry your eye". It's a well-produced album, a bit above the average with a handful of excellent tracks on it (e.g. "You can't help me now", "Green light"), but being something done by Marit Bergman, it doesn't measure up. Still, even such a legend as Ingmar Bergman (no relation, I think) made some duff films, hopefully Marit's next album will see her back on track.
- Simon Tagestam
I've got Beezewax's three previous albums and I've seen them live a couple of times, so my expectations for this album were somewhat high. Even though they've always been heavily influenced by power-pop, they've always stayed with one foot firm in the indie rock swamp, which in my opinion makes for a great sound. Not so anymore, with "Who to salute" they've gone into crazy power-pop mode (hell, they even got Ken Stringfellow from The Posies singing on the record). But unfortunately Beezewax haven't got those killer melodies to back up all this power-popping, which is a darn shame. "Who to salute" just doesn't cut the mustard! There are some nice breezy songs here (e.g. "Shinjuko Park"), but overall the songs sound way too similar, and it feels like they're missing that little but so necessary spark that can make an average album a good one. This album could perhaps make a cool EP if you got rid of a handful of songs, but as an album - it bores me, and that is something, ladies and gentlemen, I deeply regret to write.
- Simon Tagestam
Ah yes, the Biker Boy EP. Peter Lundbergh devliers to his public four stellar tracks of electronic pop music. Akin to the Pet Shop Boys and The Smiths, Lundbergh's music possesses lighthearted playful melodies and danceable instrumentation with the vocal delivery combination of a Morrissey croon and the spoken aspect of Nick Cave, albeit in a slightly more pained aspect. While the four remixes of "You got me wrong" may seem a bit much, especially listened to in succession, each on their own is a standout track and a great bonus to those who purchase the disc.
- Matt Giordano
After three years, David & The Citizens have actually delivered a record with exactly what they promised. Most groups talk about how their sound has either expanded or altered, but few times (especially in the past ten or fifteen years) has the resulting material been so accurate in description. I must admit, however, that I was a bit skeptical when they had said they were going to make a more "rocking" album, but then I realised that "Big chill" was an amazing song and that going in that direction would not be a bad thing at all. "Stop the tape! Stop the tape!" sees the production values, especially when dealing with the low-end, bumped up with a bit more confidence and thump. The rhythm section is powerful in its delivery and aids the listeners' head to nod throughout the release (most notably on "A heart & a hand & a love for a band", "Oblivion" and the first single "Are you in my blood?"). The extended mix of "48h" is, to me, flawless in songcraft, and one of the top on the record along with "What if nobody would catch us?". David & the Citizens have delivered what everyone had hoped for: a band realising their potential, acting upon it - and succeeding.
- Matt Giordano
Here is a band with a classic Touch & Go sound, but also a melodic sensibility that totally different than anything T&G had on their roster. Iisole have a weird and different way of approaching progressions and vocal arrangements that make something old new again. Seriously, one second they sound like Yow-less Jesus Lizard and the next the majestic beauty of Do Make Say Think. They combine those two elements with such grace and ease, always with the vocal arrangements making the bridge and making sense of all this. This is a pretty good record.
- Simon Thibaudeau
Everytime I hear a new record released by Hyrbis, it gets me thinking that not only is Hybris one of the most ambitious pop labels on the planet right now, but also one of the best. Kalle J's full-length exudes masterful pop songwriting and tight song structures. Standout tracks include "Akademisk", "B.G.I.T." and "Burt Ward"; however, it'd be hard to claim one track to be the best, as the album is solid the whole way through. The songs have enough tempo to become hits in all of the discotheques, if not just in Sweden, but all the world over. I'm guessing that Nick, Jason and the IAT! DJs have been playing these tracks at Tack! Tack! Tack! and other festivals, but it is about time for other purveyors of electronic pop to take notice.
- Matt Giordano
This is completely and utterly everything and nothing at the same time. Much in the vein of the dance/noise/rock/everything and the kitchen sink of the Liars, PaperRad and other of their ilk, Knife and Ape just are equal part Nintendo music, rock, disco and post-punk. The vocals are much in the post-punk tradition and actually bring a certain cohesiveness to the whole thing, whatever that cohesiveness might be. Despite the fact that I seem lukewarm to the idea, this is highly enjoyable and I like it a lot. I can tell you that I like it a lot more than PaperRad and the Liars, which might not be saying much but certainly would be a vote of confidence in certain circles. It doesn't make any sense but when listening this on a strictly visceral level, it is pretty freaking great.
- Simon Thibaudeau
I haven't heard anything from MZ.412 in quite a little while, since the last Cold Meat Industry release I believe, and it appears that scaring the shit out of the listener is still a priority. If any thing, this is a lot more palatable than previous releases where the music was a lot more minimal and much darker. In fact, this sounds a lot more than label-mates Puissance, in the martial-rhythms and Neoclassical tendencies that they display. All of that was always a part of MZ.412's sounds, but now it takes much more of a central place in the music. MZ.412 has always been one of the most violent bands I listened to, although not violent in a traditional sense, but this time the violence has been replaced with a dark will to disturb. I am not sure I like this more than the old material, but it certainly is interesting.
- Simon Thibaudeau
Biker Boy
David & The Citizens
Kalle J
Knife and Ape