Tag: Reviews
What do you get if you mix a sailor, a Viking and a Nazi officer? That's right: Turbonegro. Never having heard this Norwegian band before, I was persuaded by my friend to join the crowd at Koko in Camden. I'm so glad I did. The energy and tempo was unbeatable and the fans superior. All bands have some sort of fan base. Turbonegro have TurboJugend - an army of obsessed fans. Wearing uniform jean jackets and sailor hats, they controlled the venue and with their overhead hand-clapping and did a better job then the band's drummer. One of many highlights was new single, "City of Satan" - a stomping punk-rock song. Hank Von Helvete said Turbonegro used to be a gay band. No sign of homosexuality this night (expect for maybe the sailor uniform) though that wouldn't have mattered. Turbonegro rocked in every way possible. I won't buy their album, but I'd go and see them live again any day of the week.
- David Hellqvist
Unarmed Enemies are the latest signing to new Swedish label, Songs I Wish I Had Written. Unarmed Enemies make the best electronic music in that it has melody, humor and a warmth to it, unlike groups like Ladytron. This humor arises in "Hustlers recharged", where the narrator of the song ponders what it will be like to be fifty years old, have no hair and appalling taste in clothes. This track is also given the remix treatment on the EP by the name-droopingly hip Mr. Suitcase who transforms it into a Europop monster. Right, I'm now off to start my petition to get their cover version of The Go-Between's "Going blind" released.
- Nick Levine
"A decade of dreams 1995-2005" is the best of (yet) from Sweden's very own Dido-esque singer-songstress Sophie Zelmani. She occupies the territory already covered by the likes of Lisa Nilson, Lisa Ekdahl, or even Patrik Issakson! Vocally they pale into insignificance, as Zelmani possesses a voice to be reckoned with. It could be heard on any MOR format radio station in the USA. That said, Zelmani has a husky purr to her delicious vocals, fittingly matched by her beauty. Arguably the best tracks are "Going home", "Oh dear" and percussion tilted "Going to stop" which weighs in at a whopping 7:08 mins long. For fans, the album also contains a "So long" update via the the Aranjeuz version. Fresh material (three new songs) includes the single "I can't change", which could easily have fit nicely into her "Sing and dance" album issued in 2002. All in all, proper Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, never Friday or Saturday evening music.
- Troy Convers
I'm still not totally wowed by My Enemy, but I'm not ready to give up on them yet either. Their debut EP "Elil" showed promise, but ultimately fell short and it's kind of the same story with these two more recent releases. But! My Enemy continues to get better with every new CD. The songs and, more importantly, the production are steadily improving. It's especially apparent on the remix tracks from "Khreis" where you can hear other folks who are able to tap into the songs' potential and transform them into something greater. I like where they're going, but they aren't quite there yet. Keep an eye on 'em - I've got a strong feeling they'll figure it out.
- Avi Roig
With a chorus borrowed from a song by The Tough Alliance and songs sounding like a mix between Jens Lekman and Moneybrother, this album could hardly have been done any other time and place than in Sweden 2005. But even though "Drama" is a very timely album, David Pagmar (who is Montt Mardié) has also constructed a great piece of music, in fact one of the best this year! There are some really outstanding "souly" tracks on here (e.g. "Huckleberry friend" - one of my favourite songs of 2005), and also a bunch of uptempo ones, and at the end of the album we get treated to a magnificent cover of Håkan Hellström's sucker punch of a song "Kom igen Lena" shrewdly called "Come on Eileen", which is done in a beautiful stripped-down fashion. I love this album and if I had the money and time I'd spend the rest of the year dressed up as Santa and walk around the streets giving away copies of it out to everyone I met.
- Simon Tagestam
What we have here is a failure to self-edit. The new album from this Swedish indiepop act starts out strong enough, but quickly loses steam with quite a few tracks that should've been cut during preproduction. The A-level material would've made for a nice EP by itself, but they can't quite hack it for a full 40 minutes.
- Avi Roig
Danish quartet Epo-555's debut album is a haunting mix of indie rock fueled by synthesizers and the occasional drum machine programming in the vein of mid-'90s Sub Pop band Six Finger Satellite and Belle and Sebastian. They craft these soundscapes out of vocalist/guitarist Max Hansen and Camilla Florentz (who also does vocals along with synth duties) breathy lyrics that takes the listener to a different dimension on "Angelina Balerina". Their vocals are nice and complimentary to the music itself, which flows from track to track in a cohesive manner (see tracks such as "L'art Pour La Fart" and "iL Presidente" as an example.) Good stuff, overall.
- Navy Keophan
The title track of this EP is a pretty little darling of a song that is steeped in New Order and other bands of that type from the 80s. If you like The Embassy you should definitely seek this song out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. It's a shame that the other (three) songs on this EP are so dull, if they would have been only nearly as good as "Heart" it could have been a right old party.
- Simon Tagestam
When he's good, Kristian Anttila sounds a bit like Håkan Hellström, but when he's bad (which is, frankly, most of the time) he comes across as a perverted version of Kent. If I had to recommend this to anyone, it'd be to hardcore Kent fans only. Perhaps if my niece / nephew only listened to Kent, I'd buy them "Innan bomberna faller" for Christmas, just to get them to take one (very small) step away from their unhealthy obsession. There are some good bits to be found on here, but in short - this album just doesn't cut the mustard!
- Simon Tagestam
Randy always blow me away when I see them play live and I'd recommend everyone to try and catch them if they happen to come to play anywhere near where you live. Their show on this night was no exception to above statement (even though the crowd participation was pretty "tame"). It's the first time I've seen Randy play songs from their last album, hopefully they'll come back soon to do a proper headline gig. Whereas the people watching Randy didn't seem that interested, in Millencolin's case it was Nikola Sarcevic – their singer – who appear quite aloof (the kids didn't seem to care though and went nuts, as always when Millencolin are in town). This didn't bother me too much though since when I walked into the venue I bumped into an acquaintance of mine, whose company combined with some beers made the whole night (Millencolin's show included) a fun experience.
- Simon Tagestam
As an unabashed fan of Norwegian singer/songwriter Anja Garbarek, I was stunned to hear the news that she'd completed a new album. Anja is not the most prolific lass in the Nordic universe: "Briefly shaking" is only her fourth disc in 13 years, and the first since 2001's superb "Smiling and waving". But lordy, this gal makes the wait worthwhile by consistently releasing stunning records. Music that's both ecstatically passionate and wonderfully weird always wins me over, and Anja is a sorceress in that regard. The eleven tracks here range from Broadway-style theatricality to elegant pop classicism to moments of sublime sensuality, especially when Anja just melts you with one of those beautiful melodies she has such a flair for. If fans of sublime modern pop can't find you after this classic record, then they're sure as hell not looking in the right place.
- Kevin Renick
In 1989 Jakob Hellman released his debut album "...och det stora havet" in Sweden, an album that's still considered by a lot of Swedes to be the best debut album (and by some, like me, "the best album" period) ever to come out of Sweden. What has made this album stand out even more is the fact that Hellman never made another record, and for a while he disappeared completely from the Swedish music scene, only to resurface a few years ago for some live shows. When Håkan Hellström released "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg" in 2000, a lot of people fretted that he would "do a Hellman" and never released anything ever again. Now, five years later, I think we – the people who worried so much - can finally start to sleep well at nights. Not only did Håkan deliver his third excellent record ("Ett kolikbarns bekännelser") earlier this year, but in a few weeks he will release a record of leftover songs. "Tretton" is the first single of this disc (titled "Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nått lånat, nåt blått"). The song is a cover of Big Star's "13", and it's pretty faithful to the original (although most of the lyrics are translated to Swedish, the parts left in English could have been quite cheesy, but they fit in really well). Naturally Håkan, with his infinite charm, makes the song his own. I just hope this won't be his last album...
- Simon Tagestam
I haven't seen much press on Hera outside her native Iceland, but I suspect that situation may change with the release of her new album "Don't play this". Mostly performed with acoustic guitars and minimal backing (with occasionally lively horns), the strength of the album derives from Hera's plaintive, heartfelt vocals and absolutely immaculate sound conjured by her and co-producer Gotmundur Petursson. The upbeat songs like "Feathers in a bag," "Muddy shoes" and "To my guitar" have a crispness that you can almost taste, and tearjerkers like "Adrian" and "Where is your baby" work your emotions honestly, coming from a woman who conveys with every line that she's in touch both with her own feelings and her very healthy muse. And if you're into chocolate, Hera has written a nifty little ode to the stuff that is sure to become a favorite.
- Kevin Renick
Montt Mardié
Biker Boy