Tag: Reviews
If you are in a band and you are reading this: You know when the label says we need a hit record? Well take heed - "The loyal" may be a blueprint for others to follow. Oh yeah, of course there's one modicum of criticism levied - let's just say the old maxim: If you are going to plagiarize, plagiarize with conviction. So to sound like Genesis with 'I'm still standing' on "All I have" matters not one iota. And "The loyal" is carried off so competently that even that modicum is delivered to positive effect. But screw it because TL swears on it, and vernacular is good over here. I like the word 'fuck' - think about it. We all do?! This album is shocking. Shockingly good. They say sometimes it has to hurt to enjoy. So any masochists out there can unite on this disc, at least via track 6, "Nixon". The Loyal conjures up images of "Blair Witch Project", a horror scene, the video could have been a torch lamp and a forest. There's some distortion for underlay, digital drums and a effects textured to the song swagger. Swagger is a theme throughout and a darker edge to this disc than "Is my head still on?" "Patterns" is a blast of 80's pop, a blast of the Mudd Club circa '87 – foot tappingly deft... and this is the continuum. Darker production, dance floor hits. Hits Hits Hits. If you missed the beauty of Tiger Lou, get this album, lock all the doors, stay up until 4am, put your headphones and be very frightened.s
- Troy Convers
Lately I've heard so much mind-blowing Scandinavian music that every time I've reviewed something here, I've never slagged anything off but always sung songs of praise. This is not about to change now, with Agent Simple. I love these four songs, they're like a pair of new jeans that instantly fits perfectly without you having to wash or wear them even once – try to imagine that! If music could make your mouth taste like ice cream, Agent Simple's indiepop would surely perform this great little feat. Now Avi, please give me something rubbish to review so I can find tired mean metaphors, instead of this fluffy ice cream talk (I actually bought this EP with my hard-earned money, so Avi is not to "blame" for me admiring this).
- Simon Tagestam
The one thing I couldn't get over when listening to this Danish band's debut was how much their lead vocalist/guitarist Johannes Nidam sounds almost like a cross between Paul Banks of Interpol and Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. Campsite's music tends to be a mix of both bands. Twelve tracks of dance-y, electro-indie-rock/pop (or whatever it's being called these days) that kept me interested from the opening track "Pastime" to the pleading vocals of "Parade" and the delightful bounce of "Clean cut". The closer, "I collide", is the best closing track I've heard all year and ends the album on a good note.
- Navy Keophan
One thing bothers me about this one - it's hard to admit, even to myself, to dig ANYTHING sounding like Depeche Mode. With that said, I was kinda skeptical about this one throughout the first listens. DK7 consists of maverick producers Mark O'Sullivan and Jesper Dahlbäck, and it seems like the golden hands of Dahlbäck have proven themselves yet again. This is the best electronic album from Sweden since... well, for quite some time anyway. So please, don't mind the similarity to the Kings Of Boredom, put on the should-be-hit-single "Where's the fun" and dance the night away. Oh, it's kinda cool that a couple of Swedes (well, Irish O'Sullivan counts as half a Swede) got signed by top top label Output.
- Johanna Smith
Here's a nice little 7" that you should try and get hold of. The Horror The Horror sound like a less difficult Television (especially the guitar in "Twice in a lifetime"), and thus a bit like The Strokes. But don't let this scare you now, this is actually so good that I can see these guys becoming quite big, if they manage to keep on making tracks like these. It got that hipster rock sound about it that I never really associate with Sweden but rather Washington or Canada. Only bad thing about this 7" is that there are only two songs on it – I'd like some more fresh and appealing rock like this, please, as soon as possible.
- Simon Tagestam
Well, after reading about Kaizers Orchestra for two years and desperately wanting to hear them, I finally had the opportunity to immerse myself in their third CD, "Maestro". And I'm pretty impressed overall. The band sings everything in their native Norwegian, which makes them pretty unique right there. But the way lead vocalist Janove Sjakalen enunciates and emotes, it's really not so crucial to know the words; the essence comes across, believe me. This band has a fire and energy that make for compelling music, even if you have to be pretty open-minded to follow the crazy zigs and zags of their sound. They have their own mutant brew: one minute you're hearing a kind of Eastern European traditional folk, the next, cinematic spaghetti western sounds, the next a crazy, funky Ween-style cartoonish exuberance. And then there's some almost straightforward Tin Pan Alley songcraft, although always adorned with odd production quirks. If the lyrics were in English, the indie rock rags would be all over Kaizers; that may happen anyway if enough open-minded listeners give this eccentric but purposeful sound a chance.
- Kevin Renick
If someone told me seven years ago that Kent had released an EP that contained a children choir on it I would surely wet my pants, since like most Swedish people my age, I was once crazy in love with Kent, but just like a lot of the initial fans, my adoration ceased quite some time ago. Although, compared to most people, I think I stuck with them quite a long time into their career, yes, I even thought 2002's "Vapen & ammunition" contained quite a few good tracks. But with their last album I finally decided to give up on them, and if I ever had got a Kent tattoo, I would now have spent my savings to remove it. Not even the children choir sounds any good (Kent manages to ruin this super safe device by overusing it). I wouldn't call the music on this EP (or Kent) horrible, but compared to their former self, I find this very difficult to appreciate.
- Simon Tagestam
This is an album that picks you up when you're down, and punches you in the face. If there wasn't punk, this would be it. I've had this CD now for a few months and for a long time I couldn't listen to any other track than the first one ("Put things"), which is an absolutely fantastic song that goes on for 18 minutes, but only contains two lines that are repeated throughout. I'm usually a fan of 'less is more', but "Put things" is so ace that I almost wish it was twice as long. But like I said, after a few months I've finally managed to get past this track and discovered the rest of these brilliant songs. I'm not too sure how to describe the music, but calling it electro indie rock will have to suffice for now.
- Simon Tagestam
With new releases this year from Millencolin, Randy and now Satanic Surfers, it feels like I'm 12 years old again. Fortunately, none of these bands sounds like they did in the beginning of their careers, which is cool since it means that I can think of myself as 'mature' instead of 'old' (I hope that makes sense; perhaps you need to be 25+ to understand). Anyhow, aging paranoia aside, Satanic Surfers' new album is not as emo, poppy, or sugary sweet as their last great album ("Unconsciously confined" from 2002), but it's still as good as Satanic Surfers always have been. If you've never heard SS, think of something like As Friends Rust at their best (early EPs), but less hardcore and more melodic (it's basically melodic punk rock). It's very comforting that that a lot of these Swedish (melodic-) punk veterans that I've sort of grown up with still got what it takes, without me having to shield myself behind some dire nostalgia while listening to them.
- Simon Tagestam
Alf's first album (from last year) was superb and although it got a lot of critical acclaim, Alf's career never properly took off. His second album is a really nice follow up to all those super melodic songs from "Augustibrev", since it feels like Alf's taken a step forward, without leaving his first album completely behind him. The songs are more complex, and where "Augustibrev" stuck in your head at first impact with your ears, "Alf's andra" (Swedish for "Alf's second" – what an clever title!) took me a few listening before I really got into it. The lyrics are also a bit darker, which works as a nice contrast to the happy-go-lucky songs from "Augustibrev". Thankfully, none of this means that Alf isn't able to write hits anymore (see "Kunde vart jag"). So, if you're hungry for some catchy Swedish music sung in Swedish, you should get this album (preferably accompanied by "Augustibrev").
- Simon Tagestam
These Finns serve up a few more tracks of mid-tempo dirge-heavy hardcore on their latest EP, sounding something like a mix of "Damaged"-era Black Flag and early Killing Joke. They've definitely gotten better since their last disc which I reviewed at the beginning of the year - the band's overall sound is much more cohesive and developed. There's still room for improvement in the vocals and dynamics, but I like it, especially the extended rhythm section vamp on the outro track.
- Avi Roig
When promo copies of "Super extra gravity" began making the rounds, some early reviews proclaimed it to be a complete departure from the band's last effort, the outstanding "Long gone before daylight". Stellar new single "I need some fine wine and you, you need to be nicer" does have a sense of urgency missing from "Daylight", and drummer Bengt Lagerberg does get more chances for his sticks to fly this time around. And yes, erstwhile producer Tore Johansson is back in the fold, speeding up tempos where he gets the chance. But don't be fooled. "Super extra gravity" is not a departure--it relies on the same talents and overall improvements in the band's sound evident after the long post-"Gran turismo" hiatus. Nina Persson's voice now has a warm, natural feel and range not heard on the icy "Gran turismo" or the lighthearted but flat "Life". Her improvement as a lyricist continues, especially on "Don't blame your daughter (Diamonds)", an ode to personal responsibility: "Don't blame your daughter/that's just sentimental/Don't blame your mom/for all that you've done wrong/Your daddy's not guilty/you came out a little faulty/and the factory closed." Like its predecessor, "Super extra gravity" features stripped-down instrumentation (guitars, bass, organ, drums) augmented by strings at opportune moments, but eschews the heavy synth sound of "Gran turismo" and the cutesy touches (bassoon, recorder, etc.) of the early albums. Songs like "Overload" and "Holy love" would fit right in on "Daylight". Unlike "Daylight", though, this one does run out of steam towards the end. "In the round" and "Good morning Joan" are forgettable, making this a very good album that's not quite as consistent as the one before it. If you get a chance, check out the woozy bonus track "Slow", the closest thing to Cardigans psychedelia I've heard yet.
- Matthew W. Smith
There is really no better expression than 'artists' to describe the Danish band Kashmir. The four band members were originally a bunch of creative Copenhageners experimenting with different kinds of media until they decided that the best way to spread their message would be to wrap it up in rock'n'roll music. You still can feel this tendency of creative exploration in their music. Kashmir's fifth album "No balance palace" was released two years after their quite successful record "Zitilites". The band's artistic approach results in a never tiring spectrum from basic analysis/synthesis processes of sound as a medium to a mighty and aesthetic (re-)combination of sound as a ductile material. On a melancholic music journey, "No balance palace" passes almost everything between rather easy pop songs and quite uneasy guitar battlefields. But even though the album's title might let you suppose something different, it is indeed a very melodic balance. Atmospheric noise samples meet heavy rock'n'roll guitars at the same time the lyrics draw a poetic circle of topics like love, death and the decadent descent of western society. To sum it up, this record is not only a wonderful soundtrack for looking out the window and watching the cold autumn wind blow the leaves from the trees, it is definitely a masterpiece of music art. And yes, it's true, it was produced by Tony Visconti (Morrissey, etc.) and also contains songs featuring the legendary names of David Bowie (performing a powerful duet with singer Kasper Eistrup) and Lou Reed (reading one of Eistrup's poems about a mysterious black building in New York).
- Janis Meissner
Tiger Lou