Tag: Reviews
I really want to like Emil Jensen. I want to be able to sit there with a glass of red wine, look out the window, and listen to the lyrics and dream away. I want to like this album so much, because I know my mom would love it and that way we would have something to talk about. This is not a bad album; it's just an album my 50 year old, state employed, divorced mother would like. With that said, Emil is very talented, seriously, look at his website for all the stuff he has done, and at least I know what I am getting my mom for Christmas.
- Per Appelqvist
After sitting and listening to Quit Your Dayjob's EP, I was left in a state of girlish glee. The trio makes quirky drum-guitar-and-synth rock that can best be described as a bit nerdish. In fact, the gentlemen of QYDJ would have it no other way. Coming from the south of Sweden (Malmö to be exact), Jonass (guitar/vocals) sings like he is Fred Schneider's (of the B-52s) Swedish cousin. On tracks like "Look! A Dollar" and "Mike Fast", Jonass' vocals are catchy and the lyrics are simple to remember because most of the time they are just the song titles itself. Combined with Marcass' synthesizers and Andreass' drums, QYDJ create something that is along the lines of Devo and the aforementioned B-52s that can only be described as synth-surf on acid. QYDJ puts a smile on my face and a spazzy feeling in my body.
- Navy Keophan
These Finns play keyboard-driven garage-pop very much in the same vein as The Caesars/Caesars Palace. Obviously, they aren't setting out to do anything life-changing or even all that original, but they know how to put together a catchy hook and that's what really matters. They probably could've had a much stronger album if they shaved off a couple tunes, but whatever- there's enough strong material here for me to recommend it to anyone looking for something sugary-sweet and fun to help them get through the winter.
- Avi Roig
After years of rumors and speculation about its existence, I was very excited to finally hear this damn thing, to say the least. The possibility that the label almost shelved this album just boggles by mind because it's so obviously great. "Arclight" is the perfect culmination of Silverbullit's previous two albums. They bring back the raw power of their self-titled debut, but never lose the sonic experimentation that made "Citizen bird" so amazing. The sound is thick and lush and of course merits the obvious My Bloody Valentine comparisons, but I also hear tones and melodies that remind me of other 80s rock like Sisters of Mercy, early Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain, Killing Joke and New Order. Unlike a lot of bands mining similar influences however, Silverbullit never comes off sounding retro. Rather, they rise above the mere tribute bands and wannabees and create a sound of their own. Highly recommended, definitely a best-of 2004 contender.
- Avi Roig
The Tough Alliance, the tough ass band that carry baseball bats in their photos and sings about how Coca-Cola runs in their veins, have now on their second single penned a super catchy love song. Right now, I'm looking forward to The Tough Alliance's album more than anything else. Their electropunk has taken me by storm and if there's a more interesting band in the whole wide world, please tell me. This EP also consists of a fine cover of Primal Scream's "Velocity girl" and some sort of weird interlude.
- Simon Tagestam
Even though this isn't being released until next February in the U.S. and the rest of the world, the record shop I usually venture for the latest and greatest had it. Was it worth the $20.99 plus 7.75% California sales tax I paid for it?
For starters, Dennis Lyxzén and Co. have returned with another strong effort. With producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin at helm, the (I)NC, coping with the departure of keyboardist/guitarist Sara Almgren, move away from the garage sound they were known for to a more complete rock sound.
The album's ten tracks are all mid-to-uptempo and makes it hard for the listener to sit still through them. On the album's opening track (and next single which was released Nov. 15 by Burning Heart) "A Small Demand," the guitars, bass and drums romp along with the organ in a very catchy tune that sets the mood for the album. Lyxzén sings with desperation and urgency as the song progresses. The saxophone solo by Jonas Kullhammer adds a very interesting mix to the song.
"The Way I Feel About You" continues the trend set by the opening track with Inge Johansson's pulsating bass line bouncing along with the keyboard playing of guests Benmont Tench and Kullhammer. Lars Strömberg's guitar plays along with the keyboard as Ludvig Dahlberg's drum hash out this big '70s rock beat. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album.
The (I)NC manage to keep up the speed on "Let's Make History". It's another one of those tracks that has a great bass line and a rhythm section that just pulsates. It also contains another one of Lyxzén's passionate pleas in trying to move on without a comrade. Guitar and organ solo halfway through the song sounds very clean.
"The Dream Is Over" experiments with a blues sound with its driving guitar and piano leading the assault. Lyxzén's vocals are strong and suit the sound. It has this richness that is a good contrast to the instrumentation but both balance out each other as the song continues.
"All In All" reminds me of a Sade song. Soulful on one hand but yet still uniquely rock on the other. It's also the slowest song on the album. The bongos are a nice change of pace and the introduction of Charlotte Hatherly (of Ash fame) into the background vocal mix are also a nice touch.
"Black Mask" is a noisy reintroduction to the old sound. The song is chaotic yet catchy at the same time, with its sing-along bridge and chorus. The instrumentation is intriguing as the guitar wails towards the end with Lyxzén's vocals as everything struggles to be heard. He manages to do another one of his trademark yells at the end that's good enough to make any skeptical fan happy.
"Communist Moon" shows that they can still make the listener dance. Although the title will guarantee that the song never gets played on the radio, it's another song in which the instruments bounce along with one another. The lyrics are still catchy as Lyxzén and company sing "Let's all share our dreams/ Under a communist moon". This song could be the rallying cry of counterrevolutionaries everywhere. It also displays the keyboarding talent of the legendary Billy Preston. Preston's playing really completes the sound.
Things get jazzy with "This Side of Heaven". It's yet another one of the songs that has a great bassline that just rumbles as the guitar plays a subtle role. It is also very reminiscent of "New Empire Blues" off of their critically-acclaimed "A New Morning, Changing Weather".
"Like A Landslide" is another one of those songs that finds itself driven by Lyxzén's vocals and the driving backbeat.
"Armed Love" is the big closing number with its freaked-out harmonica solo dueling with the organ and the return of the '70s rock sound. Perfect closing number.
Rubin pushes the (I)NC to the limits of their sound while still keeping it unique for them. Although it is not as adventurous sound-wise as "A New Morning, Changing Weather", it still contains a lot of the jazz and blues elements they played around with in their previous release. "Armed Love" at times reminds me of The Jam and The Who (from the "Who's Next" era, which isn't a bad thing.
The songs contain many of the themes that fans and listeners have come to know and love (or hate, in some cases.) Although the political rhetoric is still there, I found it to be more accessible than in previous times. In fact, this album is probably more accessible than "A New Morning..." or "Survival Sickness" but still manages to make the revolution a very romantic idea. It could be hard to swallow for those who have followed the Conspiracy from its inception but give "Armed Love" a try and you won't be disappointed.
- Navy Keophan
For a self-proclaimed "cock-rock" band, these Danes are actually pretty darn tame. It doesn't help that the clichéd opening line of the first song goes "I wound up on Greyhound, going eastbound out of LA" and comes off sounding about as far from genuine as you can get. Luckily, that's about as bad as this four-song demo gets - it's all uphill once you make it through "Gypsy caress". They're quite a bit more AC/DC than Mötley Crüe, but whatever - I tend to like my rock n' roll more working class anyways. These guys ain't bad, but they've got a ways to go if they want to compete in the already overcrowded Scandinavian rock scene. If they're really, truly going for the "cock-rock" thing, they really need to up the ante quite a bit. It takes much more than a few hammer-on riffs and artificial harmonics, y'know.
- Avi Roig
The danger of doing songs longer than the standard 3-4 minutes rock songs is the possibility that no matter how individual parts being good the whole might go absolutely nowhere. Such is the problem from the same of Scraps of Tape's music I have here. Trying very hard to fit in the Constellation Records' sound, Scraps of Tape sounds about as much like Godspeed You! Black Emperor as Silver Mt Zion, with the difference that their songs just lack direction. If songs that wander forever is what you like, then this might be for you. Otherwise I would suggest you find better, because there is.
- Simon Thibaudeau
Vocal-based pop is not something I usually reach for very often but when it is well done and intelligent, I have to notice. Martha Valle's music qualifies as both. The strings and piano arrangements are extremely well done and enhanced the melodic value that was already high because of Martha's vocals. While listening to this all I could think of was how great were Sarah McLachlan's first three album and how this fits right there. I was also hearing a less playful, darker and better Tegan and Sarah. Not something I'll listen to every week but could be useful in the next schmoozing operation. Not a bad thing to have in your arsenal.
- Simon Thibaudeau
They might not have the best band name around, nor the best singer, or the most original song ideas, well, in fact Wild Evil Entertainment Dept. are so unoriginal that it took me quite a few days before I came to the conclusion that this is actually a pretty darn good debut album. For what it is (standard rock'n'roll) the songs are not all steeped in exactly the same mold, they seem influenced by everything from Turbonegro ("Deadbull City") to the Dead Kennedys ("Gotta get some love"), and some verses strongly evoke the arrogance of Caesars Palace (aka The Caesars), which is pretty impressive in my book. Oh, I just realized that Turbonegro are not really that far away musically from Dead Kennedys, but heck, you know what I mean, or if you don't, here you go (dumb ass): This is a fine album packed with melodic and dirty rock'n'roll.
- Simon Tagestam
A few years ago, while I was fully immersed in metal, The Haunted became one of my favourite bands. Their first album took the art of the no-frills trash record to new heights; to me that record was better than Slayer's "Reign in Blood" or "Season in the Abyss", Metallica's "Master of Puppets" or Megadeth's "Peace Sells". It was a revelation and it carried afterwards a slew of other good (Darkane, Defleshed, The Crown) and not so good (Carnal Forge, Gandalf) bands that were brought to prominence at the end of the nineties. While The Haunted continued their road on the thrash map, in the process changing vocalist from Peter Dolving to Marco Aro, I lost a bit of interest. Aro's delivery, while aggressive, was run-of-the-mill death vocals that did absolutely nothing for me. The additional consequence was that the bands felt the need to go as aggressive as possible with Aro and were losing the subtle things that made them good in the first place.
Two records later: Dolving is back and so is the band. First of all, this supposed evolution of the band is not that big of a deal. What they did is finally picked some melodic elements in the old At the Gates' bag of tricks, which was left unopened since the demise of the band and the formation of this one. We are talking about a majority of the songs here being extremely up tempo and a few numbers being mid-paced. The return of Dolving permits the band to use his vast array of talents in different situations and vary the attack with a lot more ease than it would have been possible with Aro. Here is how it goes song per song:
"No Compromise" starts the record as if recorded in a shoe box with strange rhythm pattern before going all out in the traditional Slayer-at-their-best thrash number that starts off the record not only with a bang but also reintroduced shouted backing vocals to the foray, something that was never part of their arsenal with Aro. The slower mid-section is so chest-pumping heavy it is amazing.
"99" is a bit of lower bpm affair that brings memories of "The Red in the Sky is Ours", with a bit a more modern melodic Gothenburg style but not without your scarifying on the violence.
"Abysmal" starts with clean guitars and Dolving doing what makes him a better fit for this band: the ability to actually sing (although he does very little of that on the record), and it is a nice change of pace. Once again this one lowers the bpm a little more and shows the band in all their mid-paced glory. This song sounds a bit like what Entombed sound like since the Death 'n Roll conversion.
"Sabotage" is one of those songs that is meant to blow your head clean off and does not quite succeed even though the song is pretty good. The breakdown at the end of the song particularly good the chorus just doen't do it.
"All Against All" is more of a mid-paced song that is probably the weakest on the entire album. I don't know why they felt the need to put it right in the middle of the album. It does have a nice lead and melodic guitar riff that accompanies it.
"Sweet Relief" is a throwback to the self-titled album: Fast and furious riffing but once again a very nice melodic lead and a breakdown changes things up mid song, much to my delight. This rocks.
"Burn to a Shell" once again displays Dolving's abilities, in the singing and screaming department. This could be considered The Haunted's ‘ballad' much like "Fade to Black" was but this one never stays in the ballad mode for long. Perhaps the strongest number on the album as it shows everything they are able to do, as well as combining them with a lot of ease.
"Who Will Decide" continues in the not-so-fast department but also shows just about every tempo change in a single song this band is able to do, and they do it well. Not the strongest song but certainly not the worst.
"Nothing Right". At this point if you did not enjoy the rest of the album, then you have no reason listening to this, but you would be missing out. The Haunted on this record throws at you everything but the kitchen sink and this song is a perfect example of subtle changes in riffs, stopping the guitars there and just changing things up mid-song. Just great stuff.
"Liquid Burns" continues the tradition of fast thrash and melodic enhancement this record brought to us.
"My Shadow" finishes the album, much like the self-titled one finished with a half spoken-word, half singing affair in depressing fashion. This is a good finishing song, although it is certainly not the band's strength.
- Simon Thibaudeau
At times this albums sounds like Television, at other times Queens of the Stone Age springs to mind (hell, on the title track Cadillac's singer even sings "I sing to the deaf"), but most of the times I want to turn the stereo off. Facts such as Cadillac simultaneously screams and sings "normally" now and then (e.g. "Locomotive"), and that "Top of my guaranties" could have been an outtake from Randy's "Cheater" EP (or something by a very young The Hives), all speak in Cadillac's favor, but unfortunately these moments are way too rare for me wanting to recommend "Magnetic City" to anyone. But please do have a listen to "Top of my guaranties" because it's a rather nice little rock'n'roll number.
- Simon Tagestam
Cult of Luna created with their first two full lengths a pretty interesting, if not always very original, take on the Neurosis/Isis-influenced metal/hardcore. They managed to keep some of the aggression up front while making the slow and lengthy progression alive and punishing. "Salvation" continues in that vein but a much more pronounced influenced by the post-rock heavyweights of the moment; like Mogwai or Godspeed You! Black Emperor. CoL still manage to hit a home run with this record. No way in hell you don't like this.
- Simon Thibaudeau
Judging from their website, Penny Century's members are all very political who support socialism, vegetarianism, their local (punk) scene, etc. It would be silly to talk of any DIY-aesthetics since they've only released one three track EP so far, but comparisons with Belle and Sebastian, for example, are close at hand due to Penny Century's music being steeped in same musical heritage as B&S's. The political aspect of the band if of course very intriguing, but it also makes the subject matter of the lyrics quite baffling. Instead of any trace of Penny Century's political "agenda", we get lyrics that are ridden with "twee clichés". Perhaps it's a bit unfair to criticize a band three songs into their career, but I just find it a bit odd that bands who portray themselves as being very political won't include any of this into their lyrics (mind you, there might be some obvious socialistic metaphors in the lyrics that I've completely missed, the line "How come each new footprint in the snow looks just like the previous one?" might be a comment upon how new political leaders claiming to be radical end up being as conservative as their predecessors). Anyway, the three songs on this demo are all worth checking out (especially "An evening on the heath" which is a peach of a song), and I, for one, will keep an eye open for any future releases by Penny Century.
- Simon Tagestam
Much anticipated follow up for 2001 hit-record "Behind the music". As always, it's a trip down memory lane with songs reminding of Love, Stooges, Buffalo Springfield and what not. But also as always, they deliver really, really good songs and the production is right on the money. The first track "Believe I've found" is one of their greatest songs so far and "Song for the others" is also pure beauty. I can't wait to see this live.
- Jason Christie