PopMatters reviews The Deer Tracks

PopMatters gives high marks the The Deer Tracks: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/139885-the-deer-tracks-the-archer-trilogy-pt.-1-ep/

Pitchfork reviews Figurines, Acid House Kings

Pitchfork reviews Figurines new self-titled album as well as Acid House Kings' "Music sounds better with you".

PopMatters talks to Junip, pans The Haunted

PopMatters interviews Junip: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/139613-in-every-direction-an-interview-with-junip/
Also posted over there today, a scathing dismissal of The Haunted's new record: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/138927-the-haunted-unseen/

Dusted reviews CM Hausswolff

Dusted reviews Swedish experimental artist CM Hausswolff and his album "800,000 seconds in Harar": https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6394

PopMatters reviews The Raveonettes

PopMatters covers The Raveonettes latest album "Raven in the grave": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/139347-the-raveonettes-raven-in-the-grave/

The Raveonettes
Raven in the grave
Vice

Every time The Raveonettes put out an album, an all-too-familiar discourse emerges -- some critics think it is a step forward for the band, others posit the new record as further evidence of the band's stagnant sound and production, and a number of reviewers try and tie these disparate opinions together, claiming the newest effort as a creative evolution that maintains the duo's distinct vision. "Lust, lust, lust" was heralded as a triumph, lauded as an intriguing development of the band's unique mix of the influence of '60s surf rock and The Jesus and Mary Chain, and just as often dismissed as 'yet another Raveonettes album' that failed to demonstrate any discernible creative growth. A quick visit to Metacritic and you can see the same thing happening with "Raven in the grave", which surprises me. There are a few places where The Raveonettes stumble on this album (I will not even try and defend the adolescent, throwaway lyrics), but these missteps are easily overshadowed by the duo's exploration of new musical territory. Going against the grain, I'd say "Summer moon", a song that has inspired some very strange negative response in quite a few of the reviews I've read, is one of the album's highpoints, reminding me of the hauntingly reworked '50s pop of "Twin Peaks", and I think it could be argued that the influence of David Lynch and Angelo Badalementi doesn't stop there. The standout for me, however, is "Evil seeds", which channels the talents of The Raveonettes down avenues home to far more shadows than usual. I've always enjoyed the band, though their records don't often hold my attention for very long. In the case of "Raven in the grave", while it took me a few listens to really get into it, I still find myself enjoying some new aspect of a song or two with each listen. It may not rank very high on my Best of 2011 list, but "Raven in the grave" has been a welcome companion the last few weeks, especially as spring seems to have finally arrived.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Free Jazz on Oddjob

The Free Jazz blog reviews Oddjob's Clint Eastwood soundtrack tribute album "Clint": https://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2011/04/oddjob-clint-act-2010.html

Me and My Army
Thank god for sending demons
EMI

It was hard not to be intrigued by this album after reading that Me and My Army was made up not only of Andreas Kleerup, but members of Timo Räisänen's band. What I heard in my head when I read about Me and My Army was Kleerup making a guest appearance on Räisänen's "My valentine". This is not a good expectation to have going in. After the distinctly '80s-sounding opener, the band channel their inner Grateful Dead on the title track. This is not to disparage either Me and My Army or the Dead, but to emphasize the strange turns this album makes. There is a lot to like about "Thank god for sending demons", but very few of the album's highpoints have anything in common with the other standout moments: "Far, far away", with its fantastic female vocals and electro-pop sensibilities, feels very removed from the tracks surround it; "Chemicals" opens with Eagles-like swagger, tying it to some of the other Neil Young/'70s Americana-influenced tracks on, but distancing it from many of the other compositions. This album, while definitely worth a listen, is such a disparate collection of influences and attitudes that it is difficult to tell where the heart of the band lies. This is definitely a talented collection of musicians, but the album listens more like a soundtrack than a focused creative effort.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

PopMatters reviews Kimono

Better late than never, PopMatters reviews Icelandic act Kimono and their excellent album "Easy music for difficult people": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/138744-kimono-easy-music-for-difficult-people/

Ólafur Arnalds
Live @ the Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, CA 04/13/2011

It's a bit intimidating to write a review about a classical musician when you yourself are not classically trained. Without the tools to fully express why the mechanics of the music engages emotions like a sack of bricks (or your other favorite blunt object of choice), the writer is left feeling not unlike Mary Beth Hurt's character in "Interiors" -- all emotion with no proper outlet for expression. And while this handicap hasn't deterred me from spilling a good deal of (virtual) ink in praise of Ólafur Arnalds' work, it does make me acutely aware of my own shortcomings.

The second of a three-night residency at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, Arnalds and his freshly assembled string quartet took the stage requesting that the people cloistered at the back of the room gather around them. A large portion of the audience did just that, creating an atmosphere that was not unlike an elementary school reading circle. (Perhaps the cliché is true and everyone really is looking for intimacy in LA?)

With the majority of material culled from last year's standout album "...And they have escaped the weight of darkness" and 2009's "Found songs", Arnalds literally and figuratively had the audience at his feet -- mixing minimalist piano refrains with densely layered strings, and hand-trigged samples. The result was a series melancholic, chillingly beautiful soundscapes removed from both place and time.

The transformative music was punctuated by brief interludes, where Arnalds, despite musing that the audience probably enjoyed his music more than his speaking (Don't sell your oration skills too short dude!), carefully set up each piece with a small (and often humorous) insight into the process. Creating a track that's "not dumb enough" ("Ljósið") can cost you a payday and a spot in a bathtub commercial -- but it can result in a sweet and gently moving song. It doesn't take a tragedy to write a sad song -- unless one is willing to count a bumpy, overnight ride on Eastern European roads, paired with too many nightcaps, as such. It is, however, very difficult to write under the Los Angeles sun when one is used to a rainy Reykjavik spring. Despite the burden of good weather, Arnalds did debut a piano-heavy piece titled "Los Angeles 2" -- penned a mere 24 hours before. While not necessarily an homage to the city (as Arnalds himself admits, it's a second attempt named after the place he was writing), it was a distinct pleasure to get a glimpse of the creative process, even when left unable to fully articulate ones' awe.
- Laura Studarus

PopMatters reviews Figurines

PopMatters reviews the latest album from Danish act Figurines: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/138424-figurines-figurines/

PopMatters reviews The Bell

I was just listening to The Bell's debut "Make some quiet" this past weekend and was wondering what had happened to them and now, lo and behold, it appears that they have a new album out: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/138459-the-bell-great-heat/
Why was I not informed?

FACT on Phaedra

FACT Magazine reviews the debut album "The sea" from new Rune Grammofon act Phaedra: https://www.factmag.com/2011/04/11/phaedra-the-sea/

Pitchfork reviews The Raveonettes

Pitchfork gives a mediocre grade to the new Raveonettes album "Raven in the grave": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15295-raven-in-the-grave/

Dusted reviews Deaf Center

Dusted reviews the excellent new Deaf Center album "Owl splinters": https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6342