Tag: Reviews
10
A new Bear Quartet album is always a big deal in these quarters and why should it not be? They have consistently proven themselves to perhaps be the greatest Swedish band of all-time. Constant re-invention, and, as justified with this decade's output, a move towards abstract. "89" finds The Bear Quartet delving into altermodern proto-metal, rhythmic and futuristic, a reminiscing of times lost to people, and peoples lost to time. Recently I revisited Fireside's "Elite", an aural documentation of societal ills in a world heading towards collapse. It dawned on me that "89" is its sequel--the post-collapse view of the plagues that brought down man. However, where it succeeds is to provide the starting point for lessons to prevent a dystopian cycle from forming. What The Bear Quartet have offered is much more than "music"; it's an oral history to be passed on, a way of life to be altered to prevent the hypothetical post-collapse in order for society to evolve.
- Matt Giordano
Dusted reviews the new Taken By Trees record "East of Eden": https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5234
Dusted on Susanna and the Magical Orchestra's new record "3": https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5230
Dusted reviews the new Mika Vainio (Pan Sonic) solo release "Aineen musta puhelin (Black telephone of matter)": https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5218
Drowned in Sound reviews the new Susanna and the Magical Orchestra album "3": https://drownedinsound.com/releases/14619/reviews/4137742
Pitchfork reviews Swedish artist Avner's Daniel Johnston cover: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11473-kanslor/
8
It is finally here. It took Danish masters of experimental, ethereal pop a whole four years to release a follow-up to the internationally well-received "And the glass handed kites". In the meantime Mew have become a trio. Bassist Johan Wohlert left the band in 2006 in order to become a father. This new album, which bears a poem for a title, finds Mew working again with Rich Costey, who produced their 2003 album "Frengers" and has worked with bands such as Muse, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand and Glasvegas.
Jonas Bjerre's unusually high-pitched voice remains emblematic of the band's sound, though "No more stories..." is, on the surface, slower-paced, more approachable and less complex than its predecessor. On the other hand, it is also dreamy, at times pompous, with countless mood changes and a complete absence of obvious hooks. "Repeater beater" and the single "Introducing palace players" (which, by the way, has a spectacular and very enigmatic video clip) are the two best tracks, while the epic "Cartoons and macreme wounds" is an undisputed highlight. The album's reverberated, multilayered arrangements are compelling, and although "No more stories..." tries to be brighter than "And the glass handed kites", it miserably fails in the end. On top of that, I still haven't got the slightest clue what Mew are trying to communicate with their lyrics. All in all, with their newest effort Mew seem darker, more distant and incomprehensible than ever before. And precisely that's their beauty.
- Vasilis Panagiotopoulos
Dusted on the new album "Tuota tuota" from Fonal Records act Kiila: https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5219
Lots of Scandinavian reviews at PopMatters today including the latest from Mew, Datarock and Anna Ternheim.
Dusted reviews the Vladislav Delay record "Tummaa": https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5224
Pitchfork reviews the new Datarock album "Red": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13207-red/
New Swedish music album reviews at PopMatters today include coverage of Little Dragon and The Sounds.
Frida Hyvönen's cover of Judee Sill's "Jesus was a cross maker" is reviewed at Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11466-jesus-was-a-cross-maker/
Swedish experimental/electronic act Fontän has a track review (and free download link) at Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11463-neanderthaler/
Not sure where they're getting their info though, as "Winterhwila" will be their 2nd album. The 2006 debut "Aktionskammarn" is excellent. Also, is it just me or does the artwork look a lot like Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words' "Fall, fall, falling"?
In other Pfork related items, their love affair with Sincerely Yours continues with a track from Avner in the Forkcast and a review of the new Sally Shapiro album "My guilty pleasure". I'm surprised more people aren't aware that "Dying in Africa" is a Nicolas Makelberge cover, but then again, I suppose that most people aren't aware of Makelberge period. My memory is as long as this site's archive, at least.
The Bear Quartet
Mew