Tag: Reviews

PopMatters recommends Opsvik & Jennings

PopMatters reviews half-Norwegian duo Opsvik & Jennings and their new album "A dream I used to remember": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/94619-opsvik-jennings-a-dream-i-used-to-remember/

Tue, Jun 16th, 2009 17:20:29

Pitchfork reviews Jonathan Johansson

Pitchfork reviews Swedish artist Jonathan Johansson and his Hybris debut "En hand i himlen": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12817-en-hand-i-himlen/

Mon, Jun 15th, 2009 11:23:16

Alcoholic Faith Mission
421 Wythe Avenue
PonyRec

Denmark has established itself as a sanctuary for offbeat pop musicians. I was easily won over by Slaraffenland's "Private cinema" and Larsen & Furious Jane's "Zen sucker", to name just a few, and it is within this eccentric, peripheral vein of pop music that Alcoholic Faith Mission exist. On "Gently", which begins (and continues on as) a lavish, beautifully layered composition, a female vocalist delicately sings: "Just 'cause I'm a whore, you know it doesn't mean I don't feel it when you fuck me." This strange juxtaposition of the beautiful and the base continues on in the next track, "Nut in your eye", a track that by name alone should be on a throwaway hip-hop album, but in substance falls not too far from the realm of Broken Social Scene. "421 Wythe Avenue", while moving away from the resplendent/sexual parallelisms, continues on musically in much the same way as the opening tracks -- ethereally layered electronic elements and vocals, solid acoustic and electric guitar work, all tethered to shifting centers and uncertain musical landscapes. There is a tragic beauty here, one that blends the emotional registers of Mixtapes & Cellmates and Moonbabies, yet remains quite distinctively an original construct, and it is this ingenuity that sets Alcoholic Faith Mission apart from many of their contemporaries.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Mon, Jun 15th, 2009 00:00:00

Terrascope reviews The Goner

Terrascope Online reviews The Goner, one of my favorite discoveries of last year: https://www.terrascope.co.uk/Reviews/Reviews_June09.htm#Goner

Sun, Jun 14th, 2009 15:14:52

Feature: Iceland's new heroes

Fri, Jun 12th, 2009 14:47:14

Pitchfork reviews 'Crossing the rubicon'

Surprise! Pitchfork does not enjoy The Sounds' new album "Crossing the rubicon": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13155-crossing-the-rubicon/

Fri, Jun 12th, 2009 12:22:48

All Scandinavian top 10 YTD

All Scandinavian presents their top 10 albums of the year thus far:

Wed, Jun 10th, 2009 17:19:44

Pitchfork reviews Sin Fang Bous

Pitchfork on the new album from Seabear alter-ego Sin Fang Bous: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12889-clangour/

Tue, Jun 9th, 2009 10:41:59

Pitchfork reviews Liechtenstein

Pitchfork reviews the new Liechtenstein album "Survival strategies in a modern world": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13144-survival-strategies-in-a-modern-world/

Mon, Jun 8th, 2009 11:24:37

Clearing out the Inbox: Vol. 1

Mon, Jun 8th, 2009 00:25:10

Foxy Digitalis loves Tsukimono

Foxy Digitalis gives Tsukimono's "Time canvas" a score of 9/10: https://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/reviews.php?which=4374

Thu, Jun 4th, 2009 11:37:00

The Mary Onettes
Dare EP
Labrador

My roommate has held that The Mary Onettes are the best band hailing from Sweden for quite some time now, and with the release of "Dare" I can no longer deny the group their rightful placement among the mass of creative genius that emanates from Scandinavia. The title track, and first single from the upcoming album, has The Mary Onettes exploring new territory with a confidence and proficiency that is almost impossible for a band with only one album and a handful of EPs under their belt. Philip Ekström's vocal delivery on "Dare", especially in the final moments of the chorus where his words spiral upwards along a lavish, inspired string arrangement, is simply brilliant, as is the songwriting that provides the melodic tapestry through which Ekström explores the introspective, doubt-ridden material of which the entirety of the EP is comprised. "Kicks" and "God knows I had plans" finds elements of "Pet sounds"-era Beach Boys and the Spector-esque (and criminally underappreciated) The Brother Kite worming their way into The Mary Onettes' instrumentation - "Kicks" as a slower, piano-driven, magnificently layered exploration of lost friendships; "God knows I had plans" driving forwards on a vehicle of jangled guitar lines and soaring vocals, surveying the shadows existent between shafts of sunlight. It's been a long time since a band has inspired in me this level of excitement and passion for music, feelings I thought were relegated to those adolescent years when an album still had the power to change the course of your life.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Wed, Jun 3rd, 2009 18:58:12

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