Artist: Figurines
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The weather last night was far from perfect, but I still made the long drive up to Seattle to see Figurines. Kira and one of the Kindred Spirits had visa issues, so no other Danish acts made the bill though the remainder of the band was still in attendance. After a shambling, mediocre set from locals The Elephants, Figurines took the stage and did their thing. Let me tell you, that band is a well-oiled machine. They are a great example of what a tight band should sound like. After quietly opening with "Back in the day", they set into "The wonder" (today's mp3) and were off and running. Drummer Kristian Volden laid down a strong four-on-the-floor backbeat and joyfully sang along to himself with every song while frontman Christian Hjelm proved to be a manic, energetic frontman. The other two guys in the band (guitarist Claus Johansen and bassist Andreas Toft) were much more nondescript, but they did their job and did it well. I'm a little disappointed they had an extra musician on stage playing guitar, keyboard and percussion to help them perfectly replicate their album, but since he didn't distract from the overall experience, it's kind of a moot point. I feel that a rawer live sound would have benefitted them. Anyhow, it was a very good set and I think the audience appreciated it. A few of the midtempo songs dragged a bit due to the crowd's lack of familiarity with the material, but the fast songs caught their attention and the two slower numbers ("Silver ponds" and "Rivalry") were very engaging. The band plays Portland tonight, goes back to Seattle this weekend for a radio appearance and an in-store then travels to LA and SXSW. Look for them to be back this summer. My short interview with Christian should hopefully be online sometime this weekend.
Figurines - The wonder
I was planning on heading to Seattle tonight to see Figurines and Kira and the Kindred Spirits at the Export Music Denmark showcase, but if it keeps snowing I'm not sure I'll be up for the 90+ minute drive. We shall see.
Also at PopMatters today is a review of Danish act Figurines: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/figurines_skeleton/
I'm not sure what my problem is, but I've only just recently started to really dig into the Morningside Records catalogue. I've known about the label for awhile now, but never bothered getting a hold of any of their releases until Figurines started to get international attention. Lame, I know. However, I'm not going to talk about Figurines today (I'll wait until after I see them in Seattle next week). The Morningside artist that has impressed me the most so far is Jomi Massage, so that's who I'm posting an mp3 from today. The most obvious point of reference for JM is "Dry"-era PJ Harvey. You know the sound: caterwauling vocals and noisy, lurching rock interspersed with quieter, more tender moments. But JM trumps PJ by incorporating a much diverse and layered melodic sensibility. I like older PJ stuff a lot, but there's something more interesting going on here that's also, most importantly, much more consistent. This particular track that I've posted today starts off with a droning melody and then explodes into a fireball of white noise which keeps burning furiously until a sudden stop at the end. It's a total cliffhanger of a song, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Figurines manager Jesper Majdall is keeping a tour diary (in Danish) of the band's adventures in North America: http://www.morningsiderecords.dk/features/figz_log.asp
I'm not sure what my problem is, but I've only just recently started to really dig into the Morningside Records catalogue. I've known about the label for awhile now, but never bothered getting a hold of any of their releases until Figurines started to get international attention. Lame, I know. However, I'm not going to talk about Figurines today (I'll wait until after I see them in Seattle next week). The Morningside artist that has impressed me the most so far is Jomi Massage, so that's who I'm posting an mp3 from today. The most obvious point of reference for JM is "Dry"-era PJ Harvey. You know the sound: caterwauling vocals and noisy, lurching rock interspersed with quieter, more tender moments. But JM trumps PJ by incorporating a much diverse and layered melodic sensibility. I like older PJ stuff a lot, but there's something more interesting going on here that's also, most importantly, much more consistent. This particular track that I've posted today starts off with a droning melody and then explodes into a fireball of white noise which keeps burning furiously until a sudden stop at the end. It's a total cliffhanger of a song, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Jomi Massage - Journal June II
Finally, the full tracklist for the upcoming Danish Depeche Mode tribute "DMDK":
01. Tiger Baby - Strangelove
02. Figurines - Dreamning of Me
03. Marie Frank - It's No Good
04. The Gospel - Personal Jesus (Kira Skov)
05. epo-555 - Stripped
06. Diefenbach - Policy of Truth
07. Mikael Simpson - Det er lige meget
08. Track 72 - Monument (Tue Track feat. Mark Linn)
09. Moi Caprice - Any Second Now
10. Lake Placid - Everything Counts
11. Sterling - Nyt liv
12. Jet - Just Can't Get Enough (Anders Remmer)
More details: http://www.bonnieramigo.dk/index.php?newsid=16 (in Danish)
Morningside rounds up all the press so far on the North American release of the Figurines and their album "Skeleton": http://www.morningsiderecords.dk/
Stylus reviews Danish imports Figurines and I Am Bones: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3768
The latest Dusted "Still Single" column attempts to play down the hype of recent imports Figurines and Serena Maneesh: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/467
Dates are coming together for the upcoming Figurines North American tour:
02/28 - The Horseshoe, Toronto (CAN)
03/01 - The Docks (The Canadian Indies), Toronto (CAN)
03/02 - The Drake, Toronto (CAN) w/The Blue Van, Kira and The Kindred Spirits (Music Export Denmark Showcase)
03/03 - The Healey's, Toronto (CAN)
03/04 - The Bovine, Toronto (CAN)
03/06 - tba, Ottawa (CAN) w/The Blue Van, Kira and The Kindred Spirits (Music Export Denmark Showcase)
03/07 - tba, Montreal (CAN) w/The Blue Van, Kira and The Kindred Spirits (Music Export Denmark Showcase)
03/09 - The Crocodile, Seattle, WA w/The Blue Van, Kira and The Kindred Spirits (Music Export Denmark Showcase)
03/10 - tba, Portland, OR w/Kira and The Kindred Spirits (Music Export Denmark Showcase)
03/11 - tba, Vancover (CAN)
03/12 - Sonic Boom Records, Seattle, WA
03/14 - Cinespace Night, LA
Check out the video for "What to pass on / What to keep" from Denmark's Jomi Massage: http://www.iambones.dk/video/jomi_massage_-_what_to_pass_on_what_to_keep.WMV
The clip was directed by Trine Omø (J. Faurholt & Sweetie Pie Wilbur, Figurines).
Updated tourdates for Denmark's Figurines:
01/28 - Steppeulven, Store Vega, Copenhagen (DK)
02/11 - By:larm, Tromsø (NOR) w/Spleen United
02/15 - Muk, Geissen (GER)
02/16 - Café Cairo, Würzburg (GER)
02/17 - Schlachthof, Wiesbaden (GER)
02/18 - White Trash, Berlin (GER)
02/19 - Scheune, Dresden (GER)
02/20 - B 72, Vienna (AUS)
02/21 - Schoken, Stuttgart (GER)
02/22 - Moritzbestei, Leipzig (GER)
02/23 - Alte Feuerwache, Magdeburg (GER)
02/24 - Garage, Buxtahude (GER)
02/25 - Trinkhalle, Rheine (GER)
03/24 - KB, Copenhagen (DK) w/Kashmir