I haven't mentioned in awhile, mostly due to negligence, but also because their releases for the latter half of 2010 mostly left me underwhelmed. I expect them to provide me with a regular dose of the best classic hard rock Sweden has to offer, they gave me a mixed bag of stuff that failed to grab me. There are exceptions though, there always are: Mangrove's 2nd album "A distant dream of tomorrow" is a solid rocker, just like their last one. They aren't showing much progression between albums, but I don't mind at all -- I can always hang with recycled Black Sabbath riffage when done right, especially when they nail the catchy/pop aspect of that band so many other worshippers fail to realize. Great dual-overdub solo section at the end too, even better that it leads into a killer final version of the main hook.
It's hard to mention "Endless skies" without making reference to Mangrove's fellow countrymen The Quill, as some aspects of this album could sit very comfortably on any release by the aforementioned quartet. Just like the genre stalwarts, this Stockholm trio are to be commended for striving to keep their output a bit more inventive by showcasing a hard-rock sensibility while generally remaining within the confines of stoner conventions. It works well in that it offers a good deal more variety than a lot of the third-rate genre bands out there who opt for the mind-numbing two-riffs-and-one-beat in a six-minute song approach. With Mangrove we get melody, dischord, simplicity and intricacy, stoner, doom, hard-rock and metal in one neat package. It's not really too far away from a lighter version of Norwegian doomrockers Sahg. Frontman Jani Kataja is easily one of the best vocalists in the game and it's this quality that helps raise Mangrove's debut above the bar in a class that, despite brimming with top-notch bands, sports a style that never really varies that much. Steeped in a passion for '70s psychedelia, Mangrove don't seem like they're ready to enter the 21st Century anytime soon and, for fans of this type of stoner-based nostalgia, this can only be a good thing. - John Norby
Transubstans has signed Swedish act Sideburn and will be releasing their third album "The demon dance" in early 2010. The band is described as "a fine mix of 70's hardrock (Zeppelin, Mountain) and Sabbath during the Dio years and with a hint of modern stoner thrown in for the final touches" and shares a vocalist with (now) labelmates Mangrove.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show sirius XMU:
01. Existensminimum - Mirrors
02. TALK 1
03. Solander - Prayer to God
04. Volcanic Places - Goo
05. Zacke - Spela mig på radion (feat. Movits!)
06. TALK 2
07. Hello Saferide - Arjeplog
08. Kristofer Åström - When her eyes turn blue
09. Superfamily - Let's go dancing
10. Barra Head - Undermine
11. TALK 3
12. Pixie Carnation - Little sister
13. The Bear Quartet - I was a weapon
14. Mangrove - Pieces of our yesterday
15. TALK 4
16. Emmon - Lips on fire
17. Eric Ramsey - Enlightened neurotics
18. Håkan Hellström - För en lång tid
19. TALK 5
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Last week I featured a bunchofnewmp3s from National Records, this week I'm going to start off with a few choice cuts from the Swedish hard rock label Transubstans. I'm always excited when something new shows up from them, because even when it's derivative nth-generation rehash, it's almost always done so killer, I barely notice. Some of their proggier acts definitely push boundaries, but screw it; I even dig the most baseline riff-rockers they can churn out. For example: Graveyard? Hell yeah. Glad to see they're getting respect in the US too, though labelmates Siena Root are a touch better for my money (new album very soon, can't wait!). Interested in hearing more bluesy heaviness along those same lines? Check out Mangrove. Not nearly as retro-obsessed as their aforementioned peers, though they bring the rawk just as loud and proud. And actually, the touchstone act for these guys wouldn't be Black Sabbath, Deep Purple or any other oft-cited 70s act of their ilk, rather I'd say it's (mid-to-late period) Soundgarden. There's tons of pentatonic runs as you'd expect, but there's a definite psych-pop thing going on as well. The vocals approximate a reined-in Chris Cornell too, especially on the choruses. He can't quite nail the siren wail, but I always found that stuff kind of annoying, so it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I just like that it's heavy and catchy. And totally killer, 'natch.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home
02. TALK 1
03. Graveless - The covenants genocide
04. Abramis Brama - Kylan kommer inifran
05. NEI - City of gold
06. TALK 2
07. Love Potion - Nitefever
08. Pistol Disco - Beat of the tune
09. Black Sheep - We're gonna die
10. The End Will Be Kicks - Little pill
11. TALK 3
12. Tribulation - Crypt of Thanatophilia
13. Makabert Fynd - Folkfacist, halvnazist
14. Bruket - Polisen lägger pussel
15. TALK 4
16. The Bear Quartet - I was a weapon
17. Mangrove - Pieces of our yesterday
18. Elmo - Shine down on us
19. TALK 5
20. Aqua - Back to the 80s
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Look for Daniel Savio's debut solo LP on Flogsta Danshall in late January/early February. This will be the skweee label's very first full-length release. In other news, check out new 7"s from both Limonious and Mangrove out now.
Mangrove