Artist: Novak
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Their website claims that the debut record from Sweden's Antennas (formerly Novak) reflects the music from the 1980s and 1990s in which they grew up, but it may well be closer to the synth pop sensibilities producer Giorgio Moroder popularized in the late 1970s as he worked his way out of disco toward new wave. The ten songs on this record are built on synthetic plink-plink-plinky sounds, around which alternating conventional rock guitars, bursts of energetic drumming, and electronic distortion are juxtaposed with the organic sounds of pianos, strings, or horns. Eschewing conventional song structures, Antennas favor recurring motifs and unexpected transitions, the songs shift more than they build. Despite the variety of instruments, the sound is relatively sparse, leaving the focus on idiosyncratic vocals a listener will either adore or tire of quickly. There are a lot of interesting qualities here and some stand out tracks, but as a whole it wears thin too long before the end.
- Nancy Baym
Also new in the webstore today: the latest album "Sins" from Swedish indierockers Antennas (formerlly known as Novak) and the debut full-length "Madame, madame!" from Firefox AK which Aftonbladet is calling "this year's most interesting debut." Sucks for you if you didn't preorder the latter because now the price has gone up a buck. You snooze, you lose.
Remember Novak? And maybe you've heard of the Swedish pop star Andreas Novak from the TV show Fame Factory? As you can imagine, that's a situation ripe for conflict. What's a little indie band to do? Well, they decided to just give in and change their name. The new moniker: Antennas. And today I'm proud to present to you their brand new single "Always on my mind". No, it's not that song, but they both possess that same feeling of longing and regret. It's not nearly as guitar heavy as the band's previous work, but they make up for it with amazingly lush production. Great stuff. The official CD version will be released soon on Novoton Records with remixes from Andreas Tilliander, Pro-Seed, AK and P.R.I.D.E.
Novoton Records, home of bands such as Novak and Black Belt, will now be distributed in Australia via Music Farmers. All of their releases should be available in stores over there soon. More info: http://www.musicfarmers.com/indexd.html
Novak is hard at work recording a new album with producer/engineer Magnus Henriksson (Existensminimum). Look for the first new single to be released sometime around March/April.
Novoton Records, home of Black Belt and Novak, has a new website online with a bunch of downloadable video and audio content: http://www.novoton.se/
I now have Black Belt and Novak CDs available in the mailorder section. Be sure to check 'em out.
I was really shocked at how mellow this album is considering that "It all works out in the end" is such an energetic and uptempo single. It's cool I guess, it's just not at all what I was expecting. Novak plays the kind of classic power-pop that takes obvious cues from the likes of Cheap Trick and Badfinger all the way down to the retro-sounding recording. The tracks with the tight, in-your-face drum tone totally nail the vibe I think they are going for. However, the best thing about this record is definitely the lead guitar playing. The songs are so chock-full of great riffs, but c'mon guys- no solos? I bet Novak is more than capable of amazing guitar heroics and even have that extra something to pull it off tastefully. The songwriting lacks a certain boldness and it's holding them back. The first half of the record is a solid listen, but they quickly run out of steam before the end. That makes for a great EP, but sadly, only a mediocre album.
- Avi Roig
Has it really been two years already? Hard to bellieve I've been doing this for so long already, the time just flies by. So cheers everyone! Here's to another year! Well-wishers are encouraged to send money in lieu of gifts.
Since it's such a special day, I've posted two new mp3s today. First up in Novak with their single "It all works out in the end" from the new album "Perpetual motion". I'm still undecided about the record as a whole, but this song is undeniably catchy. Tons of energy, great hooks and solid guitar work. Next up in "Draped in disease" from Swedish all-star old-school death metal act Bloodbath. Vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) may no longer be in the band, but he's been more than capably replaced by Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain). Factor in that the rest of the band is fleshed out by Dan Swanö along with members of Katatonia and Witchery and you've got an instant classic.
The "It's a trap! reader's companion" microsite is now open: http://www.itsatrap.com/vol1/
As mentioned earlier this week, CDs are done and should arrive in stock on Tuesday.
Going to see Finland's Hero Dishonest tonight in San Francisco at The Hemlock. Should be fun!
Novak - It all works out in the end 7" (Novoton)
Energetic power-pop/glam rock on a huge, thick slab of white vinyl. Always good to see. The music ain't so bad either. On the a-side title track there's some great Thin Lizzy dual guitar lead riffs and an excellent bridge part that reminds me of something Cheap Trick would do. The b-side keeps energy level high and injects a bit of twang with the cleaner guitar tones. The vocals are kinda squeaky like the dude's been huffing helium, but they're balanced by some excellent harmonies and arrangements. You can tell a good deal of forethought went into the production and it helps elevate them above other bands playing in a similar style. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more stuff from these guys when the full-length comes out.
Energetic power-pop/glam rock on a huge, thick slab of white vinyl. Always good to see. The music ain't so bad either. On the a-side title track there's some great Thin Lizzy dual guitar lead riffs and an excellent bridge part that reminds me of something Cheap Trick would do. The b-side keeps energy level high and injects a bit of twang with the cleaner guitar tones. The vocals are kinda squeaky like the dude's been huffing helium, but they're balanced by some excellent harmonies and arrangements. You can tell a good deal of forethought went into the production and it helps elevate them above other bands playing in a similar style. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more stuff from these guys when the full-length comes out.
- Avi Roig
Rising from the ashes of Kinkaid, the new band Novak will release their debut single "It all works out in the end" on a white vinyl 7" on June 20 via Novoton Records. The recordings were engineered by Pierre Lindsjöö at his studio Konst&Ramar (Ceasars Palace, Dungen, Empire Dogs, Strip Music) and mixed by Linus Larsson (Ed Harcourt, Mercury Rev, Nicolai Dunger, Heikki). A full-length will follow in early September.
Here's the list of acts confirmed for this year's Rookie Festival show in Hultsfred on October 31-November 1: Black Bonzo (Skellefteå), Caitlyn (Göteborg), Celestin (Enskede), Crash Diet (Stockholm), Devi (Stockholm), DJ Niklas (Stockholm), Idiot Savants (Hässleholm), Kung Henry (Uppsala), Malysz (Vänersborg), Matti Norling (Stockholm), Nikolaj (Kungälv), Novak (Visby), Pennybridge Kingz (Örebro), Psyjuntan. Biz (Hultsfred), Robert Valsinger (Linköping), Sandy Mouche (Malmö), Sara Berg (Stockholm), Seth My Path (Göteborg), Silent Scythe (Karlstad), Steady Session (Stockholm), Stereo Generator (Visby), The Happiest Girl In The World (Helsingfors/Stockholm), The Jabs (Stockholm), The Movements (Göteborg), The Search (Uppsala) and Tobias Fröberg (Stockholm).
Antennas