Livstid is the rare example of a band that is actually too raging, so much so that I can't make it through the album in one sitting. It's not just wall-to-wall noise either -- there's still plenty of melody and such -- but they are absolutely relentless in their arena-crust/d-beat attack. When a track comes up on shuffle at the gym, I'm stoked (in fact, I just did a set of 30 pushups while pondering this write-up), but there's no way I'm gonna fit this into my regular listening repertoire. So consider this a hesitant recommendation -- you'll know pretty quickly whether or not you need Livstid in your life from one short sample track.
Pop Group: Eva & The Heartmaker - "Dominoes" Katzenjammer - "A Kiss Before You Go" Montée - "Rendition Of You" Real Ones - "First Night On Earth" Team Me - "To The Treetops!"
Rock: Honningbarna - "La Alarmane Gå" John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - "Det Nærmeste Du Kommer" Kaizers Orchestra - "Violeta Violeta Vol. 1" Oslo Ess - "Uleste Bøker Og Utgåtte Sko" Rumble In Rhodos - "Signs Of Fervent Devotion"
Electronica: Biosphere - "N-Plants" Bugge Wesseltoft & Henrik Schwarz - "Wesseltoft Schwarz Duo" Casiokids - "Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen"
Hip-hop: Joddski - "Bensin På Bålet" Lars Vaular - "Du Betyr Meg" Son Of Light - "War Of The Worlds"
Folk/Traditional: Hekla Stålstrenga - "Makramé" Juusk - "Juusk" Ragnhild Furebotten - "Never On A Sunday" Øystein Sandbukt - "Normør"
Jazz: Helge Lien Trio - "Natsukashii" Håkon Kornstad - "Symphonies In My Head" Mats Eilertsen - "Skydive" Nils Petter Molvær - "Baboon Moon" Ola Kvernberg - "Liarbird"
Open Class: Bárut - Inga Juuso - "Balggis" Biret Ristin Sara - "Áidnen" Fargespill - "Fargespill" Skáidi - "Headland - Skáidegeahci" Susanne Lundeng - "Mot"
Lyrics: Jonas Alaska - "Jonas Alaska" Lars Vaular - "Du Betyr Meg" Maria Mena - "Viktoria" Martin Hagfors - "I Like You" Odd Nordstoga - "Bestevenn"
Composer: Ane Brun - "It All Starts With One" Hilde Marie Kjersem - "Let's Let Go" Marit Larsen - "Spark" Rolf Wallin/Lundeng/Torjesen/Bodø Symfonietta/Eggen - "Wire And String" Synne Skouen - "Call-Notes"
Newcomer/Gramostipend: Honningbarna - "La Alarmane Gå" Jonas Alaska - "Jonas Alaska" Ragnhild Hemsing - "Yr" Razika - "Program 91" Team Me - "To The Treetops!"
Días Nórdicos 2011, the Nordic art and music festival in Spain this past September/October, was apparently a resounding success and now the event is looking to expand for their next edition in 2012 with more disciplines, more venues, more partners and eventually, more cities. Read the official report with highlights from 2011 as well as goals for 2012 right here: http://www.diasnordicos.com/dossier
Meshuggah djentiness + Genghis Tron Commodore-64iness – vox = Next Life.
The above equation is all you need in order to understand what "Artificial divinity" sounds like. For the purposes of review, however, I suppose I should give you an idea of its listenability. Well, it's alright; there's a bit of piddling about with sounds on a couple of tracks here, the results of which touch on a dark ambient sentiment more than any hint of conventional metal. Not that conventional really applies anywhere on "Artificial divinity", mind. Those tracks works very well as they stand on the album. The big let down on something that would be an otherwise killer album, though, is that the other tracks -- the metal stuff -- could really do with vocals of some sort. This style of metal just doesn't lend itself that well to instrumentalism, despite what the Norwegian trio might think. It has to be said, though, that even though Steve Wiebe doesn't really look like he's into metal, if he is, he's probably into this sort of stuff. Twelve songs in just over 20 minutes. Mental bunch of bastards! - John Norby
, the stellar in-house label of Oslo's likewise excellent Tiger Records Shop, has a nice new website: http://www.fysiskformat.no/
They are also taking a poll as to everyone's favorite release which will also enter you in a raffle to win 5 free albums of your choosing: http://fysiskformat.tigernet.no/wp_ff/poll/
As much as there seems to be a singing of praises for Oslo's true kvlt black metallers Svarttjern's second album, I'm not enamored by it in the slightest. The production is, without question, a hefty lesson in annihilation-by-metal, but it's completely wasted when the music it's enhancing is nondescript in the big black metal picture. There's nothing exciting here at all; not even the obligatory mid-paced-into-fast-paced-into-mid-paced mid-album track (in this case "I AM the path part II") that normally elicits a "Let's fucking slay!" reaction works here. The riffs are just way too... crap. I'm sorry to have to use the word, but boring just doesn't cut it at this moment in time. Neither Kerry King's long-and-pointy nailband nor Watain's applied-as-if-it-were-just-thrown-on-but-really-it's-contrived-as-fuck corpsepaint can make up for the fact that Svarttjern are a very average black metal band. I've just noticed that there are a lot of hyphens in this review. Fuck, that's how bored I am listening to this album -- I'm actually counting hyphens. I'm -- actually -- counting -- hyphens. We're up to 29 now. Time to fire up "Sworn to the dark" and wash this muck outta my earholes. - John Norby
When your bassist is also billed as "drone commander", I'm pretty much sold from the get-go. continues to champion acts that occupy the peculiar space of "drone jazz" -- see also Huntsville or the likewise excellent V. Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble whose 2010 album "Lover man" was a serious sleeper hit -- and Splashgirl is yet another exemplary example of the genre. Unlike the stereotypical notion of jazz being focused on the individual virtuoso or even the lock-step ensemble arrangements of a big band, this is music that is primarily obsessed with mood and feeling. Dynamics, texture and space are key. More and more I'm finding this to be my go-to music when I can't decide what else to listen to as it's always perfect.
Next Life
Svarttjern
