Munck//Johnson
Unlike you
PonyRec
Most people I know wouldn't make it all the way through a disc as somber and musically sparse as this debut by Danish duo Camilla Munck and Moogie Johnson, but I suppose I'm a musical masochist. I like to suffer for other people's art, and all I ask is that it stir my emotions sincerely and have enough going on to hold my interest when I'm in one of my receptive moods. "Unlike you" bobs and drifts uncertainly toward that goal, and JUST makes it over the rope. That's mostly due to Camilla's unabashedly emotional, upfront singing (there's no denying the genuineness of her potently sad delivery) and the weird snatches of distorted keyboards and other stuff here and there that add sort of an alien atmosphere (though the primary accompaniment is simple acoustic guitar). Some tunes such as "The sky", "Ease me" and "Lilies" are merely quietly pretty and melodic. Others dive straight to the murky depths like "Sister Mine" which really creates a funereal atmosphere, but I love the blend of organ and acoustic guitar. And it takes a genuinely focused/emotionally committed artist to conjure the utterly spooky vibes of "Ghostdance" and "For my sweetheart", which out-Low the lowest of, uh, Low, this group's nearest comparison. Nothing here to rev you up for the hardships of life, but as a soundtrack to same, this is often gripping stuff.
- Kevin Renick
