"Back to the sabbath?" Seriously dudes? C'mon, at least try to be original. Which is not to say I don't dig full-on Black Sabbath worship, I guess I just want to hold on to the illusion I'm hearing something new. Regardless, The Graviators do what they do and they do it well enough. I was just out driving around with the album cranked and it felt totally satisfying, like a good hard-rock listening experience should. Perhaps not one for the ages, but it's alright for now.
This is only song that matters right now. I've been spinning it multiple times daily trying to find my way inside, but it yields next to nothing. The video adds extra layers of darkness and mystery. Snow swirls in night, figures walk through empty streets, visions become layered and kaleidoscopic. Everything goes up in flames and fireworks and now it seems that God has left us and so where exactly does that leave us? "Is anybody listening?" I am, on the outside trying to find a way in.
The Goner's new record "Behold a new traveler" is just as good as I'd hoped. He's pushing forward with new sounds and ideas and working with collaboratively with more people, but it's still instantly recognizable as no one else. Above all, it's the dark mystery that looms throughout his work that catches my ear, a mood that's emphasized via minor-leaning Eastern melodies, lots of ringing, open chords and illusory, mystical lyrics. "Bright and colossal (risen mind)" finds The Goner in full-band mode for (I believe) the very first time and it's interesting to see how the increased fluidity of the setup affects the music: more space, more rhythm, more jamming. There's some lingering awkwardness in the situation, but I think it befits the tune's uncertainty and regardless, I'm still enchanted. Along with a few others on my 2010 watchlistThe Goner is making some of the most interesting music coming out of Sweden right now.
Listen to Norway, part 3. I deeply regret not going to see Turbonegro back when they were touring the US in support of "Ass cobra", playing warehouse shows and dingy punk dives. Their name is kinda lame, so I figured I'd pass. Had I known I was missing out on a band of denim-clad dudes shooting bottle rockets out their ass while playing kick-ass Scandinavian garage rock revival, you bet I would've been there, but no, it was not meant to be. I sure did hear about it after the fact though, they caught on quick. I don't even remember if they made it back to support "Apocalypse dudes" before the first breakup, but I was over it by then and didn't really want to see them playing large venues surrounded by ridiculous hordes of "Turbojugend" anyway. I did however give the 2007 remaster of "Apocalypse dudes" a spin the other day and was sorely disappointed to hear how flat and weak it sounds. The beginning of the end, even before the reunion! However, take a track or two at a time and you're still rockin'; the album just lacks the monmentum to carry through from start to finish. Had they trimmed the fat, it probably would be fine -- 45 minutes of "deathpunk" is 15-20 too many. Anyhow, like I said, cherry-picking tunes from the record is still perfectly fine as there's more than a few A-listers to choose from. Mine: "Get it on". Sure, it's one of the band's more inoculous songs (compare it to "Prince of the rodeo" or "Don't say motherfucker, motherfucker" for instance), but that main riff totally stomps. Oh, and as for "Ass cobra", that album totally holds up fine.
Martin Senter is a veteran of many bands - Seven Feet Four, EL-SD, Talking to Drake, maybe more -- but now he's decided to break out on his own and work on a solo EP. "Ingenting förlorat" is the first, fully realized sample of what he's done so far and it's pretty decent. Definitely in the vein of quirky guitar + electronics indie ala early Samuraj Cities (or maybe Niels Nielsen) with the added benefit of strong energy and a decent ear for clever vocal arrangements. The track does go on a little long however, but whatever, it's a demo. Gotta hear it back before you can work the quirks out. Hear some more stuff at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/martinsenter
Hard to compete with this live version recorded at Katarina Kyrka in Stockholm for PSL, but that's the way Moto Boy's music often goes. The studio version, while still fairly decent, hems him in with electronic beats and unnecessary ornamentation. Live and languid with natural acoustics will always win.
Despite the participation of many folks whose music I admire (Jonas Odhner from Sonores, Susanna Brandin of Winter Took His Life, etc.) and a beautifulpresentation, I just can't connect with Bolywool. It's definitely more of a "it's not you, it's me" sorta thing though as I've never been a fan of the Madchester/baggy sound they emulate and never will, no matter how hard I try. I prefer my shoegaze to be more assertive than fey, y'know? Still, personal preference aside, I fully acknowledge that Bolywool's take on that sound is plenty competent so it's not like I can write them off or say "this sucks" or anything because it so obviously doesn't. Bolywool are a good band making music I don't care about. Maybe you will. That's perfectly okay by me.
"Follow the herd" is the 2nd single from Boy Omega's album "The ghost that broke in half", his fifth album overall and one that took a full two years to come to fruition. For all the pieces that were assembled to make that work possible, there were many left behind, hence this EP. Some have appeared in other locations in past and some never before, but now they all come together for you in this 6-song EP. A pair of instrumentals, a pair of covers, a Christmas carol that remains evocative even when the season has passed, and the title track, an orchestral pop tune with dizzying twists and an aching melody.
Tell me about "Follow the herd" -- what's the song about?
It touches upon a few different subjects, but mainly it's about being true to yourself. It's also about the too-early and unexpected death of my uncle.
The track almost feels schizophrenic with the way it splits between the fuzz/Arp-heavy part and the quieter bits with the horns (and strings?)... what's the thought process behind that? How did you end up at that arrangement?
When I'm working on a song in the studio, I basically just try different things until I feel happy with the result. I like surprises and I like when unexpected things happen, so that might have been what I was aiming for.
So how much of that was done at home and how much necessitated the involvement of other musicians/studios? Did you have it all mapped out in your head before you decide it to the next level?
Most of it was done at home. On the songs "Follow the herd" and "Dinosaur drugs", me and Calle Fredrikson (from Alarma Man) ended up finishing the songs in his home studio. We rearranged and rerecorded some parts. Calle also recorded the live drums on "Follow the herd" with Alarma Man drummer Andreas Litfeldt at the La Blaza studio in Göteborg. I usually have a pretty good idea of how I want the song to end up, but as I said before, I like surprises, so it's also nice when you end up with something you didn't expect to end up with.
And how do you know when it's done?
I guess you never know.
What's next for you then? Tour and then fatherhood and then what? Do you have any goals or expectations?
Yes, a tour in a couple of weeks from now. I'm really looking forward to that. I'm also really looking forward to being a dad. I think it will be amazing.
When it comes to music, I've already started recording songs for the next Boy Omega album. I've chosen about 50 songs to work with, and I guess 10-15 will end up on the album. I'll be recording in both my home studio and in the Kepner Treg studio with my good friend (and part-time Boy Omega live member) Per-Ola Eriksson. We'll see when we can finish that one. I'm in no real hurry at the moment, and I think "The ghost that broke in half" deserves some more time in the spotlight before I give birth to yet another album. There are also plans to release three more singles from the ghost album ("Black metal fairies", "Roll the dice" and "No light in the lantern"). All of which will have exclusive b-sides.
What else... I'll be doing a UK radio session in April with exclusive recordings. I'm also working on a new instrumental solo project (www.myspace.com/mountgolden) and a brand new project with my best friend Martin Bergström. Me and Martin B will also try to finish and release our second album as Kubot.
When it comes to touring, I just got an offer to do some Boy Omega shows in France next year, so I might say yes to that.
Last, but not least, I plan to spend as much time as possible with my girlfriend and the baby, make some more music videos, take long walks with the dog and bake lots of bread.
Download the full 6-song EP here. You can also go here to download previous single "Dinosaur drugs" along with the exclusive b-side "Our secret".
Toby Vail wrote a great essay on what it means to be an aging punk in the new issue of "Nuts!", our local zine, a subject never too far from my mind as the age of my show-going peers gets progressively further away from my own. "I am happy to be alive here in Olympia which is still a thriving punk scene largely unconcerned with trends, careerism and marketability. I just hope the next generation of punks take it seriously. Because what we do can make a difference. We have the power to change things and our actions are connected to history and impact the future. Hopefully you won't all move to Portland or Brooklyn or whatever when your own punk rock mid like crisis at 20 or 25 or 30 or 35... because this is a cool town and it'd be rad if some of you stick around." Those words resonate with me; I was jaded in my early 20s, but I turned it around and turned my back on the city, on the pose, on false aspirations and all the other things that don't matter. It's a bit part of why I live where I do today. And that's why when I come across bands that share those same ideals, it gets my attention. This is the dark side of the same coin: "Drugged SS takes no part of the already established positive hardcore scene in the big cities... Drugged SS are from Setesdal and are going to stay in Setesdal." I can relate to that. I can also relate to the raw, ugly sounds they're making because while in many ways I am getting mellower as I get older, I am not getting complacent. Dark times, dark music.
Drugged SS are a new signing to , the label run by the folks behind Okkultokrati and Haust. They are also the first band they've signed from outside their extended band family. A 6-song demo tape is in the works and will be out soon.
Listening to Norway, part 2. I'm still concentrating mostly on traditional folk records because that's more where my mood's at, but I am pulling a few other selections from the stacks, especially the ones that fall under the category "heard of, but never heard." Trinacria is a band I've always wanted to check out and I even remember hearing about them when they first got going, but somewhere along the line I dropped the ball and never investigated further. Not sure why though 'cuz their album "Travel now journey infinitely" is killer. For the uninitiated, here is a summation of the band as lifted straight from their bio: "Trinacria was originally a composition by Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved), Maja S. K. Ratkje and Hils Sofie Tafjord (both from Fe-mail), commissioned by Rikskonsertene for a concert series. The line-up was completed by Grutle Kjellson, Ice Dale (both from Enslaved), Iver Sandøy (Emmerhoff) and Espen Lien. In short: after working together briefly, the composition turned into a vital project which, after touring, became a fully welded band." So yeah, in short: Enslaved + Fe-mail = awesome. Hardly a surprise, though sometimes the marriage of metal and noise is not so hot. Neurosis and Man is the Bastard were the first bands I ever saw who did it and did it well, many others followed. Cult of Luna is one, Pig Destroyer is another, and of course Bastard Noise continues to bring the brutality as only they can provide (check out the new Endless Blockade split if you haven't already!). Naturally, Trinacria lean more towards the epic, blackened end of the metal spectrum as would befit their pedigree, but song-wise, the structure is more postrock-like as they build the pieces into huge crescendos over repetitive riffs and escalating chaos. Any of the six tracks contain therein would probably make for a suitable intro to the band, but I think the title-track closer is best as it's the most epic of all this epicness. Definitely an overlooked gem.
"After almost a decade of making music together as Marvins Revolt, we have decided to put the band to sleep for an unknown period of time."
Bummer, especially since I was just now getting into their latest record "Patrolling the heights". The band was always that way for me though, their music always needed extra time to simmer before it reached optimum flavor and that just doesn't fly in this short attention span world. I make notes to revisit, but many others have already moved on. Pity. Anyhow, here's to whatever comes next for those guys -- I'm sure they'll be doing good things whether with Rising or something else. (Read the band's full statement)
I promised you something on Next Life in my recent mp3 post on labelmates Haust and I aim to deliver. Haust's side of the two bands' new split 12" on is pretty ruling, but Next Life ain't no slouches either. If pressured, I might even concede their side to be the better of the two, but let's not go there, alright? Let us stick to the facts: this release celebrates the mental/metal act's 10th year and marks the very first time they are joined by a human drummer on record, the very-capable Anders Hangård (ex-NoPlaceToHide). A few of the tracks are re-recordings of old material, a few are not, all are ridiculously concise math-metal ragers clocking in at two minutes or less. A full album of the group's full-throttle, video-game inspired music can be a bit much to take, but one side of a split EP is just about perfect as small doses inspire more repeat listens. And for a very small dose, here's opening cut "Anti matter". It's amazing how much action they pack into such a short amount of time.
Got the new Regulations LP "To be me" in the mail yesterday and it's pretty sweet, just like I expected. The bonus "Live radio EP" 7" that I picked up along with it is pretty damn good too, perhaps even a bit moreso than I anticipated. Regulations continue to deliver solid, tightly wound punk rock as always and once again they pull off the magic trick of sounding timeless. Classic sounds made fresh; it's a rare feat, especially when talking about a blueprint that was more or less codified and set in stone back in 80s. Whatever, here we are decades later and these dudes are nailing it. Witness "Baghdad beach party" with its ringing two-note melody and sardonic lyrics -- that's all you need.
If you dig latter-day Anathema, ie. pretty much anything after they figured out that the progressive sounds of Pink Floyd better suited their melancholy doomscapes better than ye standard downtuned metal growl, you'll like Norwegian act Airbag. That is unless you're iffy on whether or not imitation is the sincerest form of flattery because Airbag sounds exactly like Anathema. Same tones, same vocal inflections, same everything. It's uncanny. Pick your side!
The good folks at MIC Norway sent me a big box of CDs earlier this week as part of their "Listen to Norway" music promotion program, so to oblige them I will attempt to do some sort of weekly feature on one of the contents therein. I'm planning on listening to most of it anyway, so why not give it focus? Now as for the types of discs they sent me, there's a good selection of pop, rock, indie and metal stuff that I've either heard before or at least somewhat familiar with, so I decided to jump into the other stuff first. I know some Norwegian jazz, mostly through artists affiliated with or , and we'll get to those in coming weeks, but it's definitely the folk music that intrigued me the most. As regular readers should know by now, I love traditional Scandinavian folk, especially when it's done in contemporary fashion ala Detektivbyrån, but I'm also quite fond of the trad stuff, it's just that I barely know where to start with it so let us consider this to be a mutual exploration. There's a lot of folk music out there and I've listened to a damn lot of Hardanger fiddle this week and while I couldn't begin to tell you the history of the style or anything about the various regional variations, I know what I like and Valkyrien Allstars are a group I definitely can get into. According to the liner notes of their self-titled debut (2007), the trio got their start as the house band at The Valkyrien Restaurant in Oslo though they definitely seemed to have moved beyond that now, having been nominated for a Norwegian Grammy and toured Japan (and released a new album "To måner", which I do not have yet). Musically speaking, they are at their essence, a Hardanger fiddle trio, though they do mix it up by adding a few extra instruments and vocals. But what I like best about them is their energy and enthusiasm, a similar trait I heard in Swedish act Hedningarna, the band that first got me interested in Nordic folk. "Å gjev du batt meg" is one of the group's mellower tracks, but I just love the vocal on it, especially frontwoman Tuva Livsdatter Syvertsen's rough-edged tone. It reminds me of Hajen/Jaw Lesson a bit, in fact they even kinda look similar as far as hairstyle is concerned. Anyhow, it's those little cracks at the edges that make it, and that's why I'm sharing this song today.
Expect more folk discoveries and other new (to me) tunage in weeks to come.
