Tag: Mp3s
Miss Li continues to be ridiculously prolific, but she keeps defying expectations by upping her game and stretching her repertoire. "Dancing the whole way home" moves beyond the rag-tag kling-klang piano sass that got her noticed in the first place into classy Beatles-esque powerpop, replete with strings and horns and other adornments. Though she flattens out her personality and attitude a bit here, she still brings great joy to the delivery of the endless refrain, letting us know just how rapturous the subject of the song really is. It's a summer festival love affair and it's pure sweetness; dancing both literally and figuratively (nerves, heart, fill in the blank), all the way home.
Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home
It's a shame that Tortyr's vocals can't match the deep, guttural roar of their music because if they did, they would be unstoppable. As-is, they're still plenty fierce despite the harsh screams. They've got such an intense sound, especially when they drop in subtle disharmonic melodies such as on the chorus of this song, the title track of their new album "Ingen kommer undan". The freight-train bass is so loud and punishing that many of the subtleties get lost, but you can still sense the unease, the darkness. "No one leaves, everyone must die." I'm feeling it.
Tortyr - Ingen kommer undan
Here's a little something I picked up last weekend while vacationing in Astoria, OR, a seaside town with a strong Finnish heritage. I can't say I know much about Pekka Himanka, but I stumbled across his album "Jäi Lappiin sydämein" (Lappland remains in my heart? Online translators can only do so much for me here) in a local record store, previewed a few seconds for quality control at the listening station and figured, "why not?" Who couldn't use a bit of Finnish tango in their life? Besides being relevant to my interests (obviously), the chance of me stumbling across anything like this in the foreseeable future is nil. Old Suomi crooners don't just show up in bargain bins around here and it's not like I know enough to rate them, even if they did. One curious note to add: I don't remember if I've ever heard Pekka on an Aki Kaurismäki soundtrack, but he does carry the tag on Last.fm. Perhaps someone with more free time (and perhaps, Finnish comprehension skills) can track down which movie(s) his music appears in? It would be good to know.
Pekka Himanka - Jäi Lappiin sydämein
Most guitar-based ambient artists seem intent on obscuring their sound source, not so with Finnish duo The Gentleman Losers. There's no mistaking the origin of these sounds, though they do indulge in heavy effects now and then. "Ballad of Sparrow Young" is typical of the group: circular guitar figures overlaid by a languid lead melody along with a few other subtle accompanyments. Yes, they do stray towards the new-age end of the musical spectrum, but in typical Scandinavian fashion, feelings of melancholy erase any indications of "mere" peacefulness. And yes, I know it's also not exactly the sort of thing that will make you sit up and pay close attention, but listening does have its rewards.
The Gentleman Losers - Ballad of Sparrow Young
There are two version of The Skull Defekts' new album "The temple". First we have the CD version, an continuation of the "rock" direction exhibited by the band on "Blood spirits & drums are singing". Drums, guitar, vocals and more drums playing riff-oriented jams -- they may not usually concede to typical pop idioms such as verses, chorus and so-on, but it most definitely rocks in solid head-nodding fashion. We also have the 2xLP version of "The temple" which takes all of the the same songs as the CD and augments them with extra interludes, as recently heard on the more electronic/experimental/drone oriented "The drone drug" album. Personally, I prefer the former for it's more concise execution; as much as can appreciate the band's droning tendencies in all guises and forms, it's the rhythm-and-drum heavy sound that gets me going. "Knives, birds, stones & pyramids" is the opening salutation of "The temple" and it lays out everything you need to know: this is pure cult ritual set to a pounding beat and illustrated with cryptic symbols and pagan imagery. Sex and violence, man and beast -- it all comes together. In lesser hands, such other-worldly tourism might come across as preposterous, but they never over-sell it. Even without the message intact, as on the album's instrumentals, it's still all quality head-jammers.
The Skull Defekts - Knives, birds, stones & pyramids
Releasing a demo cassette in 2009 pretty much guarantees you willful obscurity, but it's perfectly fitting for a kvlt death metal act like Graveless. Music like this is supposed to sound like it crawled its way out after being buried alive and no format suits that better than the brittle sound of 1/8" tape. Even better if you play it out of an old boombox, but I suppose a mediocre mp3 rip from said cassette kind of approximates that effect when you play it through your typical, tinny computer speakers. Audio clarity is the enemy, this is supposed to sound raw, muddled and near-inhuman. Trve evil does not reveal itself so easily! Obfuscate! Embrace the darkness! Revel in real underground Swedish death metal!
Graveless - The covenants genocide
Organ and drum. Drum(s) and organ(s). Bathed in distortion and and baptized in flame; beamed directly to yr skvll, burning a hole through yr brain. This is the new Pistol Disco, same as the old and always improving. The new album "Evergreen" is out today and it's a mind-melter. Crank it!
Pistol Disco - Organ and drum
I like Refused a lot, but let's be honest: "The shape of punk to come" has not aged well. It was an important document for its time, but it also effectively shut the door of an era of hardcore many folks would prefer to forget. Not everything that followed in its wake has been awful, but it is surely responsible for directly influencing a ton of crap. Grace.Will.Fall toe the line. They tone down the sass and nail the "deadly rhythm", but we've heard it all before. What sounded like the future in 1998 sounds like the past in 2009. I don't doubt that their motivations are pure-hearted, but it's time to move on. Newness is not the imperative, it's inspiration.
Grace.Will.Fall - New song
I'm not gonna try and bullshit you into believing that Florence Valentin are some inspiring new act, brimming with originality, but what they do, they do well and that's bring quality summer-pop vibes. Whether they're cribbing from The Clash or Håkan Hellström, it all sounds good to me even when the subject matter is all guns, bombs and violence. I just hear a rocksteady beat and laidback horns, lean back and smile. Sometimes a language barrier does have its advantages!
Florence Valentin - Såld är såld
Pretty much the only thing I really feel like listening to these days is old-school death metal. Well, that and Elmo, but we'll revisit them at another time. I'm not particularly angry or anything, I just like the way it sounds, especially when it's played in its rawest, more purest form. No blazing blastbeats, no overcooked technicality, just pure sickness -- that's what Tyrant is all about. Their debut LP (today's mp3 is the title track) is actually a couple years old now, but I only just recently got into 'em so it's new to me and perhaps maybe new to you too. Not that it sounds "new", but that's precisely the point! It's a perfect tribute to old masters such as Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Autopsy, Venom and so on, infused with the classic tones that Sweden is known for. Fitting that the members of the band are all old heads too; so many youngsters seem to miss the point or refuse to take it seriously. These dudes have their hearts in it, that's for sure, and they know exactly what they're doing. "This is the rebirth, reclaim the flame! It's time to raise the dead!" Hell yeah.
Tyrant - The rebirth... (reclaim the flame)
Repost! This song deserves top placement again, not just because I just received copies of their CDEP for resale, but simply because it needs to be heard. I think these dudes are one of the biggest potential breakthrough acts of this year, so listen up! Oh yeah, and glad midsommar!
Pixie Carnation - When did the lights go out
Looks like we're heading into a rainy midsummer weekend, at least in the places it matters. I don't mind though, my garden needs the water and I'm happy for some of the mugginess to get cleared away. Of course that necessitates a soundtrack and I think Le Corbeau might just fit the bill -- unlike most Fysisk Format releases, this isn't very aggressive at all. At least it doesn't start out that way; it does escalate into screaming white noise towards the end on this one track. Mostly though, Le Corbeau does atmospheric instrumentals with a touch of French pop melodicism. The title track of his debut "Evening chill / Montréal of the mind" definitely recalls the former half of the title and maybe even the latter as well, though I wouldn't know as I've never been there. That 2nd part of the piece is definitely evocative though, all screaming scree and chiming overtones, like hard sheets of rain ricocheting off varying surfaces. For a grey day, it'll do just fine.
Le Corbeau - Evening chill / Montréal of the mind
I'm a bit disappointed that Nitad didn't make it out west on their current US tour, but what can you do? Hopefully things went well enough for them that they'll make it back for another go and will play the one coast that actually matters. The rest of you out East better get yourselves in gear though 'cuz they've only got a few more dates left before they head back home to Sweden. And while you're at it, pick up me a t-shirt! Size M, please (seriously!). You will reimbursed in full. But let's get back to the music, shall we? Nitad are one my favorite current hardcore acts, besides maybe Fucked Up, a band who they get unfairly compared to all too often. I say: Whatever! Both are great, though punkrock purists and internet soapboxers love to complain. As it was, it always shall be. Anyhow, Nitad has just the right edge of anger and melody, backed with a relentlessly driving energy level that can't be denied. "Rädslan" kicks off their debut full-length "Ibland kan man inte hindran sig själv" with a fierce four-on-the-floor beat, played at what I guess would be the band's midtempo velocity. So yeah, pretty raging one might say. You dig? I have CDs to give away -- all you gotta do is email nitad-contest@itsatrap.com with your details and I'll have Kranium Records send out discs to the first 10 respondents. Do it!
Nitad - Rädslan
The a-side of Kap Kap's self-titled debut EP is actually the weakest link; "Fullmooner" (along with the better/expanded Bangkok Impact remix of the same) offers up a proggy funk instrumental that devolves into a disco jam, something that I imagine is about a thousand times more fun to play than it is to listen to. It's not entirely without its charms as much as it is forgettable, but holy moly, the three cuts on the flip more than make up for it. The meandering psychrock gets shelved in favor of a side-long Krautrock workout full of endlessly building riffs and the kind of sweet repetition repetition repetition that very few bands can successfully pull off. "Saigon" takes things nice and slow, starting with the bass. It's a full sound, with a deep tone and a rough edge. The rest of the band comes on slowly doing call-and-response, while the rhythm section pushes onward. A mid-section build-up gives way to strings and surprises and again, the rhythm section keeps slogging forward. It's the flipside to Paper's high-anxiety postpunk; the same circular style, but stretched out and worn down. The other two b-side cuts are similarly great, but this one is definitely the high-water mark.
Kap Kap - Saigon
My pal Björn Kleinhenz has a new album out today called "Head held high on fearsome pride" and of course it's great, as expected. Even better: all benefits go towards the medical care of Humle, Björn and his girlfriend Yrsa's rabbit. Best: Not only is it stupid cheap (€3.70!), it comes with bundled with cover art, lyrics and a digital scrapbook of pictures from the island of Fårö where Björn wrote and recorded this record. I actually just purchased a copy myself even though Björn had already sent me the mp3s. Like I said, it's for a good cause and I am more than happy to demonstrate my support. For further enticement, here's a selection for you to listen to called "I hate it when you go". The sound is unmistakably Björn Kleinhenz, but I also think that island living has rubbed off on him. It's very relaxed, very comfortable and yes, very very good. If you dig the pastoral and very personal mood of Iron & Wine, especially the first album, you'll love this for sure -- it's got a lot of that same feeling. To purchase the rest of the record, go here: https://www.kleinhenz.se/
Björn Kleinhenz - I hate it when you go