Tag: Mp3s
Too much work to do, not enough time to crawl through the daily updates. Let's make this quick: Elmo are a melodramatic pop band from way the fuck up north in Sweden who sound more than a little like Broder Daniel. I know that totally sounds like a recipe for disaster on paper, but somehow they pull it off -- I've been listening to the new album "Once" over and over ever since I received in earlier this week. No, they're not as brilliant as the original masters of teenage melancholy, but I'll shrug it off when hit with grandiose sentiments such as "We were not supposed to die!" So over the top! I'm loving it.
Stream the whole damn record at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/elmoswe
Elmo - Darkness falls
Unsurprisingly, the new P3 Ström collection "Musiken vi hatar" ("Music we hate") isn't really good per se, as much as it is an interesting musical exercise. Really, what do you expect from a collection of artists covering the music they despise? There are limits to how much you can polish a turd and even then, it will never really shine. Of all the selections contained therein, Cilihili and DaBook's take on Enya's dreaded "Orinoco flow" is the one that made me most curious, besides maybe Andreas Tilliander's dubbed-out take on "All that she wants" by Ace of Base, yet another popular track that people love to hate. The latter of the two removes all the pep of the original, leaving nothing but suck, however the former is a stupendously fun reimagination of a much-reviled classic. Like many great covers, any adherence to the original is thrown out the window, so we the listener are instead treated to cut-up disco beats and a reinvigorated chorus melody. Also: "What the fuck is 'Orinoco flow'? What does it mean?" Seriously!
Cilihili and DaBook - Orinoco flow
As I hinted at in my review, one of Turboweekend's strongest assets is their ability to take their songs into strange, unreal dimensions. On tracks like "Sweet Jezebel" it's subtle, but it's there: "I saw the rush hour stop for you / It didn't seem like it was new to you / My eyes touched your skin like dust and grime" I can see it play out in my mind; time stops when their eyes meet, but only for a moment. The sort of experience that later causes you to question if it was real. Furthermore: "In my dream I heard the word from you / Telling me exactly what to do / For you to turn back the clockworks of your mind" The spell is more than mere symbolism. The music is similarly evocative -- slow and languid, with a steady pulse and keening synths. As with everything they do, the sound is surprisingly minimal as well. Instrumentation is sparse, but thick with atmosphere which fills the gaps between the synth/bass/drums/vocals arrangement. Listen to how they twist the melody towards the end, too. The vocals soar with the final, climatic chorus, but the harmonies moves in unexpected ways. It's a thing of subtle beauty.
Turboweekend - Sweet Jezebel
Confirmed for the next It's a Trap! Clubnight at Debaser Malmö on June 20th: Bruket. Listen to their debut single "Stockholm kallar" and you won't be surprised to learn that it was produced by The Hives' Almqvist brothers (that's Pelle and Niklas), especially considering the Fagersta connection (The Hives' hometown), but I think they're less inspired by slashing garage-pop-punk than classic Svensk punk. Think Ebba Grön or Docent Död with echoes of The Clash and other similar-era acts -- heavy on the pop with huge anthemic choruses. They throw in a dubby breakdown, too. 2009, 1979, whatever. I'm sure it'll be a great show.
Bruket - Stockholm kallar
Regarding this: to give you an idea of how backlogged I am, I received Black Sheep's demo way back in mid-November last year and it's been on my to-do list ever since, but only now did I finally find the time to write it up. A lot of stuff ends up falling by the wayside along the way, but I really do honestly try to cover as many acts as I can, it just takes me awhile sometimes. Anyhow, as I said in the review, Black Sheep play a shambly sort of thick-headed punk/hardcore that takes me back to my formative teen years, when such single-minded nihilism was all I wanted to hear. "We're gonna die" is their strongest anthem and it perfectly compasses everything they're about. It's gruff without being too overtly macho. The lyrics are pure negativity and pessimism. It's also a solid head-nodding tempo without descending into the two-chord dirge that seems popular as of late. One-and-a-half minutes and done, that's all you need. In other words, the best of both pre- and post-Rollins era Black Flag. I wouldn't say they're ready for the international stage just yet, but I like it a lot and am curious where they're at now, seven months down the road.
Black Sheep - We're gonna die
Until their new "1978-83" retrospective CD showed up in my inbox earlier this week, I had never heard of Mögel before, or at least I don't remember coming across them. It's an odd thing too because early all-female punk bands were always notable and also because vocalist Ulrika Malmgren was one of the hosts of Sweden's famed "Ny Våg" radio show. Nonetheless, I remain ignorant! It doesn't help that "The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk" files them as a peripheral band and labels them "new wave". That's a genre label I associate with pop aspirations and keyboards; Mögel has neither, though I must admit that they don't fit the typical late 70s/early 80s punk sound. Can we call it postpunk and be done with it? They've got an early indiepop shamble on a few tunes, but it's the jagged, discordant tracks that appeal to me most. "Jag är så rädd" ("I am so scared") comes from the 1981 self-titled 12" on Slick Records, the group's sole proper vinyl release, and sounds quite befitting of the title -- just listen to the guitar "solo" for some serious bad-trip action and you'll get what I mean. Anyhow, the new disc on Massproduktion compiles that first record along along all of the other band's recordings and various liner note comments from scene luminaries such as Thåström, just in time for the label's 30th anniversary party. Which they happen to be playing! Should you find yourself in Sundsvall tomorrow, that's certainly the place to be.
Mögel - Jag är så rädd
I look at the ever-increasing piles of mediocre CDs crowding my desk and I can't help but feel defeated. There's a few gems in there to be sure, but I'm fully daunted. To say nothing of all the downloads in my incoming directory -- more often than not, I'd much rather listen to all the old-school death metal I've been gathering than some uninspiring no-name wannabees. Like I said though, it's not all bad. Only a few are truly awful, the overwhelming majority are merely forgettable. What's it take to stick? Name recognition helps. My God Damn Territory's bio mentions ex-ex-members from Blithe, Randy and Refused as well as Celestine and, even though I recognize none of the actual personnel names, I figure that at least earns them a cursory listen. Of course I wouldn't be telling you about them if they weren't good, so let me spell it out: My God Damn Territory are a solid band. They've got a ridiculously long roster of musicians who appear on their new self-released album "Between art and failure" and the record's widely varied sound reflects that, though the songwriting remains consistent. They cover a lot of ground from noisy 90s-style indie to postrock and beyond, but you can always tell it's the product of the same mind(s). "Used to be" stands out to me as one of the more driving numbers and the repetitive, overlapping vocal melody is hard to forget, especially with those bendy guitar notes that bookend it. Best of all, it just sounds so different from anything else I've heard as of late. And the whole album is available as a free download. Good enough!
My God Damn Territory - Used to be
As regular readers should know by now, I'm no fan of The Radio Dept. Their tepid shoegaze leaves nary an impression on me and, even at their supposed angriest ("Freddy and the Trojan Horse"), they're still not much more than musical wallpaper. But I acknowledge that I am probably in the minority, so before I head off to the dentist this morning, I'll let contributor Arnulf Köhncke talk up the new single "David":
After such a long time waiting, it feels strange when something comes around that's this unexpected and yet so painfully obvious. But when the four-beat piano chords set in after the first line, it all falls into place. All that soul, the swaying chord changes, the secret-agent movie strings, the glockenspiels and melodicas. Even that hip-hop interlude and the 60's pop ending. No more Prefab Sprout'ness for now, no more distorted keyboards, no more analogue drums -- just those trademark vocals singing about longing and love, despair and hope.
The Radio Dept. - David
I get seriously bummed sorting through all the new Swedish hip-hop, hoping to find something good. For awhile it seemed like the forward-thinkers were taking charge and releasing great records, but now? I'm not so sure. So much of what's popular sounds like 3rd-rate garbage to me, lazy copies of American artists. Leave it to the standbys to keep up the quality then -- for example, not only has Promoe been putting up a ton of decent-to-better tracks for free download, but we've also got Ison & Fille's new single "Jag skrattar idag" to get us through. It's a fitting song for me today as well, since my workday was abysmal. What can you do but laugh it off? Especially when it starts off with a unnecessary 5am phonecall. "Jag skrattar idag" has a lazy, whistling melody, but the kick and bass push the beat and keep things moving. Insistent in an underhanded way, I suppose you could say; it drives far harder than you might realize. Fits my mood and fits the season, too. And not to damn them by comparison, but you could certainly do far worse. Also, once again proving the best Swedish hip-hop is still done på Svenska.
Ison & Fille - Jag skrattar idag
Another Broder Daniel track for Friday because, well... because I said so. And also because I have been thinking a lot about the qualities that makes them who they are. The melodies, of course, are paramount, as is their anthemic scope, but I also think that one of their strongest attributes is the inclusive language of the lyrics. It's "What clowns are we", not "What a clown am I" ("What clowns are you" would be an entirely different story). Henrik sings that we are all in this thing together. We feel down and out and unloved, but we are not alone, we all feel that way. It's not so much empathy as it's group therapy; no doubt that explains the legions of Pandas following the band. I think I've said it before, but I bet that if I had heard BD at a young, impressionable age, I'd be one of them too. As for the actual lyric sentiment in this, BD's final song, it's simple and to-the-point: We get older, but we're just as lost as we ever were. What always was, always shall be.
Broder Daniel - What clowns are we
Didium and The Black Bonnie Picture fare reasonably well as far as listenable alt-rock goes, but I can only get about halfway through their album "Whimsical beauty" before mind-numbing ennui sets in. No amount of sweetly layered female vocals, strings nor saxophone is going to change that. It's not that they're devoid of charm either, they've got a cute retro look and have apparently pleased enough people in high places to secure substantial financial backing and international distribution outside Denmark, but I remain unmoved. Listen to the superfluous scream at the start of their latest single "You wanna stay" -- are you excited? Do you feel the, uh, electricity? Forced enthusiasm is the worst and these guys have it in spades. Listen as Didium bites the I's and Un's just before the 2-minute mark; is that really necessary? Please, just give it a rest. You're a nice guy and you can't escape it. No doubt there's plenty of people out there who will think this is just edgy enough thankyouverymuch, but I am not one of those.
Didium and the Black Bonnie Picture - You wanna stay
I should have probably talked this up a few months ago when it first came out, but it kind of doesn't matter because Hebosagil's debut EP "Cosmic" still sounds just as good today as when it was first released as a digital download back in 2007, likewise as it did when Rusto-Osiris reissued it on CD earlier this year. I try not to be one of those "the demo was the best!" sort of guys, but it's true so far -- the full-length follow-up "Colossal", though quite good, was not great. "Cosmic" remains one of the most punishing releases of the 00s so far and tracks like "Temple" prove it. It encompasses all things heavy: brutal, detuned riffs; blazing, face-melting leads; painful, harsh vocals; and so on and so forth. I just love the rawness of it all, too -- you can't talk about Hebosagil without bringing up just how distorted and crazy the recording is. It's completely disgusting, yet every instrument somehow remains distinct. I don't know how they did it, but they win. Other than maybe Haust, no other band brings the sound of the new world dystopia to life better than this.
Hebosagil - Temple
"Better days ahead" by The Opium Cartel starts out like melancholic art-rock, but quickly changes direction once the palm-muted guitar and moog comes in. From there it goes in all sorts of directions; prog to pop to psychrock and back to art-rock yet again. It works well though, even the cowbell on the chorus and the wacky tone-bending synth breakdown somehow make sense in context of the whole. Nothing feels forced, it all just flows. I discover new sounds almost every time I listen too, which makes it all that much better. For example, the pizzicato strings at the halfway point. And the Edge-like guitar licks that come in soon thereafter. It seems so convoluted to talk about it, but they make it sound effortless.
The Opium Cartel - Better days ahead
I've been obsessed with this song recently and its triumphant resignation. Like many Broder Daniel anthems, the soaring melody is at odds with the lyrical content and that makes me question its intentions and sincerity. Sometimes I hear it as a celebration: I love my dead-end town, it is my destiny. You know that any talk of "the grass is always greener..." is total bullshit anyway; why set yourself up for disappointment? There is power is knowing what you face, knowing your enemy. On the other hand, it's much more easily read strictly as a down-and-out heartbreaker: No initiative, no fun, no future. Living in this town is barely living at all. I go back and forth, but generally find myself siding with the former. I love my own small town. It's potential can seem stifling, so I understand why so many move on from here to other opportunities, but there are also plenty of possibilities open to those willing to take charge, take risks. In that spirit I hear this song as sarcasm -- yes, I know my city, sometimes all too well, but that's also why I love it.
Broder Daniel - Only life I know
"Goo" by Volcanic Places is almost entirely self-descriptive. This is slow, oozing pop buried under layers of crackle and distortion, like the sound of Suicide gone up in flames. Sometimes willful lo-fi-ness can be a put-on, but the sizzle adds extra nuance and overtones in this case -- without it, the song would almost be too much too take. Besides, they sound way too down and out for that kind of cold confrontationism.
I know nothing about this band except that like-minded noiseniks Pistol Disco are listed in their top friends. Related? I wouldn't doubt it, but I choose to remain willfully ignorant.
Volcanic Places - Goo