Tag: Mp3s
Hey, look! The First Miles are back! Frontman/main songwriter Jeppe Foldager informs me that the band group is working on finishing up their 2nd album "Ride against the wind" with a new guitarist and drummer and he was kind enough to pass along this track as a preview until the finished product is ready in May. It's no screaming barnburner, but I don't think that's their intention. Anyhow, better that they return with something like this: a solid slice of Danish Americana, pure meat and potatoes country twang. I don't think I'll ever get enough of that, as oxymoronic as that sounds. They do what they do and they do it well I can't wait to hear more.
The First Miles - Black heart
Margaret Berger supposedly has a new album on the way, but it's okay if that never comes to fruition. 2006's "Pretty scary silver fairy" is still one of my favorite pop albums and it's gonna be a tough one to top. Part of me says "why bother trying?", yet I want more more more. Especially if the promise of a darker, more organic sound are true. A single was promised back in August and still... nothing. Please, don't disappoint.
Margaret Berger - Seek I'll hide
This is the band that won the Manifest award for best punk/hardcore act? Really? Over Disfear, Nitad and Meanwhile? I think they're a decent band, but c'mon -- those Disfear and Nitad records are serious ragers, the latter especially. Meanwhile is a bit too by-the-books dis-core for my tastes, but that's beside the point. Disco Volante should've been way outmatched. Listen to the first minute of "It's your funeral" and tell me that doesn't sound like The Hellacopters. Another great band to be sure, but come on! Even though they pick it up for the rest of the track, it's lacking the roughness I expect from punk. I don't know; usually the Manifest is fairly right-on in their picks, but I think they might have blown it with this one.
Disco Volante - It's your funeral
When I listen to progg, I want to hear mood and atmosphere. Tasty licks and strong chops are fine qualities, but they don't really matter to me. Being said, I find myself digging Blandbladen quite a bit even though they exhibit many, many horrible jam band qualities: long songs (the album "I grevens tid" is a mere four tracks long), tons of solos, egregious reggae parts, wah-wah abuse, slap-bass breaks... you get the picture. Yet, I find that I'm not repulsed. Maybe it's because I don't have to smell them or watch dreadlocked idiots twirl around in circles while they play. Or maybe it's because they're actually a tasteful instrumental act! I still wish there was less showboating, but I can deal with it. Either way, this is far better than expected.
Blandbladen - I afton trans
This isn't brand new by any stretch, but Park Hotell is well worth revisiting in this era of 24h attention spans. "Free for friends" made a couple of our year-end top 10 lists and yet the band doesn't garner nearly as much attention as they deserve. I expect that for my more esoteric/underground picks, but for an indiepop band? I'm surprised and yes, a little disappointed. "Black hole" would make for a great second single, should they get the opportunity. Taxi, Taxi's excellent backing vocals elevate the chorus to a majestic level and the clever interplay between all the melody lines shines on repeated listens. Factor in Jari Haapalainen's stiff, but muscular drumming and you've got gold. Now as to why these guys didn't catch on with more people I can only speculate... Luleå outsider status? Lack of a promo budget? Not young enough? It's a pity. Let some light in, why doncha?
Oh, and for folks who are looking to buy a copy of said CD, I still have copies available: [click here]
Park Hotell - Black hole
It is impossible to get a comprehensive view of Leif Jordansson's soundtrack for the SVT miniseries "De halvt dolda" through a single track as almost every piece is a short, self-enclosed work, so I won't even try. But I will provide you with one snippet that I found particularly evocative. Listen for the moment at the minute mark where the horn note gets suspended and smeared downwards as the cello takes the lead -- it's such a disheartening, unnerving sound, especially given the organic instrumentation. The chord changes hint at the darkness to come as the piece builds, but they don't properly prepare you for that lingering pause and the awful, crushing descent. I get a shiver every time.
Leif Jordansson - Dörrar
Wardruna is a near-perfect combination of nearly every one of my musical obsessions. Scandinavian, obviously. Dark and foreboding? Most definitely. Strong elements of traditional folk? Oh hell yes. And how about a well-defined and pronounced spiritual component? Yup. The only quality I think it might be lacking from my shortlist would be a certain level of emotional purity and singlemindedness, but that often doesn't meld well with the spiritual, so I let it slide. Otherwise, this is definitely one of my favorite new releases of 2009 by a longshot. Listeners expecting the peppy polka-folk of groups like Detektivbyrån or Katzenjammer might be put off at first by the overwhelmingly dark and primitive atmosphere, but trust me - it's well worth it. Reach further back, connect with your ancient heathen roots!
For more on Wardruna and their concept, read this: [click here]
Wardruna - Algir - Togntale
Can't let this one slip through the cracks! Oskar Schönning plays the kind of pop-oriented jazz befitting of an era when tracks such as "Take five" would actually chart. His compositions are concise, the melodies memorable. Nowadays a great majority of the jazz conversation seems oriented towards freeform freakouts. That's fine- there's room for both, but this is way more my style. One of the best things about a lot of Schönning's work is also how joyous it sounds, both for the listener and the performers. I can't hear those handclaps on the intro without breaking into a smile and I suspect that neither can they. Or at least I hope so. Jazz will always remain a live art form and there's few things finer than witnessing class act musicians who appear to be genuiney stoked on what they're doing. I don't have the DVD that accompanies the album "Puerto", but I see them in my head and that's how I want it to be.
Oskar Schönning - Faustine
At their best Holmes sound like the dour Swedish Americana of Amandine crossed with the poetic melancholy of The Book of Daniel. At their worst, well... that sound can be pretty damn boring and it does get that way after a few songs. But one at a time? All good.
Living like I do in the cold, wet Pacific Northwest, I feel a kinship with the people of Göteborg and their similar grey existence and likewise, I can appreciate the temptation to subsist on music that befits the climate. Art is supposed to reflect your surroundings, is it not? This is the sound of walking down by the water at night in a light drizzle. Of sitting by yourself with a beer in hand, trying to clear your head. True, quiet melancholy; reflective and regretful, but resolved. Honestly, I think it's a beautiful thing and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Though to be sure: moderation is key. A little goes a long, long way.
Holmes - The arms of someone else
Seance is back from the dead after 15 some years and it's almost like they never left. They've still got one of the heaviest rhythm sections in death metal, even without the same brutal monster-truck basstone that characterized 1993's landmark "Saltrubbed eyes". It's all about those little stops and starts and the ridiculous triplet fills that drummer Micke Pettersson employs in his ongoing mission to out-Slayer Dave Lombardo. Seriously, no other band does it better; certainly none of the young upstarts who seem to value technical guitar prowess above all. As always the best death metal is about quality, memorable riffs. Often that means simple and effective; the number of notes is irrelevant. Anyhow, I wasn't expecting much from this reunion record, but these dudes delivered far beyond all expectations. Sure, the new album "Awakening of the Gods" has a few weaker moments here and there (there's one Prong-like groaner, for instance), but "Wasted" is 1000% killer. Seance's jagged rhythms, those super-gruff vokills -- all great. Even when they go into cheesy acoustic breakdown before the solo section, they make it work. No need to push boundaries or over-intellectualize it, stick to the classic formula and do it right -- that's all there is to it. No bullshit, just pure death fucking metal.
Seance - Wasted
Aside from being twice as long as it should be, "Skinnad" is proof positive that Franke's return comes with a bang, not a whimper. The swagger and the attitude are of primary importance and thank goodness those qualities have been retained. And there's far less self-conscious brooding. Instead, we get sunglasses and leather jackets. But what I love most has to be the trashy cymbal abuse and the gratuitous reverb. If you're gonna go for that, go whole-hog and oh, they do. But five full minutes? Please. Thankfully none of the other songs on the album make the same mistake.
Franke - Skinnad
Two women playing excellent, dark, not-easy-to-classify rock music? Sad to say it, but they're doomed to failure. Maybe if they were still teenagers or twins or tried to sex it up with electro beats then maybe they'd have a chance. Prove me wrong!
Lowood - Crash
Take it from someone who doesn't really like most tweepop: The Garlands are a great band. Good songs played with strength and confidence and yes, a touch of sweetness despite the anger of the title. It's hard for me to say why these guys capture my attention when most other bands fail, but I think it's the energy level that gets me. I've seen and heard way too many bands in this style that come off like such reluctant performers that it's such a pleasure to hear the opposite. And I wasn't always such a bitter old cynic either -- I had a great time seeing bands like Tiger Trap way back when. But nevermind that, it's not nostalgia and it's definitely not about me. The Garlands are a great band. It's that simple.
The Garlands - Why did I trust you?
WE was running high in the site search charts for awhile now and it inspired me to pull out the first thing I ever heard from them, the 2003 "Lightyears ahead" EP. No surprise: it still kicks major ass. Or major teeth, if you follow the lyrics. As soon as I heard this song and I knew I needed these guys to round out the lineup of my first comp, "Reader's companion vol. 1". I'm not sure what they're up to nowadays, but I wouldn't be surprised if a new album showed up soon - it's been just over a year since the last one, so we're definitely due. Anyhow, much respect! Feel-good music for a feel-bad Friday!
WE - Kickin'
It takes some serious balls to rip off one of Joy Division's best-known riffs and run it into the ground. Adding layers of squealing feedback doesn't make you much more original either, though I do really like that sound when done well. Anyhow, I don't know what Joensuu 1685's intentions were with this track, but what they came up with ended up as "blatant ripoff".
Joensuu 1685 - Kill/shot/love