Tag: Mp3s
I'm not feeling inspired by my back-catalogue this week, so I've preempted my usual Friday oldie post with something that's a little bit old and a little bit new. Nisse Hellberg has been around a long while, both as the frontman for Wilmer X and also as a solo artist, among other various projects. I was looking for something to put on the stereo when my dad was visiting over the holidays and figured that his latest album "Snackbar blues". It's total dad-rock - a little rockabilly, a touch of blues, all well-played and inoffensive. Thing is, I find myself listening to the damn thing over and over, long after my dad's gone home. It took me awhile to figure it out, but it finally dawned on me: Nisse Hellberg reminds me a heckuva lot of Dave Alvin from The Blasters. It's classic, rootsy rock'n'roll from a guy whose old band first gained acceptance from the punk-rockers before making any inroads to the mainstream. That's kind of the way it happened, right?
The song I've posted today is cover of "Trettifyran", originally done by Olle Adolphson (that's the little old part). At first I thought it was a Swedish version of "Waitin' for the axe" by BR5-49, but I guess that only goes to show what I know. Not very much, huh? Dad-rock or not, this I like.
Nisse Hellberg - Trettifyran
Abbath's new band I picks up pretty close to where Immortal left off and I think that's great. See, unlike most black-metal purists, I've always felt that the each of the band's albums was better than the one that preceded it. Besides being recorded terribly, early material such as "Pure holocaust" and "Battles in the north" just aren't that good. The promo photos? Still undeniably classic. But the music? Eh, I rather listen to Darkthrone if I want to stay tr00 and kvlt. I however, is something different. The cold darkness of black-metal remains, but the music is far more rooted in thrash and other, more classic heavy metal styles. Just listen to that song I've posted today and tell me that opening riff doesn't remind you of "Bark at the moon". Sure, it starts to sound a lot more like Bathory once the drums and ominous keyboards come in, but that too is a good thing. Abbath's croaking vocal style might be too much for some to take, but I think it just adds to the atmosphere he's trying to create. It's supposed to sound evil, y'know? Thrash on.
I - Far beyond the quiet
What happens to punk-rockers when they get old? Well, they can either desperately cling to what once was or they can do what Grande Roses did and go country. It might not seem obvious at first, but it makes sense when you think back to bands like Social Distortion who always had a bit of twang in their music. I personally went through a bit of my own country (re-)discovery after getting burnt on the punk scene. Which is not to say I don't like punk anymore, I'm just not the angry young man I used to be and my musical tastes reflect that. I will always consider myself a punk at heart nomatter what's in my stereo as the ideals imparted on me from growing up in that scene are too strong to ignore. I imagine Grande Roses probably feels the same way, though they seem to have retained more of their youthful vigor that I, judging by the shit-kicking tempos of their songs. If you think about it, country and punk aren't all that different - they're both all about the anti-hero, the outlaw. But don't look up to Sid Vicious dammit, take on Johnny Cash as a role model.
This particular song that I've posted today comes from Grande Roses debut 7" "Arctic heart". It lacks the excellent steel guitar leads that enhance the rest of the EP, but the accordion fills the space nicely. I'd like to hear a bit more tempo/rhythm variation (hear all four songs here), but I have to admit it works in their favor as a good way to introduce the band. I like this a lot.
Grande Roses - Burst
One would imagine that my recent break in posting would have me rested, refreshed and ready with to kick off 2007 with a bang, but no, sadly that is not the case. Truth is, I've run myself ragged these past few weeks, working harder than ever - not just on the new site, but also with my many other jobs which I mistakenly thought might cool down during the holidays. Throw in an unexpected visit from the mother-in-law and well, let's just say I'm beat. Now, that doesn't mean I won't continue on as always, it just means I'm going to ease back into things. Enough of my excuses, right? How about some new music?
Jezebel Recordings quietly released a new album from Swedish trio Logcabin and I'm guessing there's a pretty good chance you missed it. Shit, I almost did myself even though I had a stack of the CDs sitting on my desk. Such is the nature of December, I suppose. Regardless, now is the time to make right so I've got a song for you. I love the insistent lead guitar and the way the chord changes float along behind it. Wrap it up with some horn stabs straight out of later-era Die Kreuzen and you've got yourself quite a nice little noiserock package. It's those little unexpected twists and turns that make Logcabin so interesting. They effortlessly drift from dreamy pop to discordant art-rock and back again, often within the same song. Or they keep it short and precise, like on today's track. Either way, it's all good.
Logcabin - Places
I'm considering a change to my posting schedule: instead of the usual oldie mp3, I could post a different Bear Quartet song every Friday. Lord knows, there's more than enough good ones to get me through 2007, possibly even further. I'm serious, this might happen. At the very least I'll probably end up dedicating at least one Friday per month to BQ. It's due time that Sweden's great indierock band gets the respect and attention they deserve beyond their country's borders. I've chosen today's song not only for it's punked-out/fuck-you attitude, but also because the female guest vocals come courtesy of Karin Dreijer Andersson from current band du jour The Knife. The album: 1998's "Personality crisis", often my favorite BQ record for its heavy load of introspective, folksier material. Not that it's apparent from this track, of course. Keep in mind that it's likely I'll declare every BQ album to be my favorite as time goes by, but that just goes to show how good they are.
The Bear Quartet - Volksblues
I figure that since I've already dug myself into a bit of a hole with yesterday's Bamse post, I might as well continue on with another song that'll have most every Swede who reads this thing rolling their eyes. I'm telling this to you as a straight-up fact: Basshunter is onto some serious next-level shit. I cannot believe something so unbelievably, undeniably nerdy has made it as a huge success. A song about a love affair with an IRC bot set to some of the most boneheaded, formulaic technopop ever? Genius! Follow it up with a song about pwning n00bs in a mmorpg? My mind is blown! How the fuck did this find pop crossover success? It's the kind of thing I thought only Something Awful goons and the like could appreciate. However, it's so damn ridiculous, I can't help but love it. The comparison might be lost on some of y'all, but I see it like this: Basshunter is kind of like the geek version of Hatebreed. The music is so predictable, yet so good. They've got their act down to a science. Now if you want to get even more next-level, check out the "DotA" video with l33tsp34k subtitles. I could watch that all day on repeat laughing stupidly to myself. Seriously: Basshunter is brilliant. I'm not kidding. And since I hate Christmas, I've got his version of "Jingle bells" for you today. Enjoy! Or don't! I don't care!
Basshunter - Jingle bells
Why the hell hasn't anyone told me about Bamse before? C'mon guys, we have so much in common! Not only am I also the world's strongest, most kindest bear, but I too have four children: three boys and one girl. Okay, so they're all dogs and my boys aren't triplets from the same litter, but my youngest little baby girl is blue-eyed and retarded, just like Brumma (she was recently diagnosed with severe hydrocephalus, a condition she can live with, but one that will definitely shorten her lifespan). One and the same, see? I recently came across "Bamses dunder-hits" and was blown away. I know, the songs are all just Bamse-fied versions of earlier pop hits, but screw it! I actually like "Kapten Busters sång" a whole lot more than the original "Wild dances". Yeah, that "ooga-chakka" refrain is a wee bit Hasselhoff, but doesn't that just make it better? Seriously. I don't care what anyone says, I love it. If you don't agree, at least be happy I didn't post the "Hej Monika" track "Hej, hopp, Minihopp!". I'll save that one for another day.
Bamse - Kapten Busters sång
I wasn't the only one impressed with the Samuraj Cities demo (see my original post here). Imperial Recordings (José González, Eskju Divine) wasted no time and quickly swept them up for their roster. The music is still quirky and lofi and imbued with that fantastic, dark sense of melody that made me appreciate the band in the first place. "Saturday night is never fair to everyone" doesn't quite reach the same level of despair as say, Broder Daniel, but it comes close. The vocals are more weary than anguished - just like as with yesterday's song from The Alpine, the song's protagonist is sick and tired of the same old shit. The approach is completely different, but the sentiment is the same.
Samuraj Cities - Saturday night is never fair to everyone
Had I not been so rudely preempted by a blackout, I would've continued my week of great songs with a track from The Alpine on Friday. Just like Sir Eric's "Democracy", I first heard "Monday's look the same" as a single and totally divorced from the rest of the album. Not that it really matters much though, it's an obvious standout track: a simple, universally accepted lyrical sentiment anchored by a call-and-response vocals, an insistent piano line, pounding drums and hand-claps. This is pop music big enough to fill an arena. I would not be the least bit surprised to see The Alpine swept up for international success in 2007. I know of at least three people who I played them for who now consider them as one of their 2006 favorites. The only reason it didn't make my own list is because I mistakenly overplayed the damn thing and burnt myself out. Take my advice: The Alpine may prove addictive, but keep your doses small. The high will last longer that way.
The Alpine - Mondays look the same
The Fine Arts Showcase narrowly missed out on being included in my top year-end top 10 (to be published tomorrow), but they did end up on two staff lists and the attention is well-deserved. "Radiola" is a fine album, full of heartfelt, honest lyrics and beautiful melodies. I suppose the first single "Chemical girl" is as good a place to start as any - there's quite a few excellent tracks worth spotlighting, but I'll trust the wisdom of the artist and label to put their best foot forward. As I've said before, it's rare to hear this sort of frank drug talk from a Swedish artist, outside of the usual sad rock'n'roll clichés. That fact alone separates TFAS from many of the also-rans, but it wouldn't make a lick of difference if the music wasn't good enough to support it. It is.
The Fine Arts Showcase - Chemical girl
Sir Eric Beyond's "Democracy" was first released as a single in 2005, but since it was also an album track in 2006, it qualifies for my best-of-the-year list. I guess you could call this "protest-rock", a genre woefully lacking today despite the current world situation, but really - it's so, so much more. If you haven't heard it yet, it's probably best that I let you stumble in unaware because Sir Eric defies easy explanation and the element of surprise works in his favor. Can you believe that this was actually nominated for a P3 award?
Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy
It's a big day here at IAT - the closer we get to the end of the year, the more special content I have for you. Not only do we have another new batch of reviews and a brand new top 10 from Viktor Sjöberg, we also have a brand new netrelease, my own slightly off-kilter way of saying "Season's greetings!" Scroll down a bit to download it from the column on the right or go here to learn more.
Now, back to the usual business of the day - today's mp3. Like I did in mid-September earlier this year, it's time once again to revisit some of the year's best songs and today I've got one for you from Peter Bjorn and John. Yes, "Young folks" is great and so is the more recent single "Let's call it off" but, as Jason attests to in his live review, it's on the ballads where the band truly shines. "Objects of my affection" is total heartwrenching way to open the album (there's a short intro track before it, but it's not a 'song' per se). The mix of nostalgia and bittersweet self-reflection in the lyrics couldn't be said any better: "I laugh more often now / I cry more often now / I am more me". If that doesn't affect you, I'm not sure what will. And even though I have said many times that I prefer last year's "Falling out" to "Writer's block", try not to read too much into it. "Writer's block" is great, but "Falling out" is a masterpiece. See the difference? Also, rumor has it that PB&J will finally make it over to the States around March (for SXSW no doubt), so hopefully we'll see some confirmed dates soon.
Look for more of my favorite songs from 2006 as the week progresses.
Peter Bjorn and John - Objects of my affection
As I'm sure a lot of you know by now, Moneybrother just released a new album called "Pengabrorsan" featuring Swedish versions of all sorts of various cover tunes. I was mighty tempted to post the Operation Ivy cover of "Freeze up" (here titled "Det blir ingen dans") since the band is so near and dear to my heart, especially having grown up around the East Bay punk scene. They were one of the very first punk bands I ever heard and, while I never got to see them myself (I was too young at time for my parents to let me venture off to Gilman St., though I did manage to sneak in one Green Day show at age 13), I regularly saw all the ex-members around town and their bands (Rancid, Schlong, Common Rider, etc.). However, and this is what it all comes down to, the track just isn't that hot and even a guest appearance from Howlin' Pelle does little to redeem it. On the other hand, Moneybrother wisely chose to cover Wire, my second-favorite band of all time just behind the almighty Black Sabbath (yes, two English bands but that's a discussion for another time). Moneybrother's take on "Mannequin" (here billed as "Jag skriver inte på nåt") doesn't stray far from the original besides the translated lyrics, but I'm okay with it since it's such a great selection. You won't need to know Swedish to join in with the la-la refrain at the end.
(note: I've seen some incongruous tracklistings for "Pengabrorsan", so if I got the titles wrong, I apologize)
Moneybrother - Jag skriver inte på nåt
We've got a different kind of flashback post this Friday. Instead of the usual oldie track from a favorite artist, Closer has afforded me the opportunity to post an exclusive mp3 of "Occam's razor", a brand new recording of an old song. The band, as you'll read in their top 10 posted today, is currently preparing to record a new EP, but in the meantime they figured they'd commit this song to tape kind of as a testament to where they've been. It's not too different from the material on the "Tokpela EP" - it's still as dark and heavy as always, layered with lush guitars and clean, melodic vocals. As I've said before, intelligent rock music is way too rare nowadays and there's scant few other bands out there making music like this and even fewer doing it as well. If you're a fan of bands like Dredg (whose new live album is pretty great btw), A Perfect Cirlce or maybe fellow Swedes Enter the Hunt, Closer is another band you need to check out. The aforementioned "Tokpela EP" is another one of my top picks for 2006 and I can only assume that whatever they do next will be even more amazing.
Closer - Occam's razor
Denmark's As We Fight is the kind of band I would have been really excited about ten years ago. Their blend of melodic Swedish death-metal and modern metalcore sounded fresh when Darkest Hour first did it, not so much today. The double-vocal attack is an okay variation, but it's not enough to distinguish them from the pack. The songs are decidedly average with only a few exceptional memorable riffs popping up here and there. Listen to the track I've posted today - the breakdown riff in the middle is killer, but they kill the momentum by relying on hanging chords to make the transition. The two parts might as well be separate songs. And let's face it - this sound is a dead horse anyway. Unless you're going to push the genre into new territory, why bother?
As We Fight - Dead end streets