Tag: Mp3s
I don't get a lot of demos sent to me, but what I do get is often surprisingly good. And let me tell you: it's much nicer to be surprised and impressed by a nondescript CDr than it is to be let down by a mediocre, but well-packaged "pro" CD. Red Moon is a duo of two sisters from Göteborg with an incredibly low profile as they've never played live before and have no proper webpage. The music they create is dreamy, ethereal, droning shoegazer pop - not too unlike Namur's most recent album (which I also fell in love with). Of course there's also plenty to link them to genre founders such as the Cocteau Twins and so forth, but I think their Swedish sense of melancholy gives them an extra edge. I've posted the first track from their four-song demo, but I strongly recommend that you head over to myspace to listen to the rest. Very, very impressive!
Red Moon - Nothing there
I suppose I should probably give the metal postings a rest and hook y'all up with some good-time summer fun music. I loved Tigerbombs' debut album "Loves you" was an unexpected surprise when it showed up in my mailbox back in 2004, so I was very excited to hear their follow-up record "Crazy kids never learn" when it was released earlier this year. It actually first came out in their native Finland way back in February (followed by Japan and GAS in May), but I think it's most fitting that I didn't receive a copy until now. Their sunny, organ-driven garagepop is perfect for this time of year. If you were let down by the last Caesars album like I was, this will hit the spot. Someone needs to fill that niche and Tigerbombs are a perfect fit.
Extra credit: check out the band's recently updated tour diary from their recent trip to Germany: https://tigerbombs.com/diary/2006%20germany%20tour%201.htm
Tigerbombs - All time wasted
Download today's mp3 and listen to that chunky guitar tone. It doesn't get much meatier than that! And the swagger of that riff perfectly compliments the guitar-tone. When Ralf Gyllenhammar comes in with his wailing vocals and the guitar parts split into harmony, you may just be tempted to throw up the devil horns. Do it! Despite the silly name, Mustasch is not some semi-ironic, Johnny-come-lately metal band. As exemplified by the recent LOTFP manifesto on so-called 'False Metal', there's a mighty thin line between what metalheads consider to be true and the poseurs who pollute the scene. It probably all seems ridiculous to the outsider, but any long-time metal fan will assure you that it really truly is an important issue. Mustasch's 2002 debut full-length "Above all" is a modern classic of true Heavy Metal (with capital letters). It's got all the best elements from bands such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and old-school Metallica, but with the extra heaviness made possible by today's recording technology. Many bands try, few succeed.
Mustasch - I hunt alone
I have yet to see "Om gud vill" ("God willing"), the big-screen acting debut of The Cardigans' Nina Persson, but I have been fortunate enough to have heard the soundtrack. A lot of people seemed quite excited to hear her take on "Dead leaves and dirty ground" by the White Stripes, but if you ask me, the highlight is Nina singing the Finnish tango classic "Itämaista rakkautta" ("Oriental love"). It's pretty amazing to hear how much Nina has progressed over the years - those first few Cardigans records are near and dear to my heart, but they are so far removed from what the band is capable of nowadays. Singing a White Stripes cover is slumming, plain and simple.
Nathan Larson and Nina Persson - Itämaista rakkautta
The fireworks started at 8am yesterday and were still going strong at 11:30pm when I went to bed. My neighborhood's firepower was intense! I'm all for blowing stuff up every now n' then, but this was ridiculous. My dogs were definitely not pleased. Since my headache has yet to subside, I'm going with something a little mellow for today's mp3 post. Attrap is a group from Denmark that definitely fits into the post-Radiohead/epic melancholy musical landscape. Ethereal vocals, spacey guitar and a heavy atmosphere. Sure it's been done to death, but it's rare that it's done so well. What makes Attrap unique though, is that they have no drums. The closest they get to percussion is glockenspiel. That gives the music a much more delicate feeling, not to mention plenty of space to breathe. I'm not sure it would hold my attention for a full album as such, but the debut EP "House of dreams" is exquisite.
An aside: my wife just loves to ask me what I'm listening to when this is on:
"What are you listening to?"
"Attrap."
"What is it?"
(sigh) "It's Attrap."
(giggle)
Attrap - Just a word away
When you hear the term "heavy metal", chances are high that you don't immediately think of large brass instruments. Perhaps after listening to today's mp3 from Satyricon's new album "Now, diabolical", your perception will be forever changed. I know it sounds weird on paper, but when the tubas and trombones enter a couple of minutes into the piece, it makes sense. The dark and bassy bell-tones are a complimentary counterpoint to b>Satyricon's perfect cold recording sound. The guitars are brittle and harsh, but layered so thickly that they come together in a thick wall of ice. Satyricon's music isn't all blazing blast-beats anymore - they've added far more rock'n'roll swagger and later-era Black Flag-style mid-paced riffing - but the impression it leaves is still pretty damn grim. I wasn't too stoked about the band's last album and I'm not all into the single "K.I.N.G", but I find "Now, diabolical" to be quite impressive overall. They are not content to repeat themselves, so they're trying new things and I commend that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but at least they aren't resting on their laurels.
Satyricon - To the mountains
It's Friday and I'm feeling sluggish, so that means it's time for yet another guestpost. Here's one from frequent contributor Matt Giordano:
"Only lover's left alive" hooked me into The (International) Noise Conspiracy's first (and I still think best) album. A perfect slice of pop, the track (and also the album) have the (I)NC at an upbeat 60s British soul/mod/punk sound. Not just a highlight of "Survival sickness," this was also a top track of 2001. Here's to hoping the Conspiracy returns to this sound aesthetic on their next album.
The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Only lovers left alive
Enough already! After one week of hot sunny weather, I'm through. Good thing I've got a proper soundtrack to take my mind off the summer doldroms. Raison D'être (aka Peter Andersson) has been one of the leaders of the dark ambient genre for long, long time and his newest masterwork "Metamorphyses" is absolutely brilliant. The record consists of what amounts to six movements of light-devouring darkness. This is the soundtrack to the most dismal blackness you could possibly imagine. Totally enveloping and all-encompassing. Ambient in this case does not mean background music - I like to crank this record up loud, close my eyes and let it consume me. Traditional notions of rhythm and melody aren't always necessary to hold your attention. Check out "Phase I" which I've posted today. It reminds me of the sound of the harbor at night, when you can here the the ropes pinging against the masts. Except of course, it's far more sinister than that. This is the anti-summer soundtrack.
Raison d'Être - Metamorphyses Phase I
The new self-titled Totalt Jävla Mörker album is way more metal than I expected. I know it's foolish of me, especially since the band's name literally means "Total fucking darkness". It's just that their earlier stuff tended to be more hardcore and less full-on brutality. There's still strong hints of their punk roots, but c'mon - listen to the song I've posted today and try and tell me that's not totally metal. It's all grinding blastbeats and stabbing chords. There's an extremely short breakdown thrown in for good measure, but at a total runtime of 1:06, this song does what it needs to do and ends. Short, heavy and to the point. The way it should be.
Totalt Jävla Mörker - Människan som försöksdjur
Let's continue with a bit more Finnish music, shall we? The forecast calls for another blazing day of intense heat, so it's only fitting that I post a little beach music courtesy of The Others aka 22 PP, the instrumental surf-rock alias of 22 Pistepirkko. The band's first recorded output consists of three Link Wray covers (one of which I've posted today), packaged together with 22 PP's very first EP "Ouwee!" from 1986 and it's amazing how little the two recordings differ in terms of quality. Garage-rock, surf-rock, whatever - it all befits the same sort of grungy, homegrown sound. It's not the sort of thing I'd listen to year-round, but it sounds perfect when the weather calls for it. Now if only I could actually go to the beach today instead of being stuck in the office!
The Others aka 22PP - Law of the jungle
Summer has arrived with full force here in the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday the temperature topped out around 90°F (32°C) and today it's supposed to get even hotter. Mercy! I dunno about you, but my brain ceases to function at that heat level, so I'm taking it easy today by posting a track from the latest "Reader's companion" CD. Plain Fade's album "Lies, sanctions and cruise missiles" was such an impressive monster of a debut that I knew immediately that I wanted them on my next comp. There was never any question about it and in fact the whole project was slightly delayed as I was waiting for their contribution to come in. It was never an option to forge ahead without them. So here's their track for download today, recorded last summer during the band's so-called "summer cottage sessions" from last year. If this is a taste of what to expect from their next record, I can't wait to hear it. Magyar Posse, your position as Finland's leading post-rock act has been usurped!
Plain Fade - Itä-Aure
It's Midsummer weekend so that means half of Scandinavia is probably out in the country getting sloshed right now, if they aren't already. Not me - I'm stuck in front of the computer at work as usual. At least we're promised a weekend of scorching hot summer weather up here in the Pacific Northwest. I know I'll probably be sick of it by tomorrow afternoon, but what can ya do? Anyhow, I've got a guest post today from frequent contributor Simon Tagestam on Swedish punks Ebba Grön:
Believe it or not, but just like The Ramones were ripping up New York, and The Sex Pistols were spitting on their English fans, there was a thriving Swedish punk scene around the late 70s and late 80s (admittedly a bit after the Americans, but almost at the same time as the UK). Most of these bands reacted, just like their worldwide counter parts, against the hippie community and their naïve ideas of peace, love, and understanding. The most prominent of these bands were Ebba Grön, and even though their last album came out in 1982, they're still selling lots in Sweden (a box set came out in 1998, and another compilation was released as late as last year). This is not down to clever marketing, but three angry and frustrated teenagers meeting up at a house party in a suburb of Stockholm in 1977, who decided to form a band (initially calling themselves The Haters). Ebba Grön unfortunately only released three albums (all of them classics, in my opinion). "We're only in it for the drugs No. 1" is the first song from their first album ("We're only in it for the drugs", released in 1979). Don't let the title fool you though! Even if it's in English, Ebba Grön, just like all other Swedish punk bands from this era, sang almost solely in Swedish. The title of this track is deeply ironic and the lyrics are about how it's no wonder that teenagers start taking drugs and being up to no good when their government doesn't provide anything for them to do and that when the kids take matters into their own hands and start arranging gigs, etc., they're forcibly shut down. Ebba Grön's lyric are all very political and it's hard not to pay attention to lead singer Thåström's furious delivery. Thåström did go on to became very successful after Ebba Grön's demise, first as a member of Imperiet, then as a solo performer (his last album from last year was surprisingly good, and dealt lyrically a lot with his years in Ebba Grön), but nothing he's ever done can be compared to those three Ebba Grön albums.
Ebba Grön - We're only in it for the drugs No. 1
Funky Nashville. Funky. Nashville. Two words that should never, ever go together, especially in the context of a Danish band name. There's something so intrinsically wrong about that, even moreso when said band performs some fucked-up, bastardized version of Young Country. It's bad enough when American performers embrace the style, but please don't let Europe try and sell it back to us! For those of you lucky enough to be sheltered from the sounds of the genre, let me explain it to you: it's simply top 40 pop wrapped up in the artifice of country music. That means having a singer with a pronounced Southern twang and a few 'traditional' instruments such as pedal steel and fiddle. It may look like country music at first glance, but as Waylon Jennings famously sang, "Are you sure Hank done it this way?". It the case of Funky Nashville, the music is plenty comptetant, but so astonishingly jaw-droppingly wrong that it's worth sharing with you. In fact, I'd say that it's so bad that it's good. Really! You can tell from their stern looks in the sepia-toned cover art that these dudes ain't messing around either. When they play "California mansion girl" and decide to throw in a little jaw-harp, it's from the heart man. They mean business! Listen to those "Ring of fire" horns on the song I've posted today and ask yourself why? It just ain't right, but they don't let anything stop them from pulling out all the stops. Fer crissakes, I swear it's only a small step removed from Gerardo ("Rico Suave"). I'd say download at your own risk, but fuck it - you need to hear this.
Funky Nashville - Gone away
Jackman is the solo project of Wunderkammer guitarist/frontman Pål Jackman along with brother Morten, who also plays drums with Helldorado and The Colors Turned Red. The trio is rounded out by bassist John Lilja, whose playing can be heard on albums from artists like Thomas Dybdahl and Rub a Dubs. The band has toured with fellow Norwegians Kaizers Orchestra, pairing that will seem obvious once you hear the song I've posted today. Yes, both bands play a form of Gypsyfied rock, though Kaizers tends to be far more grandiose and bombastic while Jackman seems much more suited for a dark and smokey barroom. Pål croons and strums while the band lays down a heavy shuffling beat. The little diminished chord guitar licks enhance the atmosphere, but the thing I love most about Jackman is the recording. This is the sound of three guys playing music together, nothing more. No excessive overdubs, no gratuitous production. There's not even any distortion on the guitar - any dirt you hear is just the sound of the amp being pushed hard. The upright bass thumps and clicks just like it should. The drums sound clean and natural. It's so simple, it's stupid. Why can't more bands record like this? Oh yeah, most bands just aren't that good.
Jackman - Leave you where you lie
Ever listen to Meshuggah and find yourself wishing that they were just a little bit wackier and maybe just a touch more funky? Friends, if this thought has ever crossed your mind or now seems like a good idea, then Mats/Morgan Band is for you. It's no coincidence that both Meshuggah and Mats/Morgan (keyboardist Mats Öberg and drummer Morgan Ågren) hail from Umeå - there must be something about Norrland that makes people want to push the boundries of freaky music. I don't have the patience to go into M/M's long and illustrious history, but I will tell you this: their most recent album "Thanks for flying with us" is a serious headtrip. Listen to the title track that I've posted today and you'll see what I mean.
Mats/Morgan Band - Thanks for flying with us