Tag: Mp3s
Even though Holiday For Strings aren't purely an instrumental act, the vocals they do employ are most certainly not of the pop verse/chorus variety. Dub-by, spaced-out beats and droning guitars and repetitive, understated vocal lines - no, it's definitely not pop. Imagine Silverbullit on 'ludes and you'll get a better picture. The particular track I've posted today is especially great because of the way it builds off of the drum figure. The way the cymbal hits shimmer and distort is lovely and I really dig the way the melody builds and expands from the original rhythm. The guitars slowly open up with chiming, fingerpicked chords and become more and more insistent as they get busier and busier. The only downside is that the piece drifts into chattering noise without much of a resolution, but realize that in the context of the full album, it works perfectly.
Holiday For Strings - I got two hands
I made a pledge to post more jazz, so that's what I'm gonna do. Jonas Kullhammar is a well-known and respected saxophonist and the song I've posted today is from his 2003 Swedish Grammy Award-winning album "Plays loud for the people". As this review will attest, Kullhammar manages to cover a lot of ground over the course of the record or even as in this case, over the course of a song. It segues back and forth between the carnival-esque sound of the main theme to bebop skronk and back again, as if the two styles were made for one another. I can't quite call it effortless, but it's certainly not as jarring as one would expect. It feels good, so I like it.
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Bebopalulia
"Eternity now" is The Bear Quartet's 14th album and their second in less than eight months. Last year's release "Saturday night" was billed as BQ's most difficult work yet and "Eternity now" is not much of a departure. Again, they indulge in plenty of electronic eclecticism and, as they did with 2002's "Ny våg", a lot of the material is instrumental and abstract. People longing for a return to the folk/rock sound of albums like "Moby dick" or even "Angry brigade" will be disappointed, but those of us who like to be challenged will be rewarded greatly. There's a damn good reason why these guys are considered to be Sweden's best indierock band - it's 100% true. Who else has continued to be as innovative and relevant so far into their career? And with "Eternity now", they show no sign of slowing down.
The Bear Quartet - Sailors
Of all the many, many artists that have come my way recently, Hello Saferide is definitely the surest bet for international success. She's already generated considerable buzz and for good reason: she's an amazing songwriter with a great voice and an incredibly charming personality. Just listen to "The quiz", the lead single from the "Would you let me play this EP ten times a day?" EP. The lyrics alone are just so undeniably cute, not to mention the irresistible, laidback delivery. I especially love the "scared of feet" line that references "Get sick soon" off the "Introducing..." album. Annika, I doubt you'll have any trouble finding someone to pick you up from here on out.
Purchase Hello Saferide CDs: [click here]
Hello Saferide - The quiz
A new label, a revamped lineup, but is it the same David & the Citizens? I say yes, most definitely. If anything, the jump to Bad Taste has probably strengthened the band as it allows Magnus to concentrate on just the music and not the business side of things. Band leader David Fridlund's songwriting is just as invigorating as ever, too. I've always been a fan of D&tC EPs as I feel the band is at their best on the short format, so it's no surprise that "Are you in my blood?" is a fantastic release. I was strongly considering a post about the ballad "Sometimes forever", but I've changed my mind this morning and decided that "Absent mind" would make a better selection as it's an upbeat number more in the classic power-pop vein that D&tC is known for. I love the chanting backing vocals in combination with the horns. It's the kind of thing that drills into your head and won't let go. "Sometimes forever" may be more emotionally powerful, but I need driving pop to get my day started off right.
David & The Citizens - Absent mind
Noxagt isn't quite like the other bands on the Load Records roster. Even though the label is well-known for putting out all sorts of challenging art-rock, I usually associate their aesthetic with louder/faster duos such as Friends Forever and Lightning Bolt. Those bands are fine I suppose, but I find that they tend to get fairly tedious upon repeat listens. Noxagt however traffics in a different kind of brutality - a bass-heavy pummeling that's not so preoccupied with filling space as it is with laying down beats that make your head nod. The baritone/bass/drums instrumentation naturally accentuates the low-end and the (mostly) mid-tempo pacing of the songs gives the material room to breathe. This song I've posted today is particularly slow and dirge-like. At first it doesn't really seem like it's going anywhere, but once it opens up, it sure gets painful. It a good way, of course.
Noxagt - Nintety parallels ago
Happy Friday! Got another summery mp3 post for you today courtesy of contributor Nancy Baym:
To follow up on my last music-for-dumping-your-partner-with-a-smile-on-your-face contribution from the Caesars', here's another song likening breaking up to sun bursting through the clouds. "Let the sunshine in/Let the sunshine through/A brighter tomorrow/Cuz I'm through with you," sing Malmö's late-great Starlet in their inimitable pretty ever so askew lazy yet lovely way. This song is from their 2002 album "When sun falls on my feet". Starlet are somewhere between jangle and twee, melancholy and soothing. Enjoy.
Starlet - Sunshine
I have already posted today's mp3 selection elsewhere, but it's far too good for me to leave it at that. The entire "Love to run" EP in which Firefox AK lends her song to the Kellerman clan for reinterpretation is amazing, but of all the versions, husband Rasmus (perhaps better known as Tiger Lou and billed here as Araki) delivers the kicker. The original version (available for streaming here) is kind of an upbeat electropop number and in Rasmus' hands, it turns into something much darker and more reflective. It's amazing how the entire mood is changed by switching the lead synth melody to guitar and stripping away the dance-heavy beat. Rasmus' plaintive vocals take you to an entirely different place, but I don't think it sounds sad, I think it sounds like love. The gentle way he handles and transforms his wife's composition is a thing of beauty all its own. The rest of the EP is damn good too, but this... this is special. [BUY IT]
Araki - Love to run
I mentioned Deud in passing when they first appeared on myspace, but I always worry that my little side comments go unnoticed. I knew the band was something special even after hearing just a few songs streamed online, so I immediately requested a copy of their demo "The man who was Sunday". Blessed be the miracle of the Internet, I had mp3s in my mailbox in less than 24 hours! That's modern magic right there! The music probably isn't for everyone, but I for one love their take on doomy post-hardcore. Think Breach, but way more drawn-out and atmospheric. It's not quite as dark and menacing as Khanate or Switchblade, but it's still mighty ruling and the track I've posted today is a definite highlight. The sound quality can be a bit rough (it is a demo after all), but the sounds they create overcome the technological limitations. Please note that you can download the whole damn demo at the aforementioned myspace link, but also be aware that I boosted the levels for this particular mp3 so it'll sound slightly different.
Deud - Fredag
June 6 is Swedish National Day? Boo-o-oring! No! Today is 6-6-6, the National Day of Slayer! To celebrate I'm giving y'all an mp3 of Logh doing an amazing slowcore take on Slayer's classic "War ensemble". Raise the horns and join the festivities! The track is the b-side from the band's "The bones of generations" 7", the second of a four-part vinyl single collection from "The raging sun", still as yet to be completed. The sound quality is imperfect since it's a vinyl rip, but it's still awesome.
Logh - War ensemble
I don't usually take the time to post two songs from the same album, but rules are made to be broken and Lemonator deserves the attention. I discussed the song "Would you die for me?" last Monday and today it's all about "Heart burns", my pick for the album's highlight. You'll probably be surprised when you first hear it because it starts out guns ablazin' with loud, crashing chords. There's nowhere to go but down, right? Au contraire! The piece still has plenty of room to grow, as you'll soon discover when you listen on. First comes the dense chords to build tension and then once things take a quick breather for the chorus, the first round of strings come in. The harmonies they employ in the chord progression are so incredible and so far from pop norms. The intensity grows! The second chorus leaves you hanging like it's the end, but then the drums take off again and oh my god, the band just explodes and all the hairs on my arms and neck are sticking straight up in the air and holy shit those chords are just so thick and agonizing until the resolution when everything lines up again for the final chime of the main theme. Phew! So ridiculously good.
Lemonator - Heart burns
Having recently received a large box of Fireside classics for the distro (among other Startracks back-catalogue titles), I figure it's a good time to revisit the band. The band made a huge impression on me when I first heard "Elite" back in 2000 and I immediately went and devoured their entire discography. 1995's "Do not tailgate" was impressive enough that Rick Rubin signed the band to his American Recordings label and got them on the Lollapalooza tour. Unfortunately they never quite took off and were subsequently dropped, but that doesn't mean the album isn't worth listening to. Yeah, they were biting Quicksand's poppy post-hardcore sound pretty damn hard, but you know what? I think that Fireside did it better. They've also kept it up to this day, though sadly, to diminishing returns. This particular track I've posted today is the closer from "Do not tailgate" and is a perfect end-piece for the album. Utilizing recycled lyrics from earlier songs over droning waves of guitars, the song reflects back to the music that preceded it and forms it into something new and beautiful. It stands just fine on its own, even without hearing everything that's lead up to it.
Fireside - Not in my palace
Okay, today's mp3 post is from Danish post-rock act Lis Er Stille and I'm letting Jason Christie do the talking:
WOW! WOW! WOW! Move over Logh, Jeniferever, Appliance, Thom Yorke go work for Greenpeace and the rest of the postrock proggists can veg themselves out on "The construction of amp-train" with Lis Er Stille.
They are not very pretentious, they are just plain pretentious. Four tracks, three lead up - funnily enough - to the "End credits". Yep, one large chunk of a good 36 production tracks of music on two or three interpolating subtle compostions, bright and breezy, titled then crescendoed give up an overriding monster of almost quarter of an hour in length.
"End credits" (which is the only 'real' track on this EP) is epic in its entirety and, after a few snippets of Madrugada in part one, morphs into something likening prog-rock with skittle drums and circulating song lyrics. All of which is very atmospheric, along with the fairground - think house of horrors - squeals, drills and spiral sounds. I liked this, it works well at 3am.
Lis er Stille - End credits
I used to think that The Tough Alliance was total garbage, but in spite of my overwhelming curmudgeonry, I have to grudgingly accept that they are improving. It helps now that I now recognize TTA are simply Bad Cash Quartet with synths instead of guitars. It's all just Göteborg pop after all and who am I to disparage that? Their new EP "New waves" still has a few clumsy missteps here and there (no more faux-reggae/island bits, plz), but it does way more things right than wrong. If they keep putting out stuff like this, I might even start to consider myself a fan. But please please please, don't let them do another full-length album for a long time. Shorter = smarter, better.
The Tough Alliance - Silly crimes
Popface plays sophisticated pop music. In a lot of ways they are the Norwegian version of Moonbabies - the songs are all very well composed and there's not a single misplaced note. Every strum, every noise is deliberate and labored over. Their newest album "Eleven pieces of a broken heart" is largely instrumental which I think only adds to their mystique. It also ensures that the vocal pieces jump out and are that much more exciting. This particular track I've posted today is the one that jumped highest. Hard to believe it's taken me this long to finally hear Popface seeing as this is their fourth full-length record. "Atmospheric art-pop" they call it, I just call it impressive.
Popface - In the night