Tag: Mp3s
I absolutely love The Tiny's first album "Closer". Vocalist Ellekari's childlike voice and the group's intimate chamber-pop arrangements aren't just befitting to their name, they are beautiful and touching. Seeing them perform at Umeå Open was even better as their copious charms spilled freely from the stage into the audience. It's no wonder then that I was tremendously excited to hear their follow-up record "Starring; someone like you", but I'm sorry to say that my excitement faded quickly once I actually heard it. It's not that the record is bad (it's not), but this new recording has destroyed so much of what made The Tiny special. Layers of unnecessary instrumentation. Extraneous sound effects. Over-baked. What happened to The Tiny that I used to love? I used to feel a close kinship with you, but now you're pushing me away. The band I once knew is still there - I know because I can still hear it on songs like the one I've posted today, but our relationship has changed. Maybe we just need some time apart, but I tell you what: I'll be here waiting for you when you decide to come back.
The Tiny - Kind of like you
We close out our demo week, not with yet another new track from an undiscovered band, but instead with a repost of a track from Circle Six. Two reasons: 1) I am a lazy, lazy man and 2) I've been listening to these guy's four-song demo waaaay more than most of the new CDs I've received in the last six months. As I said the first time I posted this, Circle Six plays slow, crushing doom. We're talking glacier slow and face-melting heavy. I know there's a bazillion other bands doing the same kind of stuff right now, but I kid you not - this is some of the very best I've heard. Few can reach this level of intensity. It's the perfect soundtrack for Good Friday, doncha think?
Circle Six - Broken
Our week of non-stop demo music continues today with yet another band with an unfortunate name, the Instrumen. Everyone should know by now that I'm a sucker for angular hardcore/rock in the fine tradition of bands such as Jesus Lizard and Shellac and these dudes deliver the goods. As is stands right now, the vocals are kinda on the weak side and lacking in personality, but the riffs are solid, twisted and sharp as knives. Once they find their David Yow (whether it's within themselves or in an as-yet-unfound new member), they'll be on fire. I also wouldn't mind hearing a little more melody in there sometimes - they would benefit from the variety. The shimmering riff at the end of "Alcohol" is a shining example of what I'd like to hear more of. But since it's almost Easter, I've decided to post the song "Oh like Jesus" instead. It's seasonably appropriate, right?
Instrumen - Oh like Jesus
Despite the terrible name, You Is Stupid is a good band. The trio features current and ex-members of acts such as Hardy Nilsson, Autorock, Reverend Big O and Fraction of My Former Self, so they aren't exactly fresh faces on the scene, but I think that's okay. Their take on the lighter side of 80s goth music is refreshing in a world of bleak Joy Division clones. It's still definitely heavy on the minor chords, but try thinking more along the lines of Echo and the Bunnymen or The Cure to get a good idea of what these guys are after. I especially love the way that the minimalist guitar licks on this particular track counterbalance the vocals. They make sure that neither element overwhelms the other until they rise up together in the triumphant final chorus. Extremely well done.
You Is Stupid - I am history
In my mind, the sound of classic Swedish indiepop is forever associated with bands such as Broder Daniel and Bad Cash Quartet. Revved-up garage rock riffs, lots of reverb and baleful, weary vocals. It's echoes can be heard in acts as disparate as Niccokick and The Embassy, but regardless - the roots still show. Citylights, today's featured demo act, epitomizes that original classic sound perfectly. The band's actually been around for awhile now (since '98/99 they say) and they also enlisted the help of Pelle Carlberg to produce their latest recording from which today's new mp3 is taken. The experience shows - this is sublime pop, done just as well as any of the so-called big names. Download more songs from the band's website: https://www.mysecretscience.com/citylights
Citylights - Moby Dick
We continue our glut of great new music with another full week of daily tunes, 'cept this time it's all demo/self-released material. My first choice was easy - all of Iisole's previous material has been strong, but their latest demo is a stunner. The band has started to incorporate more post-rock tendencies into their noisy, guitar-heavy sound and the result is something like a cross between KVLR and Logh, two of my most favorite bands. How could I not love it? Hopefully you will too.
Iisole - The words
Instead of posting an older mp3 today like I normally do on Fridays, I'm going to take this opportunity to hype up Monday's Tack! Tack! Tack! show with Antennas and La Tour by posting the latest Antennas single "Adapt!". Check it out and, if you're in London on Monday night, be sure to check out the show too. It should be a good time. Buy presale tickets here.
Antennas - Adapt!
We continue our week of daily new music with a song from Vijaya off of her self-titled debut full-length album. Like most everything on the Exergy label, the sound of the melancholy singer/songwriter is greatly enhanced by the talented Mattias Olsson. Not only is he a gifted producer with a great ear for talent, but his instrumental abilities also add quite a bit to his records. And with that, let me turn it over to Jason Christie to speak more specifically about this particular song:
In my book, music equals art when it combines quality with sentiment and attaches balance. Then a strong message is always good. So like yesteryear anti-star who sang war protests, you have a very timely political impetus to Vijaya's "Your gun will never set you free" - a metallic march and bitmap combined with lazy deadpan tracks in the Chrissie Hynde school. Yet, when did Hynde ever sprinkle C86 in there? This is good gear. Stick it in your gun and smoke it.
Vijaya - Your gun will never set you free
It was really difficult to pick a song from Galento to post. Their new album "From the sea" is even more obtuse than their previous work "Golfstarblue". I suppose you could call them post-rock as they are definitely in the business of creating epic soundscapes, but there's way more artistry here than usually demonstrated in that genre and they lack the usual quiet/loud dynamics. No, this truly qualifies as "experimental music". They take organic musical sounds, chop them up and put them back together and then throw in elements of electronics and found-sound. At times I'm reminded of Negativland, other times it's Alog or maybe Majessic Dreams. It's mysterious and evocative, like the soundtrack to an abstract movie. The problem, as said above, is that it's extremely difficult to pick out one section of the record to represent the whole. No, scratch that: it's impossible. Hopefully this one piece stirs up your interest enough to check out the rest. It's worth it.
Galento - Hela bilen
My first impression upon hearing today's new song from The Defectors was that the chorus "Bring on the tentacles!" Obviously that's not the case once you know the song title, but I didn't bother reading the sleeve before I put the CD in my car stereo. So while my head was spinning with the images of a HP Lovecraft horrorshow featuring Cthulu and the Deep Ones, The Defectors were really just singing about graveyards, the undead and other b-movie plots, following in the footsteps of bands like Deadbolt and the Misfits. It's a shame that first impression was so off because there's a wealth of literary inspiration there just ripe for the picking, but I can settle for "Dancing ghouls".
The Defectors - Dancing ghouls
As I said in last week's newsletter (sign up on the right!), this week is all about new music. I've gotten so much good stuff recently that there's no way for me to keep up if I stick to my usual 3x week posting schedule. I like rules and tradition, but sometimes you gotta break free, y'know? Lucky for you.
Today's mp3 comes from Namur, the musical alias of David Åhlén. I had never really paid much attention to his music before, but when he posted the song "Marching" from his new album "Songs from the Valley of Baca" I was blown away. The music takes the atmospheric shoegazer pop of Appleseed Cast's "Low level owl" and expands on it with a broader sonic palette. Whereas "Marching" has a driving beat and hypnotic looping riffs, this particular song I've posted is all about shimmering guitars and creating a mood. The album flows gently from one piece to the next, lulling you in and caressing your eardrums. It's dreamlike, but never boring (or sleep-inducing). Look for the record to be rereleased in Sweden later this month with the help of the Dotshop.se distro.
Namur - Vesper
The final mp3 from our week of Scandinavian folk comes from Hedningarna, the group responsible for getting me seriously interested in the genre. I can still remember the first time I heard them - a friend of mine who worked at a record store had picked up a copy of "Trä" on a whim and we were both blown away by how amazing and unique it sounded. The instruments are traditional, but they're amplified and distorted and far away from the stodgy, pristine production usually found on world music recordings. I was already fairly heavily interested in Scandinavian music at the time (this was around '97, if I remember right. I was probably just getting over my At the Gates infatuation.), but hearing Hedningarna took it to the next level. This live track that I've posted for you today is a great example of what the group is capable of. Wimme starts off the piece with a joik over a droning bass note. The piece builds and band gets louder and louder until the hurdy gurdy comes in takes things to a huge, buzzing climax. It's way more intense than what most post-rock bands are capable of.
Hedningarna - Live from P3
We continue our exploration of traditional Scandinavian folk this week with a track from the aptly-named Hurdy-Gurdy. Artist monikers don't get much more self-explanatory than that! The concept is straightforward enough: two men (Stefan Brisland-Ferner of Garmarna and Hållbus Totte Mattson of Hedningarna) and their instruments. Except that it's not really that simple - the men don't just play their instruments - they also process and chop the recordings on their computers so that every single nuance of sound you hear on the album originated from a hurdy gurdy. The so-called "medieval synthesizer" is an unexplored landscape of noise, especially when it comes to modern recording technique. It's not at all like electric guitar where there's an established and accepted standard for mic placement, tone range and so forth. Most engineers, when faced with a contraption like a hurdy gurdy, would have absolutely no idea what to do. Stefan and Hållbus use that to their advantage and are free to play around and create something completely new from the old device. It's a fascinating instrument and I highly recommend that, if the opportunity presents itself, you see it performed live. I caught Garmarna on tour a few years back and Stefan stole the show. Never would I have imagined that a hurdy gurdy player could rock out with such reckless abandon.
Hurdy-Gurdy - Venjan
We're going to have ourselves a theme with this week's mp3 posts and that theme is folk music. I know some of you are probably rolling your eyes at the thought, but I think that learning to appreciate Nordic folk traditions is an important part of understanding what makes Scandinavian music unique. It's amazing how much of it is carried through to other genres too, both in the lyrics and the melodies.
Today's song comes to us from Värttinä, Finland's most well-known folk group. The band has existed in some form or another since 1983 and changed members and labels many times since, but has always retained the same musical vision. Finnish folk is often based on the poems and songs of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic. The music can be similar to a lot of other Eastern European folk, but it's the amazing vocal harmonies that make them special and that's what I'm going to spotlight today with the a capella piece "Eerama". The song is from the group's latest album "Miero", their first for Peter Gabriel's renown Real World label. Some of you might recognize that the sound isn't too far off from Bulgarian vocal music and you'd be right, but it's the incredibly dark and twisted lyrics that separate the Finns from the rest. Just check out the words for "Synti/The sin" in which the narrator wishes her enemies to be cursed with lizard-foetuses. See what I mean? Folk music can be cool.
Värttinä - Eerama
This week's Friday flashback mp3 post comes from Barra Head, a band who I had never really heard much of before this week until I got their 2004 album "We are your numbers" in-stock on both CD and LP. A risky proposition perhaps, but when a label has other amazing bands like Lack and Menfolk, you learn to trust their ears. Barra Head takes obvious cues from Fugazi and other DC hardcore acts (or HarDCore, as it were), but ups the ante with huge syncopated riffs. Whereas Fugazi's rhythm section often dabbles in dub and reggae-inspired beats, Barra Head's bassist often takes a stronger melodic lead when he's not slamming down chords and locked in precise time with the drums. I've said it before, but I don't think it's often enough: this is some of my favorite kind of music. The fact that there aren't more bands doing this sort of stuff is baffling.
Barra Head - Overseas