PopMatters reviews Junip
PopMatters reviews Junip's debut full-length "Fields": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/130614-junip-fields/
Tag: Reviews
The Silent Ballet reviews Kemialliset Ystävät
The Silent Ballet reviews the new Kemialliset Ystävät album "Ullakkopalo": https://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/3622/Default.aspx
Pitchfork reviews Röyksopp, Sistol
Pitchfork reviews Röyksopp's new instrumental album "Senior": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14624-senior/
Also covered today, Finnish techno artist/Luomo alter-ego Sistol: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14633-on-the-bright-side/
Pitchfork reviews Robyn
Pitchfork reviews Robyn's latest: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14625-body-talk-pt-2/
TLOBF reviews Sad Day for Puppets
The Line of Best Fit reviews the new Sad Day for Puppets album "Pale silver and shiny gold": https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/09/sad-day-for-puppets-pale-silver-and-shiny-gold/
PopMatters reviews Robyn
PopMatters reviews Robyn's "Body talk pt. 2": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/130078-robyn-body-talk-pt.-2/
Masshysteri
s/t
Ny Våg/Feral Ward
I didn't really expect an album consisting of melodic political punk anthems sung in Swedish to be my favourite album of the year, especially not the second album from a band whose debut I wasn't really that into, but Sweden's Masshysteri's "Masshysteri" is the album I've kept on returning to continually in the last 4-5 months. Despite the album only being 10 songs and about 28 minutes long, repeated listenings don't seem to do it any harm, only the opposite -- the songs now feel like an extension of my spine. Masshysteri are not doing anything new music- or lyric-wise, and there are a some similar Swedish bands (e.g. Pascal), but the frenetic energy and the heavenly melodies on this album are just mind-blowing. I'd rank this album alongside any of Swedish punk pioneers Ebba Grön, which is mighty high praise. It's just a great shame that more people haven't heard it!
- Stefan Nilsson
Buddyhead goes to see Alarma Man
Slightly odd and unexpected, but Buddyhead of all places has an overwhelmingly posi write-up on an Alarma Man live show: https://www.buddyhead.com/show-review-alarma-man-get-some-corpse-paint-play-some-mathrock-and-start-a-revolution/
Aktiv Dödshjälp
Men allting har ett slut
Halvfabrikat
This is the second in what is touted to be a trilogy of albums from Swede Tomas Nilsson and it marks a decidedly more metal outlook than the übercrusty "4:48" that he unleashed back in 2007. Back then it was a standard crust/grind ethic that Aktiv Dödshjälp was adhering to, and one that didn't stray one iota from the tried and tested formula utilized by so many before them. There was definitely a heap of potential in there, though, despite the fact that the debut full-length was really nothing more than a poor man's Skitsystem. Fast forward to 2010 and Aktiv Dödshjälp has definitely progressed, injecting a heftier dose of metal into the mix while retaining that crust mindset that has been the musical driving force of the project since day one. There's a bit of a problem, though. Put simply, it doesn't really work: at best the riffs are generic creations that offer little more than a familiar nod toward a multitude of bands playing the same crusty, punky hardcore; at worst they're clichéd, second-rate compositions that pale in comparison to the genre legends that have gone before. Special mention must be made of the vocals, specifically for the fact that they're way too high in the mix and become totally unbearable very quickly. If this album is to be commended, it's only for the fact that the band have tried to do something different with their sound, probably in order to keep things fresh and exciting. The fact that they have put out something quite the opposite is unfortunate.
- John Norby
All About Jazz reviews Phonophani
All About Jazz reviews the new Phonophani album "Kreken": https://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=37368
The Silent Ballet reviews For a Minor Reflection
The Silent Ballet reviews For a Minor Reflection's new record "Höldum í átt að óreiðu": https://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/3601/Default.aspx
PopMatters reviews Nils Petter Molvær
PopMatters reviews the new Nils Petter Molvær album "Hamada": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/129613-nils-petter-molvaer-hamada/
Interment
Into the crypts of blasphemy
Pulverised Records
Ah, the good old days of Swedish death metal. They’ve never really gone away, with the early recordings of likes of Entombed, Dismember, Carnage and Grave still cited as the best, most influential death metal ever to disgust the planet. One band that was around back then -- having formed at the same time as all the aforementioned legends -- was fellow countrymen Interment. Having disbanded after the release of a few demos back in the day, they tested the water back in 2007 with a split with US death crew Funebrarum before going on to record this, their first ever full-length album. I could go on and on describing the sound and the songwriting in great detail but, to keep it short and to the point -- and to let you know exactly what this album sounds like -- one sentence will do the trick: it's the oldschool Stockholm sound and style, done with great authenticity and the aspiration to be the "Left hand path" of the 21st Century. Obviously, nothing can ever top "LHP" but, for those looking for something new in this particular style "Into the crypts of blasphemy" isn't too far away.
- John Norby
The Bear Quartet/The Skull Defekts
Millions 7"
Deleted Art/Adrian Recordings
The one track missing from the vinyl release of "89" gets a platter all its own, paired with a cover of the same by Göteborg noiseniks The Skull Defekts and released on the imprint of Malmö-based . Though The Bear Quartet has toned down the antagonistic experimentalism that peaked with 2006's "Eternity now", the lyrical sentiment remains pure contempt, as is most often the case with latter-day BQ tracks featuring words penned by Mr. Mattias Alkberg. Needless to say, I love it, especially when they pair their anger with a refined, stripped-down postpunk approach as is on display here. As for the flip, The Skull Defekts don't remake the track as much as you might expect, though they do amplify the noise and aggression quotient, taking the sublime and turning it darkly sinister. Less subtle, to be sure, but no less effective. Not sure about the pressing numbers, but the glued jacket and heavy black dustsleeve make it a package worth possessing.
- Avi Roig
Dusted reviews Sistol/Vladislav Delay
Dusted reviews the new album from Sistol, the straight-up techno alias of Vladislav Delay: https://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5924