Tag: Reviews
9
Ahhh, the sonic wonder that is old-school Swedish death metal. Remembering the good old days when the likes of Entombed (Nihilist), Dismember, Carnage and the crew were kickstarting a musical style that would not only define a genre, but remain in fond memory for decades to follow. Another band in the fold during those early days of death was Nirvana 2002, also spewing forth the guitar tone from Helvete (you know the one) and blasting out some of the best death metal this side of the "Left hand path". Indeed, the opening track on this, "Mourning", could easily sit on the lauded debut from Entombed and hold its own. In fact, it even kicks the ass of some of the tunes on "LHP" and, since that's probably my all-time favorite death metal record, it's really saying something. The songs here have all the elements of classic Swedish death metal: from the overall, face-ripping sound, to the masterful song construction that offers fast sections, pummelling mid-paced passages, and slow, haunting, melodic runs. Obviously, with this release being a collection of early recordings there's bound to be some variation in production between songs. The quality doesn't really begin to waver though until track seven ("Physical excursion / Truth and beauty"), which is understandable, given the songs from here on comprise the band's very first demos and rehearsal tapes. It's not an issue, however, as they give true insight into the workings of a fledgling genre, essentially serving as a window to the past and offering us the chance to really hear what was going on back in those formative years. On that note, the tracks from 1990's "Disembodied spirits" are presented here in two forms -- the original mix and a fresh 2009 mix. As could probably be expected, while the new mix offers a fuller, beefed out sound, the 1990 mix allows the true power of the original songs to shine through. As a whole, this is an exceptional and very welcome release indeed. An essential album for fans of the genre.
- John Norby
6
The opening of Familjen's "Mänskligheten" was enough to give me pause. Here is one of my favorite Scandinavian electronic artists and an album I've been looking forward to for a little while now, and the first track sounds like a lazy, bedroom remix of a forgettable '90s techno track. Even with the outstanding "När planeterna stannat" following quickly after the trainwreck of an opener, a bad taste was left in my mouth as the album progressed. What has always attracted to me to Familjen is the songwriting, the indiepop playfulness embedded into the electronic framework. This is lacking from an artist like Kleerup, who is great in his own right, but approaches electronic music with more of an affinity for the mainstream. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this tact, it's just not what I've come to expect from Familjen after falling for "Det snurrar i min skalle". "Mänskligheten" -- with the exceptions of "När planeterna stannat", "Man ser det från månen", "Viggo", and "Det var jag", the standouts in my opinion -- could act as the soundtrack to a film set in Ibiza. Is "Mänskligheten" a bad album? By no means. It's just that the clever songwriting that sold me on "Det snurrar i min skalle" is mostly sitting in the passenger seat on this particular journey.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Pitchfork reviews the new Club 8 album "The people's record": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14245-the-peoples-record/
The Silent Ballet reviews the new Ólafur Arnalds album "...And they have escaped the weight of darkness": https://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/3351/Default.aspx
Pitchfork gets around to reviewing Shining's excellent "Blackjazz" album: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14215-blackjazz/
The Line of Best Fit reviews Nicolai Dunger's newest album "Play": https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/05/nicolai-dunger-play/
5
Ambient music is one of those genres that's increasingly mirroring the Swedish melodic death metal scene. Not in terms of style, of course, rather in terms of complete oversaturation and lack of variation. You know the score: there's a mountain of bands, all doing the exact same things to varying degrees of success, yet only a handful have the presence of mind and ability to rise above the masses and output something really special -- or original, for that matter. Jasper TX falls into the category of those who ply the trade well but fail to do anything really noteworthy. That said, Swede Dag Rosenqvist, is to be commended for his commitment to the world of cinematic ambience, but it must also be pointed out that there's nothing really going on that hasn't been done a gazillion times before. "Singing stones" is like an IKEA table: it does the job, but every other table in every other IKEA is exactly the same -- more or less -- and half the population has one. A Jonas Bohlin table may be a little less accessible and may take more time to construct, but the end result is far more unique and enjoyable and it stands out from the crowd. Yes, "Singing stones" is a good album and is well put together. But the fact that, with very few exceptional moments, it sounds pretty much like every other ambient/cinematic project out there means it's pretty pointless even checking it out if you already have a heap of this type of music. For a first time buyer, however, it's a good introduction. Then, when you hear all the other bands that sound the same you can say, "They just sound like Jasper TX." Swings and roundabouts, I suppose.
- John Norby
Dusted reviews the new album "The wild hunt" from The Tallest Man on Earth: https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5706
PopMatters isn't all that impressed with the new Serena-Maneesh album "S-M 2: Abyss in B minor": https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/124441-serena-maneesh-s-m-2-abyss-in-b-minor
9
The Goner is most definitely a grower! The first listen to any of Daniel Westerlund's releases always has the same result: it's always pleasurable with immediate effect; it always leaves a sort of eerie quirkiness that has you wondering what in the hell is going on in Westerlund's mind; and it always reassures you that the next few times the record gets a spin it's only going to get better. "Behold a new traveler" continues this particular aspect of The Goner's listening experience as unconventional vocals meet atmospheric, eccentric musical passages that interweave to create a truly captivating and addictive sound. The album's strongest moments are found on "Within the hour", one of the more uplifting sections of the recording, albeit in an oblique sort of way, and closing track "En route" with its drone-meets-grunge progression toward some pseudo-insanity. The production on "Behold a new traveler" is somewhat repressed, yet it fits The Goner's style perfectly. Anything brighter would definitely be to the detriment of the music and it's this choice of sonic output that really elevates the album to such high regard. Musically, he's hard to pin down. Think Rusted Root meets Wardruna meets Michael Stipe-gone-Cajun and you're pretty close to what Westerlund manages to create in his music. And the best thing about this album? The fact that even though it already sounds amazing, I know it's only going to get better! A tall order indeed, but The Goner has hit the nail firmly on the head.
- John Norby
8
The "Beat EP" is a bizarre three-track journey, even for indie pop wunderkind Robert Svensson: the title track and closer "Unpredictable" elicit memories of the '90s rave scene with their piano stabs and driving electronic undercurrents, while sandwiched in the middle is "Talk", a gorgeously layered, slower track more akin to reflective M83 than to dancehall destined remixes of Shout Out Louds (and there is definitely some common ground to be found between "Impossible" and "Unpredictable"). With the exception of "Talk" and the inspired breakdown towards the end of "Unpredictable", the "Beat EP" is not quite of the same caliber as "Young punks are on the never-never". That said, this EP is two parts dancehall exhilaration and one part hauntingly introspective ( "Talk", while perhaps misplaced on this EP, is a brilliant track), and charming the whole way through.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
9
Falling somewhere between the glacial soundscapes of Sigur Rós and cinematic musings of Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ólafur Arnalds creates small-scale, intimate creations meant for quiet contemplation. Not one to take the path of least resistance, and head straight for the obvious theme, Arnalds cleverly sculpts the nine mini-compositions of "...And they have escaped the weight of darkness" into understated gems, eschewing melodramatic excess and allowing them to slowly unravel over time. Opening with the barely there track "Þú ert sólin" and continuing with "Þú ert jörðinn", the first two songs act as a prelude to his dimly lit world, which finally explodes into fruition with "Tunglið", a piano-driven piece that builds to dizzying string and percussion-filled heights. The album's start for all practical purposes, it's well worth the wait.
While a stunningly mature modern-classical outing, it's album centerpiece "Hægt, kemur ljósið" that truly shows what Arnalds is truly capable of creating, and with any luck will act as a bridge to future work. Packed with an album's worth of emotional resonance, the track is a multi-movement gem, where Arnalds makes good on "...And they have escaped the weight of darkness"' promise, tenderly leading his listeners into a melancholy dawn.
- Laura Studarus
7
This is cretin death metal for death metal cretins, as if that wasn't obvious from the title and cover art. No surprise, it's not as if the genre hasn't always been a refuge for degenerates and losers, though in Maim's favor, it must be said that their particular brand of death is far more schlocky b-movie horror/gore-obsessed than anything else. Thankfully, there's nothing even remotely approaching the distastefulness of Cannibal Corpse's "Fucked with a knife" and beyond that, I honestly doubt they take their lyrics all that seriously so neither should you. Anyhow, it's nice to see this album finally get a proper vinyl release at long last as that is the proper format for this sort of maggot-minded metal and Niels Nielsen's appropriately filthy, but extremely well-balanced production. Anything else you need to know can probably be gleaned from their country of origin (Sweden) and their choice of cover tune (Autopsy's "Ridden with disease"). I'll sure there are legions of people out there ready to start the backlash against the current old-school death metal revival trend, but as long as bands like this keep putting out solid new releases, I'm all for it.
- Avi Roig
Nirvana 2002
Familjen
Jasper TX
The Goner
Robert Svensson
Ólafur Arnalds
Maim