Tag: Reviews
7
The band's self-titled full-length was just okay, but give me two all-star tracks with zero filler and you'll hear no complaints whatsoever. Once again, Hari and Aino play the kind of professional upbeat indiepop you should be familiar with from The Cardigans' early records, but never too sweet or cloying, nor too cute for its own good. What's left is what's most important; the strong, yet understated female vocals, the super-crisp rhythm section and the kind of guitar playing that perfectly suits each part, always with just the right amount of notes and not one iota more. The band's sole misstep is the keyboards on the flip, my pick for the single's best track and a totally unnecessary addition for an already effective arrangement. Beyond that, this is exactly the kind of pop I like to hear from a label like Cloudberry.
- Avi Roig
Dusted reviews the new Supersilent album "9": https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5375
Pitchfork reviews the new Mary Onettes album "Islands": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13657-islands/
9
While Moloken's wonderful debut release "We all face the dark alone" showcased a band with the potential to deliver high-quality, sludgy metal, it only hinted at the abundant genius held within the ranks of this Swedish quartet. Only a year later this ingenuity has been fully realized in "Our astral circle" as we find an outfit that has honed their songwriting skills to as damn near perfect as is humanly possible. Moloken have demonstrated that post-metal doesn't have to be a one-dimensional entity, and they've done it with such style that they have created a versatile body of work that defies genre convention. There's everything on offer here, from the ethereal uneasiness of "Untitled II" to the metal savagery of "My enemy" to the doomed despair of closer "11"12". There's also a certain looseness about this album, as if the band have felt their way in the studio rather than laboring over every minor detail, but that's not to say that this is a sloppy recording. Far from it, in fact. To have this music any tighter or, indeed, cleaner would render it simply good rather than great. Integral to this characteristic is a superior production, which allows the nuances of each instrument to shine through and affords "Our astral circle" a genuine, warts-and-all, quality. In the realm of Moloken diversity is king; delicate passages punctuate abrasive walls of sound and everything comes together to produce an album that is central to this band's ethos: semper heavius maximus!
- John Norby
Hearts No Static's free EP download "The monthly noise" got a nice write-up at The Silent Ballet: https://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/2866/Default.aspx
As I've said before and as the review suggests, it really is the warm-up precursor to the album "Motif" which is indeed far more fully fleshed-out than this first release. Download "The monthly noise" for free right here.
3
Of all of Cloudberry's recent Scandinavian 7" releases, this is the only one where I thought the band wasn't quite ready for primetime, or perhaps better suited to one the label's CDr releases. Good instincts, but the band's driving, tweepop jangle ends up on the wrong side of stiff except on the all-too-brief moments they decide to cut loose and get loud. See: the coda of a-side "Of my heart" and the chorus of "Sound of silence pt. 2"; everything else sounds like a band having trouble keeping it together. Hard to pinpoint exactly where they go wrong, but the mix certainly isn't working in their favor with the drums sounding like they belong on a different record. Not a keeper.
- Avi Roig
Gothtronic reviews the new album from Swedish act Hearts of Black Science and their new album "The star in the lake": https://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&reviews=6588
4
The new album from a reunited Immortal is better than you might have guessed, but that doesn't mean it's all that great either. Essentially, the band picks up right where they left off at 2002's "Sons of northern darkness" and tread water, content to cycle through the same sort of thrashy black-metal riffs they employed to positive effect on that album and not much more. Die-hards will be pleased, everyone else will shrug their shoulders. Me, I really enjoyed them when I saw them on the "Living Cartoons of Metal Tour" together with Manowar, so I'd probably go see them again should they come around, but I can't say ever need to hear this record another time.
- Avi Roig
Killing the Legacy covers the new 7" from Lighthouse Project, one of the best Finnish modern hardcore acts out there: https://killingthelegacy.blogspot.com/2009/11/lust-for-lie.html
BBC Music reviews Norwegian jazz act Tord Gustavsen Ensemble and their new record "Restored, returned" which pairs the well-regarded pianist with vocalist Kristin Asbjørnsen: https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/f4rj
7
The new Siena Root album, their fourth overall, is a serious jammer, though not necessarily of the type I usually go for. Instead of the usual retro hard-rock served up in snappy 3-6 minute packages, the band stretches their chops to create two extended "suites", each about 25-minutes long and conveniently dissected into smaller tracks on CD. The first half, "We", is the more straightforward of the two and features the band in standard space-ballad mode, transitioning into a heavy tent-revival refrain before taking their their planetary caravan "in the desert", zooming "over the mountain" and coming back home again with "as we return", as each section is conveniently subtitled. It's the kind of piece that works best as a soundtrack to a long drive, not so much for casual listening. As for Suite II, "The road to Agartha" (what?), that's where they get real, let down their guard, and fly their freak-flag high. The Beatles may have embraced a bit of Eastern mysticism and indulged in a bit of sitar in their time, but they never rocked out like this with full Indian flair, dueling flute solos, copious hand-percussion implements and other non-standard rock tropes. This is where the extended format works best, where Siena Root can be as self-indulgent as they need, get it out of their system, exorcise their demons, or chase down whatever it is they're after. Likewise, I also think it's the far superior of the compositions, though again, not necessarily for easy, everyday spinning unless side-long psych-jams are your main deal (you dirty hippie). "Different realities" is nowhere near Siena Root's best album, but they were successful with their intentions and that's worth something. It won't ever end up in my steady rotation, but I plan to enjoy it whenever the proper occasion should arise (again, see: road trips).
- Avi Roig
9
It can be said that all music is emotional, however, it is not always emoted as well as it could be. Such is not the case with this, the second Asha Ali record. Her absolutely gorgeous voice carries the overwrought, frustrated and desperate feelings that present themselves in destruction and disintegration. This album is about the dissolution of her relationship with the father of her child, and Asha Ali is telling you that story. It's an album of adjustments, of realization, a loss of naïveté. The lead single "Hurricane" lends itself to hope, "In a hurry" follows the manic nervousness that's dealt with massive emotional shock and in "The contract" Asha raises herself out of the fire and back into a new world, still full of uncertainty, but as a person, filled with newfound strength.
- Matt Giordano
6
Blood Mortized are a solid B-grade, 2nd-wave Swedish death metal act, comparable to Dismember's more mediocre moments. Never too exceptionally raw or brutal, fast or ferocious- just good ol' middle-of-the-road groovy death (fucking) metal. I was actually pretty stoked on them at first listen, but digging deeper yielded diminishing returns as too many songs either sound the same, go on too long, or both. On the other hand, they do boast one of the cleanest metal recordings I've heard in recent memory, and that's at least worth some points. It's especially apparent on the drums which are warm, clear, punchy and very natural sounding -- an oddity in this age of trigger abuse and overproduction. Shame the material isn't slightly more interesting to match.
- Avi Roig
Hari and Aino
Moloken
Signed Papercuts
Immortal
Siena Root
Asha Ali
Blood Mortized