The year list of 2009 is finally complete and it is clear to me that my listening has been concentrated in a few albums. Lacrosse top the album chart, followed by a big gap down to second placed The Jezabels. When I listen to Bandages for the Heart it almost feels like the time before internet.
2010 will probably become a sort of comeback for the blog. I have some ideas I want to carry out, and it will be a very interesting year here on the blog if everything goes well.
Records
1. Lacrosse - Bandages for the Heart
2. The Jezabels - The Man Is Dead EP
3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (LP)
4. Strawberry Whiplash - Picture Perfect EP
5. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
6. The Afternoon Naps - Parade
7. Joy Formidable - A Balloon Called Moaning
8. Grand Archieves - Keep in Mind Frankenstein
9. The Starlets - I Wake Up Dreaming
10. Burning Hearts - Aboa Sleeping
Also good: The Fauns - The Fauns, Headlights - Wildlife, State Broadcasters - The Ship and the Iceberg, JJ - JJ no 2, Immaculate Machine - High on Jackson Hill, God Help the Girl - God Help the Girl
Songs
1. Lacrosse - Come Back Song #1
2. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction
3. Camera Obscura - French Navy
4. The Jezabels - Disco Biscuit Love
5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Stay Alive
6. Grand Archieves - Oslo Novelist
7. The Starlets - To the Winter Park
8. The Jezabels - Be a Star
9. Burning Hearts - I Lost My Colour Vision
10. Strawberry Whiplash - Celestial
11. Ohbijou - Wildfires
12. Sally Shapiro - Miracle
13. The Besties - Man vs Wild
14. Metric - Sick Muse
15. Anna Järvinen - Äppelöga
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
The Jezabels - Disco Biscuit Love
Kylie Minogue and fellow countryman Nick Cave were deadly serious in the 1995 duet Where the Wild Roses Grow. It may well be the most beautiful moment in Australian pop music.
Ten years later, Melbourne band Architecture in Helsinki charmed concert audiences all across the Western world with shows based on the records Fingers Crossed and In Case We Die.
The huge island on the other side of the world has probably had more to offer than two admittedly very fond memories, but the Australian pop music landscape has always been a desert to me. I do not have a relationship with Australia's probably most acclaimed band The Lucksmiths, and it is telling that I only like the songs Camera-Shy and T-Shirt Weather when their recordings include eleven albums. I have never been particularly interested in Australian music, and it is perfectly logical that I did not bother to really investigate it. If I were to try to describe the Australian pop music scene, I would probably say "talented, but boring"
It is therefore so incredibly liberating to hear Sydney quartet The Jezabels invert my view of the world with disco-like piano pop which breaks my prejudices. The Jezabels make music to live to. Disco Biscuit Love appears on the band's first record The Man Is Dead EP which is absolutely brilliant all the way.
Ten years later, Melbourne band Architecture in Helsinki charmed concert audiences all across the Western world with shows based on the records Fingers Crossed and In Case We Die.
The huge island on the other side of the world has probably had more to offer than two admittedly very fond memories, but the Australian pop music landscape has always been a desert to me. I do not have a relationship with Australia's probably most acclaimed band The Lucksmiths, and it is telling that I only like the songs Camera-Shy and T-Shirt Weather when their recordings include eleven albums. I have never been particularly interested in Australian music, and it is perfectly logical that I did not bother to really investigate it. If I were to try to describe the Australian pop music scene, I would probably say "talented, but boring"
It is therefore so incredibly liberating to hear Sydney quartet The Jezabels invert my view of the world with disco-like piano pop which breaks my prejudices. The Jezabels make music to live to. Disco Biscuit Love appears on the band's first record The Man Is Dead EP which is absolutely brilliant all the way.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Review: Lacrosse - Bandages for the Heart
Lacrosse's second album Bandages for the Heart is really a record of contrasts. Introducing tracks We Are Kids and You Are Blind are upbeat hits from a world where the sun always shines, love automatically is reciprocal and any problems easily are put off until tomorrow. Beneath the surface, however, there is a worry which constantly interrupts the party by pointing to the fragility of life. The transition between life angst in My Stop's story of an abandoned young person's consideration of the final farewell and hazy happiness in Come Back Song #1 is an almost provocative and for the record representative reminder of how the pendulum of life balances between joy and sorrow.
At a first listen, Bandages for the Heart could be mistaken for music made for children. Nina Wähä and Kristian Dahl convey the lyrics by both singing everything at the same time throughout the record. Nina changes her voice to fit different emotional states and sings the way each song requires. Nina's vocals are consistently naive and childish independent of mood state as her voice gives the record its character. Kristian still sounds like he did on Lacrosse's debut album This New Year Will Be for You and Me and basically sings with the same style on every song.
The producer Jari Haapalainen has described Bandages for the Heart as "music performed by children, but written for adults who stagger in life". I do not know if this concept was Haapalainen's or the band's idea but it does not really matter. The important thing is that the warmth from the debut album still remains and that the playfully interjected strange synth sounds are wonderful. Bandages for the Heart could very well be the first record which survived Haapalainen's production and that in itself is amazing. Every rule has its exceptions.
Each of the eleven songs stay in memory and they all have their little peculiarities. Song in the Morning, My Stop and Come Back Song #1 are my favourite songs. You can not ignore that My Stop and Come Back Song #1 are the emotionally strongest tracks. My Stop is a painfully honest depiction infinitely far away from children's music. My Stop describes how a young person who undergoes a life crisis becomes declared an idiot and ignored by the therapist.
When I talked to the psychiatrist, she merely shrugged at me
said this thing you're experiencing, you're not suicidal
you're just a human being my friend
and everybody feels like you do anyway
But even though everything may not be as dramatic and life-changing in retrospect, the problems and feelings are completely real and incredibly stressful for the one with emotional pain.
But look at me, now look at me
with my hand and my feet on the reiling
with my heart all bleed out
I bet you did not believe me when I said that this was different
When I said that this was different
Something is very wrong when someone who seeks help instead gets stamped on. My Stop continues with a monologue in which the character stages suicide to look like murder in order to give the parents, who face the nightmare of surviving their own child, an outsider towards whom they can direct their grief and anger. My Stop is very thought-provoking criticism of the current individualised and competitive society which, deliberately or not, has lost both safety nets and humanity. Come Back Song #1 starts a few seconds later with its contagious life happiness which serves as a first-aid kit for fragile young people crying inside.
I feel very strongly about this album. If it had come a few years earlier it had perhaps been one of the really big records of my life. I have not been emotionally hit like this since Hello Saferide's and Katie Goes to Tokyo's debut albums in 2005 and 2006. Listening to Lacrosse is like for once to be understood by an emotional person with a warm heart and similar life values.
Lacrosse do not give any answers or universal solutions though. Bandages for the Heart is no key, only a consolation for the moment. Lacrosse just ask questions, as in the final song What's Wrong With Love. It is up to ourselves to shape our own future.
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction
The Aislers Set's brilliant album The Last Match was released on Slumberland Records in spring 2000. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart bring out the carbon paper nine years later, release their debut album on the same label and get the breakthrough The Aislers Set never had.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart entered my year list in 2007 with their self-titled EP. The five songs were very similar in sound. When I heard the opening track This Love Is Fucking Right a night out at Blekinska the following spring, I jokingly said that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have recorded the same song five times - but it is okay as the song is quite good.
I find a common theme now that I read what others write about The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's debut album. Nostalgic descriptions picture memories of bands such as The Pastels, Popsicle, My Bloody Valentine, and Lush. Except for already mentioned The Aislers Set, I also come to think about Ride.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart know their indie pop history very well, but it strikes me after a dozen listenings through the album that they completely lack a unique sound. The self-titled LP is one of 2009's best records so far thanks to amazing songs like Young Adult Friction and Stay Alive, but The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are far too gifted to throw away their talent on ambitious cover records.
Those who are introduced to indie pop music by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will perhaps remember this album as one of the special records in their lives. For the rest of us it just remains a good album. There is something sad about the chorus of praise ignoring the obvious influences and the knowledge that copies all too often become larger than the originals.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart entered my year list in 2007 with their self-titled EP. The five songs were very similar in sound. When I heard the opening track This Love Is Fucking Right a night out at Blekinska the following spring, I jokingly said that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have recorded the same song five times - but it is okay as the song is quite good.
I find a common theme now that I read what others write about The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's debut album. Nostalgic descriptions picture memories of bands such as The Pastels, Popsicle, My Bloody Valentine, and Lush. Except for already mentioned The Aislers Set, I also come to think about Ride.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart know their indie pop history very well, but it strikes me after a dozen listenings through the album that they completely lack a unique sound. The self-titled LP is one of 2009's best records so far thanks to amazing songs like Young Adult Friction and Stay Alive, but The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are far too gifted to throw away their talent on ambitious cover records.
Those who are introduced to indie pop music by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will perhaps remember this album as one of the special records in their lives. For the rest of us it just remains a good album. There is something sad about the chorus of praise ignoring the obvious influences and the knowledge that copies all too often become larger than the originals.
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Popguns - Waiting for the Winter
Six weeks gone and not a word
this means the end
Wendy Morgan's desperate, unhappy voice was followed by jangle guitars through a fantastic upbeat melody. I was once again fascinated by the cirumstance that the most bitter insights often are told with the most uplifting and catchy pop melodies.
The Popguns hit me right in the heart on the very first attempt. Waiting for the Winter was their great super hit and the perfect introduction to the band.
The other eight songs on the debut album Eugenie followed the same line. Beautiful, sad and amazing Down on Your Knees reinforced that image. Eugenie was an emotional rollercoaster built by cynical, depressive lyrics about much more than failed relationships.
Much later I would discover that The Popguns made an even better song called Still a World Away. A song which inspires, gives hope and makes me dream. I will write about it another time. Until then, I just want to state that The Popguns was the best band of the 90's together with Red Sleeping Beauty and Belle and Sebastian.
this means the end
Wendy Morgan's desperate, unhappy voice was followed by jangle guitars through a fantastic upbeat melody. I was once again fascinated by the cirumstance that the most bitter insights often are told with the most uplifting and catchy pop melodies.
The Popguns hit me right in the heart on the very first attempt. Waiting for the Winter was their great super hit and the perfect introduction to the band.
The other eight songs on the debut album Eugenie followed the same line. Beautiful, sad and amazing Down on Your Knees reinforced that image. Eugenie was an emotional rollercoaster built by cynical, depressive lyrics about much more than failed relationships.
Much later I would discover that The Popguns made an even better song called Still a World Away. A song which inspires, gives hope and makes me dream. I will write about it another time. Until then, I just want to state that The Popguns was the best band of the 90's together with Red Sleeping Beauty and Belle and Sebastian.
Friday, March 27, 2009
A year of change
Spring is upon us, birds are singing outside my window and it should be too late to write an annual review, but I really want to share my thoughts on last year.
2008 gave me a lot of time for reflection and I got to know myself better. An intense but rewarding autumn lead me through the final transition between youth and adult life. I believe my life became more stable during the year. Ironically, I was close to giving up several things thad had been the lights in my existence in recent years. I almost lost my life interest in football, stopped going to concerts and abandoned my blog in the autumn. This summer's European Championship helped me get back my passion for football. I have, predictably, followed Arsenal's 2008-09 season from the kick off of the first game. My concert interest could not be saved that easily though. I had several chances to see good bands live, but I did not go to Malmö even once for various reasons. In the end I only went to one show in the autumn, and I do not regret I missed any gig. Nowadays there are only a few minutes of happiness at concerts except for less frequent special occasions. A concert where only one really good song is played can not be compared to the special feeling a favourite album gives me when the end of each song makes me think about the next song.
The music year 2008 gave me two memorable albums. The Indelicates, the duo of Julia Clark Lowes and Simon Clayton, delivered a debut album which increasingly sounds like this decade's generation record. Julia's piano and Simon's guitar build up stories so naturally told that it is not strange a track starts as a ballad to turn into an upbeat protest song. Julia and Simon are angry. American Demo discusses the search for identity, idolization, the false solidarity in subcultures, hypocrisy, lies and betrayed ideals before all is brought to a head in We Hate the Kids which attacks the ignorance that permeates generation after generation. American Demo and its intelligently formulated social criticism is pop music with a willingness to change. It is hard to imagine that Julia once formed The Pipettes and she clearly made the right choice to move on to The Indelicates instead.
Celestial's second album Crystal Heights is my favourite record of 2008. Guest singers Ulrika Nymark and Malin Dahlberg take Andreas Hagman's beautifully composed songs to a new level. Crystal Heights begins almost epically with jangle guitars and amazing vocals by Ulrika on the introducing track Preston Park. The next three songs are nice fillers. Crystal Heights take off again when Malin takes over the microphone on the record's title track. The four final songs How Does It Feel, Lonely Boulevard, Try to Understand and Hope You Know are up there with the most beautiful pop music ever recorded, among the records This Night and the Next (Laurel Muisc), Songs About You (Language of Flowers) and Your Simple Beauty (The Arrogants). Especially Try to Understand and Lonely Boulevard.
The boundaries between the years fade away. Last year I discovered Minipop and Monsters Are Waiting, two California-based bands that both released debut albums in 2007. I have listened a lot to the records and 2008 has now become 2009. I stand once again at Mejeriet to see Hello Saferide live. To my great joy, Annika Norlin has her friend Andrea Kellerman at her side. Annika is a great storyteller, but I do not listen so attentively this time. Three years has passed since I last saw Hello Saferide and I do not appreciate concerts as much now as before. I have had the privilege to see almost all my favourite bands live and new experiences are inevitably compared with shows I already have attended. The loss of incentive to go to concert is not followed by disappointment though. I rather feel immense gratitude to have experienced several of the world's best bands both live and on record. The records stand in my collection and I carry the finest concerts in memory forever.
The days turn into years, and I think back on all the nice things. When I walk home the leaves on the trees shift in red and yellow, Homesick by Aberdeen is played in my mp3 player while the sun sets in the horizon, and I get a tear in my eye. Two very good friends of mine have a daughter and I spend a weekend at their house to be with them and get to see when she learns to walk on her own. The April sun shines, I wear short sleeves and of course get cold. Again. It is the first day of summer and the cool breeze touches my hair. I look at her. I am happy and she smiles back with her eyes.
It often strikes me that life is so beautiful. I hope that feeling will last forever.
2008 gave me a lot of time for reflection and I got to know myself better. An intense but rewarding autumn lead me through the final transition between youth and adult life. I believe my life became more stable during the year. Ironically, I was close to giving up several things thad had been the lights in my existence in recent years. I almost lost my life interest in football, stopped going to concerts and abandoned my blog in the autumn. This summer's European Championship helped me get back my passion for football. I have, predictably, followed Arsenal's 2008-09 season from the kick off of the first game. My concert interest could not be saved that easily though. I had several chances to see good bands live, but I did not go to Malmö even once for various reasons. In the end I only went to one show in the autumn, and I do not regret I missed any gig. Nowadays there are only a few minutes of happiness at concerts except for less frequent special occasions. A concert where only one really good song is played can not be compared to the special feeling a favourite album gives me when the end of each song makes me think about the next song.
The music year 2008 gave me two memorable albums. The Indelicates, the duo of Julia Clark Lowes and Simon Clayton, delivered a debut album which increasingly sounds like this decade's generation record. Julia's piano and Simon's guitar build up stories so naturally told that it is not strange a track starts as a ballad to turn into an upbeat protest song. Julia and Simon are angry. American Demo discusses the search for identity, idolization, the false solidarity in subcultures, hypocrisy, lies and betrayed ideals before all is brought to a head in We Hate the Kids which attacks the ignorance that permeates generation after generation. American Demo and its intelligently formulated social criticism is pop music with a willingness to change. It is hard to imagine that Julia once formed The Pipettes and she clearly made the right choice to move on to The Indelicates instead.
Celestial's second album Crystal Heights is my favourite record of 2008. Guest singers Ulrika Nymark and Malin Dahlberg take Andreas Hagman's beautifully composed songs to a new level. Crystal Heights begins almost epically with jangle guitars and amazing vocals by Ulrika on the introducing track Preston Park. The next three songs are nice fillers. Crystal Heights take off again when Malin takes over the microphone on the record's title track. The four final songs How Does It Feel, Lonely Boulevard, Try to Understand and Hope You Know are up there with the most beautiful pop music ever recorded, among the records This Night and the Next (Laurel Muisc), Songs About You (Language of Flowers) and Your Simple Beauty (The Arrogants). Especially Try to Understand and Lonely Boulevard.
The boundaries between the years fade away. Last year I discovered Minipop and Monsters Are Waiting, two California-based bands that both released debut albums in 2007. I have listened a lot to the records and 2008 has now become 2009. I stand once again at Mejeriet to see Hello Saferide live. To my great joy, Annika Norlin has her friend Andrea Kellerman at her side. Annika is a great storyteller, but I do not listen so attentively this time. Three years has passed since I last saw Hello Saferide and I do not appreciate concerts as much now as before. I have had the privilege to see almost all my favourite bands live and new experiences are inevitably compared with shows I already have attended. The loss of incentive to go to concert is not followed by disappointment though. I rather feel immense gratitude to have experienced several of the world's best bands both live and on record. The records stand in my collection and I carry the finest concerts in memory forever.
The days turn into years, and I think back on all the nice things. When I walk home the leaves on the trees shift in red and yellow, Homesick by Aberdeen is played in my mp3 player while the sun sets in the horizon, and I get a tear in my eye. Two very good friends of mine have a daughter and I spend a weekend at their house to be with them and get to see when she learns to walk on her own. The April sun shines, I wear short sleeves and of course get cold. Again. It is the first day of summer and the cool breeze touches my hair. I look at her. I am happy and she smiles back with her eyes.
It often strikes me that life is so beautiful. I hope that feeling will last forever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)