Kalaha "Hahaha" (2014) (live)

Hahaha (live) [debut]

release date: Sep. 1, 2014

format: digital (9 x File, FLAC) (RUMPLP016)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Troels Bech Jessen (sound engineer)

label: Rump Recordings - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "Spejderrobot" - 2. "Allahabad" - 3. "Assymetriader" - 4. "K-Sounds" - 5. "Ellas Drager" - 6. "Amar" - 7. "Klap" - 8. "Amnesia" - 9. "Atacama"

Debut album by Danish electronic experimental quartet Kalaha is the live recordings stemming from Red Roof Jam, at the rooftop of DGI Byen, Copenhagen at STRØM [Festival], on Aug. 15, 2013. Kalaha is a colourful act made up by the two, primarily, jazz instrumentalists, drummer Emil De Waal and guitarist Niclas Knudsen [here nicknamed 'Ibrahim Electric') together with the two electronic musicians Rumpistol (aka Jens Berent Cristiansen) and Spejderrobot (aka Michael Elkjær). Together, they explore a combo of jazz and electronica with obvious inspiration from world music and afro beat, and on this debut, they showcase their talent for improvs based on music stemming from each of the members own back catalogue.

Giving the musicians' various starting points and the fact that these compositions are all improvs, Hahaha works surprisingly well - basically showcasing how musical talent will perservere regardless the form, and then of course: both jazz and electronica are genres that include an experimental approach per se.

Kalaha would later release the actual studio album debut Masala in 2016 and the band is definitely worth checking out with Hahaha standing as a promising start that later would be consolidated with a series of studio releases. Mystafa (Mar. 2021) appears to be their most recent album.

[ Purchase the album here ]

Bill Frisell "Guitar in the Space Age!" (2014)

Guitar in the Space Age!

release date: Oct. 6, 2014

format: digital (14 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Lee Townsend

label: Okeh Records - nationality: USA

Studio album by Bill Frisell - his 29th, 30th, 31st, or 32nd, give or take - is in the category of cover albums. It follows the strings-album (violin, viola, cello) Big Sur (Jun. 2013) and it contains fourteen instrumentals, two original Frisell compositions (tracks #6 & #13) and twelve interpretations of popular compositions stemming from the late 1950s to the mid-60s. Several of these were originally surf rock, rock & roll, folk rock, or pop / rock tunes but in Frisell's rearranged versions they have all become jazz-influenced modern standards.

The album is almost naturally critically acclaimed - that's just the way a new Frisell album is met - and it's hard not to understand why Frisell is one of the most valued instrumentalists over the most recent four decades or so. He plays his instrument with an original voice, so to speak. That said, I immediately thought of The Raybeats, who released the album Guitar Beat back in '81, an almost peculiar release at the time with its modernised surf rock instrumentals, completely out of sync with contemporary stylistic waves but at the same time: extremely timeless. And with a selection of popular tunes, Frisell almost replicates that effort. The tunes are very much intact - perhaps a bit too much to my liking, but they still uphold a freshness and universality that cannot be denied. I only wish Frisell would've improvised more on the originals - something that works nicely on his rendition of Ray Davies' "Tired of Waiting for You" - where he gives us that extra layer he often adds to other people's songs 'cause here they mostly shine in their own rights. On the one hand, it makes it perfectly uncomplicated and then it reminds us of what great tunes the originals are. I'm not always in the mood to fully appreciate this collection, but I still find that Frisell just show us, not only what an exquisite instrumentalist he is but also what a fabulous interpretor he also is. I know most of the originals and mostly just think Frisell wants to remind us about these wonders - it's his tribute to that forgotten era of his own youth.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian 4 / 5, 👍PopMatters 3 / 5 stars ]

Sun Kil Moon "Benji" (2014)

Benji
release date: Feb. 11, 2014
format: 2 cd (LTD. 2-disc Edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Caldo Verde Records - nationality: USA

6th studio album by Sun Kil Moon following nearly two years after Among the Leaves (May 2012) but only six months after the fine collaboration album Mark Kozelek & Desertshore (Aug. 2013). Despite being credited Sun Kil Moon, Benji is basically just another solo project by Kozelek, who changes from releasing new material either in his own name or via the moniker Sun Kil Moon adopted from what was initially the continuing of Red House Painters. The album is also released in a Limited Edition with a bonus disc containing five live recordings taken from five different concerts in 2013: in Aveiro, Portugal at Teatro Aveirense, in Göteborg, Sweden at Stenhammarsalen, in Copenhagen, Denmark at Jazzhouse, in London, England at SBE, and in Leamington Spa, England at The Assembly.

The music here is predominantly acoustic alt. folk, alt-country, and singer / songwriter compositions featuring Kozelek on vocal and on acoustic guitar. It's gentle music and fine stories about everyday life and often about meetings with friends, lovers or family - stories of his past and present - all delivered as if the told story is of highest importance.

The album was lauded by many critics as one of his major works, and it ended up on many lists presenting the best releases of the year.

It's definitely good - almost as usual - it may not offer much new, but it presents Kozelek at his best, when he he's left with his acoustic guitar and is given room to present any given story. Presenting the expected is not the same as being of lesser value, which this serves to document.

Recommended.

The front cover is a photograph by Mark Kozelek.

[ 👎allmusic.com 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍NME, Spin, PopMatters 4 / 5, Uncut 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Papir "IIII" (2014)

IIII

release date: Feb. 11, 2014

format: digital (4 x File, FLAC - Impetus Series 09)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]

producer: Jonas Munk [recorded by]

label: El Paraiso Records - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "IIII.I" - 2. "IIII.II" - 3. "IIII.III" - 4. "IIII.IIII"

4th studio album by Papir following one year after III seems like the continued series of instrumental space rock, prog rock, and post-rock releases on El Paraiso, again with recording engineer Jonas Munk and with artwork by Jakob Skjøtt.

Even the album title and the track titles differ little from the 2013 album giving a minimalist variation, and you could argue that also the soundscape remains intact with little progression from the two previous albums. In fact, the Papir has played more or less the same instrumental and experimental prog rock founded on 70s krautrock and progressive psychedelic rock and then to some extent: more contemporary post-rock influences. "IIII.I" appear as a strong post-rock compositions, whereas the following tracks repeat the pattern from the 2013 album by being more like jam session-oriented. The final track "IIII.IIII" does, however, again point to a more original melodic universe. The album is in every detail a close new chapter in an ongoing journey that could use some more variation. That said, I still find this band of skilled instrumentalists a rather fascinating acquaintance.

[ bandcamp ]

Mogwai "Rave Tapes" (2014)

Rave Tapes

release date: Jan. 21, 2014

format: digital (10 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]

producer: Paul Savage

label: Rock Action Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Heard About You Last Night" - 3. "Remurdered" - 5. "Repelish" - 6. "Master Card" - 10. "The Lord Is Out of Control"

8th studio album by Mogwai following only a little more than a week after the ep release of Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. (Jan. 12, 2014) and 1 year after the soundtrack album Les Revenants, and more directly, following 3 full years after their most recent studio album: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Feb. 2011). Although, almost released together with an ep, this full-length doesn't share much of the style from that. Three tracks (#3, #9, #10) share titles with tracks from the ep, but here they have been re-arranged and are not easily identifiable with the versions on the ep. This brand new album comes with ten new tracks and a total running time around 49 minutes that altogether reflects more confined and shorter compositions than what they used to throw in. Here, the tracks run from 2:35 to 6:25 minutes as the longest, but the relative narrow time span of tracks is not the most striking trait about this - instead the music has grown into more electronically-founded with what you may label as synthwave with less focus on their noise rock background centrered on guitar sound. In that respect, Rave Tapes sound more contemporary with its stronger electronic sound, although, the title doesn't give what it may suggest - but that's Mogwai, right! meaning: things don't necessarily mean what they suggest. "Rave" is diffinitely not to be taken literally. They incorporate electronics to a larger extent, but the irony is that it doesn't exactly blow off the roof of anything. I find that no specific tracks demand one's attention, which makes the album a bit of a bland experience, and in general, I wish the band would be more explicit - as they are on the fine Music Industry.. ep. Rave Tapes doesn't sound as a band wanting to demonstrate how far they have come but more like another score to a film, and the album is just not one of their most challenging works. Despite my feelings, this became Mogwai's first album to ever peak as high as number #10 on the UK albums chart list. Previously, Hardcore Will Never Die... had reached number #25 and Rock Action number #23.

Not recommended.

[ bandcamp ]

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 6 / 10 stars ]

Mogwai "Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1" (2014) (ep)

Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1., ep

release date: Jan. 12, 2014

format: digital (6 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Paul Savage

label: Rock Action Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Teenage Exorcists" - 3. "HMP Shaun William Ryder" - 4. "Re-Remurdered (Blanck Mass Remix)" - 6. "The Lord Is Out of Control (Nils Frahm Remix)"

Ep by Mogwai following one year after the soundtrack album Les Revenants (for a French TV-series) and preceeding the album Rave Tapes (Jan. 2014). According to the band's bandcamp profile and to Discogs the album was issued in download formats one week before the release of the band's eighth full-length studio album, although, you may also find it to be filed as issued in Nov./Dec. 2014 in cd, vinyl and other digital formats. Now, ep releases by Mogwai always offer something else - it's never just some tracks from recent album releases with the addition of one or two other tracks or an extended version like many other artist usually do. Mogwai always want any release to be unique in its own right, which is rare these days. Anyway, the album is also something special because it's the band's final studio release featuring original member John Cummings, who decided it was now time to go on his own in pursuit of a solo career. With a running time just above 31 minutes, this ep contains six tracks of which three were recorded during the Rave Tapes sessions but without any of them were included on the album, and the remaining three are remixes of tracks taken from the album but featuring other artists, and both the excluded "normal" Mogwai compositions and the new remixes are quite interesting, especially "Teenage Exorcists" - possibly excluded from the album for being too indie rock-oriented touching much on darkwave (with hints of Bloc Party) but mainly for falling a bit far from the tracks that were selected for the softer album release, and also the brilliantly titled "HMP Shaun Ryder" - is it "His Majesty's Prison...", "Help Me Please...", "Hit My Phone...", "Home-Made Pizza..", "Hold My Potatoes", "Hug Me Please", or something else, they refer to?!, which again is the whole point of the pun! And the song itself is great but again focuses more on complexity and uptempo beats, whereas the album is more laid-back, but the Blanck Mass (originally just titled "Remurdered" on Rave Tapes) and the Nils Frahm remixes are simply worth the lot!

And as usual, it's bound nicely together despite pointing in various directions.

This is simply a great Mogwai ep!

[ bandcamp ]

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd "White Bird in a Blizzard" (OST) (2014)

White Bird in a Blizzard (soundtrack)

release date: Sep. 23, 2014

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Robin Guthrie

label: Lakeshore Records - nationality: Scotland, UK / USA

Track highlights: 1. "Visions of Eve" - 2. "Brock's Theme" - 4. "Curious" - 5. "Forever Changed" - 11. "I'm Here, Kat, I'm Here" - 12. "White Bird"

[ full album ] [ film trailer ]

Soundtrack by Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd for the film of the same name directed by Gregg Araki, who also directed the 2005 film "Mysterious Skin" for which Guthrie and Budd also provided the musical score, which was their first actual exclusive collaboration, released as Mysterious Skin: Music From the Film. Almost two decades earlier, however, they had made their first album together: The Moon and the Melodies (1986) as a collaboration with Elizabeth Fraser and Simon Raymonde - Guthrie's other two partners from The Cocteau Twins.

White Bird in a Blizzard would turn out to be their last recordings together. December 2020 saw the release of the album Another Flower, but the tracks here, like the tracks for White Bird in a Blizzard, were already recorded in 2013. Perhaps the compositions for both albums stem from the same recording session? It consolidates unmistakably the same moods and soundscape, although the soundtrack overall contains more varied music, which is largely due to the fact that the individual tracks are not, like the 2020 album, attributed both artists - only tracks #4 and #8 are credited both, and exactly those two could easily have be included on Another Flower without changing the overall expression. The soundtrack consists of twelve compositions with a total playing time of 41 minutes. Guthrie is credited tracks #1, #2, #5, #7, #11, and #12, while Budd is exclusive composer of tracks #3, #6, #9, and #10. Quite naturally, you'll notice a distinct dream pop style to Guthrie's tracks, with Budd's compositions being far more minimalistic. However, there are no explicit signs indicating that they do not contribute to each other's compositions, but you may note how Budd's instrumentals are without string instrumentation, and in isolation these stand a bit on their own. Compared to their first film score collaboration, the album here stands stronger because it's more varied without being disjointed. Personally, I prefer Guthrie's compositions but the collaboration with Budd is certainly not without quality, even if Budd's own piano and keyboard variations are a little too new age-styled to my liking. Together, they certainly make relevant music, and I feel as this album surpasses their previous collaborations.

Recommended.

Sharon Van Etten "Are We There" (2014)

Are We There
release date: May 26, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,04]
producer: Sharon Van Etten, Stewart Lerman
label: Jagjaguwar - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Afraid of Nothing" (live) - 2. "Taking Chances" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Your Love Is Killing Me" - 4. "Our Love" - 5. "Tarifa" - 6. "I Love You But I'm Lost" (live) - 8. "Break Me" - 11. "Every Time the Sun Comes Up"

4th studio album [not counting her 4-5 non-label and self-released albums and mini-albums as CD-R handouts] by Sharon Van Etten released on the independent label Jagjaguwar.
Stylistically, Van Etten embraces the huge singer / songwriter pool of indie pop and indie folk with equal bits of alt. country and alt. rock.
The album was met by almost universal acclaim, and was Van Etten's commercial breakthrough album peaking at position #25 on the Billboard 200 and as high as #6 on the Top Alternative Albums chart list in the US, and the album was enlisted on allmusic.com's list of "Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums" alongside acclaimed artists like Lykke Li, Fear of Men, Future Islands, Little Dragon, Owen Pallett, Swans, and St. Vincent.
The album has really grown on me over the past 3-4 years, and I must confess to have re-discovered Van Etten a bit late as someone to pay attention to, and Are We There was also my first encounter with her music. At first I found her a bit colourless and anonymous, but it seems she has kicked in a door and invited me in 'cause all I hear now is truly fine musicianship. Her voice is quite original - somewhere between strong female artists like Patti Smith, Cat Power, PJ Harvey and Lana Del Rey. Her tonal singing voice contains the strong blatant explosiveness of Smith and Harvey but also the mellow-inner-felt melancholic alto of Power and Del Rey. Some have mentioned her as a female counterpart to Nick Cave. I don't consent to that comparison but understand what people imply with a "dark" lyrical universe, though I find the three former artists share more of the same characteristics. Some times I think more of the female Stuart Staples, but why the need to compare? Van Etten is great on her own terms. Just leave her time to find the door in. The album is easily her best album out and a natural contender to album of the year.
This is an extraordinary and highly recommendable gem.
[ allmusic.com, Q, NME, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

2014 Favourite releases: 1. Ukendt Kunstner Forbandede ungdom - 2. Kent Tigerdrottningen - 3. Sharon Van Etten Are We There

I Break Horses "Chiaroscuro" (2014)

Chiaroscuro

release date: Jan. 21, 2014

format: digital

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: Maria Lindén

label: Bella Union - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "You Burn" - 2. "Faith" - 3. "Ascension" - 4. "Denial" - 7. "Disclosure"

2nd studio album by Swedish duo I Break Horses following the 2011 debut album Hearts consists of 9 cuts with a total running length of just under 46 minutes.

Maria Lindén is the band's multi-instrumentalist, who has also composed the music, while the lyrics have been created in collaboration with percussionist Fredrik Balck.

Chiaroscuro is a markedly different from Hearts, which largely departed from a familiar scene crowded by bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain, and which was an album you would be tempted to label as shoegaze revival. Compared to that, this new album sounds as the music from a completely different artist. Here, the duo steps into the keyboard universe of electropop filled with keyboards, synthesizers, sequencers, drum programming, and various software programs as elementary instruments. In this way, the guitar has stepped much into the background or is completely out of a soundscape, which is far from a copy, but in terms of style nevertheless builds on music that reminds of The Knife, Crystal Castles, Cocteau Twins, and Beach House (another Bella Union band). If you enjoyed the band's grinding 90s sound, you will probably be disappointed or think that it's completely different people behind the music here, but just as the debut was Lindén and Balck, Chiaroscuro is made by the same duo, and it also proves how inspiration is a thing you collect from various places.

It's both a happy-go-lucky pop atmosphere, certified dance beats, and gloomy timbres without losing a sense of coherence. It's a fine and artistically challenging album that may not be called the best of the year, but Chiaroscuro garnered international praise and is quite an exciting and original follow-up to Hearts.

[ allmusic.com, Drowned in Sound 4 / 5, PopMatters, Uncut 3,5 / 5, Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

PowerSolo "The Real Sound" (2014)

The Real Sound
release date: May 19, 2014
format: cd (FROG 100-2)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: PowerSolo, Jesper Reginal, The Great Nalna (aka Ulrik Petersen)
label: Crunchy Frog - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Boom Babba Do Ba Dabba" - 2. "Sasquatch" - 3. "Two Headed Woman" - 6. "Jurassic Sex Party" - 9. "Salty Lick" (other remix) - 10. "Milk That Thang"

6th studio album by PowerSolo, again produced and also on additional instrumentation with the Petersen brothers, they have made an interesting but slightly conventional PowerSolo release putting this alongside, or at best close to, the 2004 album It's Raceday... and Your pussy is GUT!!! Like that, this starts out very promising and with several fine compositions but there are too many fillers thrown in to complete a full album.

Kent "Tigerdrottningen" (2014)

Tigerdrottningen
release date: Apr. 30, 2014
format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold) / cd (digipak)
[album rate 4 / 5] [4,08]
producer: Kent with Daniel Alexander & Stefan Boman
label: Sonet / Universal - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Mirage" (4 / 5) - 3. "Skogarna" (4 / 5) - 4. "La belle epoque" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Svart snö" (4 / 5) - 7. "Innan himlen faller ner" - 9. "Godhet (feat. Beatrice Eli)" (4 / 5) - 11. "Den andra sidan" (4 / 5)

11th studio album by Kent. The album comes two years after Jag är inte rädd för mörkret (2012) and the band's single release "Ingen kunde röra oss" (Dec. 2012), which wasn't included on any albums.

"La belle epoque" was released as the single to promote the album, and had it's release in March, but already after the second listen I found that other tracks are on the same high level and I'm almost certain that the album is one of their better ones, which really is an achievement. I think, it betters the 2012 release by having higher lows and for being more of its own. The style is unmistakably Kent and they haven't come that far since Röd (2009) but they still add new details to their sound, and they have found a room of dynamic beauty within their melancholic synthpop. There's a fine balance of pure pop / rock tracks and simple ballad-like compositions - all held together by a strict rhythm section of drums, bass and synths. And then there's always Joakim Berg... Once again, he comes up with fine lyrics that establish the single songs like haunting ceremonial statements. The band has used a known formula of theirs by putting energetic sing-a-long tracks scattered around the album in the right places surrounded by a few beautiful quiet ballads. This time the great ballads are "Svart snö" (a track with a dream pop sound and reminiscences of Cocteau Twins thanks to Beatrice Eli's backing vocals), "Godhet (feat. Beatrice Eli)" and "Den andra sidan".

I haven't had the album for more than a week, and still feel reluctant to rate it, but I feel and know that it's more than just good, and that I will play it a lot more. The best Nordic pop / rock band did it again, and no one comes close to challenging their position.

EDIT, May 28, 2014: I have now listened to the album enough to say it's really great and I find it a clear improvement to the band's 2012 album, which wasn't bad but in a way contained too much Kent-reproduction. This album is clearly something new despite being a "typical" Kent studio release. The production sound is truly beautiful but it takes good speakers or headphones to fully grasp that. For now, this is not only the best album in 2014 but it's up there among the absolute best of Kent studio albums.

2014 Favourite releases: 1. Ukendt Kunstner Forbandede ungdom - 2. Kent Tigerdrottningen - 3. Sharon Van Etten Are We There

< show lyrics >

~ ~ ~

"Svart snö"

"När det känns som du har väntat sen du var barn
På att någonting ska hända, på närkontakt av något slag
När det känns som om du gjort allt sagt allt men inte får några svar
När det känns som om ditt bästa inte är tillräckligt bra
När fördämningarna brister och du håller tillbaka en stormflod
När verkligheten skakar och det flyter svart snö i ditt blod
Dom säger: Allt kommer bli bättre för tiden läker alla sår
Det är politisk propaganda från järnridån
Känner ni som jag sträck upp era händer

Det är fler än du & jag
Som förlorat nåt vi älskar i elden
Fler än du & jag
Som dansar för oss själva i mörkret
Som om det inte fanns nån morgondag
Jag vill inte vara ensam
Men vem vill vara ensam

Och det här är ingen mardröm, det är ingen fas
Det här är nåt som händer varenda dag
Det känns som om vi vaknat plötsligt i någon sorts skymningsland
Vi är levande döda, stapplar fram hand i hand
Och alla här vill leda
Men vi följer ändå blint
I ljuset från små skärmar kryper rädslan långsamt in
Över gatorna och torgen när butikerna har stängt
Upp för väggar genom fönster och ner i vår säng
Känner ni som jag sträck upp era händer

Det är fler än du & jag
Som förlorat nåt vi älskar i elden
Fler än du och jag
Som dansar för oss själva i mörkret
Som om det inte fanns nån morgondag…

Dom säger kärlek är en drog, jag tar vilken skit som helst
Men om kärlek är en drog är det ingen drog för mig
Du vet hur jag känner, ja, jag känner ju som dig
Jag älskar dina pengar dina pengar älskar mig
Jag älskar dina pengar vem vill inte vara rik
Jag vill resa och se världen vem vill ha ett vanligt liv
Men jag älskar bara pengarna för pengar gör mig fri
Ta mig till refrängen nu
Åh känner du igen dig?

Det är fler än du & jag
Som förlorat nån vi älskar i elden
Fler än du & jag
Som dansar för oss själva i mörkret
Som om det inte fanns nån morgondag
Jag vill inte vara ensam
Men vem vill vara ensam"

~ ~ ~

"Godhet" (feat. Beatrice Eli)

"J: Den första dagen i mitt liv
Du sprängde dörren, stormade in
som en flashbang av godhet

B: Och jag minns så väl när jag såg dig första gången
Du skrev sånger
Du var patetisk när jag såg dig
Precis som dina sånger

J: Så jag provade med sanningen
Någonting fick mig att vara rak mot dig
Så jag ljög bara om små detaljer
som min ålder och mitt namn

B: Jag minns så väl när jag såg dig
J: Jag bröt mig in i himlen
Hörde ekot från dina hjärtslag
En stalker mot en ängel

B: Att förlåta dina synder var ett misstag
Ett misstag
J: Jag bröt mig in i himlen
för att stjäla dina tårar

B: Allt vi gör får konsekvenser, så se upp med vem du sårar
B&J: Om jag bara kunde fylla mitt hjärta med godhet

B: Jag minns första gången jag såg dig
Ditt ego skymde solen
J: Den första dagen i mitt liv tog slut
Allt såg så mörkt ut, du var ljuset
men det började likna självgodhet

B: Och jag minns så väl vad jag sa till dig den där gången, sista gången

J: Du såg skräcken i mitt ansikte
Du svepte bort den med ett leende
Du sa
B: Allt jag gör det gör jag av ren godhet

J: Din politiskt korrekta godhet
B: Jag minns sista gången jag såg dig

J: Jag bröt mig in i himlen
Hörde ekot från dina hjärtslag
En stalker mot en ängel
Att förlåta mina synder var ett misstag
Ett misstag

B: Jag är ingen jävla ängel
och du blir först mot väggen
som ett varnande exempel
Ett exempel för nya generationer
på vad som händer när du inte tror på godhet
och jag är glad att det är över

J: Jag bröt mig in i himlen
Följde ekot från dina hjärtslag
En stalker mot en ängel

B: Att för låta dina synder var ett misstag
Ett misstag
J: Jag bröt mig in i himlen
För att stjäla dina tårar

B: Allt vi gör får konsekvenser
så se upp med vem du sårar
B&J: Om jag bara kunde fylla mitt hjärta med godhet"

~ ~ ~

Kent "La Belle Epoque" (2014) (single)

La Belle Epoque, single
release date: Mar. 12, 2014
format: digital
[single rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]
producer: Kent, Stefan Boman, Daniel Alexander
label: Universal Music - nationality: Sweden

Tracklist: 1. "La Belle Epoque"

Single release from the forthcoming album Tigerdrottningen by Kent - scheduled for release Apr. 30.
It's a very promising first single from the new album. Kent continues to make beautiful, mesmerising and tight synthpop.

< show lyrics >

~ ~ ~

"La Belle Epoque"

"Jag är handen som håller flaggan
Jag är ficktjuven på centralen
Jag är bomben på terminalerna i väskan som lämnats kvar
Jag är de första kalla regnen
Jag är frosten där inget växer
Jag är halvåret av mörker i landet som gud glömde
Jag är tårgas i handväskan
Jag är med i ravekommissionen
Den främlingsfientliga politiken
Jag är självmordsstatistiken
Jag är glesbygden, Rohypnolen
Jag är svartsjukan, alkoholen
Jag är de snabba sms-lånen
Jag är drevet på skolgården

:Alla för alla. En för en
Så börjar vi om igen

Jag är dimman i minneslunden
vinden på bron över sundet
Jag är den misstänksamma grannen
jävla finnar, norrmän, danskar
Jag är kniven i innerfickan
Jag är alla vapen vi exporterat
Jag är soldaterna vid byarna
Jag är minorna
Jag röstar inte längre i valet
Jag är Melodifestivalen
Jag är dom som går in i väggen
Jag är dom som går igenom rutan
Jag bor i den största staden
Jag skänker pengar till Rädda barnen
Och min dator är full av bilder
som aldrig borde ha tagits

::Alla för alla och en för en
Så börjar vi om igen

Jag är handen som gungar vaggan
Jag är staten och kapitalet
Jag är säkerhetsmanualen, anonyma kommentarer
Jag är mobbningen på nätet
Jag är Big Macen du äter
Jag är moskéer och katedraler
Jag är bibeln och koranen

::Alla för alla. En för en
Så börjar vi om igen"

~ ~ ~

Peter Murphy "Lion" (2014)

Lion

release date: Jun. 2, 2014

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,86]

producer: Youth (aka Martin Glover)

label: Nettwerk - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Hang Up" - 3. "I'm on Your Side" - 5. "Compression" - 9. "Eliza"

9th studio album by Peter Murphy following three years after Ninth (Jun. 2011) and his second album on US label Nettwerk. To the typical procedure, Murphy has made the album with a new producer - this time by British producer and musician Youth, who is also perhaps best known for his part as bassist of post-punk and industrrial rock act Killing Joke, although, he relatively early on initiated a career as producer and basically of all genres and styles. All lyrics are as usual by Murphy, and all music is credited Murphy and Glover with the latter also filling the part as multi-instrumentalist. Some issues (CD and vinyl) include the ten track extra live material "Selections From the Mr. Moonl·)ght Tour (35 Years of Bauhaus)".

Apparently, many of the compositions are studio improvs, and as a whole the album distances itself from Ninth by being stronger influenced by industrial rock. Also, Murphy generally sings in a more restrained and higher register on a majority of the songs. The soundscape is dominated by bass, drums, and synths, and basically doesn't fall far from a style, which has strong bonds to Glover's famous band Killing Joke and their music in the late 80s and early 90s.

Lion was possibly seen as a return to form, or at least some kind of test to his legacy within certain circles, and it also made it to the Billboard 200 as his only second album after Holy Smoke. I just don't find it a particular fascinating album. Murphy's singing style here is too extravagant and as if he tries hard to convince himself about his 'god-given' qualities while going through the motions, doing what he knows the best. Where Ninth actually showed us what he's capable of, Lion appears more like a sequel to Go Away White (2008), although, it's nevertheless a quite coherent release.

Not recommended.

[ Pitchfork 7,5 / 10, allmusic.com, PopMatters, Exclaim! 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Lisa Ekdahl "Look to Your Own Heart" (2014)

Look to Your Own Heart
release date: Oct. 23, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Mathias Blomdahl & Tobias Fröberg
label: Jive/Epic / Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Heavenly Shower" - 2. "Happiness Is Brief" - 7. "Look to Your Own Heart" - 8. "Moving On"

8th studio album by Lisa Ekdahl released 7½ years after Give Me That Knowing Smile. Before this she released the live album At the Olympia, Paris (2011) (commonly sold as a 2-disc album with a cd and a dvd). Quite often a new studio album from Ekdahl also means a new mix of styles, and in that way this is no different, although, it's a mix of musical styles she has tried out before. It's not entirely singer / songwriter nor folk, nor is it vocal jazz but all these genres are present with the addition of standards, jazz pop, and bossa nova. It's like the ultimate mix of all the styles she has released albums in over the years. All tracks are written and composed by Ekdahl herself but many tracks are with a strong influence from latin jazz and something that sounds as Ekdahl standards with the addition of big band arrangements.
It's all very sweet and quiet but not really close to great. I think, she should keep away from latin styles - somehow it doesn't suit her voice, and the album also lacks memorable compositions.

Pixies "Indie City" (2014)

digipack

Indie City
release date: Apr. 28, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,26]
producer: Gil Norton
label: Pixiesmusic - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "What Goes Boom" (live on Later) - 3. "Indie Cindy" - 7. "Blue Eyed Hexe" - 5. "Magdalena 318" - 9. "Another Toe in the Ocean" - 11. "Snakes"

5th studio album by Pixies is the band's first full-length release in 23 years [!] and has legendary Gil Norton as producer - as guarantee for coming close to the original sound. The album has been labelled a compilation because it consists of all 12 songs taken from three recent three EPs: EP1 (tracks #1, 3, 9, 10) released Sep. 2013, EP2 (tracks #2, 5, 7, 11) from Jan. 2014 and EP3 (tracks #4, 6, 8, 12) released Mar. 2014; however, it still IS the band's first full length studio release since Trompe le monde from 1991. The line-up has changed since then, as founding member, bassist Kim Deal, much to the band's regret, left the band before going to the studio to record these new songs. For a European tour the band found a substitute in Kim Shattuck, but only to be replaced two months later by Paz Lenchantin, also for live concerts only. As for the album, Simon 'Dingo' Archer (formerly The Fall) is credited as non-member bassist on all tracks.
The album was met by luke-warm reviews mostly pointing to the incoherence of the material, where some songs point to Black Francis' early solo works, and other compositions play with too many influences. Some also suggest that fans had awaited the return of Pixies for a long time, and as they finally release a full-length album, it's the songs they already know from the three EPs.
I too hear way too many stylistic traits, but on an overall basis, I also hear the unmistakable sound of Pixies, which is really nice. As was the case two decades ago, Francis is at the steering wheel, and together with Santiago and Lovering this new journey may just be a fine ride.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Q, Spin, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5 stars ]

original cover

U2 "Songs of Innocence" (2014)

Songs of Innocence

release date: Sep. 9, 2014

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]

producer: Danger Mouse with others

label: Universal-Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" - 2. "Every Breaking Wave" - 5. "Iris (Hold Me Close)" - 7. "Raised by Wolves" - 11. "The Troubles" (feat. Lykke Li)

13th studio album by U2 follows 5½ years after No Line on the Horizon (Mar. 2009) sees a change in producer-credits. Preceeding the album, U2 released the (non-album) single "Invisible" (Feb 2014) produced by American artist Danger Mouse (aka Brian Joseph Burton), who was initially hired as producer on this, and they actually already had recorded the new album back in 2010. Danger Mouse is credited as co-producer on the majority of the tracks (7 out of 11, and is only producer on two), but he mostly shares the credit with others, as the band alledgedly wasn't satisfied with the recordings, and subsequently presented the recordings to various others to add details to the outcome, which explains the relative long time span between their 2009 album and this one. The finished album sees British producer Paul Epworth as co-producer on 4 tracks and additional producer on one, American musician Ryan Tedder as co-producer on 4 tracks, sound engineer Declan Gaffney is credited as co-producer on 3 tracks and as additional producer on two, and Flood (aka Mark Ellis) is co-producer on one song. To some controversy U2 sold the album to Apple, who made it 'free' with the launch of a new iPhöne model or a Watch, as well as for all (paying) customers on its iTunes platform.

Musically, the album appears as a 'return to rock' - although, the band has done this on multiple occasions since their first 'return' with All That You Can't Leave Behind (Oct. 2000) - something they sought to establish with the succeeding two, or three including this.

U2 sounds exactly like you would expect them to. Sometimes they tend to sound like other bands aiming to follow a bit too closely in their footsteps, or, they sound like a band without much new under the horizon, except from procaliming "Heey, stadium lovers, we're still here!!". Yes, admittedly, this is a new collection of songs, but beware, 'cause you already know what you get. I guess, they have reached the point most other artists have to deal with at some (late) stage in a long career, asking themselves: 'Are we still relevant?' And questioning if it's Okay just to stick to some kind of reproduction.

This new album is practically like watching a train fixated at a station. You may ask yourself: is this about to leave, any soon now? Has it just arrived?, or: Is this its final stop?! It's like time itself has stopped 'cause nothing really seems to be in a process - this is but a nicely produced distilation.

Not recommended.

[ allmusic.com, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5, 👉Pitchfork 4,6 / 10, 🤡Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

Bryan Ferry "Avonmore" (2014)

Avonmore
release date: Nov. 17, 2014
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Bryan Ferry, Rhett Davies, Johnson Somerset, Todd Terje
label: BMG - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Loop De Li" - 2. "Midnight Train" - 3. "Soldier of Fortune" (4 / 5) - 4. "Driving Me Wild" - 5. "A Special Kind of Guy" (4 / 5) - 7. "Lost" - 10. "Johnny and Mary" (live)

14th solo studio album by Bryan Ferry following his 2012 album The Jazz Age. Now, who would have thought this possible? 69 year-old Ferry has come up with an album that resembles his best solo works of the late 70s and mid-80s, and his most recent album from 2012 was basically 'only' a collection of re-recordings - and before that, he launched Olympia in 2010, which was only a shadow of his heydays with Roxy Music.
From my perspective, his last good album was Dylannesque (2007) and his last really fine solo was As Time Goes By from 1999. This is like Roxy Music revisited but not just old classics disguised as new material. It's vibrant and solid sophisti-pop from one of the genre's best voices, and he does more than just Okay. Most tracks are from his own hand but track #3 Soldier of Fortune is co-written with Johnny Marr of The Smiths, and the end-track Johnny and Mary is Robert Palmer's fine classic, which Ferry handles in his own and personal way without losing touch with the original.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Neil Young "Storytone" (2014)

Storytone
release date: Nov. 4, 2014
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,35]
producer: The Volume Dealers (aka Neil Young and Niko Bolas)
label: Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

35th studio album by Neil Young and his second in 2014 is a big band music / orchestrated album with Young singing and a full orchestra backing him live with strings, brass and choir while recording the arrangements. This is a long way from A Letter Home - not to say anything else by Neil Young - and stylistically, it's difficult to narrow down, as Young mostly sings in his traditional folkish and bluesy singer / songwriter style with a full orchestra backing him up without or with only a few traditional rock band instruments. Yeah, there's a electric guitar in some places and bass and whatever, and some tracks are held in a stronger blues or folk tradition by putting emphasis on the use of a guitar or by being less dominating, but it still feels strange when a song kicks in as some movie-theme ballad from "When Harry Met Sally", only to be interrupted by Neil Young's fragile singing voice. It's... odd. And frankly, too strange for my liking.
I won't say I'll never get to appreciate this. I've been wrong before with Neil Young. Perhaps when I'm hanging in there at 78 or 88 I will start to like it. For now, I doubt it. It's simply an odd experiment, 'cause that's also what it is, and these recent years Young does seem to have come to a point where he just jumps into the water without too much thinking or asking about a project's validity. I think, he just goes along with that new idea of his and skips the consulting process. "What the heck! What's there to lose?! The album, the idea will sell itself!! And... I don't know what to do with the money anyhow."
I really can't find any tracks to highlight from this album, and I simply do not find it anything but mediocre - and sometimes hardly even that. Boy, when Neil Young misses he makes sure we all know, but that's how it is with this genius 'cause very often - not to say mostly - he hits a lot better than most.
Not recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, Mojo 3 / 5, Rolling Stone, Slant 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Ukendt Under Andet Navn "Glade dage i St. Vemod" (2014)

Glade dage i St. Vemod
release date: Apr. 3, 2014
format: cd (ukendt 003)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Troels Bech & Henrik Olesen
label: non-label-release - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Drømmen om et liv" - 3. "Glade dage i St. Vemod" - 6. "Hjertet" - 7. "Drone" - 9. "Nat falder" - 10. "Skridt" (4 / 5)

Full-length studio solo debut by Ukendt Under Andet Navn (aka Henrik Olesen) is produced by Troels Bech together with Henrik Olesen and is like the mini-album Ekskursion (2012) another non-label release. Co-producer Troels Bech is also credited for several instruments on this, and the album also features songwriter Solveig Sandnes on vocals. All songs are credited Henrik Olesen, except track #2, "Drømmen om et liv", which has words by (the late) Danish poet Morti Vizki, who also gave name to the final album by Olesen-Olesen, on which the song appears with slightly different musical arrangement - also by Henrik Olesen.
Without being over-produced with multi-layering, the album is more orchestrated than the first two releases by Henrik Olesen, and the album also contains two tracks that are found on his ep debut from 2010, "Hjertet" and "Skridt", however, both have been altered, lengthened and also improved. Especially, the end-track "Skridt" with its repetitious / droning form is quite successfully transformed.
The album received some fine reviews but failed to attract any interest from national radio stations and sales numbers - also as a consequence of being a non-promoted self-release, which is sad, 'cause it contains some fine compositions and deserves far more recognition. That said, it doesn't appear much as a full-coherent album. Some songs are quite introspective, some are light-weight indie-pop songs, which makes me think of early releases by Radio Dept. and another Swedish band, the duo-project Paus by Joakim Berg of Kent and Peter Svensson from Cardigans, and yet other songs are slower compositions with a bold ambient style. The strongest tracks are musically driven progressive compositions, whereas the weaker ones focus more on a lyrical force that lacks the poignant weight, imho, but it's altogether a very fine and also highly original collection of songs.
[ Gaffa.dk 3 / 6, Berlingske 4 / 6 stars ]

Neil Young "A Letter Home" (2014)

A Letter Home
release date: Apr. 19, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Jack White and Neil Young
label: Third Man / Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 2. "Changes" (live) - 3. "Girl From the North Country" - 4. "Needle of Death" - 5. "Early Morning Rain" (live) - 7. "Reason to Believe" - 9. "If You Could Read My Mind" - 12. "I Wonder If I Care as Much"

34th studio album by Neil Young released on Jack White's label Third Man Records and recorded using a 1947 recording booth-device named Voice-O-Graph, which in the day (would be found all over the country up until the 1970s) was introduced to the ordinary man as a possibility to record his / her own record of a message or song directly onto vinyl. This particular device has been re-established at White's Nashville headquarter of Third Man Records, and the whole album has been recorded using the technique of the Voice-O-Graph.
I think, one has to dig into the idea behind this album to be able to appreciate it. Against his normal writing process, Young has covered familiar and classic songs by various artists of various styles and decades including artists like The Everly Brothers, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch and Bruce Springsteen. Most of the tracks are played solely by Young playing guitar, harmonica and piano. Jack White contribute on guitar, piano and with backing vocals on two tracks. Because of the recording process, all tracks have been recorded in one take and without any post-processing, i.e. dubbing, mixing, mastering, which has its obvious limitations but also a unique form. Songs are country, traditional folk and singer / songwriter material and the most apparent common denominator is naturally the sound of the recordings. The scratchy and narrow tone could be annoying, but the result is more an album with a strong historical message. Young's force with just a guitar and harmonica at hand is something that will forever live on and follow his legacy, and that is here only once again underlined. The best songs here are "Changes" written by Phil Oachs, "Needle of Death" by Bert Jansch and "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot all of which perhaps are the strongest "natural" sources of inspiration found on this by Neil Young.
It's a homage to ancient days, lost values and a reminder of what it takes to make music: and it's not a necessity to have 56 tracks available in a million-dollar studio with all the right producers and mixers to make an album worthwhile. Even nowadays. It's an album that would serve well as introduction to all contemporary pop and rap artists. Listen and learn!
The idea and the songs together make this a nice and warm album, but the narrowness in the production sound also has its natural limitations - its perhaps like treasuring a vintage wine from a specific fine year of the 1950s - it's there to look at and talk about but for drinking... Of course this is for listening but for hours and day after day, I guess you have to be more than just a bit nostalgic. The album is not Young at his most vivid and utmost inspiring but nonetheless it's one of his best studio releases since Silver & Gold (2000) and consequently an album worth more than just a glance.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]