| ACID
HOUSE KINGS |
|
|
| Mondays Are Like Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays |
[Labrador / 026] |
|
Ok, this is hard. The rain is pouring down outside my window. The
temperature is dropping fast. And here I sit with one of most summerish
records I've heard this year. But I don't care about the weather
and the fact that all the warm summer nights are gone. Acid House
Kings music may be summer to me but the album will survive the cold
times of winter.
To make it easy for myself I think Belle & Sebastian. But then
I hesitate. To mention Belle & Sebastian is to make it way too
easy. Acid house kings don't deserve to be compared with the most
obvious. I really don't care about Belle & Sebastian any more
so let's forget that they exist.
Acid House Kings have been around for years and this album really
finds it's way inside my head. Julia Lannerheim and Niklas Angegårds
whispering, fragile voices are perfect for the acoustic and stripped
sound.
The songs are gentle but not too gentle. Acid House Kings stays
on the side where they make you a little bit sad, a little heartbroken
and then a little bit happy.Too much happiness makes a record uninteresting
after a couple of times. That's why Acid House Kings will survive
the winter and that's why I will play this record when the snow
is falling.
For all Sarah records fans. For all autumn depressed people. For
all people who miss summer. For all happy people.
My advice is too lend an ear to Acid House Kings.
FREDRIK
MAGNUSSON
| ACME
ROCK GROUP |
|
|
| Star |
[Official Records /2002] |
|
Behind this, maybe a little confusing name, you'll find a sophisticated
pop item, full of stupefying melodies and imaginative arrangements,
made with an arsenal of exotic instruments (mellotron, moog, balalaika,
glockenspiel, vintage keys...).
Acme Rock Group is actually a “one man band” project of
Erik Rex, who is, no matter how far from the media exposure, persistent
in refusing the fact that the sun, that used to shine a light on
his parents' faces throughout the summer of love, is now behind
the unmerciful clouds of the modern age.
Just like the previous sentence, album Star, in itself, hides
something that could be described like a fairytale-like content
that couldn't be heard since, say 1968. (at least by the ones who
were lucky enough to be born on time).
The biggest part of this album consists of songs that used to be
made as a result of the mynd expanding hallucinogenic experiments,
in other words, psychedelic pop songs like Be With Me, Help
Me or You're Dead. In a contemporary, more simplistic
definition, this means "songs that make you feel good"!
Fly To The Sun, mellotronizes some Beatlessence into the
sound and so does Wasting My Time, with it's “revolver”
echoes girded on, while Floating could easily be the place
where the west-coast harmonies meet early Bowie. As a special audio-spice,
this retro-candy adds two brilliantly chosen covers.
The first is one the items bought at The Who's “Sell out”
named Odorono that perfectly describes the instant pop sensibility
of the quirky melodies that are the component parts of this collection,
and the second one is World Without Love, McCartney's Merseybeat
classic written for his almost-brother-in-low Peter Asher and his
partner Gordon Waller, here in a gentle, light arrangement, properly
infused into the sound ambience that dominates the album.
Erik Rex, with a little help from his friends, managed, at least
for a moment, to reactivate the long lost summer, and to the younger
ones, he conjured up the grooves they weren't able to experience
firsthandedly.
GORAN OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| AERIAL |
|
|
| Back Within Reach |
[Syft Records, 2002] |
|
Scottish popsters Aerial burst onto the UK scene in 2000 playing
a brand of pop that appealed to both indie kids and power pop fans.
They released two four songs EPs on Fantastic Plastic, and then
nothing. That is, until earlier this year when this LP (I am not
sure if there is a CD version) appeared on the Japanese label Syft
Records. It features
the two lead tracks from the earlier EPs, Signal and Star
Of The Show, plus ten new songs.
The album builds impressively on the promise shown on the EPs,
and showcases the band's ability to write both upbeat pop tunes,
and slower, more reflective numbers. The sound is very much that
of a modern pop band, with no obvious retro stylings, but also one
that includes plenty of sublety. None of the songs are buried in
layers of guitars, and the emphasis is very much on melody and hooks.
All of the songs have plenty to recommend them and they all sound
as though they have been developed over a period of time, with plenty
of neat touches - the backing vocals throughout are a particular
highlight.
Current favourite tracks include Uh Oh (which features an
excellent guitar riff on the verse, and the guitars then drop out
on the chorus to great effect), Call Yourself A Friend (which
builds from a gentle verse into a louder chorus without overwhelming
the melody), Remain The Same (the gentlest song on the album,
it is built around a lovely acoustic guitar line backed by some
excellent cello work), Tomorrow With You (another of the
quieter songs, the verses feature a gentle electric strum combined
with cello, and builds for the chorus), Sandcastles (one
of the upbeat tracks, it has great energy combined with an excellent
melody, and the lead and backing vocals intertwine to great effect
on the chorus) and Just Say The Word (another gentle song
which is enhanced by cello, tambourine, piano and some excellent
backing vocals).
It is an album that is highly recommended to anyone who likes their
pop with a modern flavour, but don't want the songs swamped with
guitars. It is reputedly limited to 1000 copies on vinyl, but should
still be available from both Fantastic
Plastic and Action
Records .
MAURICE JONES
| AEROSPACE |
|
|
| The Bright Idea Called Soul |
[Summersound / 006]
|
|
Ok, I like it but yet there's something that bothers me.
It's not the melodies. They are very soft, tender and very summerish
which makes the album very adjusted for the summerseason. I don't
believe that I will pick it out of my recordcollection i november
but still there's something else that bothers me.
It's not the lyrics. Summer this and ba-ba-ba that is perfect for
this kind of popmusic. But still it's something that bothers me.
Maybe it's that Aerospace been the indiepopmafia in Sweden number
ones for quit some time. But why wouldn't they. They make classic
pop with a touch of England and at the same time San Fransisco.
No, the answer for my doubts is Tobbe Thorsén voice. He
sounds like a fourteen year old boy from time to time and that bothers
me. It's not the whole time but in some songs I just want to turn
everything of and throw it out the window. He's not the best singer
in the world and on songs like Summer Bliss and Hey Boy
he's got something of a bright idea called soul but on other songs
like The Caroline I Know it dosen't work. Go for the uptemposongs!
All in all I like Aerospace. A mix of Sarah Records and the San
Fransisco popscene. Nice but maybe just to nice.
FREDRIK
MAGNUSSON
| AMERICAN
SPRING |
|
|
| Spring
Plus |
[See For Miles / SEE 269]
|
|
När
vi senare kommer skriva om Beach Boys kan det väl vara lämpligt
att presentera en av de mer obskyra utsläppen från "Strandfamiljen".
American Spring-plattan släpptes ursprungligen 1971, men för att
hitta grunden till gruppen får vi gå tillbaks till början av sextiotalet
och gruppen Honeys.
Den bestod bland annat av Brian Wilsons blivande fru Marilyn
Rovell och hennes syster Diane. Honeys fick en mindre hit i
Sverige av alla ställen med Surfin' Down The Swanee River
1963 (hette South Bay Surfer med Beach Boys, men mycket mer
i skivväg blev det inte.
I början av 70-talet var emellertid Brian Wilson mycket nära att
lämna Beach Boys, och han såg American Spring som en lämplig
tillflyktsort. Eftersom original-LP:n sällan dyker upp till något
mer humant pris, har vi bara att tacka och ta emot. Vi bjuds bland
annat på Shyin' Away, Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby (samma
låt som Darlin') och Dennis Wilsons kanske finaste låt, Forever.
Det finns inga extralåtar på CD:n, men kanske låtarnas "ljudkänslighet"
medför att den håller bättre i längden.
HANS OLOFSSON
Ursprungligen publicerad i Now & Then #1
| ANDERSON
COUNCIL |
|
|
| Coloursound |
[Sinclair / SIN005]
|
|
"Hey hipsters, this is The Anderson Council!!!"
...
goes the intro of The Coke Jingle that can really make you
LOVE that drink no matter what you tought of it before you hear
this, and then it continues
" ... singin' to you 'bout that taste that you'll never
gonna forget!" ...
though it's more about the SOUND that will stick in the back of
your mind forever! If you feel like a Carnaby hipster, lost in time,
this just for you, cuz this album sounds like the British chart
ca '66/'67, even though there's no doubt that it's a contemporary
record.
There's even a tune called Never Stop Being '67 but, production
wise (courtesy of the Reil brothers), they really manage to step
out of the time-machine, combining the best parts of the two decades.
To make things even more authentic, frontman Peter Horvath sings
with pure British accent, reminding us of some of The Small Faces
cockney work-outs (Blackboard of your mind) or "something else"
that Ray Davies wrote but forgot to put on a tape (So In Love
With You Girl).
There's also the quirky sounding Brit-psyke with "la la la's"
ready to "sell out" called Poppies, Pansies And Tea
and also some more funny Who-ish backing vocals incorporated with
the power-pop under the Feet Of The Guru. Another vocal highlight
is the mantra-like, repetitive chorus of the "slightlydelic"
Hole In The Sky", while Sitting On A Cloud revolves
around Revolver sound, making you really feel like "your
feet hang down" from a cloud.
Another British invasion, but this time it's from the inside?!
GORAN
OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| ANDERSONS |
|
|
| Family Secrets |
[Smile / SQF1158CD]
|
|
The Andersons could be described in many ways. Besides being one
of L.A.contemporary power-pop scene's most beloved acts, made of
an all-star line up, they're also one of today's pure pop bands
that rocks the most (or it could be the other way around!?) as well
as the moderndaze version of the good ol' rock'n'roll family concept
that hardly ever misses, borrowing some of the Partridges' melodies,
the Gibbs' harmonies, the Davies' riff or two and charging it all
up with the Ramonesized energy.
Also, their family tree as such a funny mess that it really doesn't
matter if it's really true or not, and it would be a shame not to
use it someday for a soap opera script. As you can see, I haven't
even metnioned the actual songs yet and, if you are adventurous
enough, you're already interested, aren't you?!
Actually, when you hear the songs, none of this would matter anymore,
and here's what you get ..... An infectious melody, the 12-string
jangle, lotsa rhythm changes and hooks that won't let you relax
while waiting for the next one to be cought on, and all of this
in just one song, called Snub. Another highlight comes in
the shape of an Apology. I'm not sure if Robbie Rist adores
the Vandalias just like I do so he pays this musical tribute to
his collegue Dan Sarka, or is it just the same influences taking
over them?! It's an excellent piece of pop anyway.
Everybody Knows That You're The One reminds me of some of
Grant Hart's finest moments, Ledonia B. is full of Kinky-power
chords as if played along some of Ray's '67/'68 melodies, and Looking
Glass is a fine west coast-psych, made even more authentic with
the Quicksilvery twin guitars solo. Falling Out is a good
proof that the band is also capable of delivering big ballads with
vocal harmonies and guitar jangle all over the soundscape and they
still rock!
Another one from the "Smile" factory that will keep you
smiling for a long time!
GORAN
OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| ANDREW |
|
|
| Happy To Be Here |
[Bus Stop / 2003] |
|
If you're a sixties music fan, it's likely that you're already
familiar with the name of Andrew Sandoval, one of THE archivists,
whose liner notes can be found in the booklets of many essential
re-issues.
Now that he's mastered the craft himself (actually, we've had the
proof of that since his debut three years ago) you can place his
own albums alongside the ones he's been writing about. Andrew continues
his “beautiful story” with the orchestral sounds or Roger
Neill, creating another lovely piece of baroque-pop ... plus, whatever
that means.
Since Ric Menck is behind the drum-stool, it seems that he's contributing
some of his own band's feel too, namely in the opening I Wish
You Would and Friend Of Mine, also adding a bit of fellow
L.A. popster, Brian Kassan's “chewy” sophistication.
Andrew says that he can't remember where the inspiration for Allyn
White comes from, but to me, it kinda rings the “bells
of chil-tones”, and I'm almost sure that the same “tones”
made him dream the Strange Dreams, an imaginary orchestrated
Big Star outtake.
I'm sure most of you will take special notice of the appearance
of The Cyrkle's Tom Dawes on He Can Fly, a possible album
highlight, being a song that Paul Bevoir had always dreamed of making,
and there's also another tiny little Cyrkle tribute in High Tower,
which contains a line “... sing-a-long with Tom and Don
...”.
Other “baroque” delights include If I Can See You Smile
and Tears Anyway, harmonium/trombone/French horn leaden popsike
numbers, the closing late'60s/early'70s Wilsonian title tune, and
there's also It May Never Happen, recalling so many great
things at once, from the Byrds/Fanclub folk-rocking jangle, to the
somewhat distant vibe of The Eyes' version of As Tears Go By.
Another highlight must be the perfectly chosen cover of Dion &
The Wonderers' tune Now, here sounding like the most magical
of “flights”, with Gene Clark as a captain of the “trip”,
with or without the Byrds.
I don't know about Andrew's reasons for coming up with the album/song
title, but I know I sure am “happy for him to be here”
..... and I know that you'll be too, after listening to this album.
GORAN OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| APPLES
IN STEREO |
|
|
| Her Wallpaper Reverie |
[Earworm / Worm45]
|
|
Denna EP gavs ut redan förra sommaren i USA på spinART men har
nu även släppts i England. Jag skriver EP för skalar man bort de
mer eller mindre lustiga instrumental partierna återstår endast
sju låtar.
Men på dessa visar Robert Schneider återigen vilken utmärkt
låtskrivare han är. “Ruby” och “Y2K”
är väl de som skiner starkast denna gång. Gruppens trummis Hilarie
Sidney bidrar med “Questions & Answers” vilken
hon framför väldigt charmigt. Dock något av en mellanplatta och
vi återkommer i nästa nummer med deras senast släppte album The
Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone.
3/5
LARS WENKER
Ursprungligen publicerad i ettnollett #34
| ARNOLD |
|
|
| Bahama |
[Poptones / MC5021CD]
|
|
Arnold is a British band that seem to gain a lot of confidence
from their label boss, Alan McGee who's released their mini album
The Barn Tapes in 1997. As well as their long playing debut
Hillside a year later, both on Creation.
Just like a couple of other young bands, with the demise of the
"creative" temple they were threatened to become an "ex-file"
but ... after some business reconstruction and under the new label
name, McGee's putting them back on the scene with an album called
Bahama with a content that mirrors a pretty inspirative three-year
break that created new, mature authors described in the Poptones'
press-release something like
"Andrew Loog Oldham pretending to be Phil Spector in creating
supernatural symphonies"(!?). Besides such an intriguing
description, the strength of the album lies in an even wider spectre
of similiarly interesting ones that together make a completely original
product.
What we get at the very begining is pretty much a possible post-Oasis
Noel sound (or maybe a suggestion?!) packaged in lush Radiohed production
and a slide-ambient. A combination of some lo-fi Bacharach-sensibility
followed with a huge Hammond sound and a wall of shoe-gazing guitar
sounds is what makes a song Jus de lune while Hangman's
waltz is exactly that, an acoustic waltz with a Jeff Buckley-at-his-most-melodic
interpretation.
Oh My, a single that announces the arrival of Bahama,
capturing that Pet Sounds-instrumentalisation, is a pretty brave
choice, but than again, you could say that in any case when it comes
to songs like these. Recreating the spirit from the end of the '60s
and the begining of the '70s goes to Easy that could be put
easily to the Woodstock area with a bunch of C,S&N-inspired
longhair pacifists and love disciples and Boo You with it's
Sticky/Exile-era Stones acoustic propaganda.
The end of the album belongs to a song called Pavey Ark that
leaves an unanswered dillema if it's a four-part omnibus or a sole
song with no less than three (!) hidden tracks. Anyways, these four
minutes and fiftheen seconds are filled with a kaleidoscopic mosaic
of sounds made of Chilton's "third" passages, Young's
grunge-solo, some more Pet-instrumentalisation imbued with some
gospel-choirs, "spiritualized" ambiental blues, sophisticated
Drake-like fingerpickin' styles...
Bahama is deffinitely a grower that simply needs a couple
of listenings before it gets into your mind but that really shouldn't
be a problem since new sound-dimensions are discovered every time!
GORAN
OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| ART
SCHOOL |
|
|
| 3 Close Mates |
[Bip Bip Records / BCD011]
|
|
Just a slight look at this band's name and the album title could
be associated to something that's not far from something that could
be called the nowadays "All mod cons".
What's really hidden behind the cover should become exactly that,
in some parallel, righteous universe ... the ultimate mod classic
of the third generation! One of the tiny little obstacles on it's
way to stardom is the geographic origin which is Murcia, Spain!?!
With their second album, the band managed to grab one of the leading
roles of the neo-mod revitalisation happening in Spain in the last
decade or so and that's a fact that opens the doors to many of the
mod/'60s rallys all over Europe.
Giving themselves up to the usual MODernistic influences (Who, Small
Faces, Weller, Soul, R'n'B ...) as well as some post-new wave skinny-tied
ones (Paul Collins' Beat, Records, Jags...) the music of this power-trio
results with Jam-packed jewels like London Breeze, Chimney
Sweeper, Your Little Sister or heavy soul numbers like
The Trip and Lemon Pop Song inbued with wild Hammond
screams but still with an evident dose of originality just enough
to get themselves out of the Modfather's shadow.
Of course, just to make things perfect, there's also a tune called
Southern Lullaby in an English Rose role and the pedantic
choice of the Lambrettas' Dance cover falls right into place
among the rest.
All in all, far from the mass-media eyes/ears and in the shadows
of the "commercial mod revival" a few years ago, there's
the essential neo-MODernisation goin' on, and Art School is deffinitely
taking part in it!
GORAN
OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| ASHLEY
PARK |
|
|
| Town And Country |
[Kindercore / KC055]
|
|
Ashley Park is a pseudonym for Terry Miles, an unsung hero of
Canadian pop music. After his bands Cinnamon, The Kelley Affair
and a lo-fi project of kaleidoscopic diversity named Saturnhead
(the first album consisted of 40 songs in 58 minutes!), with his
latest and probably most adventurous incarnation, Miles covers the
rest of the traces of the pop heritage making an album full of sounds
that the early High Llamas fans could only hope for these days.
Combining some lounge-sounding soundtrack-like music and classic
'60s production in thirty minutes, Town And Country gathers
Bacharachian easy listening (Everyone Under The Sun), Wilsonian
Smile-era fragments (Lucy & The Bourgeoise) and Beatly
melodies.
Besides these evident creative leanings, the ingenious ways of integrating
the rhythm and the production of I'm Only Sleeping with the
I'm Fixing A Hole-melody, making a brand new, unreleased
Beatle-classic By The Stereo or making the four-minute omnibus
Town And Country II & III sound exactly what the B-side
of Abbey Road would sound like if it had been released as
a single, just can't leave you indifferent!
One of Terry Miles' quotes gives a pretty close picture of the album's
concept :"Early in the morning the newspaper said that the
beat groups are back together...".
GORAN
OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| ASTRID |
|
|
| Strange Weather Lately |
[Mushroom Pillow / MP006]
|
|
You just can't ignore a band who call themselves after Astrid Kirchherr,
can you?! .... and when you realise that there are also some musical
Mersey-mutations involved too, you'll know that you're into something
good.
These days there aren't many bands recapturing the magic of Lee's
La's, well except maybe John Power, which doesn't really count since
he haven't had much of a choice actually. More than occasionally,
this Scottish band sounds the way Maver's didn't want his band to
sound like on their only album, which everyone, except the author,
consider a classic.
The most obvious gLAnces of this kinda stuff are Plastic Skull,
representing Astrid's own "timeless melody", though there
are plenty of 'em here, Zoo, which is kinda like the new
millenium edition of Things We Said Today mutating through
the mists of time, and if ya "feelin'" like hearing some
r'n'beat, try Like A Baby.
What else you get is a lovely recreation of the etherial sound ambience
from the Pale Saints' debut in Standing In Lane, the folky-pop
Belle & Sebastian-concept, taken a step further in Stop,
then there's Redground with an intro that makes you expect
Tommy Keene's Take Me Back, but by the time it gets to the
chorus, I'm kinda glad that it's yet another great new song.
Boy Or Girl doesn't really possesses the rawness of The Barbarians'
song about the same matter, but it sure has it's own charm, combining
the complexity of the vocal harmonies with the simplicity of the
second-phase-Status Quo-like boogie, and the two songs with melodies
that make me melt are Distance (and it's not because it mentiones
the sun!) and It's True, which sounds like The Housemartins
covering the early Byrds.
Though they already have a new album out after this 1999 debut,
Mushroom Pillow's re-release is more than welcome and I'm sure it
will re-enter many year lists.
GORAN
OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
| AVIATOR |
|
|
| Huxley Pig Part 1 |
[Viper
/ 2002] |
|
After the Cast members have gone their separate ways,
I suppose everyone's guess was that it'd be John Power who will
come up with something new.
Well, here comes Pete Wilkinson, teaming up with an ex-La's/Lightning
Seeds member, Paul Hemmings, “aviating” across the moderndaze
syke-sky, dressed up in “green pajamas”.
He takes the ethereal production of John's part of A Day In The
Life, as the main inspiration, in making Beatlesque soundscapes
full of Moogy keyboard sounds like in Pinhole, or Dancing
Bear, with a kinda “walrus”-y quality about it, and
I Fell Asleep, which could've make a perfect Cast single,
while the beginning of "Burnin' car" promises to take
you on a ride "across the universe" in a kinda lo-fi ELO-way.
Sometimes it's taken a bit further, like in the title tune, which
reminds a bit of the Modern Life period Blur, trying to build
a bridge between the Kinky-ways and some darker, Britpsych ambience,
and then again, sometimes it's just about pure melodies like in
False Start, Shoot The Crow or Don't Trust You
Man.
If you're among those who expected a bit more “power”
to the first post-Cast release, believe me that, after hearing this,
you'll be more than happy that things had turned out this way.
GORAN OBRADOVIC
/ POPISM
|
