8
It's been inspiring to watch [ingenting] develop from record to record as they peel off all those print-out faces from pop music's hall-of-fame piece by piece. These days, their influences stand behind, never in front of the music, as they move from making music inspired by others to finding their very own place among the many indiepop bands that sing på Svenska. The competition is pretty stiff it seems, but [ingenting] need not hide their creativity behind that of their countrymen and women. Their strength lies in their directness: their witty melocism is never overly playful, their trademark melancholy never overdone. When they become bombastic, like in the album's definite stand-out "Dina händer är fulla av blommor", it's to make a point. And when I, as a non-native speaker, make the effort to track their lyricism in my head, I'm struck by how equally direct it is. [ingenting] seem to have no need for cynicism to make their point, yet they manage to sidestep those kitsch-traps that overly direct lyrics often cannot avoid. Even if "Tomhet, idel tomhet" can't make true on all the promises that "Dina händer..." and powerful opener "Hallelujah" carry along, I still expect the album to make many year-end-lists.
- Arnulf Köhncke
Ulver reports: "We have recorded some hippie songs, from the sixties, bands like The 13th Floor Elevators, Byrds, Jefferson Airplane and stranger Aquarian folks. We aim to make this into a full album, a kind of Ulver kicking against the pricks." Expect a sample tune to appear online soon. In other news, the band recorded a collaboration with US doom act Sunn O))) following their appearance at the last Øya Festival, but it is still not yet finished due to the difficulty of getting everyone together in the same place at the same time. Still, they hope to have it ready for release in spring. And lastly, read an extremely extensive interview with the band at Avantgarde-Metal: http://www.avantgarde-metal.com/content/stories2.php?id=127
The nominees for this year's Danish Metal Awards have been announced: http://dmea.dk/dmea09/?page_id=6
Check out the new Ikons video for "Slow light": http://vimeo.com/7848846
Apparently the band's new self-titled album will be available for streaming starting tomorrow.
But is it Art? will be releasing a Friday Bridge remix album in late January called "Do you know how to spend it?" and are looking for a couple more tracks so they're holding a contest to see who can come up with the best version of "Horror of horrors". Go here for the full details and to grab the files: http://butisitart.org/Friday_Bridge_rmx_competition/
The Deer Tracks are currently holed up at Tonteknik Studios in Umeå working on a new EP to be released in February.
Duplicate Records will be putting out a vinyl edition of Virus' acclaimed "Carheart" album sometime around January/February. Also on the way from the label is the full-length debut from Lydia Laska which will be called "Krankenhaus" and should be out sometime around April.
The new Backyard Babies collection "Them XX", celebrating the band's 20th anniversary, will be released on December 9 in Sweden, December 11 in Germany and December 7 most everywhere else. In addition to a greatest-hits disc and 2 CDs/48 tracks of b-sides and oddities, the collection also includes a DVD with the documentary "Jetlag the Movie". Hit the band's website for more info: http://www.backyardbabies.com/
Pitchfork's best videos of 2009 list includes clips from El Perro Del Mar, Fever Ray and Röyksopp: http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7737-the-top-music-videos-of-2009/
Pitchfork has a 5-minute edit of Lindstrøm's epic 40-minute version of "Little drummer boy": http://pitchfork.com/news/37228-hear-lindstrms-little-drummer-boy/
Personally, five seems like too much.
Swedish postrockers Jeniferever are currently on the road in Germany:
12/01 - MTC, Cologne
12/02 - Haus 73, Hamburg
12/03 - Groovestation, Dresden
12/04 - Magnet, Berlin
12/05 - Ilses Erika, Leipzig
What's that even mean? But hey, if that's what it takes to move merch in these downtrodden financial times, then Cyber Monday it is! Of course our year-end CD clearance sale is still going strong, but don't forget that I've also marked down prices everywhere else as well. Even better, I've also dug out a few nearly-forgotten sleeveless copies of Hello Saferide vinyl and am offering 'em up for cheap! Buy the LP and make your own cover! Give it as a gift! Keep the economy rolling?
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. TALK 1
02. Kommun - I don't say anything
03. On Volcano - Out of sight
04. Turboweekend - Something or nothing
05. TALK 2
06. The Idle Hands - Hearts
07. Thåström - Linnéa
08. Fronda - Mitt allt
09. TALK 3
10. We Are the Storm - A song for our city
11. High Hats - The end
12. Wardruna - Kauna
13. Halph - New money
14. The Scrags - TV messed up mind
15. TALK 4
16. They Live - Magic glasses
17. Ison & Fille - Jag skratter idag
18. Nitad - Rädslan
19. TALK 5
20. Elmo - Shine down on us
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
8
Great albums always make me reconsider their premonitions on a type of music, especially with that labeled as "experimental". Such is the case with the new Pistol Disco release; for a while I had been a bit lost on what to write, however, now I am finally able to. What bewildered me the most was, how symmetrical the musical experimentation is being created here. At once the undercurrent was layer in drone and melody, yet all loose ends were always resolved. Gone was the notion that noise had to be profligate and vociferous, it can also be so constructed and confined to an eggshell, a thin membrane separating the outside from that within -- one that is also crafted with the same care.
- Matt Giordano
![[ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet](/reviews/ingenting-tomhet.jpg)
[ingenting]
Pistol Disco
