Janove is the singer and frontman of my former favorite band, theatrical ompa-rock gods Kaizers Orchestra. Kaizers called it quits in 2012, after a streak of 8 amazing, eccentric and completely unique albums. The three first were thematically connected, vague concept albums, creating a tantalizing cast of characters and rich, evocative imagery from a mafia-like resistance movement during the second war, and a creepy mental hospital after. The stories weren't always possible to follow, relying instead on the power of suggestion to draw fans deeply into their absurd world. On the three last albums, the Violeta Violeta trilogy, the story arch is much more clearly spelled out, and I found the excitement of following the characters' fate to go well with the increasingly theatrical and bombastic music. Janove was always the dominant head of the six-headed Kaizers monster, but on the final instalment in the trilogy, Violeta Violeta vol. III, we hear only Janove's work. Written as a full-on rock opera, it leans more heavily on the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. Janove was always the most ambitious one, restlessly aiming bigger and better, and towards the end (such as on VV vol. II) weirdly enough, Kaizers had started to sound "too small" for him.
On Artisten & Marlene, his first solo venture (aside from the pretty but relatively unremarkable singer-songwriter album Francis' Lonely Nights in 2006), Janove continues his maximalist approach. It's a logical progression from VV vol. III, just with a new band and a new cast of characters. This time around we're following ballet dancers, a French girl and a Russian boy, who met as children and feel a sort of magical collection through the rest of their lives and keep dancing for each other. The lyrics don't really form a complete story arch, rather they become a thematic background that brings the music more weight and context, kind of in the way that the old Kaizers-universe did. Images are repeated, phrases reused, sometimes lazily, but it kind of works. The band is hard-hitting, musically excellent, and clearly having a lot of fun: Former Kaizers warm-up act Micke Lohse (aka. Micke from Sweden) is on piano, Matthias Hellberg on guitar, and the rhythm section is Gulleiv Wee (of The September When) on bass, Børge Fjordheim (of Cloroform, amongst others) on drums. They sound just as comfortable following Janove's whims whether it's towards hiphop, funk, polka, heavy rock, country or classical.
My favorite songs are the most epic ones. Repeated modulations, dizzying emotional heights and piling on the goosebumps is the recipe for success here. As much as Janove likes a simple pop song, he is a true music nerd and a master of rhythm, melody, complex chord progressions and harmony. Some of the songs on Artisten & Marlene are a bit too simple for my taste, and the album doesn't deal well with restraint (the quiet closing track is really forgettable - for quiet it has to be as huge as "Mine siste berømte ord" ("My last famous words") ). I also really dislike the opening track unfortunately. It sets the stage for the story and the sound for the album, but it feels more like a placeholder, or an ouverture: all bombastic wrapping but no content. It's just Janove going "who-oah" and thinking he could get away with putting a half-finished song here.
But the album is 15 songs long, and really hits its stride from song 3 to 14. These are almost all top-grade Janove songs, and while I do understand the criticism that he should have distanced itself more from Kaizers, I think it just goes to show how much he actually was in charge of the Kaizers circus towards the end. The last five years have been tough for those of us craving more Kaizers, and I am super excited about Artisten & Marlene. This is so solid that it could have been just as big of a success as Violeta Violeta. There are plenty of songs here with room for oil barrels and crowbars, if the other guys want to come out of omparock retirement, but it sounds so great that I don't find myself missing them. I love the variation in genre; from the Eminem-flavored "Trixing & fixing" or the rockabilly explosion "Me vokser aldri opp" ("We'll never grow up"), to the krautrock-tinged "Aldri la de tru de er bedre enn deg" ("Never let them think they're better than you"), and "I natt blir du fri" ("Tonight you'll be free") reaches its peak when the amazing disco synth riff finally kicks in. The diversity of influences is part of the reason the album works so well. For being so long, it's a huge credit that it's not at all a slog to get through, and that's thanks to some brilliant transitions, and the totally different feels on many songs. And the variation doesn't make it a mess, rather it keeps things interesting.
This is a terrific album by one of my favorite artists (I'd say "Norwegian" artists, but no, I really am that much of a fan). Janove is still going strong - and has another brand new album out January 18th!!
Hear: "Vår uendelige sang" ("Our endless song"), "Trixing & fixing", "Perler & svin".
 |
| Very beautiful. Also very much like Kaizers' Violeta Violeta covers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. |
On Artisten & Marlene, his first solo venture (aside from the pretty but relatively unremarkable singer-songwriter album Francis' Lonely Nights in 2006), Janove continues his maximalist approach. It's a logical progression from VV vol. III, just with a new band and a new cast of characters. This time around we're following ballet dancers, a French girl and a Russian boy, who met as children and feel a sort of magical collection through the rest of their lives and keep dancing for each other. The lyrics don't really form a complete story arch, rather they become a thematic background that brings the music more weight and context, kind of in the way that the old Kaizers-universe did. Images are repeated, phrases reused, sometimes lazily, but it kind of works. The band is hard-hitting, musically excellent, and clearly having a lot of fun: Former Kaizers warm-up act Micke Lohse (aka. Micke from Sweden) is on piano, Matthias Hellberg on guitar, and the rhythm section is Gulleiv Wee (of The September When) on bass, Børge Fjordheim (of Cloroform, amongst others) on drums. They sound just as comfortable following Janove's whims whether it's towards hiphop, funk, polka, heavy rock, country or classical.
 |
| The single covers are really cool, too. This is for "The world is going to hell, tralala". |
My favorite songs are the most epic ones. Repeated modulations, dizzying emotional heights and piling on the goosebumps is the recipe for success here. As much as Janove likes a simple pop song, he is a true music nerd and a master of rhythm, melody, complex chord progressions and harmony. Some of the songs on Artisten & Marlene are a bit too simple for my taste, and the album doesn't deal well with restraint (the quiet closing track is really forgettable - for quiet it has to be as huge as "Mine siste berømte ord" ("My last famous words") ). I also really dislike the opening track unfortunately. It sets the stage for the story and the sound for the album, but it feels more like a placeholder, or an ouverture: all bombastic wrapping but no content. It's just Janove going "who-oah" and thinking he could get away with putting a half-finished song here.
But the album is 15 songs long, and really hits its stride from song 3 to 14. These are almost all top-grade Janove songs, and while I do understand the criticism that he should have distanced itself more from Kaizers, I think it just goes to show how much he actually was in charge of the Kaizers circus towards the end. The last five years have been tough for those of us craving more Kaizers, and I am super excited about Artisten & Marlene. This is so solid that it could have been just as big of a success as Violeta Violeta. There are plenty of songs here with room for oil barrels and crowbars, if the other guys want to come out of omparock retirement, but it sounds so great that I don't find myself missing them. I love the variation in genre; from the Eminem-flavored "Trixing & fixing" or the rockabilly explosion "Me vokser aldri opp" ("We'll never grow up"), to the krautrock-tinged "Aldri la de tru de er bedre enn deg" ("Never let them think they're better than you"), and "I natt blir du fri" ("Tonight you'll be free") reaches its peak when the amazing disco synth riff finally kicks in. The diversity of influences is part of the reason the album works so well. For being so long, it's a huge credit that it's not at all a slog to get through, and that's thanks to some brilliant transitions, and the totally different feels on many songs. And the variation doesn't make it a mess, rather it keeps things interesting.
 |
| Promo pics for Janove are much more awkward than the über-cool Kaizers badassery. Painful! |
This is a terrific album by one of my favorite artists (I'd say "Norwegian" artists, but no, I really am that much of a fan). Janove is still going strong - and has another brand new album out January 18th!!
Hear: "Vår uendelige sang" ("Our endless song"), "Trixing & fixing", "Perler & svin".
No comments:
Post a Comment