Makthaverskan - Ill
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| Cool logo and cover, but tellingly it's confusingly similar to their other albums; I always have to double-check which of the covers it is. |
Young Swedish dream-rockers Makthaverskan ("she who is in power") channel the new-wave post-punk scene of the 80's to much better results than should be expected from a group of millenials from Gothenburg. Growing their fan base very gradually over the 8 years since their debut, Makthaverskan had the pressure on them with the long-awaited Ill. I and many others have been hotly anticipating the new album, especially since the amazing lead single "Witness" was released already in 2015. If Ill could even come close to matching that urgent, super-catchy song, it was bound to be good. And while I'd still say "Witness" is maybe the best song on here, Ill does very often come close to the same ecstatic levels, and is an impressive album.
While Makthaverskan's sound is nothing completely new, they are a very fresh breath on 2017's music scene. How's this for a statement: I don't think I can hear a single synth or keyboard on this entire album. The five-piece are fronted by songwriter and singer Maja Milner, whose voice is as beautiful as her style is raw and desperate. Her shrill but always melodic screams are one of Makthaverskan's main selling points, and she's packed away none of the power on Ill. I don't know she can sing a song like "Siren" in the same evening as "Witness" and "Asleep" (off II), but she looks almost comically unaffected when performing live (on video - I've unfortunately yet to see them myself), seemingly bored by the trivial sounds she's producing. (The videos also reveal that there's a fair bit of studio magic behind making their punk lineup sound good on record, but I don't mind it when it sounds as good as this.)
In addition to Milner's singing, Andreas Wettmark's intense drumming and the intricate, interweaved bass and guitar lines all contribute to making Ill a riveting and thrilling listen. As do the lyrics (also Milner's), although I wish they played more on the political agenda of feminism and anti-consumerism that's occasionally alluded to, rather than the main focus on love and heartbreak. The 10 songs are all strong and none of them feel unnecessary, a major step up from I and II. The only thing limiting Ill's longevity is the lack of dynamic variation. The album does shift throughout in tempo and feel, providing breathers where necessary while maintaining urgency, but the overall sound becomes homogeneous pretty quick. And it's not clear where they're going from here, however good they may be a fourth album of the same stuff isn't necessary. Still, Makthaverskan are totally worth hearing if you haven't yet, and Ill is a great place to start.
Hear: "Witness", "Siren", "Leda", but I could just as easily have chosen "In my dreams", "Vienna", "Eden", "Days turn into years" or"To say it as it is".
Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins
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| I worked on it, but really don't like this cover. I can make out a windowsill, and maybe stones at the bottom. It's neither aesthetically pleasing nor challenging. |
At their best, Grizzly Bear are one of my very favorite bands. When their four unique voices harmonize to a heavenly choir; when Chris Taylor's strange array of unnamable instruments melts my ear; when Daniel Rossen's meandering guitar lines take another surprising turn; when Chris Bear's ever-mutating drumming delicately shifts the rhythmic center; when intricate polyrhythms propel the song towards its next sections... I enjoy Grizzly Bear's music most when I pick it apart, analyze it to bits, understand why they do what they do and why it works. Their songcraft is meticulous - they don't have the strongest pop sensibilities, but their songs conjure up feelings because they build them up brick by brick to have that desired effect.
Which may be part of why they called their new album Painted Ruins, released a full five years after their previous: I get the sense that they were stuck with a pile of rubble, bricks and pieces that they couldn't figure out how to build into a new album. 2009's Veckatimest is perhaps their finest work to date, a delicate and beautiful composition full of fascinating music-theoretical experiments as well as powerful pop hooks. Shields, released in 2012, found them firing on all cylinders, and buries some of the detail under walls of sounds and rocking crescendoes. While it's a fun and exciting album, it also felt like a bit of a dead end. So I actually wasn't too hyped for Painted Ruins when it came out. Did I need a new Grizzly Bear album in 2017?
Well, Grizzly Bear seem to have rebuilt their own sound, so to say, on this album. It has the volume and intensity of Shields, as well as Veckatimest's ornate instrumentation and wide dynamic range. I'm partial to the understated "Wasted acres" and "Systole", gentle (yet interesting) sketches who whisper their story, in more of a Yellow House way. Elsewhere, Grizzly Bear add an ever so slight industrial tinge on songs like "Three rings" and "Aquarian". These less pretty textural elements feel like a new side of Grizzly Bear (compare to the beautiful ostinatoes in the second part of an old one like "Ready, Able"), and this willingness to add something that is neither bombastic nor beautiful is a strength on Painted Ruins. There's enough both beautiful and bombastic here - "Four cypresses", "Losing all sense" and "Neighbors" all sound amazing and are easily on par with Grizzly Bear's best - but the discomfort that permeates Painted Ruins is what keeps the album interesting for me. All in all it's a more than worthwhile addition to their catalogue - and considering the band in question, that's quite high praise.
Hear: "Three rings", "Systole", "Mourning sound"
Which may be part of why they called their new album Painted Ruins, released a full five years after their previous: I get the sense that they were stuck with a pile of rubble, bricks and pieces that they couldn't figure out how to build into a new album. 2009's Veckatimest is perhaps their finest work to date, a delicate and beautiful composition full of fascinating music-theoretical experiments as well as powerful pop hooks. Shields, released in 2012, found them firing on all cylinders, and buries some of the detail under walls of sounds and rocking crescendoes. While it's a fun and exciting album, it also felt like a bit of a dead end. So I actually wasn't too hyped for Painted Ruins when it came out. Did I need a new Grizzly Bear album in 2017?
Well, Grizzly Bear seem to have rebuilt their own sound, so to say, on this album. It has the volume and intensity of Shields, as well as Veckatimest's ornate instrumentation and wide dynamic range. I'm partial to the understated "Wasted acres" and "Systole", gentle (yet interesting) sketches who whisper their story, in more of a Yellow House way. Elsewhere, Grizzly Bear add an ever so slight industrial tinge on songs like "Three rings" and "Aquarian". These less pretty textural elements feel like a new side of Grizzly Bear (compare to the beautiful ostinatoes in the second part of an old one like "Ready, Able"), and this willingness to add something that is neither bombastic nor beautiful is a strength on Painted Ruins. There's enough both beautiful and bombastic here - "Four cypresses", "Losing all sense" and "Neighbors" all sound amazing and are easily on par with Grizzly Bear's best - but the discomfort that permeates Painted Ruins is what keeps the album interesting for me. All in all it's a more than worthwhile addition to their catalogue - and considering the band in question, that's quite high praise.
Hear: "Three rings", "Systole", "Mourning sound"
Susanne Sundfør - Music For People In Trouble
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| Susanne's covers have never been too interesting. The same goes for this one. |
Susanne Sundfør shouldn't need much introduction at this point, but she maybe does anyway. She's a singer-songwriter from Haugesund, Norway, and she's got one of the most beautiful and unique voices I know of. She writes great songs and I've been a huge fan of hers ever since debut album ten years ago. Amazingly, each of her albums since then has been a bigger leap forward than I thought was possible for one artist, and she did three of them. From the folk-pop of her self-titled debut, she explored a dark, electronic, moody soundscape on her second album The Brothel and made it clear she was in an entirely different league than her Norwegian contemporaries. With 2012's stunning The Silicone Veil and 2015's ecstatic Ten Love Songs, as well as guest features on some of Röyksopp, Kleerup and M83's very best songs, she's established herself as a world-class pop artist. It's been an amazing journey to follow.
But no matter how impressive her artistic development has been, she's always seemed awfully uncomfortable in the limelight. I've felt like she's been using pop music mostly as a tool to just get famous enough that she can do what she likes. That may seem a harsh criticism, but even her most joyous songs can't hide that there's a deep melancholy behind them. Despite the awesome recordings and performances, there's an uncomfortable dissonance when you see their shy and awkward creator. And so it's almost a relief that Sundfør for her new record has stripped back all the showbiz, and released what feels like a truly honest, heartfelt album. The result is unique and captivating.
Calling it a return to her roots feels wrong since she's such a completely different artist now than when she started, but Music For People In Trouble certainly has more acoustic guitar and less synths than anything she's put out since her debut. She's also added a bit of an americana sound with steel guitar, banjo, and the occasional jazzy clarinet or saxophone. The album is intensely dark even in its breeziest sections, only comforting you because you desperately need it in these troubled times. She insists it's not a political album, but it's hard to interpret the spine-tingling highlights "The sound of war" and "Mountaineers" in any other way. Both include spooky drone passages (on "Mountaineers" courtesy of John Grant) that contrast eerily with Sundfør's crystal clear vocals. Other songs look inward, focusing on overcoming emptiness, love and loss. The main theme that stands out is the hope and brightness that comes from acknowledging the darkness, whether it's personal or global.
Some may see it as her worst release yet, others as by far her best. Personally I don't know how I would rank it. Music For People In Trouble is not catchy, but it is truly remarkable.
Hear: "Undercover", "Mountaineers (feat. John Grant)", "Reincarnation".
But no matter how impressive her artistic development has been, she's always seemed awfully uncomfortable in the limelight. I've felt like she's been using pop music mostly as a tool to just get famous enough that she can do what she likes. That may seem a harsh criticism, but even her most joyous songs can't hide that there's a deep melancholy behind them. Despite the awesome recordings and performances, there's an uncomfortable dissonance when you see their shy and awkward creator. And so it's almost a relief that Sundfør for her new record has stripped back all the showbiz, and released what feels like a truly honest, heartfelt album. The result is unique and captivating.
Calling it a return to her roots feels wrong since she's such a completely different artist now than when she started, but Music For People In Trouble certainly has more acoustic guitar and less synths than anything she's put out since her debut. She's also added a bit of an americana sound with steel guitar, banjo, and the occasional jazzy clarinet or saxophone. The album is intensely dark even in its breeziest sections, only comforting you because you desperately need it in these troubled times. She insists it's not a political album, but it's hard to interpret the spine-tingling highlights "The sound of war" and "Mountaineers" in any other way. Both include spooky drone passages (on "Mountaineers" courtesy of John Grant) that contrast eerily with Sundfør's crystal clear vocals. Other songs look inward, focusing on overcoming emptiness, love and loss. The main theme that stands out is the hope and brightness that comes from acknowledging the darkness, whether it's personal or global.
Some may see it as her worst release yet, others as by far her best. Personally I don't know how I would rank it. Music For People In Trouble is not catchy, but it is truly remarkable.
Hear: "Undercover", "Mountaineers (feat. John Grant)", "Reincarnation".
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