Balmorhea – River Arms #20-2008

Balmorhea – «River Arms»

This one is such a treat. You might call it classical indie-music, or you might call it «whatever» you like. Nevertheless, there are string instruments, piano and a certain longful mood throughout the album, and the result is beautiful. Slow arrangements, intense melodies, occasional vocals [without singing any actual words], merely sounds – all carefully intergrated in the final result.

This album has [probably] been overlooked. Surely. Someone should take on the task of waking people. I’m quite sure I’m not the right person to do it, but this is my contribution. If you like classical music, you have a lot to discover by listening to this collection of songs. Grab a beer, no actually, just find a comfortable chair and sit down with this music. Then grab that beer... Stare at the sky, gaze out on the sea, study the waves or the movement of clouds, try listening to trees giving in to the storm – and you won’t find anything to complain about with this as the soundtrack. You just need time. Time to listen.

[This review was written under the influence of amounts of Carlsberg – and the aftermath of good company, following a night out.]

Tracklist:
01. «San Solomon» – 3:43
02. «Lament» – 3:35
03. «The Summer» – 3:56
04. «The Winter» – 5:51
05. «Greyish Tapering Ash» – 3:41
06. «Baleen Morning» – 3:44
07. «Barefoot Pilgrims» – 4:53
08. «Context» – 4:02
09. «Process» – 6:20
10. «Divisadero» – 3:09
11. «Limmat» – 3:22
12. «Theme No. 1» – 5:11
13. «Wind And Sea» – 3:56
14. »San Solomon (Reprise)» – 3:30

Myspace: Balmorhea

Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances - #4/2008

Titus Andronicus / «The Airing Of Grievances»

It was released by Troubleman Unlimited in 2008. The band is from Glen Rock, New Jersey (US), and was formed in 2005. «The Airing of Grievances» is their debut-album. These guys are building blocks of sound with their guitars, drums and loud singing (read: screaming vocal). However, the «noise» they make is of the melodic kind – and is probably suitable when working out in a gym, fighting your way onto public transportation or anything else that makes you sweat. One thing I’m sure of is that it would work well contrasting a quiet Sunday walk.

Tracklist:
01. «Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ» – 5:56
02. «My Time Outside the Womb» – 2:55
03. «Joset of Nazareth's Blues» – 2:30
04. «Arms Against Atrophy» – 5:16
05. «Upon Viewing Brueghel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus» – 4:25
06. «Titus Andronicus» – 3:13
07. «No Future» – 7:39
08. «No Future Part Two: The Day After No Future» – 6:54
09. «Albert Camus» – 6:25

This is how they present themselves on their own blog:
«Titus Andronicus like to scream and carry on at excessive volume. Titus Andronicus like songs which are fast more than songs which are slow. Titus Andronicus think slow songs are okay sometimes. Titus Andronicus never sing about love, only hate. Titus Andronicus have no hope for the future. Titus Andronicus believe only in nothingness. Everyone in Titus Andronicus was born to die. Titus Andronicus crave your approval but will settle for your utter disdain.»

http://titusandronicustheband.blogspot.com

MySpace | Pitchfork (review) | Wikipedia

Label as: Shakespeare, Albert Camus, «...your life is over...»

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid - #10/2008

Elbow ­ / «The Seldom Seen Kid»
First released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the U.K.

This is another strong collection of tunes from the Elbow. Since their debut back in 2001 (Asleep In The Back), I must admit I have been off and on following their work. They have in total released four albums and as with their first release, this one caught my immediate attention. They’re belting out fat vocal, rhythm and riffs like weather beating mountain tops, while telling interesting stories. Why ask for more?

Tracklist:
01. «Starlings» – 5:20
02. «The Bones Of You» – 4:49
03. «Mirrorball» – 5:50
04. «Grounds For Divorce» – 3:39
05. «An Audience With The Pope» – 4:27
06. «Weather To Fly» – 4:29
07. «The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver» – 5:14
08. «The Fix» – 4:27
09. «Some Riot» – 5:23
10. «One Day Like This» – 6:34
11. «Friends Of Ours» – 4:38
12. «We’re Away» [UK bonus track] – 1:59

Mormor Anne Cath.

Takk Anne Cath.

Jeg lurer på hva Lillebror ville ha sagt.

Larsen & Ullmann

Two quite captivating personas, Liv Ullmann and Marit Larsen.

Obviously, their presence are known to me because they are Norwegians, like myself. But apart from tiny coincidences (like that of citizenship) I just want to state that these two women resemble each other in so many ways. The way they talk, body language and their appearance in public situations bare many similarities. I hope I don’t qualify in being some sort of stalker by declaring such a thing – at least that was never my intention. My knowledge of these gifted two is limited to what I’ve seen in interviews and read elsewhere about them. (And of course from their work within the arts, which I find enticing; Larsen and her music, Ullmann as an actress and director.)

They appear somewhat shy (in that, to me – agreeable fashion), funny and enlightened in a coy, [feminine?] manner. Of course I am not sure if this annotation at all serves any purpose, I only write about it here because it is my own observation. [In fact it is probably a very inadequate reflection.]

This was first of all a post to congratulate Liv Ullmann on her birthday tomorrow.

Järvinen & Norlin - För varje hjärtslag

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Wonderful. Not new, but wonderful.

Fifteen highlights

Here are fifteen musical highlights for me so far this year. It was impossible for me to find links to all of these songs, but I have tried to compensate by including another tune from the albums containing the songs in question. Other links again might have some poor sound-qualities, so it would be wise to check out the actual albums.

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• / «Time To Pretend» - MGMT (Oracular Spectacular)

• / «A&E» - Goldfrapp (The Seventh Tree)

• / «Anna» - Hello Saferide (More Modern Short Stories...)

• / «Chorus of Guitars» - The Big Sleep (Sleep Forever)

• / «Only One» - The Cure (4:13 Dream)

• / «Your Protector» - Fleet Foxes (Fleet Foxes)

• / «Buenos Aires Beach» - The War On Drugs (Wagonwheel Blues)

• / «Alicia Ross» - Kathleen Edwards (Asking For Flowers)
[alternative link: acoustic guitar-version from Privatclub, Berlin]
• / «Surely Gone» - Ida (Lovers Prayers)

(link to the song «The Weight of the Straw»)

• / «Broken» - Late of the Pier (Fantasy Black Channel)

• / «Notion» - Kings of Leon (Only By The Night)

• / «Slipped Dissolved And Loosed» - Lambchop (OH[Ohio])

• / «Baleen Morning» - Balmorhea (River Arms)

(link to the song «San Solomon»)

• / «Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur» - Sigur Rós (Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust)

• / «If A Song Could Get Me You» - Marit Larsen (The Chase)

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This is most likely a post that will be updated.

[1st update, making it sixteen]
• / «I’ll Be Glad» - Bonnie ’Prince’ Billy (Lie Down In The Light)
[alternative link, a tribute to the ’Prince’ with some well revealing photos]