Förträngt HushÃ¥llsarbete - Offret om att Älska…
It’s going to take me a while just to learn how to pronounce this Swedish ensemble’s name, but it’ll be well worth it. Like an update of the band Kraldjursanstalten, FH sail the avant-garde seas with vision and intensity, merging Beefheart-ian guitar with noise and an almost supernatural ability to be both experimental and completely catchy at the same time. To even remark in length about something like this after a first listen seems unfair, the cup literally brimmeth over with astounding invention and brilliant ideas. Can barely wait to dig into this one again.
Morse Code Transmission - II
I have to admit, I originally gave this double album, modelled on some of those early Chicago albums, short shrift on my first few listens, but this was in a decade when my tastes were closer to the European than American. While Canadians Morse Code would go on to release some rather tepid symphonic progressive rock, that line up was something of an overhaul of this earlier band who were clearly listening to American blues, rock and psych. While the vocals here are pretty hard to take at times, I’d always gotten the impression this was a lot cheesier than it sounds to me now. In fact I gave it probably the biggest grade jump I’ve made in ages, from a 5 to a 9 and was considering it a lot more promising. Then I realzied I was getting familiar with it a little too quickly. After a couple plays of the cassette I realized I had one of the four sides duplicated, probably due to a side 1/side 4 backing issue, so I ended up having to zero it out. But it did leave me with the desire to hear it on CD.
Lisker s/t
This Spanish band (Basque to be specific), in retrospect, reminds me of the Argentine group Tanger to some extent, particularly the whole amateur vibe it gives off. While with Tanger it’s fairly charming, I’ve never warmed to this Lisker album, it reminds me of bad jamming (I know bad jamming primarily through participation). All the songs sound really unrehearsed, with lots of off spots by the various instruments. Sometimes the sheer enthusiasm of the musicians can pull this sort of thing off, but these guys sound like their ambitions are a little too high for their abilities. I had originally taken it down to an 8 but in writing and recalling this I had to take it down one more. This is one mediocre record. You can all shoot me now.