Having a record deck and speaking Swedish are possibly not essential when it comes to writing music reviews but in the case of this 7” release they would certainly help. Luckily I have a record deck but… apart from that I am somewhat confounded by this brief 6 minutes or so of music. Before I get to it though attention is most certainly drawn to the cover art. Band name font and bright yellow colour with cartoon images kind of make me think of Black Flag but the lurid design is actually quite ghastly especially if like me you are a non-meat eater. If you want to know exactly what is stewing in that big vat on the front, the back art may well give you a clue as it features our two cover stars slaughtering a pig in the middle of the road, nice! I guess it is as tasteful as it gets though, at least there is no blood or anything.
Musically again there’s not a huge amount to go on. This Swedish trio strike as a bit on the zany side as first track Smutsen (Dirt) has a jaunty, fast paced guitar melody which sounds like a collision of Indie and punk as it rattles away. Vocals are catchy and sharp in the mix with backing calls layered up behind them. It’s all quite jolly really, only question is what’s it all about? After a few plays I am tempted to sing along but that would be silly. Some brass blows in making it all the more strange and even making it Swedish El Mariachi music for a split second errr. Perhaps Bingo will be easier, two fat ladies? That jangly guitar is again the central premise with some clean almost troubadour sounding vocals which wail and build up around the pogo beat of the music. It maintains fast and slow parts but what I guess is the chorus is hammered away with determination which sticks in with memorable tenacity. Apparently the band describe their music as Hembygdsrock or Homestead Rock and in all fairness I think you would have to be in their homestead with a portion of roast sow though to fully appreciate it.
(5.5/10 Pete Woods)
27/10/2013 at 8:27 pm
Hi Pete!
Many thanks for reviewing our record. Please don’t take this as a complaint on the review, but I want to clarify a few things when it comes to the cover art. Although it looks like knives/blades/swords, the guys in the images are actually handling old-school blind canes and the idea of them slaugthering the pig is completely unintentional. We love animals and would never use visuals depicting animals or humans being harmed in any way. Also, what’s cooking in the pot on the front cover is actually porridge. Don’t ask me to explain the idea here, but according to the artist he was inspired by a movie in which a similar scenario plays out. I know that sounds really weird…
Once again thanks for taking your time to listen to and write about our music.
Regards,
Jocke // Knifven
28/10/2013 at 8:02 am
Interesting and thanks for clearing that up. Put’s a whole new slant on things!