Angstbadan – Fool’s Game
There’s one nation on this green, merry Earth that’s proven more capable than any other at recreating retro musical trends. That country is not the U.S., even though many of those trends originated there. It is not the U.K., even though it’s been pop music’s engine. And it’s not one of the nimble, ambitious Asian countries despite their growing pop culture influence.
That country is Sweden, and it can out-rock and out-punk nearly anyone, as long as we’re talking about 1967-era psych-rock and 1977-like punk. It can do it without a hint of irony and entirely proficient. In fact, there’s hardly ever a whiff of an idea that Angstbadan’s new music isn’t actually an old recording.
I, for one, rejoice at this. Angstbadan’s approach to creating vintage psych-rock on “Fool’s Game” feels earnest, in tune with what these sounds mean for so many and, most importantly, aware of what works for this kind of sound. This is melodic, warm-sounding and tells you to go on and chase your dreams. And if you’re convinced that for a few decades nothing good has happened in rock music, this will certainly be a thrill.
Doom! Noo Yelbek – Balkon II
Pop music dies a slow, painful death every few decades. It happens, for the most part, because people stop believing that cheerful, simple pop songs can say anything meaningful about the world. But before record execs are inevitably able to revive their star attraction, interesting, wacky, daring musicians move in to try and take its place.
Progressive ideas, psychedelic rhythms and lengthy instrumental solos all get a chance to shine in the interim rule of pop music. Label-dismissing groups like Swiss risk-takers Doom! Noo Yelbek are allowed to thrive, to blend genres together and, if lucky, to get more than niche audiences to believe in their particular brand of magic.
“Balkon II,” a tune sung in Serbian, could well be the missing link between grungey alt-rock, carefully rehearsed jazz and tripped-out psychedelia. It could also, just as well, be a nice example of talented musicians doing away with the rules and letting their instincts guide them somewhere strange and rather wonderful.
