Helvetia – Helvetia’s Junk Shop
Helvetia is not your typical rock band. Their music is not of the loud head banging variety, nor is it the soft angst ridden emo music currently heard all over the radio. No, Helvetia is different. Helvetia is that rare breed of rock band that is not only talented, but also very artistic.
The music from Helvetia’s Helvetia’s Junk Shop sounds like something that would be heard all over one of those indie films that features really good, must have music. The singing is somewhat minimized, with the lead singer normally singing in a low, soft voice, while the music is highly emphasized. Though there is emphasis on the actual music, the singing is not that suicidal emotionally depressing stuff. It’s more slow paced and poetic—a true work of art. Helvetia is definitely a band that lovers of the arts would enjoy.
If you’re a fan of music and not necessarily of singing, you’re going to love this group. This is something you will want to play to listen to, not to dance or bob your head, but maybe just drive along, swaying your hands to the music while pondering life’s dilemmas. Helvetia’s Helvetia’s Junk Shop is worth a good listen.
Math The Band – Don’t Worry
With their fun, silly surfer-like lyrics, Math the Band is reminiscent of a modern day Blink 182. This music is all about just having a good time with your friends.
Though the Band, consisting of Kevin Danger Steinhauser, sounds like something straight out of California, surprisingly, it comes from a University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth student.
The lyrics are goofy and entertaining, and the noisy, energetic tempos will definitely make you want to rock out. This music is just all about having a lot of fun with a group of people. Listening to these songs will surely render a few chuckles and make you want to jam.
Math the Band’s style incorporates a little punk, a pinch of electric, and a whole lot of noise. So while the music is very fun and upbeat, it can sometimes be hard to hear the fun upbeat lyrics because of the noisy style of the music. It actually makes the lyrics almost indecipherable at times.
I think Don’t Worry is worth a good listen. But if you’re not a fan of noisy rock, then this album may not be for you.
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
The Dirty Projectors music is almost likeable, if not for the annoying whiny high-pitched singing. So imagine my surprise we I discover that their new album, Bitte Orca, is not too bad due to the amazing rhythms.
The singing is a bit hard to stomach at times. The awkward voices almost never seem to match the high caliber of the melodies. The singing is over done and at times seems to be trying to hard to pull off a Coldplay or Joan Jett sound without the Coldplay or Joan Jett melodies. It just comes across as very awkward.
Yet, awkward singing and all, I still found that the album still had some redeemable qualities because of the rhythms. The actual music, sans voices, was just so exceptional. I found myself bopping my head along to the beat a lot. I absolutely loved it. It’s so good that it made me wish that someone else I actually liked was singing over these great tempos. But once I started focusing strictly on the beat, the singing didn’t seem SO bad. It actually fit in perfectly with the rhythm of some of the songs, like The Bride, a song I actually like. There are some really great rock and alternative rhythms in this album. But of course this feeling of musical accordance doesn’t last long because the singing is awkward.
Overall, I think the album is ok. If you’re a fan of awkward, artistic emo rock, or you like really good music and don’t care about how the singing sounds then you might like this album. If not, don’t waste you money or hurt your ears.
By Kim Currin
Anekdoten – Chapters
When I first started listening to the Swedish quartet that is Anekdoten, my first thought, I am really going to hate this. And I have to say, I wasn’t completely wrong. I really did hate their music, initially. Upon playing the first track of the band’s new album, Chapters, I was not impressed. The music sounded somber and melancholy with hint of 70s—think Pink Floyd. But after I stopped listening to the music for what it wasn’t (something to bang my hand to), I started to appreciate it for what it was, Retro Emo.
I know the term seems a little strange. After all, how can there be Retro Emo when Emo only began to exist about seven years ago. But if we take Emo for what it is, Emotional, slightly sad rock music, it has existed for years. Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Eric Clapton, and even Guns N Roses have done some Emo music over the years. And no one would dare say that they hated any of their music. I myself, enjoy all of these bands. So keeping that in mind I decided to actually try to embrace Anekdoten. And I am so glad I did.
The foursome composed of guitarist/vocalist Nicklas Barker, cellist Anna Sofi Dahlberg, bassist/vocalist Jan Erik Liljeström and drummer Peter Nordins hails from Stockholm, Sweden and have been together since 1991. They have released six Studio albums, including their latest Chapters.
With it sometimes inaudible and lyrics and macabre undertones, Chapters is the type of album you want to listen to in the sanctity of your on home—in a nice, quiet relaxing place so you can fully enjoy the album. Trust me, if you try to listen to this album somewhere where you’re distracted, as I did (work), you will not be able to appreciate the greatness that is Anekdoten. But if you do take the time to listen to the lyrics, you will appreciate it for the poetry that it is.
While most Emo bands are known for their heartfelt, poetic songs, Anekdoten takes it up a notch. Not only are their lyrics poetic, “the works of wonder pass me unseen/so close in distance, yet so much lies between/seeing with blurry, myopic eyes/stuck in a limbo – so far from the sky” (This Far From the Sky), but so powerfully emotional and beautiful that it makes you want to weep—not cry, but weep. It’s that good. I haven’t heard lyrics this good in years. It’s like modern day Shakespeare.
Their lyrics aren’t the only great thing about Anekdoten. The band’s style is not just Emo, but also 70s. In listening to Anekdoten, it was hard to believe that their album was released in 2009. Their music really sounds like something from about 4 decades ago. It is pure 70s rock. It really reminded me a lot of Pink Floyd with their retro sound and impeccable playing. Anekdoten is amazing.
So my final thoughts on this Retro Emo band Anekdoten? If you have never heard of them, go find out about them. You will not be disappointed. Their elegiac lyrics is the stuff women swoon over and the stuff guys try to use to make women swoon. Chapters is definitely worth buying.
By Kim Currin