Chicagojazzen - Brachiosaurus II

Band: Chicagojazzen

Album: Brachiosaurus II

Year: 2011

Country: Sweden

He's done it again folks. The mastermind behind Chigaojazzen has released 17 new tracks of indie-insanity, noise-neurosis, pop-pandemonium, folk-ferocity and electro-ecstasy. You can pretty much say that this is a record that has it all. There is even a "dansbands-låt" (the English word would be country-song I guess) and manages to pull it off somehow. Every song has that special "homerecording" feeling to them. Not in a crappy-high-school-garage-band way, but in a cozy way. You can feel that this is a man that loves to have fun with all sorts of music and is very passionate about what he is doing.

The songs are pretty much what you would expect them to be if you have heard the latest album, Misantropi För Nybörjare. The first thing that strikes me is that there are a lot more vocal parts on this album, which is a good thing in my mind. Even if they mostly consist of some humming and moaning they ad an extra layer of frosting on the already sweet cake. The songtitles are once again brilliant and entertaining by themselves. For example we have Sverige Ut Ur Västerbotten! (Sweden out of Västerbotten), När Bastun Brann Ner och Bryggan Sjönk (When the sauna burned down and the bridge sank) and Jag Bröt Av Mina Briller För Att Slippa Se Dig Igen (I broke my glasses to not having to see you again). These songs are available on cassette at Native Parts Records and if you live in Sweden you can also buy it from one of the releaseshows that will be held at various parts of Sweden.

Song(s) you should listen to: To be honest I haven't had the time to listen to this that much due to my busy job schedule but I really like the first song Talar I Tungor. It's a fast and ferocious song that sounds like a mix between a theme-song from some Miami Vice-series and insane circus music. A fire starter to say the least. I'm really looking forward to listen to this on cassette.

DOWNLOAD/HOMEPAGE

Kristian Anttila - Innan Bomberna (2005)

Band: Kristian Anttila
Album: Innan Bomberna
Year: 2005
Country: Sweden
Okay, so after Kristian released his first album Natta De Mina, he just disappeared. The only thing we know happened then was a fight between Kristian and the record label. He therefore created his own label two years later and released Innan Bomberna there, and stated "it was the shortest way from his heart to the listener's". Innan Bomberna got praised by reviewers everywhere, and the song Paris got much attention from media since he sang about the riots in Paris imidiately after it happened.
In the process of making this album Kristian got help from other great musicians, making the sound more varied. The sound overall is softer, sugary sweet and playful at times, but still straight forward, fitting Kristian's bipolar personality. If you come across an interview of this man, you should sincerely read it. They're most often completely hilarious, and you don't really know if he's speaking the truth or if he's just making it up. To the question "What would make you happy?" he answers:
"I would probably have to re-live my life from the start to achieve that. What I miss is the ability to feel solidarity, affinity, and to have normal relationships... I don't know. I was about to move to a big house on the countryside last autumn, I though that was the solution back then. I would like to have a lot of animals. And I still have those ideas, I'm just not completely done yet. But I don't feel like any of that today. It's just because I'm horny. I've thought about neutering myself by the way. I would like to see how it is to live without the sex drive. If that's the only thing behind our motivation. To live."

Song(s) you should listen to: This album is full of great catchy danceable tracks! My favourites are probably Bland Bovar Å Banditer, where he sings about getting rid of criminals and troublesome youngsters, while realising he's one of them. I also like the super eccentric and happy Ingenting, Ingenting... Ingenting!!! where Kristian out of nowhere sings about the feeling of rejection, and suicide as the way out.
I told you before that Kristians trademark is that the last track is always the best. On this statement is actually true about the two last tracks. The track Tio is a well-written song about being an outcast, and how no one is able to help you, and it turns quite epic in the end. It also has a wonderful acoustic version, which is almost better than the "real" one. The last track Innan Bomberna is fragile, vulnerable, and heartbreaking, but just as great.

WEBSITE / DOWNLOAD

Kristian Anttila - Natta De Mina (2003)

Band: Kristian Anttila
Album: Natta De Mina
Year: 2003
Country: Sweden
Consider this as a warning, but the next four posts will not handle any pretentious metal band from hell. Instead they will be about Kristian Anttila, a peculiar outcast from Gothenburg, who decided he wanted to make music as a teenager. He tried to get into the music business somehow, but always got missunderstood because of the things he wanted to create, or by his slightly bipolar personality. He realised that he would probably have to do this journey alone, so he learned to play some instruments and wrote an album when he was 24 years old. He sended it around to some record labels, and got hooked by National, but they wanted someone else to produce the album to be able to release it. And Natta De Mina is the result of that.
Even though it's a pop album, you will get strucked be the kind of dirty and punky feel it has to it. It's very loud, and a bit hysterical and distorted at times. The lyrics are also quite extreme to be this kind of pop music. He's not afraid to say what he thinks about loaded subjects such as religion and politics, always in a very provocative way. And if that wasn't provocative enough, he most often tops it with sex, violence, and drugs. These are just some of the facts that makes his lyrics great, and if you don't know Swedish... Too bad for you.

Song(s) you should listen to: During the first two tracks Harhjärta and Hetsdöpt you will probably wonder what the fuck is going on. They're both extremely loud and eccentric. After this you will probably get your consciousness back somewhere during the rest of the album.
Kristan Anttila kind of has a trademark in making the last song of the album very soft, vulnerable, and completely wonderful. The last track is always the best when it comes to his works. And so is the case with the last track on Natta De Mina. It's a humble and sweet lullaby, making your ears a bit happier after the pop punk torture.

WEBSITE / DOWNLOAD

Chicagojazzen - Misantropi För Nybörjare (2010)

Band: Chicagojazzen
Album: Misantropi För Nybörjare
Year: 2010
Country: Sweden
My better half told me to listen to this, and as soon as the first track started I thought "WTF, he knows that I hate Doktor Kosmos, why does he make me listen to this?". I was too lazy to turn the music off, so the record was still playing, but I stopped listening. And all of a sudden it switched to track three - Höga Byggnader Reste Sig Ur Ruinerna, which caught my attention, and I fell in love.
You can say that this album is like a box of chocolates. If you just hold on through the up-beat electro pop song in the beginning, which is really too sweet and yucky, you will find some delicate pieces during the album. And this album really got pieces for everyone. Chicagojazzen is a one man band, and I just think this dude locked him self in into a studio a couple of days and decided to record some music, but with no genre restrictions what so ever. You will hear all kinds of instruments, used in all kinds of different ways. The songs most often has some melancholic jazzy artsy post-rock feeling to them. Except for one - Bränn Ner Jörn, which is quite noise-ish. The only thing these tracks have in common is that they're all a little Lo-Fi.
And as a bonus if you know Swedish, the tracks have awesome names such as "Ewokerna känner ingen skam" (The Ewoks knows no shame), "När Per nästan dog" (When Per almost died), and "De målade mitt tandkött violett" (They painted my gums violet).

Song(s) you should listen to: Höga Byggnader Reste Sig Ur Ruinerna is maybe not something special, if you don't get a smile on your face as soon as you hear avant-garde circus tunes from hell. De Målade Mitt Tandkött Violett is a melancholic but beautiful song that has that kind of roadtrip-feeling to it. You know, when you're half awake/half asleep and just dead looking out through the window. This song could be in a movie. In fact, all of these songs could be in a movie soundtrack.

MYSPACE / DOWNLOAD