Esben And The Witch - Violet Cries

British indie rock combo Esben and the Witch based its name on the eponymous Danish fairytale about a the youngest of twelve brothers, named Esben. Being smaller and weaker than his brothers Esben is systematically overlooked, until he eventually saves the day. Make no mistake about the general tenor of the story though: to ancient fairy tale custom our hero doesn't prevail before about a dozen people have been murdered and he himself has gotten close to being eaten. If you know that some of their other influences include Francis Bacon and Greek mythology and you could assume that Esben and the Witch is not situated on the happy end of the musical spectre. And you would assume correctly. Their debut album 'Violet Cries' - built around their trademark dark electronica and eerie vocals - exales an anything but cheerful atmosphere. But whatever it may, after their self-released 33 EP 'Violet Cries'  promised to be a interesting record.

The album starts with 'Argyria', which slowly draws you into the the somber dreamscape of the band. The dark shoegaze sound swells, crawling over you like a shadow, and then fades away as sudden as it appeared. On lead single 'Marching Song' it's the ghostlike vocals providing the necessary chills. These first two tracks immediatly give you a pretty clear idea of what sound Esben and the Witch is trying to achieve. 'Hexagons IV' contains a hint of witch house reminding of Unison's 'Outsides' with its eerie build-up and muted beats. A hint, because of the subtlety, as Esben and the Witch can't really be cathegorized under one specific denominator. The pressing ambience of 'Chorea' is similarly built up, creeping up on you until it suddenly breaks off, like a dream from which you abruptly wake up,  still feeling somewhat uneasy. The spooky, tensed interlude 'Battlecry/Mimicry' - reminiscent of the Knife's 'Tumult' with its Greek-tragedy feel - evokes an ominous, creepy pre-battle atmosphere. It forms a seemless bridge to 'Eumenides', a beautiful yet tormented elegy. The songs bursts with emotions, which is largely the merit of Rachel Davies' beautiful vocals. Only rarely Esben and the Witch allows a ray of sunshine to pierce through their dark melodies. On 'Marine Fields Glow' and 'Light Streams' the band comes in the wake of Beach House with melodies that are a bit less somber. But even at its poppiest Esben and the Witch still sounds closer to nightmare pop than dream pop. 'Light Streams' alternates dark-sounding energy-outbursts with eerie shoegaze and dreamy vocals, towards the end the drum roll swells taking the song to an exhilerating finale.

Instead of making autobiographical songs or mirroring their own feelings in their music, the band's staring point is exploring stories that captured their imagination. 'Eumenides' is based on the story of Orestes and the furies, 'Lucia , at the precipice' - which doesn't feature on the album but was released early 2010 as a single - explores the ilness and emotional struggles of writer James Joyce's daughter Lucia. That somewhat challenging premisse might make Esben and the Witch a little less in your face and thus perhaps less approachable than the average Linkin Park album. But who ever decided that music had to speak directly to its listeners. Sometimes a small threshold merits the extra effort and  'Violet Cries' is definately worth the plunge.

Tracklist

1. Argyria

2. Marching Song

3. Marine Fields Glow

4. Light Streams

5. Hexagons IV

6. Chorea

7. Warpath

8. Battlecry/Mimicry

9. Eumenides

10. Swans

Hercules and Love Affair - Blue Songs

Tagline: ‘But my house, is in order’

To say that Hercules and Love Affair is a diverse group of people seems somewhat of an understatement. The musical project centered around New York-based Dj Andrew Butler and supplemented by an array of guest artists and musicians, rose to prominence in 2008 with their eponymous debut album, a highly danceable nu-disco triumph, but is probably most known for the terrific first single ‘Blind’ featuring Antony Hegarty. Apart from Hegarty it was Kim-Ann Foxman and the ever flamboyant Nomi Ruiz who provided vocals to Butler’s disco beats. But that was then and this is now. In 2011 Antony is no longer supporting – although his part in 2008 was already limited to the actual record, as he didn’t tour with the band. And Nomi Ruiz is currently working on her debut with Jessica 6 alongside Andrew Raposo and Morgan Wiley, (who she met on tour with Hercules and Love Affair. That makes Butler and co’s sophomore album an unpredictable one, if nothing else. Question is whether they'll be able to repeat the exuberance of their first. Lead single 'My House' already suggested the best.


Unfortunately the rest of the album can't always maintain the same level. 'Blue Songs' takes of strong, with the insanely irrestistible disco track 'Painted Eyes'. 'My House' then really gets the party started. The song is carried by one of their trademark minimal disco beat and even though it starts of seemingly muted, it will have you at least tapping along to it by the end. Guest singer Shaun wright's deep, somewhat androgenous voice seemlessly complements the music the way Nomi's used to. In combination with the vibrant retrohouse beats and the ninety-esque video you get quite an opener. 'Answers Come In Dreams' completes the hat trick with its hypnotizing vocals and nu-disco arrangement. About halfway through the album the pace gets a bit lost with a trio of slow songs. 'Leonora' eventually blooms into a sensual satin chic disco ballad, with the help of siren Kim Ann Foxman. But the duo 'Boy Blue' and 'Blue Song' somewhat misses the mark. 'Boy Blue' takes too long to build up to the eery atmosphere of the last two minutes and title-track 'Blue Song' - ironically the title song - is just boring.


After that Butler - like any Dj who notices the dance floor is emptying - opens up a can of his funkiest trumpets on 'Falling', a genuine piece of disco vibes only sans the camp. The second half of the album doesn't always level up to the first tracks (with 'I Can't Wait' as bit of a low) but nevertheless still produces some fine dance tracks. 'Step up' thrives on a beat that reminds of Technotronic's 'Pump Up The Jam' and is provided with vocals by Kele who, for some reason, even when he's toning it down still has the most theatrical voice on the album. And by 'Visitor' Butler has everything back on track. Final track 'It's Alright' - with it's nostalgic atmosphere - forms the perfect cool-down after yet another extremely dancable Hercules and Love Affair record. Andy Butler hasn't lost his gift of filling a dance floor with his misleadingly minimal yet oh so energetic beats. Then again, with wiz kid Butler on the buttons you'll always end up with a pretty decent record. 'Blue Songs' might be one of those albums that has to grow on you - and it undoubtetly will. But it does occasionally lack in sounding as groundbreaking as its predecessor did - even though the infectious beats are often difficult to resist and despite the fact that the absence of Hegarty and Ruiz has been flawlessly filled. Maybe that's just because their debut was so strong, maybe Hercules and Love affair just lost some of its form.


Tracklist

1. Painted Eyes
2. My House

3. Answers Come In Dreams

4. Leonora

5. Boy Blue

6. Bleu Song

7. Falling

8. I Can’t Wait

9. Step Up

10. Visitor

11. It’s Alright

Songs of the Week

1. I Follow Rivers - Lykke Li: the oriental rhythms on this second release from the singers upcoming second album remind of her 2008 debut single 'Little Bit' but without the naïveté and sweetness that sometimes marked her debut album 'Youth Novels'. A new, darker Lykke Li seems to have arrived.

2. Night Air - Jamie Woon: one third lounge, one third irrestistible semi-dance track and one third smooth, soulful voice: 'Night Air' was released late last year, but is now finding its way to our regions. Brit School graduate Jamie Woon's debut album 'Mirrorwriting' is definately one to look forward to. 

3. H.A.M. - Kanye West ft. Jay-Z: first preview for 'Watch The Throne', Kanye West's soon to be released collaboration album with Jay-Z. West raised the bar with 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', but that doesn't change his ambitions. Masterly mix of hip hop and opera.

4. My House - Hercules and Love Affair: irresistible house track from Andy Butler and co.'s sophomore album 'Blue Songs'. Guest vocalist Shaun Wright turns out a more than worthy substitute for Nomi Ruiz, the infectious retro beats and colorful nineties video will take care of the rest.

5. Wonderman - Tinie Tempah ft. Ellie Goulding: Things are going hard these days for British rapper Tinie Tempah. His 2010 debut 'Disc-Overy' went platinum in the UK and now he's nominated for four BRIT Awards. On his fifth single, a fierce electropop song, Goulding's bittersweet voice on the chorus perfectly counterweight Tinie's flow.

Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi

Tagline: 'A devil born ... without horns.'

Daughter to a father with Italian roots and an English mother Anna Calvi has been surrounded by music from an early age. She learned to play the guitar and turned out to have quite an impressing voice to go with that. Twenty-eight now, she's ready to serve up her debut album and despite still being relatively unknown, she's received a fair amount of praise for it already. She's been compared to the likes of Siouxsie, PJ Harvey and Nick Cave and Brian Eno called her 'the biggest thing since Patti Smith'. Her voice and sound are at the same time reminiscent to Florence Welch. She definately took her sweet time making this album, but it's worth it. Calvi may have failed to make it to the BBC's shortlist, but there's little doubt she'll be around for a while.

Her self-titled debut starts of with the instrumental 'Rider To The Sea', driven by Calvi's raw, atmosperic guitar chords. The song creates an intruiging mood making you curious for what the rest of the album is going to sound like. On 'No More Words' Calvi's voice enters the piece, smooth and seductive and almost whispering she draws you in like a siren. The tone is definately set after such an intro. Best song on this album is probably 'Suzanne And I', with its riverting drum beat - worthy of Florence + the Machine - and moreover the unparallelled guitar rif. The beautiful 'Morning Light' stays sober almost throughout the whole four minutes, with just one well-times escalation, which fades away as suddenly as it came. On final track 'Love Won't Be Leaving' she strikes just the right chord showing a glance of her brilliance. Her sensual, longing voice combined with her guitar chords create an overwhelming yet charged atmosphere, which leads up to the grand finale, an emotional outburst with just the slightest western feel to it. Her songs sometimes feel like they could have been taken from an Ennio Morricone score: the emotional tension, the charged atmosphere, the simpel beauty, it's all in there. And if Quentin Tarantino could cast Lady Gaga as a villain then there's little doubt that at some point in time he'll have an entire movie in store for Calvi.

Sometimes Calvi goes a little overboard with the pathos. 'The Devil' has a bit of an exaggerated, operatic feel to it at its highpoints, with even a hint of Diamanda Galás as she ranges between soprano and (almost) howling in despair. But she cán pull it off. And the festival-friendly 'Desire' could just as well been an Amy Macdonald song, albeit still so much more rafined. But let's face it, those are pretty minor criticisms. She nevertheless aimed very high on this debut. Her complexicity might make her a little more challenging than last years generation of pop newcomers but at the same time so much the more interesting. And in all honesty, last years pop princesses were all too often a little dull. In that respect Anna Calvi is a breath of fresh air. 2010 was a good year, but it didn't produce that many masterpieces. After Ellie Goulding's bubblegum voice and ditto pop songs, Calvi's unconventional, lush pop symphonies - hovering between a western-feel, bluesrock and touching ballads - come pretty close. A good start of the year and a promising preview to what 2011 still has in store.

Tracklist

1. Rider To The Sea

2. No More Words

3. Desire

4. Suzanne And I

5. First We Kiss

6. The Devil

7. Blackout

8. I'll Be Your Man

9. Morning Light

10. Love Won't Be Leaving

Robyn - Body Talk Pt. 2

Tagline: ‘You know when in Rome I sat down with the Romans / Said "We need a black pope and she better be a woman” (she better!)’

‘She is Robyn. The most killingest pop star on the planet. A pint-sized atom bomb dosed to the tits on electric and dispensing wisdom in three-minute modernist pop bulletins on the post-adolescent condition.’ It is what her site bio read in the days of ‘Robyn’, her self-titled fourth studio album, released in 2005. An album through which the Swedish singer stepped out of the teen pop box and showed that she had what it took. It shows a sense of humor and an undeniable cool, two qualities that characterize Robyn. So when Simon Amstell read the words to her during a 2008 episode of Nevermind The Buzzcocks she got away with it. That is because Robyn’s attitude is not just a pose, it is reflected in her music, which made a complete 180 with the release of ‘Robyn’ via her own label Konichiwa Records. Robyn is one of those rare pop artists who makes pop music – traditionally on the bottom of the critic’s ladder – interesting and edgy, proving that a pop album can make it to year end lists.

At the start of that same episode Amstell introduces her as ‘a chart topping pop phenomenon whose album is still nearly full price in many shops’. It’s a pretty good analysis of Robyn, undoubtedly one of today’s most exciting yet underrated pop stars. In 2005 she turned her back to the flavorless pop tunes that made her a star in native Sweden and even garnered attention in the United States by taking her sound in her own hands and leaving the mainstream behind – marked by a thrilling collaboration with her compatriots from The Knife (‘Who’s That Girl’). In 2010 she announced the release of no less than three albums. The Body Talk series ended up being one full album preceded by two mini-albums, but the effort is no less impressive, given the consistent quality and the fact that she produced some of the most ‘killingest’ pop songs of the year.

Body Talk Pt. 2 has to be my favorite, containing all the classic Robyn elements. The same irresistible satiric coolness from Robyn intro ‘Curriculum Vitae’ is displayed in ‘Criminal intent’, in which Robyn picks up her own defense in Court after being accused of . ‘I admit, I can get somewhat X-rated on the floor’, she takes off, ‘But your Honor, how's that something you get incarcerated for?’. Pop music doesn’t always have to be about something, but at least with Robyn it’s never about nothing. On Snoop Dogg collaboration ‘You Should Know better’, Robyn takes on every institutions and authority in the world in a dynamic, scorching electro-tirade, warning them all not to pick a fight with her. The Russians, the Vatican, even the CIA knows better than to fuck with Robyn.

True, Body Talk Pt. 2 is less versatile than its predecessor. On pt. 1 Robyn explores genres touching on dancehall (with Diplo) and club (with Röyksopp) whereas pt. 2 is a pretty straightforward electro pop album. But instead of becoming just another pop album, Robyn takes it to a whole new level with a near-perfect production, strong vocals and heartfelt lyrics. ‘It is really very simple, just a simple pulse repeated at a regular interval’,  she sings on ‘Include Me Out’, a song so energetic and upbeat you can’t help not singing and dancing along. The whole Body Talk series shares that optimistic feel, even in the vulnerable yet happy love songs, perhaps Robyn's biggest trademark. ‘Hang with me’, in acoustic version on part one, gets an electro pop coat on Pt. 2, with good result. And Body Talk pt. 2 concludes with a another acoustic song – ‘Indestructible’ – which features on Pt. 3 as an irresistible dance track, with a pop beat perfectly complimenting the song’s classical strings. Those

After more than 15 years in the business she has come to be an artist defining pop music. Nobody combines heart ache and attitude the way she does. She left the safe road to do her own thing and in doing so she’s shown that pop music can also push the envelope. For some reason she has not really found her way to the mainstream but one thing is for sure: the whole world should know better than to fuck with Robyn.

1. In My Eyes

2. Include Me Out

3. Hang With Me

4. Love Kills

5. We Dance To The Beat

6. Criminal Intent

7. U Should Know Better (ft. Snoop Dogg)

8. Indestructible (Acoustic Version)

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Tagline: ‘I do have a goal in this lifetime to be the greatest artist of all time, [but] that's very difficult being that I can't dance or sing.’

‘Rhythm, you have it or you don’t that’s a fallacy’, raps Del the Ghostrapper in Gorillaz’ 2001 song ‘Clint Eastwood’. And some people do have it. Take for instance Kanye West. Despite some obvious shortcomings he has set a name for himself in music and gained heaps of critical acclaim over the years. And in addition he is far from shy of spreading the word. Now, talent can justify a certain amount of arrogance, and let that be one thing West does not lacks off. The guy has developed some strong narcissist tendencies over the past years when it came to his contribution to the music industry – and by extent the world. But there was reason to be suspicious this time. Sometimes confidence can turn against you, not least in terms of criticism. And in that respect he needed to redeem himself just a little after his previous album ‘808’s & Heartbreak’ – a heavily auto-tuned synthpop detour. Lyrically West expanded his horizon, but the arrangements sounded just a tad uninspired. And for a self-proclaimed genius. okay just doesn’t cut it. Meanwhile, in popular culture he was fast becoming his own caricature. God’s gift to humanity, a pompous jerk who couldn’t even let country pop featherweight Taylor Swift have her moment of shine (in an incident that didn’t even concern him in any way).

But that’s all behind us now. 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' is an excessive, rich, over-the-top, exaggerated Wiedergutmachung. One of the strengths of the album is probably that Kanye West returned to his core business – hip hop – leaving behind the synths and auto-tune systems that somewhat messed up his last album (at least soundwise). It was a commendable effort, but it was not his best work, simply because it’s not his area of expertise. But what he put forward now is of a totally different caliber. In 'Hell Of A Life' we hear a vintage Kanye as he muses about a life with a porn star - 'Baby, we'll live a hell of a life'. Not that it's all egocentricity. The rapper/singer shares his insecurities as well and opens up significantly ('Runaway'): it's good to have that counterbalance. Although the haters can still kiss his ass ('Power'). But what really makes this album above average is West's towering ambition, not least on display in 'Runaway', nine minute introspective. With the song, which was at the same time the second single released from the album, went a gorgeous 35-minute video, showing West on top of a piano, with a group of ballerina's performing an interpretive dance to the song. Deeply moving!

And then there's the selection of A-list features on the record (Jay-Z! John Legend! Bon Iver!). Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborations give us a preview of the soon-to-be-released joint venture 'Watch the Throne' they're currently working on (or do they as first single 'H.A.M.' contains completely different influences?). And Nicki Minaj – ‘hotter than a Middle Eastern climate’ – surpasses herself in a schizophrenic 32-line (!) rant in 'Monster' – another top track on this album and accompanied by an equally impressive video (the dead models! Minaj holding herself hostage!). Even Bon Iver - not the most obvious collaboration - fits in perfectly in 'Monster' and 'Lost In The World' with the result sounding credible and convincing. But make no mistake about it, despite the consistent excellence of the collaborators, noone is able to upstage West. The way even noted over-actor Beyoncé is reduced to a mere support act in 'See Me Now' - faut le faire!

Suffice to say that this is a pretty terrific effort. True, nobody can love Kanye the way Kanye loves himself. But at the same time we witness introspection, modesty and even some vulnerable moments. And he produced 13 mindblowing tracks. Of course this album stills predominantly feels like a lash out to all those less talented. But that’s because he plain is better than all the others. Like him or not but West showcased why he can still be considered one of the artists of his generation. ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ is not a perfect ten, but it is one of the top albums of 2010. A sincere ‘F-U-C-K’ seems appropriate here.

Tracklist

1. Dark Fantasy

2. Gorgeous

3. Power

4. All Of The Lights (Interlude)

5. All Of The Lights

6. Monster

7. So Appalled

8. Devil In A New Dress

9. Runaway

10. Hell Of A Life

11. Blame Game

12. Lost In The World

13. Who Will Survive In America?

The Knife in collaboration with Planningtorock and Mt. Sims - Tomorrow, In A Year

Tagline: ‘A thousand years seem to pass so quickly’

Early 2010 Swedish electro duo The Knife released 'Tomorrow, In A Year', an album based on the life and works of Charles Darwin. I can't begin to count the number of descriptions starting with ‘It’s okay, but … different to their previous work’. A respectful alternative for fans of the band to ‘it’s not really for me’. And in the newbie field reactions seemed to vary from an optimistic ‘interesting’ to a flat-out honest ‘awful!’ Suffice to say that 'Tomorrow, In A Year' was received with mixed feelings. Because even for fans of The Knife this can be pretty inaccessible, for some the threshold was even too high. It didn’t withhold Karin and Olof Dreijer from choosing an 11-minute song (surprisingly one of the most accessible songs on the record and generally well-received) for lead single and it didn’t stop me from giving it a try. Okay, I’ll admit that I would not be their biggest critic. The sheer idea that The Knife would make an opera screamed ‘album of the year’ in my mind months in advance, even before I had heard a single note. But what’s more important, the finished album managed to not only fill but exceed my biased, unfounded expectations.

Not that this is easy listening. Concept albums can take up a bit more of the listeners attention and that is especially the case for this 2-disc piece of work. ‘But ‘I don’t like it easy, I don’t like it the straight way’, Karin sings on 'Deep Cuts', and it’s pretty much with that state of mind that you should put this album on. Disc 1 – the most challenging one – starts off slow and silent, with nothing more than some bleeps capturing the idea of an empty world giving birth to the first live organisms. It’s only after a solid five minutes that the first voice shows up, that of mezzo-soprano Kristina Wahlin. 'Epochs' combines the beauty of Wahlin’s voice with heavy, amelodic drone. It’s characteristic for the first few songs on 'Tomorrow, in a Year': limited melodies, the overwhelming, dramatic voice of Wahlin battling with the chaotic, pounding drone and electronic noise. Quite the contrary of what music is supposed to contain, it does however fit within the concept that is being carried out here.

                                     

What is impressive though, is how The Knife manages to load some of the dark, amelodic songs on disc one with emotion. ‘Ebb tide Explorer’ creates a lonely, inhospitable water covered planet in which a single life form seems to seeks out for something. And ‘Variation of birds’ maybe best captures the concept of the album, albeit it at the same time one of the most difficult songs. The track starts off with pretty rudimentary electronic distortion but gradually evolves, becoming softer and more melodic with Wahlin’s voice taking it to a tragic culmination. Survival of the fittest put into music. Not for everyone – that much is clear – but for those who are still hanging in there disc two offers a different, more musical sound. The worst struggle seems to be over and the chaos settles down making place for melodies, some instruments and a dose of emotions. Opener ‘Annie Box’ for instance deals with the loss of Darwin’s daughter at an early age. With a limited set-up – little more than a simple string arrangement and four lines of text beautifully sung by Wahlin – it nontheless manages to move. Musical intermezzo ‘Tumult’ then build’s up to ‘Colouring of Pigeons’ the breathtakingly gorgeous pinnacle of 'Tomorrow, In a Year', an opera within an opera as it were.

With 'Tomorrow, in a Year' The Knife manages to capture the essence evolution, without sounding pompous or fabricated. The album combines raw electronic noise with minimalistic string arrangements and classical vocals to create a sound that is both cruel and beautiful, but above all captures the gradual, organic character of evolution. Agreed, this is nothing like their previous works. Apart from techno track ‘Seeds’ and electro pop conclusion ‘The Height of Summer’ the band makes a clear separation between their work as a pop artist and this particular project. And agreed, it is an extremely difficult album to like. But then again, The Knife really isn’t a band that stays within the confines of what you would expect. Either way, those who figured they had an clear vision of what a Knife-opera should sound like after listening to ‘Marble House’ were badly mistaking. Whether or not that’s a good thing is a matter of personal taste but I can only applaud the way in which Karin and Olof took the concept so much further. After Fever Ray’s eponymous debut in 2009, this a second hole-in-one in two years for the Dreijer family. Hopefully they’ll be going for the hat trick soon.

Tracklist

1.	Intro	4:32
2.	Epochs	5:43
3.	Geology	4:24
4.	Unpheaved	3:03
5.	Minerals	1:18
6.	Ebb Tide Explorer	7:06
7.	Variation Of Birds	6:41
8.	Letter To Henslow	2:01
9.	Schoal Swarm Orchestra	8:36
10.	Annie's Box	4:28
11.	Tumult	3:28
12.	Colouring Of Pigeons	11:01
13.	Seeds	9:00
14.	Tomorrow In A Year	12:20
15.	The Height Of Summer	3:57
16.	Annie's Box (Alt. Vocal)	4:54