Dominique A (2012) ♪♪♪♪♪
Vers les lueurs (France)

‘The double album ‘La Musique/La Matiere..’ (2009) was a minimalistic masterpiece largely recorded in Dominique’s kitchen with just drumcomputers, guitars and synthesizers. It was a lonesome project and that loneliness translated itself in an album that breathed alienation and loneliness. It was obvious that after this otherworldy album he could not repeat himself, everything had been said. Or had it? ‘Vers les lueurs’ (Towards the glow) can measure itself with his previous album with the acceptation that he returns to bringing in a band to back him up. But that is just what they are, the backing, because the red line throughout the album is created by woodwind quartet (flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, English horn). It is a return to the warmth of acoustic instruments and it gives the whole album an intimate and nurturing atmosphere. That does not mean Dominique lost his gloomy state of mind. On the contrary ‘Vers les lueurs’ is one big longing to a time when nature and humans were closer to each other.

On the single ‘Rendez-nous la lumière’ he sings: “We see highways / Sheds, markets / Large red signs / And crowded parking lots / We see landscapes / Which are unlike anything / Who all look alike / And which have no end / Give us the light / Give us the beauty / The world was so beautiful / And we have wasted it”. Cheerfull. But Dominique plea for light can also be a plea for people to cheer up in these troublesome times of economical and political crisis. He clings to memories to hold on to sanity .’Parce-que tu étais là’ and sometimes hears the cries of despair in his sleep (Parfois j’entends des cris): “Sometimes I hear cries/ It often wakes me up / Often I do not sleep / And I listen to the night / I listen to the engines / And cars that slow / And the sound of sirens / I hear my heart beat”. The songs almost all have the same building blocks. First the woodwind starts the melody and then Dominique melancholic semi-whispering voice floats in, gradually drums and guitars come thundering in to gradually erupt into a rockpiece before suppressing again into the introvert initial melody. No cheap sensationalism though, but everything impeccably executed and balanced.

Dominique’s songwriting also became less cryptic and incomprehensible although he still can write some vague lines like: “Strange animals threw themselves from the hills / Driven mad by the noise of rain and plants / Where filtered desires tapered shapes / Scrolling to the bedside of injured animals”. And at the end of the album Dominique also gives us a signal of hope. The closing opus ‘Le Convoi’ tells of a hope at the horizon, a dream that will stop al arguing and will warm us like fire. A glow that is now distant but will come for us. It is of course love that will save us all: “Soon, soon, you will see them / Like a river born to light / Soon you will see the convoy / And thou shalt take fear of love”. Beautifull. ‘Vers les lueurs’ is again a prove that Dominique holds the banner of the poet-rock high in France, maybe even at lonesome height. Magnificent.

>> Back to list of reviews

Goran Bare & Majke (2011) ♪♪♪
Teške boje (Croatia)

Back in 1990 the Croatian answer to the heavy bluesy stonerrock of the Master of Reality was the band Majke. The band delivered six studioalbums before the band fell apart mostly because of vocalist Goran Bare's ongoing illegal substance abuse resulting in  fights with most of the band. This looked like the end of the band but in 2007 Bare (rehabilitated and clean) rejoined his old mate guitarist Zoran Čalić for a rebirth of Majke. With all the hiccups you get when an old relationship is glued together again the band finally delivered a new album at the end of 2011 called Teške boje (Heavy Colors) which consists of 10 songs. Chances were this album sounds like a cleaned up version of the old dirty bluesrock they made more then a decade ago. Due to the cleaned up state of mind both core members nowadays have. So I was a bit anxious. But surprisingly the new album holds nothing back. The music is still a dangerous and bloody piece of rock music that is as raw as it is bluesy. The duo equally split the task of creating the music, Čalić  wrote the music, Bare did the production. The title track is a direct provocation towards anyone who would have thought the fire dimmed in Majke. In the video and on the coverart Goran plays the role of a martyr denouncing God and whoever else doubted him. “My heart was difficult to tear, / and a pump with a smile, / I sing because I sing and behold / difficult colors / I painted them / God I tell you that they are lies / You know everything, so at least say, / when the windows of heaven opened.” The only but is that the whole album has the same similar flow and feel throughout. We are a big fan for consistency but if you’re not into the sound don’t bother because Majke doesn’t make any concessions. The sound has a touch of blues, dark rock and garage that meet up in a whirlwind of torn amplifiers , unruly guitars, a dominant organ and an angry rumbling rhythm section. With Bare’s dark booming voice as a centre point. He even sounds like Chris Goss (singer of Masters of Reality) nowadays. This is an album on which heavy blues fans who adore Kyuss, Queens of the Stone age and Fu Manchu can sustain for months to come. It’s the album Josh Homme has declined to make for the past decade. He’d better book a ticket and see these ‘Mothers’ in action. Very convincing return to the music European alternative rock scene.

>> Back to list of reviews

Alain Chamfort (2012) ♪♪
Elle et lui (France)

The inevitable duet album. That can hint to:
- A dispute with the record company which forces the artist to come up with an easy idea to get out of his contractuel obligations. The other way in such a case is a live-album or remix project but if you don't want to tour and dispice deejay's this is a good alternative.
- Artistic poverty, the well has dried up, you sit at your piano and have no idea what to write about. Then you get in a whole team of young artists and let them reinterpret your old songs. The only thing you have to do is sing along.
- Overkill of best of's. There is no elegant way to chew on your catalogue any longer and you decide that this is a nice approach to actually chew some more.
- Artistic vanity. You are that certain age or point in your career that a younger generation is ready to thurify you with a duet album. You can sit back and enjoy the sheer devotion they bestow upon you.

I have no idea what Chamfort's reasons are for this duet album but my guess is that we can chose from one of the above options. 'Elle et lui' is not bad but I don't see the use of making it an entire album. Some contributions like 'Manureva' with Audrey Marnay, 'Bambou' with Camélia, 'Clara veut la lune' with Alizee and 'La fievre dans le sang' with Capucine are actually well done and worth a B-side or charity compilation. But a whole album where also Keren Ann, Vanessa Paradis and Jennifer give a halfhearted contribution is too much. And we do love your work Alain, we really do, but this is a bit below your own standards.

>> Back to list of reviews

Ellen ten Damme (2012) ♪♪♪½
Het regende zon (Netherlands)

Singer, songwriter, actor, performer Ellen ten Damme is one of Holland’s most expressive and creative artists. She released three albums in English since 1995. In 2009 she released her first album entirely in Dutch, with lyrics by poet Ilja Pfeijffer to her own songs. Thanks to its success in Holland (gold status) she is back with a second album with Dutch poems by, again, Pfeijffer, but also by other well known poets (Mulish, Campert) and by Ellen herself. The songs are diverse and nicely arranged. Although Ellen does not have the best singing voice in the Europop scene, she knows how to sing a song and she knows how to express her feelings and to touch her audience. Her singing is sometimes soft and intimate (‘Er zit niets anders op dan jij’, ‘Gras’), sometimes strong and exuberant (‘Iedereen voor iedereen’, ‘Je bent het einde’). Most of the songs on the album, deal with the love and relationships, though the quality of the lyrics prevents them from becoming cliché or corny. ‘Iedereen voor iedereen’ (‘Everyone for everyone’) and ‘Nog nooit’ (‘Never still’) are a nice examples:

“Never”:
“I have never had a friend, until he suddenly was not there anymore / I have never seen the day, until I looked in your eyes / I have never known myself, until I thought that someone resembled me”

Not all songs deal with the love theme. ‘Pi-pa-polderland’ (‘Country of Pi-Pa-Polders’) is a song in which Ellen expresses her concerns about the direction in which society evolves:

‘Pi-Pa-Polderland’:
“Where has it gone, where has it gone / My country of pi-pa-polders /
Where I could live, could live so happy / With ti-ta-tolerance / And mild nag warranty / … / And I do not believe in some weird, old supreme being / That wants to rule us through some old writing / But whoever who does, should be allowed to do so”

The best thing about Ellen is that she has guts. Her songs lack the typical cabaret-style that many Dutch pop artists suffer from. She really dares to bring a song big style, with lots of drama. At the same time, this is exactly where it occasionally wrings – at some points there is a bit of too much drama. Still, it is a great thing to hear this artist creating a completely new musical idiom: original female Dutch pop music that can stand the comparison with other great Europop artists, like Ina Deter (Germany), Luz Casal (Spain) or Maija Vilkkumaa (Finland). And for that achievement alone, we need to respect Ellen’s creative efforts.

>> Back to list of reviews

Dilane (2012) ♪♪♪
Millenovecentottantatre (Italy)

‘Close to me’ (Chiude in me) sing Ilenia Manfredini and Daniele Berni to each other in the opening song of this debut album. It seems a theme that they integrated on the entire album. Intimacy translated into a comfortable, warm and curling musical landscape. An important component in creating this sound lies in the guitar work of Matteo Cappelletti that lays a basis switching easily from flamenco to acoustic to electric rock. The band has been around since 2009 but took their time to record the nine songs that form ‘Millenovecentottantatre’. Expanded with Marco Paradisi (Bass) and Renato Droghetti (Keyboards) they succeeded in creating a warm summer sound that also holds something edgy. And with that edge the album holds a deeper darker layer that only reveals itself with a closer listen. Calculated small outbursts of distorted guitars, the effective but limited use of vocoder vocals, pocketed keyboard strings arrangements and sudden rhythm changes give the music something intriguing. With as anchor the voices of Ilenia and Daniele that fit perfectly together and form the centre piece for the music around them. Like a colorful weave work. In that sense music and lyrics to the songs are not as simple as you might expect from above description as this is not becoming a light breezy summer album. Nor does music becomes an Eighties tribute although the album title '1983' makes you suspect otherwise (maybe it's the birth-year of the bandmembers?). The album reveals a refined musicality and poetic form that suggests a great capacity for growth from this young band from Bologna, Italy.

>> Back to list of reviews

Julliete Gréco (2012) ♪♪♪♪
Ça se traverse et c'est beau (France)

The publication of her memoirs – ‘Je suis faites comme ça’ – (‘This is how I am made’), a new album released on Universal’s prestigious label ‘Deutsche Grammaphone’ and recitals at the ‘Théâtre du Châtelet’ – it seems that Juliette Gréco’s 85th birthday has been a milestone for many, not in the least for madame noir herself. Her latest album - ‘Ça se traverse et c’est beau’ (‘It crosses and it’s beautiful’) – is indeed something special. A concept-album, that celebrates the bridges of Paris. Many singers and songwriters, some older, some younger,  contributed to this prestigious project, including Marc Lavoine, Philippe Sollers, Amélie Nothomb, François Morel, Melody Gardot, Féfé, Marie Nimier, Jean-Claude Carrière, Christian Escoudé, Gil Goldstein, Gérard Duguet-Grasser and Alexandra Roos. And, as always, Gréco is being accompanied by her loyal husband and songwriter Gérard Jouannest. Although the central theme may seem very cheerful, Gréco does not sing only happy songs about the city of light. Bridges connect and bridges separate. In the song ‘Sous les ponts de Paris’ Gréco duets with Mélody Gardot. They describe nightfall in Paris, when the poor, with all their misery, try to find a place to sleep under the sky. ‘L’homme du pont’ is another sad song, in which Gréco tells the sad story of a woman and a foreign man, Peter, in a secret love affair who use to meet on the ‘Pont Neuf’. One day, Peter does not show up. It appears he’s had an accident and he’s in a coma. After thirty years the woman is still haunted by the way things went.

The writer Philippe Sollers has written a very simple, intense meditation in ‘Le Pont Royal’, the bridge Gréco lived closest to for years, at 33 rue de Verneuil. Amélie Nothomb wrote a very special homage to madame Gréco, ‘Le Pont Juliette’. Gréco about this song: “I didn’t know what she was going to write. I was very surprised when she sent me the lyrics: it’s a love song. But I can’t sing a love song for myself.” So actor Guillaume Gallienne was asked to interpret this spoken song. Apart from the often very beautiful lyrics, the music is of high quality too. The traditional Gréco sound is all over the album, but with a few spoken songs and many duets the album it has become a very varied album. The two songs written by and sung with Marc Lavoine are outstanding tracks and will definitely become part of Gréco’s long list of favourites. The album ends with a ‘Le miroir noir’ (‘The black mirror’), which is special since madame Gréco wrote the lyrics to this song herself (which she has done throughout her career in only a very few occasions). It is another indication that this album is very special to her. When seeing Gréco perform nowadays – or just by watching her on youtube – one can hardly imagine that this lively, inspired and graceful lady has turned 85 years old. We just wish her many more years in good health and we hope that she will be able to reward her many fans with some more of these beautiful albums in the future.

.

>> Back to list of reviews

Dionysos (2012) ♪♪♪
Bird 'n roll (France)

On the threshold of their 20th anniversary French band Dionysos deliver what may well be their most merry album. Mathias Malzieu and his gang invite us to twist and shout. In good old rock ‘n roll style the album opens with the titlesong. Like a track ripped from the end of the fifties it’s some classic rockabilly with crooning singer, twaining guitars and a begging background choir. So comb that greasy comb and imagine yourself to be a blouson noir. The album has also a concept behind it build around the figure Cloudman, based on the baddest stuntman in history Tom Cloudman. As we follow the album Cloudman desperately seeks his girl and halfway the he finds her, a girl half female and half bird. It is from this moment that album gets to the strongest songs. ‘June carter en slim’ is a well build song rock song build on a pumping beat and the choir cheering June’s name. The bridge in the song is as alluring as Cloudman is trying to cage June. It is followed by the equally strong fairytale about the siren and Pygmalion. After an intro with ukulele the fuzz-guitar thunders in creating a fine rock ‘n roll tune. The cheerfull mood is kept up from then to the end of the album. In fact the weak spot is at the start of the album. As if Dionysos wasn’t really sure how to shape this somewhat bizarre story between dream and reality. It has become a diverse album with even a radio play at three quarters when Mathias recounts the story of Jack the Inventor. But in the end Cloudman gets the girl and takes her to his nest (Sex with a bird). Or will ‘Spider girl’ spoil the ‘jeune amour’? Bird’n’Roll listens like a soundtrack to an imaginary story written by Tim Burton. Like Edward Scissorhands in a bird-hybrid transformation. It may not be a standard album but is exactly what’s so alluring about this project.

>> Back to list of reviews

Już Nie Żyjesz (2012) ♪♪½
Eskapizm (Poland)

A young band from Lodz with the uplifting name ‘You’re already dead’. With a name like that you’ll probably know where this is going and indeed the band is heavily influenced by cold wave and synthpop, combined with postpunkpop melodies. In Polish musical terms that means that the holy ghost of Republikę and Maanam has come over this band. Added with a hint of New Order and Radiohead to spice up the electronics. The band was constructed from the remnants of underground student acts Pornohagen and Bruno Schulz with . Paweł Strzelec and Mariusz Wątroba as songwriters. The stage experience pays off on this debut because the band constructs an interesting but raw musical environment. The album starts with a dark synth underlining the songtitle ‘Cold’ or ‘Zimno’ in Polish. Then the band kicks in. The difficulty with this alternative band immediately becomes clear when singer Mariusz Wątroba starts his lyrics. His shrill, nasal and sometimes distorted vocals fit the musical genre but if you’re not that into punky alternative music Już Nie Żyjesz will give you a hard time. But within the total package of droning synths, evil and sharp guitar playing and a steady beats Mariusz vocals form a fitting instrument. Overall the album falls apart in songs that work and songs that needed some more work. Single ‘Zimno’, ‘Równoleżniki I Południki’ and the sinister ‘Zieleń, Powietrze’ are excellent alternative eurorock. But sometimes the band has trouble leaving the rehearsal room and deliver some messy under produced punk song that could use a second remix. Tracks like ‘Rzeczywistość Nie Istnieje’ and the titletrack sound like a leftover Polish demo from Joy Division with a weird singer. Maybe it was a matter of budget, maybe it was a matter of lacking selfcritique, or maybe just a matter of taste. Who knows. Fact is that in all its raw intensity Już Nie Żyjesz delivers an alluring debut that holds promises but also needs some styling.

>> Back to list of reviews

Mela Koteluk (2012) ♪♪♪
Spadochron (Poland)

Contrary to American female popsingers a substantial segment of the European ladies always had a more fairytale-like pagan vibe going on in their music. In Anglo terms think acts like Sandy Denny, Kate Bush or more recent Feist or Bat for Lashes. In the urge of naming a genre this is sometimes referred to as dream-pop. In exploring that genre you’ll find an excellent but internationally hardly known representation of them in Scandinavia and the Northern part of Central Europe. Singers like Chisu, Jurga, Jana Kirchner and Kasia Nosowska are good examples. Heavily inspired by that last name Mela Koteluk joins the list with this, her debut album. Mela collected her musical ideas in the band of the more jazzy dreampop singer Gaba Kulka and now combines those two influences. Less alternative then Nosowska and more pop then Kulka she positions herself somewhere in the middle with an album that kicks off very convincingly with the mysterious song ‘Dlaczego drzewa nic nie mówią’ which translates as “Why did the tree did not say anything”. It opens with a simple guitarchord and a thin synth line. Mela’s crystal voice weaves over it like a dragonfly over water reading the lyrics to the song like a witches riddle from an ancient folklore tale: “How do I feed the tree? It gives shadow and heals the sick soul /  Connect heaven earth root and the crown / Why did the tree did not say anything / She cries without words and loves / You do not lose sight of it / It you will be protect you”. The song gradually builds up with drums, bass and backing vocals swirling the song to a finale. The title song ‘Spadochron’ (Parachuting) has a more pop character with its steady beat but again the lyrics seem an invocation to lure a lover “I am a stone flying in your window / the clatter of a bird beak / the rhythm of the Morse Code / And if you could now turn into a parachute I could go anywhere with you / And if you could now turn into a breakwater I could be a boat harbor and the shore”. And so the album unwinds moving from delicate electro-pop (‘Działać bez działania’ (to act without action) and ‘Wolna’) to captivating folk sung with the accompaniment of a ukulele (‘Stale płynne’) or an intriguing melancholic song (Niewidzialny). ‘Spadochron’ is an alluring and pleasant debut and a classy addition to the dream-pop stable. Especially the first half of the album is very convincing. But the competition is high in this genre as well as the bar. Koteluk shows she has it in her to be a good match in this fairytale-like pop spectrum but isn't there yet. But she is a promise for Polish quality pop.

>> Back to list of reviews

Karolina Kozak (2012) ♪♪♪½
Homemade (Poland)

Former X-factor contestant Karolina Kozak presents her second album ‘Homemade’. And that title sums it up fairly well. Musically Karolina keeps it surprisingly small and intimate. Recorded at Jazzboy studios most of the songs feature acoustic instruments. And so Kozak’s gentle voice sometimes reaches an almost get’s a whispering volume  embedded in a variety of warm, soft sounds of instruments: brass, keyboards, violin and bass. Still there is something unsettling nervous in the songs, like there is something brewing, like a calm before a summer thunderstorm. The opening track is a poetic piece of teenage angst “Tests fly upside down in the dark / After the ladder to the top where there is nothing / The stamp of the features that are not provided on the outside / Cruel laughter from hell / I can not be like you / I can not be the result of you”.  Halfway the album the you feel the intensity rise, the dark clouds suddenly appear on the horizon. Together with Dawid Podsiadlo she sings the love ballad ‘Heart pounding’. On ‘Pod włos’ (under the hair) the storm reaches the listener, the drums suddenly play a leading part where it collides with the minimalistic structure of the song. It then erupts halfway, the storm commences, the quations of young adult life come together. “Let the loop, let the escapes, so permanently impermanent / Let the pain of growing up, let it explode in a sudden frenzy, let the feeding butterflies in the womb paraglide us / carries us between existence and nonexistence”. From here the acoustic vibe of the first songs is exchanged for a more minimalistic electronic set of songs with ‘Burza’ and ‘Pstryk Pstryk’. To finally close the album with ‘S.A.D.’ with piano, vocoder and muffled beats. The clever thing about ‘Homemade’ is that although it varies in a stylistic sense the album as a whole is able to maintain a consistency in both the warm sound of the music and soft vocals Karolina Kozak. Clever and beautiful piece of work.

>> Back to list of reviews

Jeanne Mas (2012) ♪♪♪
Made in France (France)

Jeanne Mas is still one of my favourite europop artists. During the eighties she scored many hits, that are carved in the collective memory of all people in France: ‘En rouge et noir’, ‘Johnny, Johnny’, ‘Toute première fois’…. Jeanne never stopped recording, although commercial success faded during the nineties. Since the start of this millennium, she seemed to have accepted the fact that she would never achieve the success status of the eighties. Fortunately, she had – and still has - a wide following of very loyal fans buying anything she would release. So Jeanne took some completely inapprehensible musical choices with very different results. Some were more successful than others; and some were downright horrible (‘The missing flowers’-periode). Still, the lady proved that she was doing only those things that she felt liked – she did not need to please the masses anymore. Last year ‘Bleu citron’ was released on the independent label Rocks & Movies. A quit decent album that reminded of her eighties period in some ways. And recently she released its successor, ‘Made in France’, that continues in the same direction, set out by ‘Bleu citron’. ‘Made in France’ is a very nice Jeanne Mas-album with terrible art work. The cover picture shows Jeanne laying on a bed, dressed in a mini-skirt and red stockings, holding a few dollar bills in her hand. She reminds me of ‘Christiane F.’, but twenty-five years older. Why such a trashy picture?

Well, let’s focus again on the music. The songs are diverse and have that typical Jeanne Mas-style. Mostly nice mid-tempo songs and a few interesting ballads. The musical accompaniment of the songs consists mostly of synths and electronics, much like on ‘Bleu citron’. Somehow it all sounds a bit better thought through and produced than her previous album. Jeanne’s singing is nice and it is good to hear she still has not lost anything of her youthful voice, although the singing at some points seem to get a bit lost in the mix. Lyrically, Jeanne obviously had lots of inspiration. Some of the songs really have very nice lyrics. Not too pretentious, yet always with a deeper meaning and message in them. And at times she really succeeds in expressing deep emotional experiences. A nice example is the nervous, agitated ‘Pour toi j’ai tort’ (‘For you I am wrong’): “Under an ultimate forgiveness / This blade that shapes my private suffering / Condemned as a bonus / Vulnerable and invisible on the victims bench / For whom, however, why and how / It’s fairly obviously that I'm wrong - I am always wrong / It is probably for you I did all this / Do I still have the power to be a victim?”

One of the better dance tracks is ‘Fais moi de la peine’ (‘Give me trouble’):
“Blocked all roads without breath / Ventilate what can be lost / Denounce the banalities of perhaps / To hear nothing but truths perplexed / … / Demote the date and time / To a few drops of happiness / In this decadent Verlaine / I want promises of the firmament”

One of the highlights of the album is the beautiful ballad ‘La première’ (‘The first’): “If you wanted to, we could go on together / If you wanted to, I would have so much love to spare / If you wanted to, we could live as others do / And ignore all these differences between us / If you wanted to, in the garden of my certainties / We stand as the heroes of habit / If you wanted to ask just the first stone / And forget that you gave me this first one”

‘Made in France’ is a welcome successor of ‘Bleu citron’, yet Jeanne does not really explores very different routes. If Jeanne would continue to release albums like these for the rest of her career, I would not mind it at all. Still, I cannot escape the feeling that she has the ability to exceed the creative level she has shown on her latest albums. Somehow keep hoping for that 5-star album she might record in the years to come…

>> Back to list of reviews

Ottodix (2012) ♪♪♪♪
Robosapiens (Italy)

When you slip in Ottodix’s latest project try to clear your mind, forget what you just did and guess who it is you’re listening to (which is a bit hard because you just pressed ‘play’). What we encountered on first listen is that we almost thought we had the pleasure of listening to a new album by Italian cult-singer and monk Juri Camisasca produced by Franco Battiato. The intonation of the voice, the mystique, the key changes, it all sounds so familiar it’s almost scary. I just think I gave Zannier Alessandro (alias Ottodix) a big compliment with this and the first track is indeed well worth listening to if you are familiar with Italian progressive rock and new wave. It has an enormous ‘wow’-factor. ‘Robosapien’s is the fourth album by multi-instrumentalist Allessandro this build around the concept of advent of robot intelligence with a sensitivity as the human one. Inspired by classic science fiction movies (think Stanley Kubrick or Fritz Lang). Together with love for vintage movies the electropop by Ottodix also went retro with the use of the theremin, electric organs, moog and effects. Sometimes they flirt with actual present history like the track ‘Aiko’ - inspired by the first female robot created to "personal" use, only for men. Anyway by the time you reached the second track “UFO Robot generation” you find that Ottodix can not hold up the resemblance with the Camisasca/Batiatto spectrum but no worries, ‘Robosapiens’ continues to be an intriguing album with hints from ELO, Depeche Mode and some elements from Placebo trickling through. Or, for the fans of our webzine; the Italian counterpart to Akos from Hungary. But most of all it’s an elegant electronic album in a way only Italians can make it. It’s flowing and lush. It has one flaw that is also typical Italian and that is that most of the songs are in mid-tempo. The danger is that 12 tracks get interwoven with each other and you forget which track is which. But still watch out for Ottodix, this is a one hell of a promising Italian act. (PS not to be mistaken with the Russian goth-act with the same name)

>> Back to list of reviews

Eva Poles (2012) ♪♪♪
Duramadre (Italy)

Bad girls grow up. After a dark emotional period former Prozac+ singer Eva Poles thought it was time to go solo write off her demons and deliver a more mature musical sound. An alternative sound that is because Eva keeps a bit of a raw edge and in that sense classifies herself in the league of quality Italian indiebands like Vibrazione and Fraulein Rottenmeier. Set aside a raw edge the album also holds something dark. Poles wrote all the songs herself with the exception of "Chainless", the 'single track on the disc sung in English, bearing the name of Max Zanotti (ex Deasonika): On opener ‘Malenero’ Eva recounts a recurring nightmare of his childhood, where the key is water: "Riding the wind in the waves, the waves of a sea of black that confuses me / Riding the waves of darkness, waves of a sea of black that I hide ‘ We glide past  second song (oddly called 6) to encounter the catchy single ‘Cadono Nuvole’. A solid single and a catchy melody and chorus. From here on the album gets into higher gear with some steady rocking tracks. With ‘Il Giocatore’ and ‘Temporale’ Eva pays tribute to the genre where she came from but without going into overdrive. Although you feel you’re in a fast speeding car you never get the idea she loses control of the wheel. Poles comments on the album in a recent interview: “"The album is a collection of experiences. I speak of growth and evolution. The songs came story after story, one piece after another, even if the tracks led to an all common destination, life. Every song is a framework that describes the space of a moment, a mood or his exploration, anger, disappointment, pain, dreams, energy, fire or passion . The first songs on the album are the dark ones, written in a rather difficult period for me. Proceeding the album opens up, becomes more cheerful and vital because I followed same kind of path "  And so after a set of pumping rock songs you find yourself in ‘Lius’ a a sweet and gentle melody . After this Eva was able to confront her Nemesis with the biting lyrics: "You're hurting me You're like poison I should avoid / You make me hurt you are like the dress you want to burn / You make me bad, you got that I avoid like poison / You're hurting me". DuraMadre is a great restart of the Poison Queen of Italian alternative poprock.

>> Back to list of reviews

RoBERT (2012) ♪♪♪♪
Nuit Gravement (France)

‘Nuit gravement’ (‘Seriously night’) is RoBERT’s latest, sixth, album. It is quite a change in artistic direction after ‘Sourde et aveugle’ (2008) and ‘Six pieds sur terre’ (2006) on which she developed more and more towards an acoustic sound. On ‘Nuit gravement’ RoBERT and her songwriter (and spouse) Mathieu Saladin turn back towards synths and electronics, as they did on their first few albums. The return to their first phase is emphasized by the cover of ‘Radioactivity’, a song by Kraftwerk. They also recorded an interpretation of ‘Das Model’ by the band they admire so much on ‘Sine’, RoBERT’s first album (1993).

'Nuit gravement' is not only a change of musical direction, the album also makes an impression considerably lighter than the previous albums. There is room for playfulness and even humor (the duet ‘Skype’ with Anthony Delon for example). That makes it one of the most accessible albums of Robert's career. That in itself is remarkable, considering the fact that the album was recorded in Transylvania, Romania, an environment that would have emphasized the dark fairy and gothic side of RoBERT and Mathieu Saladin. But the opposite is the case - the album even includes a popular Romanian folk song (‘Vara vara primavera’).

The album opens with ‘Skype’, a playful duet with Anthony Delon (yep, Alain Delon’s son). It brings back two famous duets: ‘Paroles, paroles’ by Dalida and Alain Delon and ‘Je t’aime, moi non plus’ by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. Again the song is full of word games, but in a 2012 context – it deals with a couple in love but located far apart from each other. They communicate via skype. We can follow the conversation and how they tease each other more and more.

‘Skype’:
Anthony: My heart is broken. RoBERT: Oh my poor, is it I who have broken it?
A: Hmm. R: Ah, there, you lie some more. You are hurt? You say nothing. I've broken your heart, not your fingers. Your heart, I have not broken it, I have stolen it.
A: It's the same, stop playing. R: Ok, you set the video.
A: Agreed, but you disappear. R: I'm beautiful?
A: I'm coming. R: I'm waiting.
A: Hello! I came to play Gainsbourg. R: What?

‘Débutante’ is one of the highlights on the album. It is a fresh and light song about a young girl on the verge of exploring physical love. A wonderful example of RoBERT’s great talent for writing:

‘Débutante’:
“Take me to the test, yes, I'm debutante / Yes, but life tempts me / I have no CV / Yes, but I know enough / A lifetime I try to live / It is not enough / But better than in a book / I speak fluent love and hate / Braille on the wrists - I also read the sentence / Take me... / Yes, I know love, but only in dreams / It rhymes with always and it often strikes / Yes, I know men - they think well and hurt / And the right people are often amoral / Take me... / Yes, I am a stranger, but that too I manage / And if you want to, I'm ready now.”

Title track ‘Nuit gravement’ (‘Seriously night’) is a typical RoBERT song with passionate, erotic lyrics. ‘Taste of your tongue’, sung entirely in English, deals with the same theme but the instrumentation is almost mainstream for RoBERT. It could well be played in a discoteque.

Another interesting song, both lyrically and musically, is ‘Mon connard’ (‘My asshole’). In this song we discover that RoBERT has a strong, outspoken personality underneath her fairy-like image:
“I’m in love with an asshole / do not interfere / He told me “Come!” / I took his eyes / I took his hand / perhaps penniless / but I still believe / on successes / I want this man / and I prefer when it stinks...”

The best song on the album is definitely ‘Ça fait mal’ (‘It hurts’). It’s a haunting song about a love gone by with a remarkable gothic refrain and stunning lyrics:
“There, I'm leaving, there, it's over / It is me who’s leaving you, but you know, I’m also leaving myself / It hurts! / … / There, I am writing my life, without writing your name / It looks like nothing, a draft - yes, like a draft / Friends will take care, finding you the guilty one / There will be me, and a man you do not know / It hurts, it hurts!”

‘Nuit gravement’ will probably not please all RoBERT’s fans, but I admire the fact that she dares to take risks with every new album she releases. This time, she obviously wanted to record a more accessible album with more electronics and beats. I hope that it will result in reaching a new audience.

The album closes with a very short but beautiful sad song, ‘Deuil en décembre’ (‘Bereavement in December’):
“Sinceyou are no longer her / It is methatI lost / Iwill make nomourning / You're nota leaf / Because even if I'm waiting / From here untill spring... / You will not come back / Guide mestep by step / Andregain the road that we will follow together / Without thinking of December / When soulsare lost / Bereavementin December.”

>> Back to list of reviews

Shuarma (2012) ♪♪♪
Grietas (Spain)

‘The ex-frontman of Elefantes returns for his third solo album. Shuarma always had a dark streak to him but with ‘Grietas’ (Cracks) it seems to get personal: “There are cracks in the wall / moisture remains on the parquet / And a room where you can still hear the reproaches / Tell me again why you go / Tell me again what went wrong”. Ah yes, the central theme is the lost of love. Always a nice basis for some good old weltschmerz. Shuarma sees it as an opportunity to analyze the remains of a relationship gone. The fights on ‘Rompe el espejo’: “Break the mirror with your voice / To put it back together after / There is nothing wrong with the error / If it's true”. The futile attempts of making up on ‘Llueven piedras’: “Assume some concern / that heaven can give / cultivate new ways of thinking as / It might be good to fall / And once again rain down stones”. And finally the departure leaving a gap in an empty house on the title track. For the musical underlayment Shuarma stays close to the rock idiom he’s been using for the past albums. There is a leading role for the guitar of Riki Froughtman backed up by Cascán and De Burgos as rhythm section. The fact that percussionist Santos Berrocal is behind the mixing desk explains the tight production. You could blame Shuarma of playing it safe staying close to the sound that supports his raw silky voice best. But then again the whole team delivers a splendid and balanced form of Spanish rock. Not shocking but well exercised. With enough key-changes and diversity to keep the listener interested. And Shuarma with his broken heart? On the closing track he already picks himself up and diverst his gaze to the future: “Even hard to get used to remembering to divert / much uncertainty for the better / As break the walls of this room / Successfully transforming anxiety in value”.

>> Back to list of reviews

Justyna Steczkowska (2012) ♪♪♪♪
XV (Poland)

Fifteen years ago Justyna Steczkowska released her first album, ‘Dziewczyna Szamana’ (‘Shaman girl’). It was the start of a brilliant career, both commercially and artistically. Justyna became – and still is - one of Poland’s most creative and inspiring pop singers and composers. To celebrate her career, she rerecorded some of her older songs and added a few new ones as well for a new double album, simply titled XV. The songs were rerecorded and remixed by some of Poland’s young and promising artists. Since the album marks the fifteen years after her marvelous debut album ‘Dziewczyna Szamana’ it is only logical that most of the rerecorded songs (seven) originate from this exceptionally impressive debut album. The album consists of two discs and comes in a beautifully crafted digipack with fantastic photograpy by young Polish artist Michała Pańszczyka. It deals with nothing less than the fundamental contradictions in human existence – love vs. hate, emotionality vs. rationality, sensuality vs. cruelty, light vs. dark, good vs. evil. The first disc – X – focuses on the darker side of the duality. It contains twelve songs with new arrangements, plunging the songs into shrill guitars and confrontational electronic eruptions. The opening track – ‘Skłam’ (‘Lie down’) - is the stand out song of Justyna’s 2009 album ‘To mój czas’. The new version emphasizes the dramatic power of the song and lyrically it fits perfectly on the album:

‘Skłam’ (‘Lie down’):
“Lie down, I beg you, lay. I promise paradise. Oh say, I want your words. Sticky as honey, sleep with your mouth. / … / I want to play with flattery, lies. Put the mask on your face. You have chosen it yourself, you started - so play. Do not forget that you play. / You - my luck, my sin that I commit. / You, you my bad luck, my sin, that make chemical.”

The second one – V – focuses on the serene, lighter part of existence. It contains eight songs and the disc opens with ‘Maria Magdalena’, with excerpts from the gospel of Maria Magdalena. Justyna chants: "What is the sin of the world, Lord? There is no sin... / It is of your making the sin exists, when he acts in accordance with the customs of his corrupt nature. For in it lies the sin... I am Mary Magdalene... Hanging out with the Dark... Going toward the light... I am Mary Magdalene... So good has come down among you..."

Furthermore, the second disc contains the fantastic new single ‘Sanktuarium’ (‘Sanctuary’), composed by Justyna with Agim Dzeljilji. The lyrics of the song express the essence of the album’s theme on ‘Sanktuarium’ (‘Sanctuary’): “You are my sanctuary / My life, a shadow, a dream / A prayer... and night and day. / To all that I want / What is never in this life... I no longer have... / You and me / Sanctuary of the Soul and Body / You and me / Sanctuary of the Night and Day / You and me / Sanctuary of Good and Evil / You and me... Me – you, marked by stellar rope, ambiguous roles A dream... Again cradle you...”

When hearing Justyna sing these songs with her highly expressive four octave voice, she truly seems to become the shaman girl she announced on her debut album. If she would have lived in the middle ages, I am sure that people would have condemned her for being a witch. There is no doubt that some people will be horrified by Justyna’s art. But what a powerful vision this lady has. What intriguing musical universe does she create on her albums. Justyna Steczkowska is a truly unique artist in Poland that deserves a wider audience. Her XV album is a great introduction for anyone who wants to enter her universe…

.

>> Back to list of reviews

Ima li budnih (2011) ♪♪♪½
Vatra (Croatia)

‘After their succesfull album ‘Sputnik’ from 2009 Vatra had the heavy duty to come up with an equally catchy new album . ‘Ima li budnih’ which roughly translates as the awakening is that answer. Bandleader and singer Ivan Dečak  did his best to deliver a logical follow up. With the production duo Jura Ferina i Pavle Miholjević he broke down the wall of sound that haunted previous Vatra albums. The passion for distortion was replaced by a sullen noise, imaginative arrangements and a tense atmosphere. In short, Vartra grew up. You just have to listen to the classy title track, a duet with Ljubica Gurdulić, to understand what I mean. It is as if Ivan tried to symbolize his search for a different sound in the lyrics: “Silently through the fog / road bikes / Asphalt & Rubber / compose a song / the awakening / We were a tired compass”. It is a cliché but often less is more. And Vatra show they understand that rule with this new album. Ivan stated in a recent interview: "the album was a kind of farewell to our carefree youthful days. We have become perfectly aware that immortality is ensured only for superheroes of science fiction films. This album is without calculation, not only in terms of the arrangement, but our feeling that we are unreservedly interwoven into it, "A good example of this new, more grown up, approach of making music is the song ‘Plima adrenalina’ which is in fact much more subdued and restraint then the title predicts. You could easily make it a track where distorted guitars and drumrolls fall over each other pasting the whole arrangement tight like a brick wall. Instead it opens with a sole piano riff and Ivan’s voice just to build up slowly halfway the song to the whole band kicking in. Like a breeze gradually building into a storm. And there is more to enjoy if you fall for Vatra’s new sound. ‘Vojska od terakote’, ‘Kamikaze’ and album finale ‘Tremolo’ for instance. The only track that slips into old habits is the rather noisy ‘Masine’. But we’ll forgive Vatra for that one because the other eight tracks are sure worth seeking this album out and lifts Vatra to the more serious league of Eurorock bands.

>> Back to list of reviews

Lise Westzynthius (2012) ♪♪♪♪
Tæt på en kold favn (Denmark)

‘Tæt på en kold favn’ (‘Close to a cold embrace’) is Lise’s fourth solo album, but the first one sung in her native, Danish, language. In 1994 she founded the indie rock band Luksus together with Mikael Simpson. In 2002 she launched a very promising solo career and three commercially and critically successful albums followed. And now, after four years, Lise is back with het first Danish album, after a break up with her partner Peter Sommer and long during problems with her voice. The lyrics are simple yet powerful. It does not take very long to find out that almost every song on the album deals with Lise’s break up from Peter Sommer. The computer and synths are very dominant in the arrangements. Yet, this does not mean at all that the sound is cold or distant. On the contrary, in combination with the intriguing melodies and grooves and Lise’s soft voice, these songs easily get into your head (never to come out again…).

The album opens with the title track ‘Tæt på en kold favn’ (‘Close to a cold embrace’). It’s a song about being close and yet very far from someone else; to have difficulty reaching each other:
We are dancing on a knife’s edge / I know it well / But it's not the worst / The worst thing is that I do not care / To steal all the time truth from my abdomen / But it's not the worst / The worst thing is to be close to a cold embrace”

‘Den eneste Løgn’ (‘The only lie’) is a very dreamy, mysterious song about the love of one for another continues to haunt. The music was written with Solveig Sandnes:
“Everywhere I carry around with you / And I miss you now / But it's a lie, it is / Everywhere the swallows are flying low / … / I trick my body, I think it has forgotten you / I have woven thick fabric  between you and me / The only lie I want from you is that you will always stay with me”

‘Sangen om langfart’ (‘Song for the long journey’) is the only cover on the album. The song was written and recorded by the famous Danish singer-songwriter Sebastian. He honours Lise by singing the song together with Lise. The song is about a sailor who has a girl in every port. It fits well into the album’s divorce theme, in an ironical way. ‘Se, uden hænder!’ (‘Look, without hands!’) is clearly about Lise’s recent relational troubles. It’s a song about losing oneself in a relationship, when both parties become so engrossed in twosomeness that they forget themselves: “Just there for me: equal parts you and me / slowly but surely, you lost yourself in me / Look, without hands I have control over you! And so we seeps out into the horizon”

One of the highlights of the album is the song ‘Jeg Glder Mig (Til At Slå Dig Ihjel)’ (‘I look forward (to kill you). According to Lise, one should not take the lyrics too literally. It is not about her wanting to kill someone; it pictures what it means to close a love chapter. When a relationship breaks up, it may be necessary to put away – to kill - the memories, at least for a time in order to move on.
“I look forward to kill you / to part from you, to put you in boxes, goodbye / I pack your limbs, uhh, you are so beautiful / I look forward to cut into you / And lay you systematically in layers / I pack your limbs, uhh, you are so beautiful”. Relation troubles and breaking up have resulted in creative peaks for many artist. And the same goes for Lise Westzynthius. ‘Tæt på en kold favn’ is the welcome return of one of Denmark’s promising young artists.

>> Back to list of reviews

Ja tu zostaję (2012) ♪♪
Łukasz Zagrobelny (Poland)

Always tricky, musical actors who also pursue a credible singing career. In Poland Łukasz falls in that category crossing over now and then. Fresh out of ‘Les Miserables’ he hopped in the studio for recording his third album. Translated the title says "I am staying here” as if on beforehand shutting the critics up. Łukasz explains what the recording process was like for him: “I felt such a heart beat, pressure in the stomach, such as when recording their first single. I thought about this album, its shape and sound, literally 24 hours a day. I felt a "sucker," the music. In this album is drawn in my opinion, what was the best in Polish pop music 60s and 70 Of course, with echoes of the world, because then they were very clear.” Now how does that work out? Judging by his own explanation you might expect a Michael Bubble styled crooning album. That is actually not the case with Łukasz delivering a light pop album. The first half of the album is filled with some catchy song that are radio friendly without getting corny. Songs like the title track, the funky ‘Naga Brón’, the ballad ‘nie zapytam Cię’ and the somewhat mysterious ‘Obok Mnie’ offer expectations that Łukasz is not your regular musical song robot but can actually lay emotion in his music. But then halfway he is not able to hold up the ongoing light-pop quality and he slips away in a thirteen in a dozen aural lube that holds on for the rest of the album. That’s too bad because he really had me going for the first half of the album. Back to the drawing board Łukasz, you’ve got a nice voice, use it wisely and show some guts.

>> Back to list of reviews