Maus--Classic 90's Icelandic Alt-Rock--Lof Mér Að Falla Að Þínu Eyra!!!

I'm probably beating this story to death, but I remember seeing Maus, the great Icelandic alternative band. Only not on stage. I saw them in Hljomalind, a really nice record shop in Reykjavik. No longer open I've heard. They had just released their first album and I suspect that they had just got out of school and they rushed inside to see how sales were. They were so young then.

After the band cut out, the store clerk asked me if I wanted to hear the album. I said, sure. And I have to admit I was very impressed. The band had a lot of chops, and the music was nice and loud, but really accomplished. Of course I bought the album. It seemed to me that these guys were onto something that could only get better.

And you know what? They got a lot better.

Meeces to Pieces

Because today my focus is their 3rd album, Lof Mér Að Falla Að Þínu Eyra,  which came out in 1997 on the Sproti label. I think I saw somebody list this as #15 on a list of classic Icelandic albums, and though I am nothing more than a novice when it comes to Ice-Rock, I am not at all surprised about the high props. But that is domestic consumption of course, where this band was hugely popular. I don't hear a lot said about this album--I suppose at that time there weren't a lot of people internationally that wanted to hear a group with Icelandic lyrics to their songs. They cut some music in English, but the Great Pop Crossover Potential, as so many other Icelandic bands sought, proved too elusive for them. Read Dr. Gunni's splendid Blue Eyed Pop book for the whole history of  "World Domination or Not."

Of course, in this new millenium, the Icelandic music scene is the focus of much international attention, so it is a very different world today than the 90's. People are more likely to accept the notion that excellent music can come from anywhere. And the music scene has also developed and grown more sophisticated, realizing quantum leaps in diversity and quality, and of course marketing.



Maus:
Birgir "Biggi" Orn Steinarsson: Gitar, vocals
Daniel Þorsteinsson: Drums
Eggert Gislason: Bass
Pall Ragnar Pálsson: Gitar




I was trying to figure out how to describe this band and they sounded so very familiar but I couldn't grasp the connection. I then read that Roger O'Donnell of The Cure guested on this album---it was that very familiar keyboard sound I was hearing.  But certainly I would not be writing this post if they were merely band of Cure clones.They still manage to rock fairly hard in places, but with a highly developed pop-sense. Even though I don't know what they are singing about, I am really enjoying this album.  They are just a very skilled band, and that gives them the latitude to mix things up and do a variety of interesting things, though there is no doubt that they are definitely a band of their era.

Maus has been inactive since 2004, though band members have been involved in various projects.
Who knows? All bands seem to reunite--it's what bands do.

Overall, Maus' Lof Mér Að Falla Að Þínu Eyra  is a pretty terrific album. Unfortunately I'm not certain where you could get yourself a copy these days. The title apparently can be translated as "Let Me Drop into your Ear", which in my opinion is extremely sound advice.

Burning Light into Scars---White Lung---Deep Fantasy

Just for laughs, I decided to finally talk about an album in the same year that it was released.

Grind your bones to sand.........

Deep Fantasy by White Lung.....



I know that this is getting a lot of attention from various sources, but this is such a superb record that everybody ought to be talking about it, even me. Now that they have gotten released their 3rd album on a big indie label, Domino, let's hope that this sends this band to a higher level of public consciousness. No one expects a Franz Ferdinand level breakout, but this release is serious, serious stuff.

Angry, melodic hardcore from Vancouver. At this point, it is as Canadian as Maple Syrup. But they are not followers, but actively trailblazing with scorched earth and extreme prejudice, adding to and embellishing a renowned Northern pedigree.

One of the pitfalls of hardcore is that a lot of the bands wind up sounding the same. Speed is the guilty party here. And not all of the bands have interesting unique things to shout about. True, it is often as much about community as the music. But then again there are a lot of mediocre bands to found in any of the many subgenres out there. But there are always exceptions...., which is why we still listen.

Certainly White Lung are by all accounts taking a genre and reinventing it. In addition to loud and fast rules, there is a lot of great guitar pyrotechnics going on, like a revved-up version of the great NYC band Live Skull, or even the noise synchronicity of classic Leatherface. And I'm unsurprisingly reminded of Penelope Houston and the Avengers. I'm just listening to the powerful visceral sounds coming out of my headphones right now, and I know that it will be over before I realize it--10 songs in 22 minutes, not a lot  of proggy guitar noodling here.




And in this case, lead singer Mish Way, has a lot to say. And these lyrics are very very personal and on her owns terms. The imagery seems to be about relationships gone worn, about humiliation and abasement, about hard-won life lessons. But also about fighting back. But those are just my impressions. Let me just say that she is a formidable front woman, with kind of unique power we've seen in say, Kurt Cobain. had. And as far as impressions go, this is an album you will not sit on the fence about. You'll either dislike it or absolutely embrace everything they are about. Deep Fantasy will grab you by the throat. For me this album is like a breath of fresh air on the music scene.

Mish Way: Vocals
Anne-Marie Vassiliou--Drums
Kenneth Williams--guitar/bass

If you love punk rock, or great rock music in general, this is the shit, folks. I can't wait to see them live!

 

Welcome to this Place, it's got so dull....Power of Dreams' Immigrants, Emigrants, and Me!

So, I'm listening to the first album by Dublin's Power of Dreams, Immigrants, Emigrants, and Me, released in 1990 on Polydor. And once again I scratch my head in wonder.



100 ways of killing, 200 ways of breaking........

I  have often been perplexed, that in the wake of the international transcendence and ultimate global domination of U2, i.e. Bono and Soggy Bottom Boys, why I suddenly did not come face to face with a glut of Irish bands in that era. So many, that there would be dozens upon dozens of terrible bands signed plus a handful of keepers.

Certainly with Nirvana breaking out in the 1990's, record people invaded Seattle like Seal Team 6. I have this image of industry executives parachuting in, with the Space Needle in the backdrop, briefcases filled with contracts, with the intention of signing every band in a 50 mile radius. Congregating in a fashion similar to the results of throwing red meat into a Shark tank.

I can't honestly believe that some of that did not happen on the Emerald Isle. Of course we had Fatima Mansions/Microdisney, Frank and Walters, A House, My Bloody Valentine, Roller Skate Skinny and of course a band that should be known by those that read this blog, Whipping Boy. Yeah, there were others, I know.

But I've listened to Immigrants, Emigrants, and Me, this aforementioned 1st album for about my 10th time, and I am fairly amazed that this album did not strike a chord with the music fans in the U.S. I was not aware of them until recently at all. The explanation I keep seeing in my investigations, is that there was a timing problem. That what happened was a so-called "U2 backlash", where people were fed up with the band, and consequently some otherwise worthy bands were ignored. But in a country like mine, where so many people take a great pride in their Irish heritage, I would have thought they would have gone down as smoothly as a well-drawn pint of Guinness.



One listen to this album, and I think you would agree that the songs were made to be sold in mass quantities and given heavy radio rotation. The band plays melodic, moody pop, with anthemic choruses. You could make some comparison to U2 in their sound, but I could also make comparisons to REM, The Smiths, even the Hoodoo Gurus, so I suppose it means that their music was relevant to the music of that era. I mean, they do have their own special charisma. I like how they sing out "tink" instead of "think" on their songs.

From top to bottom a very solid album, with some especially nice tracks, like Stay, Where is the Love?, and The Jokes on Me. I particularly like the tune Mother's Eyes, with its melancholy jangle.




From what I've found out, Power of Dreams was big in Ireland, U.K., Japan and in a few European countries. In many lists of the best Irish rock albums of all time (by critics and polling within Ireland), you would likely find this album featured prominently. Not in the top five (there you would probably find Whipping Boy rubbing shoulders with Van the Man and Bono), but nonetheless, being on the list is a testament to the quality of the music, and the enduring reverence for a nearly 25 year old album by the music fans of Ireland.

Power of Dreams:
Craig Walker: Guitar/vocals
Keith Walker: Drums
Michael Lennox: Bass

So if you were interested in Irish bands, or good 90's bands, I would highly recommend Power of Dreams Immigrants Emigrants and Me. The music is top notch pop. The only thing I could say negatively is that there is a tendency in most songs to have choruses where one line is repeated over and over again, which gives the otherwise excellent songs a certain songwriting pattern. A few years ago deluxe 2 disc version of this album came out in limited qualities, but that has long sold out. Finding a copy of that may be cost prohibitive. I have been trying.

These days, the band members are involved in various other projects, though there have been reunion shows now and again. Craig Walker has a band called Mineral, but still is continuing with Power of Dreams, as you can see by checking out the bands functioning website. Maybe this band has slipped through the cracks as it has for me, but it isn't too late to make up for lost time!