CD Reviews, Mimikry, The Dräperz, The Lowlifes and Nitad

Mimikry - Monster
Best songs; Monster, Inte ens du
2012  Krypton Records/ Sound Pollution

The opening track, Monster, that also are the title track is at first a bit too commercial and soft for my taste. But after a few minutes I accept it as a hit song, In fact I convert from my first impression, it is a smashing good song.

The lyric are personal on the verge to self centerism. But I can live with that because of the strong chorus and the Playfulness with the words.
I blogged it before, in their worst moments they sound a bit like Nordman, at their best like Bad Religion. This is no exception on this Monster record. In Inte ens du they combine what I mean. The Bad Religion like chorus gives me shivers down my spine. All songs have strong and catchy melodies which makes even dull tracks like Utan Dig at least listenable.

The sound is professional and heavy. Mimikry is one of the bands that can keep it both fast and heavy. No wonder why the drummer is called Heavy (sorry a bad joke). The guitars, the bass and the drums gives the singer Hjalle a sound armada from which he can go  on a self reflecting journey on any open sea.  

The cover art; Mimikry have had some of the history of punks uglier covers. So this a step forward. But I can´t help it, it looks a bit too professional so it lacks a bit of that punky feeling.


Should you buy this record? Yes, if you into a more mainstream sounding punk or rock.

The Dräperz – Välkommen till Råby (Welcome to Raby)
Best song; Välkommen till Råby
2012 D.I.Y. records

The Dräperz 4 song EP Välkommen till Råby is a speedy, fast and furious EP. You seen it before, you heard it before but still it´s good, it´s getting me in a good mood.

The cover art is a classic cut out letters placed over a fade out photograph of Råby centrum (a dreaded suburb of the City of Västerås). But for this record it is so right. As many of today´s Swedish bands they mix Swedish and English lyrics. The in Swedish sung Välkommen till Råby could easily fit on an old Asta Kask EP. The sound is raw, its fast and both angry, resigned and ironic. It stand out in a fresh way. In fact at the moment I can say I find the Råby song one of the best released up to date in 2012.

The sound is not perfect but fair enough to match the good songs. The songs are tight and fairly fast. The other songs, Dräperz, No Future, The End don´t reach the heights of Välkommen till Råby. That even in the bass intro makes its mark as a modern classic Swedish punk song.


Should you buy this record? Yes, Yes, YES! Every Swedish punk should have one.

The Lowlifes - TV Addiction
Best songs; TV Addiction, Violence
2012 Club Underground

Thin k 1982 and the rise of Oi! There you have The Lowlifes but 30 years later. It´s sounds both as an Oi! nostalgia band, crust like and hard core. By the look of the band members the Oi! Influences seems strong. But this band is tighter in their playing than their presumed role models, but lack the older bands strong and catchy melodies. If I should associate it with a classic record I have to say it´s a better sounding version of GBH´s City Baby Attacked by rats.

The record is pretty fair, not the best and definitely not the worst. The music is tight and fast. I like the aggression in the playing but the fast tempo is in the long run the weakest link. They ever ongoing speedy music makes it all sound a bit the same in the end. The best is when the chorus is sung by all in the band as answer to the claims of the singer as in TV Addiction, du är and Violence. The Last is one of the strongest on the record even if I like the opening tracks Career Dreams and Det Brinner as well.

The Cover art, well it´s not a masterpiece, in fact it´s so non-communicating I would not give shit by this record in a record shop. Now I bought it at the concert. But still the cover doesn´t give the music the push “Buy Me” it is supposed to.

The sound is far more better than the older Oi! Records, but according to today´s standards it has a bit more to climb, to reach the height of the perfect punk sound. Possible it could be done in the mixing, but also the guitar sound could be a bit more processed if I may say so.

The Lowlifes mix lyrics in Swedish and English and are very angry. But I don´t really get what they are angry with. Like so many fast punk bands it´s like they angry out in the thin air. It´s part of the genres, but I really would like to have something to hook it up on. Unlike many Swedish  contemporary collegues these guys are no victims, they are angry and they will tell you. And that can´t be wrong.

Should you buy this record? Definitely if you into fast punk and Oi!

Nitad – Rastlös och vild ( transl. Restless and Wild)
Best songs; Rastlös och vild
2012 Morningwood Records

Watch out here comes the sonic tank brigade, slowly rolling and now they are speeding up! Run for your life or least your ears. The new Nitad CD Rastlös och vild isn´t something for the weak of heart or your grandpa to have as car music. It is quite painful to listen to. It´s like a roaring thunder coming at you with razor sharp edges (how is that possible, a thunder to have edges?). The Swedish Hard Core band Nitad really don’t want to be called Hard Core, mostly because they pick influences from other genres. On this record you could hear that, live it´s harder. They have understood that the fast and slow tunes, in combination, makes it more dynamic and makes all songs not sound the same. Otherwise the singing style, or primal scream like song (not the band, the psychology meaning of the word) don´t allow too much variation of the songs. That is a sign of intelligence, an intelligence that hide behind the hard and aggressive surface.

It´s painful for your ears, totally unpolished on the verge to amateurish sometimes, which I believe they are not. It´s supposed to sound this way. The way the singers voice don’t fit with the roaring thunder in the background makes it both interesting and annoying. Possible another mixing would made me like it a bit more. I probably got this wrong anyway. To me it reminds me of old late eighties bands like Big Black and Tad, but so much faster, harder and noisy. It like they found all the buttons on the mixer that made it unsmooth. These guys wanna hurt you ears seriously so run, run like hell otherwise you will end up there.

The lyrics are furious and simple. Instead of play some songs in Swedish and some in English they mix in the songs, and even made up their own Swenglish sentences like, Fuck Hela Världen, which makes it funny in all the dark misery they sing about.
I didn´t like the cover art at first, mainly I got association to any puberty punk band that wanna say fuck you to the parents, but it fits the record in it´s insanity. The psychedelic black and white comic art made by someone that seems like spent his days in a psychiatric ward is very significant for the record at large. This is not that is supposed to be easy to like, you have to earn it.

Should you buy this record? If you ever wanna brag about a record you own to prove that you into bad ass music for real, this would probably be one of them.

Review - Mimikry at Debaser Slussen 29/3 12

A History lesson
To understand Mimikry to its full potential, one need to take a look at the area where they come from, or at least the people from there. And for that you need to learn a bit about Swedish medieval history. Where the province of Dalarna played an important part. It was from that province the resistance that freed Sweden from the occupying Danes in 1521-23 started. Once in a while the Dalarna came up with riots and were a political force in Swedish history back in the days. It’s an area with a great integrity and where tradition is strong. And that can be spotted all over the country, where the icehockey team Leksand* rarely play any away games because there are always a big crowd everywhere for them, especially in Stockholm. And the province is also known for its proud tradition of hard rock music. Sator, Sky high, the Hives and Mando Diao is a few of the bands from that area. And of course Mimikry.


The Crowd 

Mimikry wan´t alone from Dalarna gigging this Thursday night, The Hives also played at Kafe´44 . Possible that made the crowd a bit less populated than it could be. But there was people enough to make some noise. And these people were obvious Mimikry fans. They knew the lyrics and sung along though the concert. The crowd response, power up the band with a lot of energy, that then Mimikry pour back on the crowd.


The Sound 

As an established rock stage Debaser, Slussen have a competent sound for most band playing there. So the sound is over all good. Mia´s firm bass, Heavy´s tight drums and Åsberg and Anders guitars are tight and well sounding. It is punk but with a bit space for rock n roll as well.     

The Band and the Concert

Their decents from Dalarna is heard in Mimikrys music. They borrow some from the areas folkmusic that give them an unique sound even in the trall punk genre. But I´m not too impressed by that folksy stuff. In its worst moments they sound a bit like Nordman, when they are at their best I think they can challenge Bad Religion. But this particular thursday night there are a crowd willing to chant along in the chorus so it’s a bit of Sham 69 in it as well. The singer Hjalle is charismatic and got the crowd in a firm grip from the beginning. He never loses that grip. The singer with his stage diving, crowd surfing and the crowds rised fists is a “grand spectacle”. There is a connection and a bond between the band and the crowd that is notable. And in that, the singer introduce the new songs in a smart way to get them to pay attention to those new tunes as well. Any concertgoer know what that during those “new” songs people head off to the bathroom, hits the bar for a refill or phone mum or whatever. Not tonight. The crowd seems familiar with the new ones as well.

Finally
I can´t help myself thinking, that it would be fun to see how they should respond to a more neutral crowd. One they have to conquer. But overall it was a good concert well worth its entrance fee, 140 SKr (14 Euros). The songs ringed in my ears for a long time after, not because it was to high in decibels but that the tunes were catchy enough to stay in my head. Mimikry from the province of Dalarna is her for the throne and possible to de-throne The Hives as the Dalarnas finest.



*Lirarnas lag from the “Uppsamlingsheatet”CD is a tribute song to Leksands icehockey team.