No, this is not like the movies, ok. I am not going to a restaurant and do a lot of impressions. I am just stealing a catchy title for my column. As you might remember from my last column, I was in the middle of a big renovation project. We had a vacation booked that caused us to miss the completion of that project. I am happy to tell you that everything is looking awesome now! Coming home from our trip was a little party in itself.
Anyways, back to the trip. Like renovation projects, trips have soundtracks. Mainly for while driving, but at times also for chilling in the yard. Let’s get going!
On the road
Leg one of our road trip would mean a seven hour drive. We wanted to have some time in the city to go sightseeing before driving off the next morning. It always sounds good when you think about it, but once it’s time I always think “this is the first day of my holiday, why on earth did I wake up this early?”. Perhaps you recognise that thought. To make sure I would stay awake and not be too grumpy it was time to give Turmion Kätilöt some playtime. If you read our song of the day entries on Facebook you might remember reading about this band. My partner went to a concert and afterwards convinced me to give this band a chance. And boy did I regret not going to the concert. Like the infamous Dr. Claw would say: “Next time, Gadget, next time!”
The band plays industrial metal and creates a very entertaining and catchy version of it. A version that begs to be sung along. Good luck with that for all non-Fins though! When I first heard this album it reminded me a bit of a more mature and more metal-oriented version of Electric Callboy. That band is a bit of a guilty pleasure, so to me this sounds like a very favorable comparison. During our trip I did find out that, where I really only enjoyed Electric Callboy’s last album and EP, the whole discography of Turmion Kätilöt is worth your time with albums ranging from pretty good to excellent. With 10 albums that is not only quite a feat, but it also means I had a lot of catching up to do. Anyways, I especially enjoyed the newest album, Omen X. I am not sure if that’s because that is the first album I listened to or that it is a perfect entry album for their discography, but if you want your discovery, I would suggest starting there.
To spice up the playlist, I did not only listen to Turmion Kätilöt, but added another recent industrial discovery. As you might imagine, having discovered there are industrial bands that I actually enjoy changed my attitude towards the whole genre. I have found a lot of music that proves my previous attitude towards the genre, but have also found Neurotech. From what I learned from their Bandcamp this is a Slovenian one-man band. Again, it is a band I have been sleeping on for ages: resulting in a complete discography to discover. A discovery that is very diverse. Their latest album, Ave Neptune, left me stunned. This album at times reminded me of something Devin Townsend could have made. It has a vibe that brings Ocean Machine: Biomech to mind. Add more electronic flourishes (ranging from ambient to trance) to that and you might get the picture.
Variety is the spice of life
After driving a couple of hours, I need something different to keep me happy. Some diversity spices up life, right? As you might remember from one of our previous conversations I am into the whole crossover thrash scene. After a raving review of Drain'sCalifornia Cursed by Campbell I checked this band out. He signaled a strong metal influence. Perhaps it is not crossover thrash in the strictest sense, but close enough for me to say that their sound appeals to this part of my musical preferences. And they now have a new album out called Living Proof. Of course this has to be checked out. Living Proof offers more of the same, but also shows a band that is not afraid to experiment. The best examples are "Intermission," with its hip-hop opening changing to a hardcore song midway through. Or “Good Good Things,” a Descendents cover that shows a completely different side of Drain. That cover is also my biggest criticism of the album: it really breaks the flow with its completely different mood. It would be a nice B-side. If you really want to include it on the album, it could have been used as the album closer perhaps. No matter how much I enjoy the song, it hurts the album as a whole. Oh, once album closer “Living Proof” started my partner went all: “This song needs more cowbell!” The album is a 25-minute energy blast, though, and I had to be really careful not to speed.
Another album that made me drive a bit too fast at times is Go To Heaven, the debut album by Existence. This Swedish band was started as Cro-Mags worship according to their Bandcamp page. This is clearly audible. The band taps into a sound that could be from a couple of different decades, as we have now seen a couple of resurrections of that sound. At times I think they might also have listened to a lot of Integrity as I catch a hint of that Clevo sound as well. They are really onto something on this record. The vocals are the only thing that slightly hold them back, as they become a bit samey over time. What I dig most is the relentless groove Existence employs. It gives their tunes a vibe that is both fun and merciless.
The second leg
The next day we had a short trip ahead. We decided to take a detour and visit a castle. What better music to play on your way to a destination like that than punk, right? This might actually make sense, as the (first) punk album (well, EP, actually) was Immortels by Régicide. On their Bandcamp they describe the sound as medieval oi! and this strange description somehow makes sense. The chants are something that I could easily picture as medieval. This gives this EP a strange, but really cool vibe. Picture an oi! band that listened to epic heavy metal bands a bit too often, but somehow sticking with their original punk influences. I imagine this to be the kind of music that you either love or hate. There is no in-between option here.
After about fifteen minutes I had to admit I was ready to visit that castle, but we weren’t even close. I could have opted to listen Siege Ubsessed! by Curta’n Wall next, but I wasn’t really in the mood for their strange black metal, dungeon synth and medieval music. I wanted to maintain that punk vibe. I also could have turned to As We Go’s new album Alan, but alas, I was not in the mood for poppy punk with org-core influences. No, I wanted more oi!
Luckily for me Blessure recently released a new EP. You might remember that name from a previous chat we had. This Spanish band unleashed four new tracks upon an unsuspecting world. The recipe is the same so you can still expect oi! that is still based on the French scene from the ‘80s. The end result is a very catchy EP. It is powerful and melodic. The synths in “Ça Suffit” caught me off guard. I did not expect to hear a sound like that in oi! It works like a charm though. Don’t expect semi-techno or dance-like synths (don’t worry), it’s just enough to lift the song up a bit. I do think the “woohooohoooo” parts in closing song “Merci” could be a bit cliché, but I can see venues singing it along to it. And I guess live is where this type of music truly blossoms.
To the beach!
We wanted to take a trip to the beach and walk along the coast for a bit. To get in the right mood for that, I selected something relaxed and slightly psychedelic: Piscinas Verticales, the debut album from Spanish experimental stoner band Loma Baja. The band will probably mock me for my description above, as they state this album deals with “nightmares, places that generate strange feelings, and the hidden side of things.” Not much relaxed about that, huh? This could be true, however I enjoy the relaxed vibe their songs give me. Picture a more experimental King Buffalo. In this album I found the same strangely comforting darkness I find when listening to doom-jazz like The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. The band achieves that by adding a bit of post-rock vibes to it, a wee bit of industrial in some songs and focusing on mood-building. All in all, a very diverse album that offers a lot to unpack. This worked like a charm for our trip to the beach as you can still listen to this in the background. Yet upon closer listening you will find there is a lot more going on. If you are into one of the two bands mentioned above, I highly recommend checking this album out. You might want to start with “Crónica Negra,” the song that sounds most like The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble played by King Buffalo.
Chillin’ out
After enjoying a nice day trip we went back to the little cottage we rented and just chilled in our luscious garden (with two cats visiting us, which is always nice). Here we often did have any music playing (just enjoying the sound of the wind in the trees can sometimes give me the same satisfaction as a good record) and if we did it would be something really chill. Something like Tiwayo’s second album Desert Dream. Tiwayo is a French singer that plays a kind of pop music that I associate with music from the ‘60s and ‘70s, or if you want a more modern comparison, Frankie Lee. In fact, his two albums were also often featured if we choose to have some music in the late evenings. All Tiwayo's songs are guitar-oriented, but vary from folky to bluesy. His voice is very soulful adding an extra warm touch to the overall sound. Combine this with excellent, laid back songwriting and you have an album that is just perfect for a warm summer night.
As this was a two week vacation we enjoyed a lot more music. More than we can fit in one column, so I tried to stick to the highlights. We had a blast and I am sure these albums will remind me of my vacation or perhaps even specific moments during our trip. I love how music can transport you back in time. Perhaps that is something we need to explore in one of our future talks.
