Review Summary: Modest Mouse-inspired Indie Rock, that takes the listener to a joyful weekend feeling, with purposed lyrics combined with sweet guitar and consistency.
The Band:
Christian Hjelm (vocals, guitars)
Claus Johansen (guitars, backing vocals)
Kristian Volden (drums, percussion)
Mads Kjærgaard (bass, backing vocals)
Jens Ramon (piano, synth)
The first time I heard about this Danish five-piece band was on a British radio morning show. They played
Debate Because it's Over which was their first single from their debut album
Shake Mountain. And that song just simply caught my ear. It had all the elements of a great Indie song, energy, happiness and simple hooky guitar riffs. So I decided to go to the closest record shop and try to find some of this band. I found
Skeleton, their second album. It didn't include the song I had heard before, but it surely didn't dissapoint me. It was exactly what I was hoping for after the few four minutes they had offered me.
The Opening track
Race You is a very slow piano song. It's not bad, but I find that it wasn't a very good decision to put it as the opener. It is actually one of the weaker songs on this album, which really isn't typical for an opener. It's followed by
The Wonder, what changes completely the style after the previous track, from sad to happy and from slow to fast. It has the energy and it's a great catchy song that makes you wanna move. The chorus is one of the best in the album with fun lyrics "take your time to grow and leave forever, because it takes time to get it together for a long time." The third track
All Night keeps up the same great feeling. Later on some songs get a little bit too repetitive, like
Fiery Affair and
Back in the Day. Although fortunately I never felt an annoying boredom during the 45 minutes, like in numerous albums of the same music style. Every song is good enough to be played at least a few times, while some stand out more than others. My personal favourite on this comes nicely after half an hour, it's the 9th track
Ghost Towns, which in my opinion will challenge any listener to not chant along "I need someone and you need someone to love tonight." After the great closer
Release Me on the Floor you might want more, just like me.
This band has something that every fan of Indie and Alternative music should hear. This is one of those bands that have been underrated for a while and that deserve more attention. I guess if this band was American or English it would sell significantly more.
Overall it's an exellent album by a talented band that you should have a look at before you get too old, since this music makes you feel as young as you've ever been.
Track-by-track ratings:
Race You
3/5
The Wonder
5/5
All Night
4/5
Silver Ponds
4/5
Ambush
4/5
Rivalry
3,5/5
I Remember
4,5/5
Other Plans
4/5
Ghost Towns
5/5
Continous Songs
3,5/5
Fiery Affair
3/5
Wrong Way All the Way
4,5/5
Back in the Day
3/5
Release Me on the Floor
4,5/5
