Mika Vainio – Vandals EP 7.7

This EP is truly a celebration for those who took down the Roman Empire. The Vandals are fully represented here, with each track representing another Germanic tribe as well (Teutons, Barbarians, and the popular Goths).

If any of those tribes had IPODs, they might have been blasting these ultra-aggressive tracks. Each one comes between a mix of power electronics and Suicide. Respect is due to those wonderful people at Raster Noton who released this intense, beat-driven music.

While Mika is also a part of Pan Sonic, his solo stuff tends to be slightly more abstract. Abstraction is not present at all here. This is pure beat joy. “Barbarians” is the biggest shock of them all. Here it is a 4/4 beat, probably the first one Mika’s ever used. Oh, and just because the beat is so simple, he can focus on making it as overwhelming as possible. Panning disorients the listener as it zooms by.

Really, releases like this make me appreciate the collapse of the Roman Empire even more. Also, Mika should lay to rest the false accusation that the Finns are wimps.