BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa – Big Shadow Montana 7.9

                I like this record. The sound flows, rearranges itself, and drifts on by. Stilluppsteypa have their trademark humor included on here (particularly on the B Side). Even the artwork, a massive explosion of color, referencing the 60s, feels appropriate. “Big Shadow Montana” I would assume refers to the giant nature of the sound and size of the pieces.

                Side one appears to be the slightly more conventional piece. Occasionally you hear snippets of environment sounds through the gradual build-ups. Turn up the volume and you hear new pieces bleeding through the drones. In particular I heard what sounded like opera singing, though I could be entirely wrong. You can listen to this in any context though some familiarity with Stilluppsteypa’s work might be helpful.

                The second half is more playful, particularly in the middle half. While there, you’re treated to a kitschy yet cute coda. Right when you think it is about to cut out (a technique they employ on a lot of the record). I like the background pieces which always seem poised to overtake yet never quite do. A tease like this gives the record a degree of tension. For me I enjoy the tension they employ on the whole album. 

                Big Shadow Montana is a sprawling, deeply weird work. Due to the oftentimes quiet nature of the pieces, I’d recommend listening to later in the day with big headphones. Put the volume up too and just get lost in it.

Evil Madness – Super Great Love 7.5

                 Evil Madness is a super-group of Scandinavian bands you’ve never heard of: Stilluppsteypa, BJ Nilsen, and Johann Johannsson. Despite most of these performers’ positions in the extreme avant-garde (even by their own label’s standards, Emego, they are obscure) this is a fun record with a good sense of humor. Those familiar with the tongue-in-cheek irony of Trans Am will need that attitude to get through these songs.

                 This music is extremely playful. Arpeggios are literally strewn all over the place. A more than passing resemblance to an updated Kraftwerk is unavoidable: Evil Madness holds an affinity for old equipment and certain skewed pop sensibilities.

                A surprisingly large of electronic genres gets close scrutiny. Trance is here in tracks like “Divine Sensual Love Fantasy” (yes, the song’s title is part of the joke). Some of the songs seem to share a lot in common with Soft Pink Truth’s approach to dance music, just enough kitschy humor to make it enjoyable. 

                Other songs appear to draw strength from hyper-active pop music. “Café Eindhoven” would be the smash hit if Evil Madness was interested in hits, which it clearly isn’t. It stomps, raves up, and generally goes insane. But the longest song “Maxim’s Goldfinger” which includes distorted vocals is the most fun on here. Towards the end it completely gets cut up mere inches away from death. 

                Basically, this is a group of normally experimental musicians having some fun within the confines of trashy pop techno. Due to their training and practice, it is a surprisingly enjoyable affair.

British Murder Boys – Don’t Give Way to Fear 6.0

Actually, this is not a half-bad recording. The A-Side gives you an absolutely great dance floor track, complete with very hard-hitting beats. Plus, it fails to succumb to the dumber aspects that this sort of music might fall into by having some very interesting ambient interludes woven in. It doesn’t feel forced, rather it harkens to Stilluppsteypa’s interesting blend of high and low art. 

Unfortunately, what ruins it is the far less original B-Side, which suffers from all these problems. Had the B-side kept up the level of quality, I would not have a problem with it. 

So I’d suggest sticking with the A-side and perhaps you might see why Florian Hecker enjoys these guys so much.

Stilluppsteypa – Stories Part Five 7.6

Iceland proves once again that it is a breeding ground for the strangest of bands. Stilluppsteypa maintains a punk attitude through this experimental and often challenging release. To keep your attention a bit more focused, they often reference (sarcastically) other more popular musical forms, like Drum N’ Bass and rudimentary dance music.

“Nice Things to File Away Forever!” should prove to be a fairly decent introduction, if perhaps a bit more abstract than the rest of the album. Once you get through this colossal track, the going gets considerably easier. What follows is the strange dance-like track of “Which Serve the Purpose Not Only” and later the idea is revisited in “When I was eight years old”.

What works best is the hyper-kinetic “All Drummers Shiver”. Mixing together a translucent drone with a fast rhythm, it then goes into even faster territory, as if the beat is trying to escape some sort of impending doom. 

Ritornell released some very daunting music during its brief lifespan, generally stuff considered “too avantgarde” for Mille Plateaux. But this is fairly easy to get into, even if you’re not usually inclined towards experimental music.

Second Childhood