Under Review

Love is All

Nine Times That Same Song

What’s Your Rupture?

Review By Jordie Sparkle

It’s too bad that we only get to hear that song nine times, but if you find the edition with a bonus disc you can listen to the song four more times, and that includes Yoko Ono and Kim Fowley covers that nod to these musicians from the yesteryears of rock history. These Swedes have taken dancey art-punk that’s recently been sounding same-old-same-old and managed to etch some freshness out of it. Josephine Olausson’s voice is a wonderful throwback to 80s post-punk vocalists like Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Delta 5’s Julz Sale. The sax they’ve thrown in on most of their songs brings elements of ska or jazz, but in such an alien setting as to render them almost unrecognizable. Faster tracks like “Used Goods” start with a minimalist post-punk feel and slowly push towards a danceable wall of noise at the end. These upbeat numbers contend with simpler musical backdrops to Olausson’s voice, such as “Turn the TV Off” and “Turn the Radio Off”, which invoke an eerie sorrow.

This album does more than ride on the wave of a popular flavour of the week, but stands out as one of the stronger albums as the second wave of this music begins to wash over us. Most of the imitators in dance-punk are easily forgettable, however this album is one that will stick out as a suitable child of the parents that spawned it.