A long time ago, I had to interview a Norwegian band called Lorraine and I spent a great deal of the interview telling them what a misguidedly ugly name they had - the only Lorraines i had ever know were Lorraine Chase, a girl at school and the title of a really shit Bad Manners record. They didn't agree and, in fact, I think I lost them after telling them that all I knew about the Norwegian music scene was that it was famous for 'church burners and murderers'.
Anyway, Lockerbie - an Icelandic band on a German label with a name that brings to mind a terrorist atrocity that killed 270 people. I think you can guess what my first question would be.
Ok, on with music but let's get the lazy comparisons over first. They are from Reykjavik and have a vocalist that sounds, at times, rather like Jonsi. But they are not a Sigur Ros tribute band - they have a much better sense of instrumentation for a start, using trombone and a myriad of strings to give a joyous uplift to this lovely melodic pop music. Perfectly crafted and with a sound that bridges the gap between post rock experimentalism and the commercial side of things, this debut album is an absolute pleasure. Most of the music I listen to is decidedly downbeat in nature and so it makes a welcome change to hear something that oozes vitality like this.
Make no mistake here - this is NOT light throwaway music but something with incredible depth that manages to sound like a celebration whilst still retaining a serious air of incredible musicality.
Now, make way for some more downbeat stuff....
No comments:
Post a Comment