What is your favorite food? Celebrate a playlist of rock bands with food names.
To many, food is the way of life. For a foodie, trying new food or snack is pure thrill. Cuisines from different parts of the world have their own unique taste and flavor. In the realms of music, different types of foods and their expressions are hugely popular. Many musicians actually find inspiration to include food ideas in their bands name. Rock bands in particular have taken food inspired themes to a whole new level.
Significance of Food Names in Musical Groups
Musicians may mention food items in their band names for a variety of reasons. The vision of every group of musicians differs in accordance with their perspective. A creative thought process is implemented to come up with names that are unique in identity. The name of a specific food may be included with other words to bring about dynamism. Sometimes, food names are used as connecting terms with other words to highlight a deeper meaning. Certain musicians may arrange words to showcase a double entendre.
Certain musicians love to add contradictory elements from different genres to bring uniqueness to their band name. The name of a food is sometimes added with contrasting words that bring aesthetic value to a name. Food ideas may be incorporated in band names to give theatrical identity or make something absolutely illogical sound adorable. Sometimes nonsensical words are combined with food ideas to come up with whacky band names.
What Is the Purpose of Mentioning Food Items in Band Names?
The purpose of mentioning food items in band names is to acquire a uniquely distinctive identity. Foods mentioned in band names may represent a diverse perspective related to varied attributes. Musicians may implement a logical concept or something totally illogical to convey a meaning through their band name. Specific types of food maybe picked as names represent their unique qualities. Food may also be used as a metaphor to express a mystical concept.
Sometimes members in a musical group like to bring in a certain amount of absurdity by combining food-themes with words. A number of bands combine vague words with the intention of sounding outlandishly different. This is often done to build a conceptual identity to promote the band as a brand. Food related themes may also be incorporated by group members as their band name while having fun with words during a brainstorming session. Commonly mentioned foods in band names are
Fruits
Vegetables
Meat and Poultry
Fish and Seafood
Desserts
Fruit Preserves
Nuts & Seeds
Beverages
Dairy Products
Sweets
Grains and Legumes
The list below showcases a diverse collection of rock bands, alternative rock bands, indie rock bands, garage rock bands, punk rock bands, pop-rock bands, hard rock bands, blues rock bands, country rock bands, gothic rock bands and heavy metal bands that have food in their names. If you have a view, opinion, or band suggestion, let us know in the comments section.
Worlds Worst is a Salt Lake City-based punk band with a very misleading name. They’re not actually the world’s worst.
They’re not even bad. In fact, the only thing they seem genuinely awful at is sucking. Which is generally a good problem for a band to have.
Worlds Worst have been busy during the pandemic, releasing a solid EP in April of 2020 and now following it up with a sequel, frilllessly adorn as EP2.
On this new release, Worlds Worst continues to meld spinny pop-punk and maturely introspective emo- scuffed and scratched for a character with a rash of pedal effects and balmed with a warm reverb that envelopes these tracks in a layer of emotional security, similar to the way a thunder vest can help your dog feel more chill when you have company over. These songs, especially “Balloons,” can feel like one long hug, is what I’m trying to say.
Patient caresses and intimate brushes don’t, necessarily, make for a well-rounded punk record, though. There are also a number of assertive and self-assuredly defiant tracks as well. “Twins” rides a net of highwire guitars above a river of tumbling grooves to find catharsis on the opposite end of a pounding polemic about the theft that occurs at the core of wage labor, and the dreary sonic slosh of “Postal” which feels like space-gaze of Hum collapsing into a current of granite-chipping, hard-tipped Braid riffs.
Worlds Worst is almost certain to improve your day if you give them a chance. And it being a Friday and all, why wouldn’t you? If you’re at work now, go home. If you’re working from home, log off. There will always be more work, but let that be someone else’s problem for a little while. You only have one life, so you might as well enjoy it. Which, as I hope I’ve convinced you here, Worlds Worst can help you luxuriate in if you let them.
The post EP Review: Worlds Worst – EP2 appeared first on New Noise Magazine.
The Holy Family recently released their debut album via Rocket Recordings. Simon Tucker takes the sugar cube and joins the journey.
The Holy Family is a band led chiefly by David J Smith and whose membership includes the likes of Kavus Torabi, Emmett Elvin, Sam Warren, and Michael J York. Borne out of improvisations which took place in an old country house, the album was then molded into shape by Smith and engineer/mixer Antti Uuismaki, for approval and final overdubs from the rest of the collective. Inspired by everything from magical realism, children’s folk tales, and the surrealist art of Dorothea Tanning, The Holy Family finds itself perfectly placed to soundtrack imagined journeys both outer and inner and seeing as most of us have not been able to travel far these last eighteen months then its timing could not have been better.
Geographically, The Holy Family is impossible to pin down. It is a nomadic work that seems to travel through borders from the stark white of industrial Europe to the rolling sands of the Sahara. It is an album that is in perpetual motion – even when at its calmest, as the cyclical nature of the music allows for vivid imagery to permeate the mind’s eye.
Sometimes you are traveling deeper into your own self and sometimes you are staring at the world through the window of a bus never feeling anything else other than complete contentment and whilst there are no genre-specific labels you could give it, The Holy Family is a definite relative of ambient music with its whole aura surrounded in a trance-like serenity, scattered in the dust and ash of many who have worked in this realm before.
Musically you can find glimpses of explorers that have gone before whether that be on the Another Green World-era Eno (Skulls The…) Pompeii rattling Pink Floyd (Stones To Water) and even the impressionistic soundscapes of Sigur Rós (I Have Seen The Lion Walking) only The Holy Family cover their sound in fire instead of ice.
The Holy Family also has a strong gift for drama and sequencing which helps the album flow in a cohesive narrative arc allowing for ups and downs, twists and turns. This means you are allowed the deeper and unsettling moments like Inner Edge of Outer Mind and See, Hear, Smell, Taste, and the glorious hypno-groove of A New Euphoria which is a piece of music that loops beautifully like a prime Jah Wobble bass mantra. There’s even room for a dark twist on the Laurel Canyon Sixties and Seventies sound with St. Anthony’s Fire.
This is an exciting debut from a very promising band. It is an album that you will want to keep revisiting as its unsettled nature allows for many interpretations. The Holy Family allows you to see the potential in a cohesive and progressive unified front and its explorations are worth every penny of the ticket price. Get onboard…you would not want to be left behind.
~
The post The Holy Family: The Holy Family – album review appeared first on Louder Than War. (Only a few punctuation and spelling corrections made)
Emanuel is an R&B artist with a gorgeous sound and the goal of sharing his music with the world. This artist has a sound that goes past being enjoyable and digs deep into your soul. Alt Therapy is comprised of twelve songs that each breathe their own kind of life into the listeners. Emanuel’s music is cinematic while still feeling personal and raw. It is truly something unique.
Listening to Alt Therapy brings all kinds of emotions to the foreground. The melodies are breathtaking and sweet while the lyricism is hard hitting and vulnerable. Emanuel’s vocals are flawless in a real and seemingly unedited kind of way. Each track on this album finds its way into your soul in a way that allows you to relate and feel truly at home.
Emanuel describes his music as a “renaissance of beautiful black art in the world” and he seems to have hit the nail on the head. His music is real and beautiful and an amazing representation of black artistry. His voice and skill are simply amazing in this project as well as all of his other works.
If you haven’t checked out Emanuel’s Alt Therapy, then you are missing out. This is not an artist or an album to miss out on. His music is truly gorgeous and absolutely anything he does is sure to be simply brilliant.
The post Emanuel brings a new level to artistry with album Alt Therapy appeared first on Upstream Indie.
A world without music is unimaginable. Celebrate a playlist of songs with music genres in the title.
Every individual’s taste in music differs. Although every music genre has something special to offer, not every genre may appeal to listeners. While the majority of listeners prefer mainstream music, non-mainstream genres are popular with music buffs and music purists. A number of songs actually mention music genres in their song titles. You may find this surprising, but if you scrutinize closely you will be astonished at what you come across.
What Is the Purpose of Mentioning Music Genres in Song Titles?
While certain musicians may have intent and purpose of mentioning a musical style in their song title, most times words that make up a music genre convey an entirely different meaning. Musicians may express their joy and gratitude towards a certain kind of music with a unique title that includes the music genre. Usually, it is one word in a title that morphs multiple meanings. Words may have the same spelling or pronunciation, but convey a wide-range of meanings; these words are termed as homonyms.
Certain genres may be mentioned in songs to showcase the passion and intensity associated with the type of music. The impact a certain kind of music has had on musicians or listeners, is sometimes poetically expressed as a tribute. Singers and songwriters may also mention a music genre to figuratively convey a deeper understanding of a concept or idea. Sometimes musicians may use specific words in a title as a catchy hook for the verse or chorus.
What Do Musical Styles Symbolize in Songs?
Musical styles in songs may symbolize a wide spectrum of attributes that are generic or personal. Different types of music may represent a celebratory aspect of life associated with people from different walks of life. Genres and subgenres may also be mentioned to showcase the culturally diversity of musical forms in different parts of the world. Different musical styles may harvest comparative forms to explain drastic differences or similarities.
A number of singers and songwriters like to creatively portray the emotions associated with the music genres they love. Certain musicians tell heartwarming stories of how the music they listened to, or the music they played helped them cope with difficult times. Musicians may also promote non-mainstream musical styles through their songs to ensure certain genres reach a wider audience and in the process attain popularity. Although music genres may denote a wide-range of expressions in songs, often they may signify or symbolize
Happiness
Dedication
Hope
Sadness
Integrity
Difficulties
Sarcasm
Celebration
Energy
Insecurity
Positivity
Gratitude
Honesty
Sincerity
The list below showcases a diverse collection of songs that mention rock, pop, country, R&B, folk, rock n roll, hip hop, indie, heavy metal, reggae, soul, funk, disco, reggaeton, trap, jazz, and blues genres in songs. If you have a view, opinion, or song suggestion, let us know in the comments section.
Top 10 Best Songs With Music Genres in the Title
“Uptown Funk”—Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
“God’s Country”—Blake Shelton
“Pop That”—French Montana
“It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll”—The Rolling Stones
“Party Rock Anthem”—LMFAO featuring Luren Bennett and GoonRock
“Disco Inferno”—50 Cent
“Roadhouse Blues”—The Doors
“A-Punk”—Vampire Weekend
“Rap Devil”—Machine Gun Kelly
“Who Will Save Your Soul”—Jewel
#11—20
11. “Rock That Body”—The Black Eyed Peas
12. “Trap Queen”—Fetty Wap
13. “Disco Tits”—Tove Lo
14. “Hip-Hop Is Dead”—Nas
15. “Country Again”—Thomas Rhett
16. “We Will Rock You”—Queen
17. “Pop Out”—Polo G featuring Lil Tjay
18. “Soul Survivor”—Young Jeezy featuring Akon
19. “Rock And Roll Music”—Chuck Berry
20. “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”—Ramones
#21—40
21. “Still Got the Blues for You”—Gary Moore
22. “Rock and Roll”—Led Zeppelin
23. “Get the Funk Out”—Extreme
24. “Jailhouse Rock”—Elvis Presley
25. “Pop”—NSYNC
26. “Sultans of Swing”—Dire Straits
27. “Soul Man”—Sam & Dave
28. “Girl in a Country Song”—Maddie & Tae
29. “Electropop”—Jupiter Rising
30. “Metal Health”—Quiet Riot
31. “Boogie On Reggae Woman”—Stevie Wonder
32. “Pop Style”—Drake featuring The Throne
33. “Rock You Like a Hurricane”—Scorpions
34. “Lean wit it, Rock wit It”—Dem Franchize Boyz
35. “Rock the Casbah”—The Clash
36. “That’s the Way I Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll”—AC/DC
37. “Pop, Lock, & Drop It”—Huey
38. “Raised on Country”—Chris Young
39. “Soul to Squeeze”—Red Hot Chilli Peppers
40. “Funk Pop a Roll”—XTC
#41—60
41. “Pop Singer”—John Cougar Mellencamp
42. “Let it Rock”—Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne
43. “Rock Yo Hips”—Crime Mob and Lil’ Scrappy
44. “You Rock My World”—Michael Jackson
45. “I Wanna Rock”—Twisted Sister
46. “Reggaeton Lento (Bailemos)”—CNCO
47. “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll”—The Killers
48. “Trap”—Shakira featuring Maluma
49. “Pretty Girl Rock”—Keri Hilson
50. “Rock Me Amadeus”—Falco
51. “Make My Head Go Pop”—Roxette
52. “Bossa Nova Baby”—Elvis Presley
53. “Ragga Bomb”—Skrillex featuring Raga Twins
54. “Metal Metldown”—Judas Priest
55. “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”—AC/DC
56. “Disco Lies”—Moby
57. “Beautiful Soul”—Jesse McCartney
58. “Rock the Bat”—Aaliyah
59. “Take Me Home, Country Roads”—John Denver
60. “Rock Around The Clock”—Bill Haley & His Comets
#61—80
61. “Punk Rock Girl”—The Dead Milkmen
62. “(Love Is) a Tender Trap”—Frank Sinatra
63. “Rock and Roll All Nite”—Kiss
64. “Deacon Blues”—Steely Dan
65. “Club Can’t Handle Me”—Flo Rida featuring David Guetta
66. “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)”—Don Felder
67. “Rock Your Body”—Justin Timberlake
68. “Soul Singing”—The Black Crowes
69. “Boogie Oogie Oogie”—A Taste of Honey
70. “Gone Country”—Alan Jackson
71. “Dance Hall Days”—Wang Chung
72. “The House of the Rising Sun”—The Animals
73. “Crocodile Rock”—Elton John
74. “Let There Be Rock”—AC/DC
75. “Red House”—Jimi Hendrix
76. “Dub Be Good To Me”—Beats International
77. “Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through”—Meat Loaf
78. “Smuggler’s Blues”—Glenn Frey
79. “Kind Hearted Woman Blues”—Robert Johnson
80. “Raised On Rock”—Elvis Presley
#81—100
81. “You Had Your Soul with You”—The National
82. “Punk Rock 101”—Bowling for Soup
83. “Rock of Ages”—Def Leppard
84. “Bell Bottom Blues”—Derek & the Dominos
85. “I Got the Blues”—The Rolling Stones
86. “Rock n Roll”—Avril Lavigne
87. “The Rock Show”—blink-182
88. “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”—Argent
89. “One Big Country Song”—LoCash
90. “Love in This Club”—Usher featuring Jeezy
91. “Detroit Rock City”—Kiss
92. “I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)”—Sandi Thom
93. “Planet Rock”—Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force
94. “Stick That in Your Country Song”—Eric Church
95. “Acapella”—Karmin
96. “Heavy Metal and Reflective”—Azealia Banks
97. “Our House”—Madness
98. “Hip Hop Hooray”—Naughty by Nature
99. “Mr. Rock and Roll”—Amy MacDonald
100. “Old Time Rock And Roll”—Bob Seger
Other Notable Songs With Music Genres in the Title
“Heart Full of Soul”—The Yardbirds
“Pop a Top”—Alan Jackson
“Show Me Your Soul”—Red Hot Chilli Peppers
“Pop That Thang”—The Isley Brothers
“The Heart of Rock & Roll”—Huey Lewis & the News
“Cowboy Blues”—Kesha
“Nihilist Blues”—Bring Me the Horizon
“This is Pop”—XTC
“Statesboro Blues”—The Allman Brothers Band
“Soul Bossa Nova”—Quincy Jones
“Rock with the Caveman”—Tommy Steele
“It’s Still Rock And Roll to Me”—Billy Joel
“Integrity Blues”—Jimmy Eat World
“Metal Thrashing Mad”—Anthrax
“Indie Cindy”—Pixies
“Kill Rock N’ Roll”—System of A Down
“Singing the Blues”—Guy Mitchell
“Black Country Rock”—David Bowie
“300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues”—The White Stripes
“Rock and Roll Girls”—John Fogerty
“Swing”—Quavo featuring Normani and Davido
“Why I Sing the Blues”—B.B. King
“Rock and Roll Is Dead”—Lenny Kravitz
“If You Can’t Rock Me”—The Rolling Stones
“Pop Thrash Movie”—Duran Duran
“Metal on Metal”—Anvil
“Shaman’s Blues”—The Doors
“Oi Oi Oi”—Cockney Rejects
“The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll”—The Psychedelic Furs
“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got that Swing)”—Duke Ellington
“Save Rock and Roll”—Fall Out Boy featuring Elton John
“American Country Love Song”—Jake Owen
“Rock with You”—Michael Jackson
“Boogie Chillen’”—John Lee Hooker
“Rock the Boat”—Aaliyah
“The Celtic Soul Brothers”—Dexys Midnight Runners
“Revolution Blues”—Neil Young
“I Was Not a Nazi Polka”—Chad Mitchell Trio
“Funana”—Madonna
“God and Country Music”—George Strait
“The Metal”—Tenacious D
“I Love Rock And Roll”—Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
“King of Rock”—Run-D.M.C.
“Rock and Roll Shoes”—Johnny Cash
“Jazz (Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold)”—Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
“Forever Pop”—Lil Tjay
“I Love the Nightlife (Disco ‘Round)”—Alicia Bridges
“This Is Heavy Metal”—Lordi
“Punk Rock Classic”—Red Hot Chili Peppers
“U.S. Blues”—Grateful Dead
“Death Disco”—Public Image Ltd.
“House Every Weekend”—David Zowie
“Trenchtown Rock”—Bob Marley & the Wailers
“Rock N’ Roll Is Free”—Ben Harper
“We Sold Our Souls to Metal”—Soulfly
“Black Mountain Blues”—Bessie Smith
“Da Funk”—Daft Punk
“Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay”—Danny & the Juniors
“Sugar Blues”—Clyde McCoy
“Deep Blues”—Kano featuring Damon Albarn
“Omomo Punk”—Warren Hue
“Rock And Roll Heaven”—The Righteous Brothers
“The Last Waltz”—Engelbert Humperdnick
“Roots Reggae Music”—Rebelution
“Disco 2000”—Pulp
“Blues for Allah”—Grateful Dead
“Hop Scotch Polka (Scotch-Hot)”—Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians
“Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”—Parliament
“Rock wit U (Awww Baby)”—Ashanti
“Billy’s Blues”—Laura Nyro
“Hard Time Killing Floor Blues”—Skip James
“Kicked Outta Country”—George Strait
“Rock Me Tonite”—Billy Squier
“Jazz at the Bookstore”—Ron Sexsmith
“Abattoir Blues”—Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
“Basin Street Blues”—Louis Armstrong
“Country Must Be Country Wide”—Brantley Gilbert
“Livin’ My Life Like a Country Song”—Theory of A Deadman
“Psychobilly Freakout”—The Reverend Horton Heat
“The Dada Polka”—Magnetic Fields
“Almost Like The Blues”—Leonard Cohen
“Dress Blues”—Zac Brown Band
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy”—Bad Company
“Boogie With Stu”—Led Zeppelin
“New Wave”—Islander
“Ladies Love Country Boys”—Trace Adkins
“Country on the Radio”—Blake Shelton
“Fort Worth Blues”—Steve Earle
“Rock And Roll Deserves To Die”—The Darkness
“Emo Kid”—Adam and Andrew
“Rock the Night”—Europe
“Higgs Boson Blues”—Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
“Just Wanna Rock ‘N Roll”—Rodney Atkins
“Long Live Rock”—The Who
“Country Girl Blues”—Brother Yusef
“Helplessness Blues”—Fleet Foxes
“Blame It on the Bossa Nova”—Eydie Gorme
“Country”—Angaleena Presley
“Don’t Play your Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me”—Smokie
“Rock Your Heart Out”—AC/DC
“Deranged for Rock & Roll”—Chelsea Wolfe
“Memphis Blues”—W.C. Handy
“Rock ‘N Roll Train”—AC/DC
“Loves Me Like a Rock”—Paul Simon
“Cosmic Jazz”—Wishbone Ash
“Ambulance Blues”—Neil Young
“Do You Wanna Funk”—Sylvester and Patrick Cowley
“Let There Be Rock”—Drive-By Truckers
“Rock N’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”—AC/DC
“Tupelo Blues”—John Lee Hooker
“Handyman Blues”—Billy Bragg
“Slam Dunk (Da Funk)”—Five
“Rock Me”—ABBA
“What Makes You Country”—Luke Bryan
“Jelly Roll Blues”—Jelly Roll Morton
“Old Country Soul”—The Reklaws
“Wedding Bell Blues”—The 5th Dimension
“Loose Rap”—Aaliyah
“Damn Country Music”—Tim McGraw
“Rock ‘n’ Roll is Cold”—Matthew E. White
“All Country on You”—Austin Webb
“Mr. Johnson’s Blues”—Lonnie Johnson
“I Need to Hear a Country Song”—Toby Keith
“So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”—The Byrds
“Country Girls”—John Schneider
“No Better Blues”—Chance the Rapper
“Rock Lobster”—The B-52’s
“Country Boy”—Alan Jackson
“Funk Box”—Sugarhill Gang
“Big Bill Blues”—Big Bill Broonzy
“Pop Muzik”—Robin Scott
“Dime Store Rock”—Slash’s Snakepit
“Buried Alive In the Blues”—Janis Joplin
“Metal Heart”—Accept
“Got a Little Country”—Blake Shelton
“All Disco”—Elbow
“Elimination Blues”—Primal Scream
“Bubble Pop Electric”—Gwen Steffani
“Rock and Roll, Hoochie Ko”—Johnny Winter And
“New Speedway Boogie”—Grateful Dead
“Rock the Joint”—Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians
“Barstool Blues”—Neil Young
“Rock and Roll”—Eric Hutchinson
“Disco Duck”—Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots
“City Boy Blues”—Action Bronson
“Rock and Roll Lullaby”—B.J. Thomas
“And the Cradle Will Rock”—Van Halen
“Boxing Day Blues”—Courtney Barnett
“Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”—Def Leppard
“Filthy Blues”—Orianthi
“Jungle Boogie”—Kool & the Gang
“Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)”—Will Glahe
“Rock On”—David Essex
“Coward of the Country”—Kenny Rogers
“Buckskin Stallion Blues”—Townes Van Zandt
“Long Live Rock & Roll”—Daughtry
“She Likes Rock N Roll”—AC/DC
“Ventilator Blues”—The Rolling Stones
“Country”—Mo Pitney
“Dead Shrimp Blues”—Robert Johnson
“Rock ‘N’ Roll Widow”—Wishbone Ash
“Acid Jazz Singer”—The Fratellis
“Rock & Roll Found Me”—Eric Church
“She’s Country”—Jason Aldean
“Rock And Roll Band”—Boston
“Country Death Song”—Violent Femmes
“Fisherman’s Blues”—The Waterboys
“Death By Rock And Roll”—The Pretty Reckless
“Country Music Has the Blues”—Billy Ray Cyrus
“A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy”—The Kinks
“Jimmy Jazz”—The Clash
“A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘N Roll”—Donny & Marie
“Pop That Lock”—Adam Lambert
“Heavy Metal”—Bring Me the Horizon
“Astrobiology Rap”—Jonathan Chase
“Rock ‘N Me”—Steve Miller Band
“Country Side of Heaven”—Eric Paslay
“Halloween Blues”—The Fratellis
“Call Me Country”—Jon Pardi
“This Is What Rock N’ Roll Looks Like”—Porcelain Black
Kaktus Einarsson’s solo debut album, Kick The Ladder, is breathtaking and unpredictable, imaginative and stunningly beautiful. Just like his native Iceland, in fact. Diamond geyser Gordon Rutherford reviews for Louder Than War.
Lying slap bang on the divergent boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate, Iceland has a totally unique geology. Like silver screen icons, Burton and Taylor, those tectonic plates simply cannot help rubbing up against each other and creating all kinds of friction, quite literally on a volcanic scale. Invariably, music emerges from the culture and landscape that spawns it and Iceland’s musical output generally mirrors that distinctive geology. Take, for example, the grandiose majesty of Sigur Ros, the unpredictable and cascading melodies of Bjork, or the sepulchral, elegiac drama of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s scores. We should now add this sparkling and shimmering debut from Kaktus Einarsson to that list.
Kick The Ladder is an extremely mature body of work; one that doesn’t quite sound like the output of a twenty-eight year old. Then again, Kaktus Einarsson has more work experience than most twenty-eight year olds, by virtue of the fact that his rock n’ roll career began at an unfeasibly tender age. When us ordinary kids were busy playing with our Action Man or Barbie, Einarsson was appearing as part of experimental electronic act Ghostigital. He was ten years old. Kids today, huh? From there, he moved on to become frontman of post-punk combo Fufanu, opening for Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and performing as part of the bill at Blur’s Hyde Park gig. That’s a very decent CV and, like one of those sponges that flourish in Iceland’s hydrothermal chimneys, he has absorbed it all, allowing him to pour every drop of experience into the creation of this dazzling solo debut album.
Those experiences, combined with his new found parental responsibilities, have resulted in a melodic, clever and incredibly catchy record, with a sound that is expansive enough to fill a glacier. Credit to Swiss composer Kurt Uenala (Depeche Mode, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Kills) who shared production duties with Einarsson, because together they have created something sonically special. Close listening reveals the admirable attention to detail on this album. Moreover, Einarsson has demonstrated extraordinary levels of innovation in crafting this collection. Collaborating with the French prepared piano experimentalist, Thibault Gomez, a decision was taken to eschew electronics on the album. “We replaced synths with acoustic sounds that are familiar, but unfamiliar”, Einarsson explains, rather cryptically. In essence, all of the effects were created purely by leveraging the unimagined capabilities of one familiar instrument, the grand piano. Working in a similar way to German maestro Nils Frahm (but maybe without toilet brushes), Einarsson and Gomez would lift the lid and get into the guts of this most magnificent of instruments. They would scratch, bow and e-bow the instrument’s strings, eliciting otherworldly sounds. Brooms would be rattled off the underside to create deep percussive rhythms. Few artists can have gone to such lengths to create their sound this year. However, the way these effects are utilised is incredibly smart. Instead of showily plastering the sounds garishly across the tracks, Einarsson ensures that they are subtly deployed. They serve the songs, rather than becoming them, and that’s precisely how it should be when you have such a brilliant catalogue.
If Kick The Ladder were a 1500 metre runner, it would be on course to shatter the world record at the moment it hits the bell for the last lap. Those first few laps are quite breathtaking. However, having pushed it so intensely in the earlier stages, it does flag a little bit as it approaches the finishing line. It makes it home, just not quite at the same pace as it started. The album opens with the brooding, atmospheric title track. Those opening couple of minutes before the voice kicks in are wonderfully moody, showcasing that innovative use of the piano I highlighted earlier and augmented by the sumptuous cello of Hjörtur Eggertsson. And then we are introduced to that incredible voice, which, cloaked in beautifully warm reverb, sounds quite magnificent. By the time we hit the chorus, the song has become splendidly luxurious. It’s big like a Bond theme, propelling this album explosively out of the blocks. The title track is followed by the bass-driven, super-catchy accessibility of Oceans Heart. Any song about the joys of flying a kite is bound to be pleasurable and this one doesn’t disappoint.
It gets even better. Hypnotized has a feel that is a throwback to the intelligent pop of the nineteen-eighties. It’s catchy and bubbly, but never lightweight. The structure and chord movements are simply genius, providing a tremendous platform for Einarsson’s soaring and melodic voice. Yet, despite the pop leanings, this is a piece awash with gravitas. Like so much of the album, it draws heavily on how we relate societally to our surroundings and, in this case, Einarsson’s focus is on the persecution and deportation of immigrants from Iceland. So, it’s not just here, huh? Einarsson asks “are the children scared/do they belong with us here?”. It’s incredibly powerful songwriting, fusing a lighter, more accessible touch musically with a powerful lyrical statement.
Thematically, No Runaway carries on the torch and prompts me to conclude that there probably isn’t enough reverb in music these days. A darker tune, with the uplifting major chords of the earlier songs replaced by more sombre minors, No Runaway is possibly the edgiest song on the album, one that brings to mind Douglas Dare in the way that the artist teases us about what may or may not be going on under the surface. “I know that sometimes I keep things to myself”, he sings. That’s okay, Kaktus. Artists are meant to be mysterious. But, generously, he does allow us a fleeting glimpse of his soul, just enough to intrigue us. Another two bangers follow. Daydream Echo is layers and layers of lush sound and an infectious call-and-response chorus whilst Gone To Bed is just a quite beautifully structured composition that Burt Bacharach would be proud of. Later on, the dreamy and atmospheric 45rpm ups the reverb ante even further. If there was such a thing as a Twin Peaks house band, this might just be how they sound. And that can never be a bad thing.
With Kick The Ladder, Kaktus Einarsson has created a body of work not dissimilar to the work of Perfume Genius or John Grant (who he will be touring with across Europe – but, unfortunately, not the UK – next summer). It is incredibly intelligent pop music of the very highest standard, smarter than a magpie with a first in economics from Oxford. There are so many great songs on this album with a plethora of musical highs. It’s just a shame about that final lap. It’s not that the last four tracks are turkeys. They are not, nor did they ruin the overall vibe. It’s simply that Einarsson has set the bar so high in the eight tracks preceding them. Notwithstanding that, Kick The Ladder is a very, very good album and it’s one that I have no hesitation in throwing my weight behind. It will certainly remain a fixture on my turntable for a wee while to come.
The post Kaktus Einarsson: Kick The Ladder – album review appeared first on Louder Than War.
