I posted about The Kissaway Trail, a Danish band with the silly name and a fantastic song, about a month and a half ago. Since then, someone from Bella Union was nice enough to get me a copy of their self-titled album, so I’m back to gush some more.
The opener “Forever Turned Out To Be Too Long” is a bit of a snooze – but it does serve the noble purpose of creating a platform from which the astonishing “Smother + Evil = Hurt” can burst into the heavens. I’m not sure I’ve heard a better song this year, silly title notwithstanding. After spending a lot of time with this one, and with the new Arcade Fire, I feel confident in saying that Win Butler and company only wish they could have a song like this on Neon Bible. The guitars and drums could flatten a city block, and the lyrics cut through you like some kind of emo-infused lightning. And then the coda hits, and you realize that talking about this song as if it were a thunderstorm is really an understatement.
And if you don’t trust me (or your own ears), Taylor from Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good says: “Forgive my best song ever hyperbole, but this just might be the best song ever.”
No other song comes close to matching these heights, but most are serviceable and a few are quite good.
“La La Song” taps into much of the same dynamic as “Smother” but where that song is epic, this one is far more playful, with a chorus of “la la la la la”s and a fadeout of “we were over the mountains singing la la la la.” Still, despite the simple lyrics, this is not fluff. It’s just reflective of the freedom and simple beauty of life. It’s not necessarily what you say, it’s how you say it. And on this song, they say it with an emphatic burst.
Other tracks well worth a few listens are “Soul Assassins,” the loping “Eloquence And Elixir,” and the more-Arcade-Fire-than-Arcade-Fire “61,” replete with quick drum fills, terrific soft/loud dynamics, and the feel of being both shouted in an arena and whispered in a bedroom. And lest you think they are simply the Danish Arcade Fire, they’ve also got a lot of other sounds going on, with some tracks that evoke more of an 80s feel, and a few that tap into the ethereal prog zeitgeist of folks like Sigur Ros and Mew.
It’s still not out in the US, though I’ll be sure to let you know when it is. If you live in Europe, you can get a copy from Bella Union or at your local record store.