#omlott

Neutral - Du

From the new neutral “När” LP on Omlott. Consensus among the big mean collector-critics of America is that this is Neutral’s “pop record.” I think the other consensus among them was that I (the reader) was a “big shitty baby that wudn’t know a gud record if it dumped me straight in the cakemaker,” whatever that means. I’ve since filed a restraining order against every third record reviewer in a America. But they’re still right, this is Neutral’s warped take on pop. The song above, “Du”, is a somewhat concealed reinterpretation of Chris Knox’s “Not Given Lightly”.

Neutral, “Brott” from När (Omlott; 2017)

A somewhat frustrating, somewhat refreshing thing to post about Det Finns Ett Hjärta Som För Dig, a record that you can’t preview in any way before deciding to make $30+ disappear, but every convenience has its own brand of backlash. Enhet För Fri Musik is a five-piece Swedish outfit featuring both members of Neutral, a current obsession here, and while I can’t speak to the resumés of Hugo, Gus or Matthias (probably the guy behind Födämning/I Dischi Del Barone?), the membership of Dan and Sofie was enough to get me to plunge. I’ve not heard any of the band’s other work, though Aguirre recently reissued the cassette-only Inom Dig, Inom Mig, which went in a flash. Several listens in to this LP and I’m still miffed that a band boasting five members can make music this stark. Both “När Ska Min Själ Finna Ro” and “Bara Min Egen” wouldn’t sound out of place on the Frightening Lights’ LP, 4am burned-out loneliness with the street sweeper still audible in the background. But where the Frightening Lights had some bite in the vocals, Sofie’s turn at the mic sounds utterly crushed, with the accompanying music pushing things toward manic. Elsewhere the band successfully conjures the Art Ensemble of Chicago, in particular their album with Brigitte Fontaine, as on “Solokvist” and “Din Synd.” Most of the album passes in 1-2 minute flashes, but it’s punctuated by the 10+ minute “Fragment Av En Midsommarnattsdröm,” a head-scratcher of the highest order featuring fragments of pre-recorded speech backed by new age keyboards straight outta Twin Peaks, some eerie singing of a nursery rhyme or hymn, and other machined scraps apparently too valuable to be left unused. Neutral fans will obviously find a lot to like here (”Variationer Av En Längtan Till Gud” being my favorite at the moment), though anyone with a willingness to meet the artist on their terms should find something to enjoy within the rich, unvarnished environment. A couple of records a year force you to turn down/tune out everything else; Det Finns Ett Hjärta Som För Dig is one of ‘em.

Private Arms, “Peculiar Fiction” from Your Words Drip Like Wet Saliva (2017)

New track from Dan Johansson, ½ of Gothenburg, Sweden duo Neutral. If I had my wits about me last year, I’dve checked in with Neutral sooner than this past winter: their self-titled LP on Omlott retroactively tops my “Best of” list for 2016. Neutral was a subtle, corroded take on rock, barreling head down in the cold to throw a sheet of aluminum on the barrel fire. Dan’s Private Arms project keeps the same downward cast, coming across like a more sinister Garbage & the Flowers on “Peculiar Fiction.” Guitars strum easily at first, then start to twitch and whirr on their own, eventually opening up like popcorn kernels towards the end. There’s more than a little help from the other ½ of Neutral, Sofie Herner, whose vocals half stumble into a chorus with the way she sighs the title of the track. It’s grating and gripping, a measured dose of steely resolve, jaws set against this whole mess - “And I smiled,” indeed.

Dog Life - Self-titled

Omlott