[rayword45]

Day 82: E18 Album by Detektivbyran (Album Choice: FoJaR)

I'm in the mood for something different. I'm not gonna look this up again, but if I recall correctly, this is folktronica. The only folktronica I regularly listen to, if you can call it that, is The Books. And maybe some occasional Four Tet or Caribou. As a matter of fact I doubt that any artist considers folktronica a real genre, like nobody wants to be called post-grunge or cock rock, even if those two sound way worse than folktronica. Man enough of this tangent.

There are folk music influences to say the least, but sadly it's not what I usually expect when I hear the term folk. No, these guys meant actual traditional European folk music, with accordions and music boxes and such. This reminds me of trying to get into folk metal on multiple occasions only to realize in the end everytime that those guys are never talking about acoustic folk but rather some weird ass Norwegian traditional shit. I'm always one with open ears but that shit just leaves me wondering what the eff I just listened to. But enough complaining, let's get back to the album on hand. For a folk based album, the first couple of tracks lack the warmth I would hope to get. Thankfully, third track Nattoppet has the warm nostalgic feeling I'd hope to get from this kinda music. And that's how far I am as of now! Now, time to do some homework.

I am the worst procrastinator of all time, but anyways, this was a pretty short album so let's say things now. The best tracks are ones that make use of the music box and accordion and other traditional type instruments. Strangely enough, I found myself getting tired of their sound by the end of the album but undeniably those tracks were the strongest. The album as a whole is very spare and minimalist, and I found the more layered (relative term) it got, the warmer it felt and the more I enjoyed the music, with songs like
Dansbanan and the aforementioned Nattoppet being the best tracks on the album. On the other hand, tracks like Granmon and Home Sweet Home where the whole track consists of one instrument, usually a piano, do nothing but cure my nonexistent insomnia.

Not a fantastic album, but not a particularly bad one, though I can see the constant sparkly tones grating on some people. When this album was good, it was enjoyable if not mind blowing. When this album was bad, it wasn't really bad so much as just mindnumbingly dull. The highs really aren't high enough for me to recommend this album, but if you cut out Monster, Granmon, Hem Ljuva Hem and Home Sweet Home you have a decent short album that overdoes the accordion a bit.

Best Track: Nattoppet
Rating: 5/10