Anekdoten- Gravity (2003)

I had higher hopes for Anekdoten before I heard this album.  Being a Swedish Prog./Psych/Art Rock group, I figured that they would blow me away; boy was I wrong.  I will say though that the music itself is actually pretty cool, but the vocals, oh man the vocals, suck ass.  I have always been turned off by vocals that seem to not go with the style being played musically, and Anekdoten is a perfect example of that.

Gravity, released in 2003, seems to have some awesome musicians playing, but the vocals are this indie-alternative type sound.  (I use Indie/Alternative in the most negative way for this review)  Honestly, they should have just done an instrumental release.  The music itself has lots of changes throughout the 8 tracks, but with these vocals, I still haven't made it through the 45 minutes worth of music.  If you took a really good modern prog. sound, mix in some cool space rockin' and then through in that off the wall European twist on avant garde music, then you'd have the music they play; but when you add in the 90's alternative rock type vocals, the music is ruined.  I understand that I can be way too harsh when critiquing vocal styles, but these vocals really do suck. 

With a different approach, I will say that there are probably lots of people who would enjoy this.  Anyone who is a fan of early David Bowie, or Jefferson Airplane or even the Grateful Dead or Genesis, will probably like this.  Me myself, I am not a fan of any those groups so take this review as you will.  I want to give props to the musicianship of this album, but like I have repeated throughout this review, the vocals totally kill it for me.  Get it if you want, but if you don't like it, then don't blame me.

Official score-2/5

Bardo Pond- Dilate (2001)

The first time that I was introduced to Bardo Pond was seeing them live. I remember watching them and enjoying them live, but felt like they weren't the liveliest of bands to see.  I did like the fact that they introduced a flute and violin into a modern psychedelic sound, but I figured that since I was anticipating Mogwai to perform after them, I was just getting antsy.  Well Dilate was the album that I got, after seeing them live, in order to check out what their studio recordings sounded like.

More often then not, it seems like a band is either better live vs their studio recording or vise versa, well, I think that Bardo Pond might just not be what I'm into.  I wasn't that impressed with them live, but wanted to give them a try, and I have heard three different Bardo Pond releases, and they all seem to him me with the same relatively stagnant sound.  I am not going to say that they are bad, I just find them pretty boring.  They have great song structure and really do a good job at this sort of modern day psychedelic/acid rock sound.  I like the fact that they throw in the flute and violin, it adds a twist of sounds that you don't usually hear with modern day experimental rock bands, add in the female vocals and you will have a good mix, for some, but not me.  I guess that maybe the music just didn't grip me enough.  Since seeing them live, which was many years ago, I have tried giving them chances, multiple times, as my taste changes; but none of those chances have led to a different opinion.  Dilate has 10 tracks, and lasts over an hour, which makes the album seem to last forever.  Now, there are some great parts to some of these tracks, but not enough to keep you anticipating more

This album, and probably the band as a whole, will speak to a different audience, that I am not a part of.  Like I said above, Bardo Pond is not a bad group, just not my style.

Official Score-3.25/5