Svartbag — Svartbag

The Danish trio Svartbag was founded in 2002 by A.REX and Niels Ladefoged. With Peter Kyed they eventually became a trio, occasionally augmented by Dureforsog drummer Andreas Hauer-Jensen.

People into the kraut- and spacerock of the seventies can rejoice, as there seems to be a bit of a trend going on with bands building the foundations layed down by Neu!, Ash Ra Temple and Can. Bands like Circle, The Shining Path, Titan, Procyon-X and Svartbag add their young enthusiasm as well as admiration for the sounds of the original electronic instruments like ARPs and Moogs. Each group gives their own take on these events and the band at hand adds some gritty drone to take us to present times.

Sitting down to review this debut the heavy weather outside sure helps setting the tone. The rain and thunder are an excellent addition to the brooding 5/4 rhythm of opening track Black Capricorn. Normally a timesignature is not the first thing to mention in these circles, but therefore it's all the more effective. Combining the deep drone with the hypnotic rhythm make it quite a way to start. Towards the end the drums disappear to leave is with stately but ambient churchorgan. The Flutist continues with a nineties dance-feel to it and their dark clouds lift a little, even though there's a heavy guitar buried in the looped ambience. The darkness, and even stronger than before, returns in the heavy drone of Cairo, where siren-like guitars soar slowly. They continue to soar in Loop#9, but in a friendlier fashion and much more mellow. There's also bluesy guitar twangings which keeps the listener a bit more grounded on earth after all the subterranean drones and outer space adventures. A ritual march in the form of Billy Name, slowly building on an untelligible murmur of voices and a two-tone theme into a more straight forward rockriff, until we come to a screeching halt.

These Danes provide an excellent trip which is rooted in the seventies without becoming pure retro. Still, people who like Tangerine Dream and such are likely to find something to their liking in these moody soundscapes, especially those who can also appreciate a band like Sunn0))).