It’s been 4 years since Emerald Park's debut album Sadness Within, but with that amount of time spent on the new record you know it may be something worth while. A nice flow of catchy tune sparkles on this album of pop rock tunes. The indie sound is what is mostly intriguing about this group. The Commonfield and Pasadena combine sound from bands like Arcade Fire, The Cure (older stuff) mixed with sound from bands like Death Cab for Cutie and sometimes that new wave feel of New Order. The first single released from the album A Higher Loss, already is catching an audience. The album was produced by Moonbabies multi instrumentalist Ola Frick, for an easy listening experience.
The female vocals in The Commonfield add the ambience and creativity to the mix of the songs giving it more of an indie feel. The bands mixture of the two vocals intertwined create a delicate landscape for the indie scene. Lights of Sunday has the be the most standout track on the album as it glees with acoustic rock passion and solid production for the mainstream. This is a track you can hear in a movie scene or credits. The ambient constant drums hits in the background make the chills run down your spine on this track.
The depths combined with the atmospheric airiness will be quite a treat to first time listeners. It's the old new wave sound intigrated with the new modern indie rock music on the album that really is a fresh approach. The female voclas placed perfectly within the male vocals that are a plus on the almost slow dance-like beats based on influences from the classic bands. This new album full of 12 new songs should open up a whole new audience to this band immensely. Give this album a shot as its easy listening will capture you with the first of many listens.
Tom Spinelli, melodic.net
För att fräscha upp minnet lite grand gick jag tillbaka och läste min egen recension (vad hade Narscissus sagt om det?) av Emerald Parks Ep ”Open” som de släppte i slutet av 2006. Vad hände? Jag rös. Inte av mina egna ord, utan av känslan som fanns bakom när jag skrev den. För känslan kom tillbaka. Det måste ju vara positivt om något. Men vad hände med bandet egentligen? Intet knyst har nått mina öron sedan dess, förrän nu.
Och nu ska det tydligen släppas fullängdsskiva på tyskt bolag, hipp hurra för det! A Higher Loss heter första singeln ut och tja, jag vet inte riktigt. Vad jag hör är ett Emerald Park som har gått vidare, som har utvecklats, men åt vilket håll är då frågan? Sedan är det alltid det här dilemmat med singlar och dess b-sidor, jag vet inte om det bara är jag själv som är vrång, men jag har en tendens till att tycka att b-sidan ofta överglänser singeln själv. Så är faktiskt även fallet här, även om Ambivalence kanske inte är en singel-singel så känns den mer avslappnad och lekfullt självklar (tänk ett mindre elektroniskt Frou Frou) än den något mer uppstyrda A Higher Loss.
Nu ska tilläggas att jag inte på något sätt tycker att detta levnadstecken, det första på länge, från Emerald Park är dåligt; kanske hade jag bara förväntat mig något mer gnistrande. Men innan jag ger hela min dom förbehåller jag mig att få lyssna till hela skivan först, A Higher Loss kan mycket väl vara en låt som förändras beroende på sitt sammanhang. Som singel, aningen disträ. Som del av en skiva; förhoppningsvis magisk.
Betyg: 3/5
Av: Christian Stenbacke
www.joyzine.se
‘A Higher Loss’ serves as the harbinger for the upcoming second album of another promising band from Sweden: EMERALD PARK, founded in 2001 in Malmö, have released their debut album ‘Sadness Within’ in 2004, followed by the single ‘My Star’ and played quite some live shows as openers for bands such as Maria Mc Kee, Luna, Clem Snide etc.
If you listen to the title track for the first time, then you’ll instantly hear a difference. Other than many other well-known representatives from that country, they use not electronic elements in ‘A Higher Loss’. Influences of Post Punk, Indie Rock and a few other styles are merged to a melodically-rocking and fresh mixture, carried by charismatic male and female vocals, giving the whole thing an additional distinction. The second track ‘Ambivalence’ is another story you’ll find electronics in abundance there. Melodic riffs, fragmented vocal samples and a slow electronic beat make this a more experimental piece of music.
You should keep an eye on this band and look out for the upcoming album due for a release in autumn as something big is coming from over there again.
Tracklist
01. A Higher Loss – 4:43
02. Ambivalence – 2:00
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 9
Written by Sebastian Huhn, Reflecitons of Darkness
Check this out, it's a cool map of everyone who visits this profile:
Kanal Lokal, Malmö
Klubb Nebraska, Malmö
Festival 0413, Eslöv
Stapelbäddsfestivalen, Malmö
Möllevångsfestivalen, Malmö
Nabben Summer Music Festival, Borås
ESF 2008, Malmö
Kulturbolaget, Supporting "Throw me the statue", Malmö
Nya Tröls Bar, Releaseparty with "Swedish For Beginners" and "We:Duo", Malmö
Vinylbaren, "Klubb Tower of Songs", Malmö
Biography:
2004 "Sadness Within" (CD), Smaragd Records, Sound Pollution
2005 "My Star" (EP), Smaragd Records, Sound Pollution
2006 "Open" (EP), Smaragd Records, Sound Pollution
2007 "Open" on "Groove 1"
2008 "Lights of Sunday" on "Acoustica 11", 272 Records
2008 "A Higher Loss" on "Riot on Sunset 11", 272 Records
2008 "A Higher Loss" (digital single), b-side: "Ambivalence", AF-Music
2008 "Istanbul" on "25", digital compilation, AF-Music
2008 "For Tomorrow" (CD), Smaragd Records, Sound Pollution, AF-Music, Alive, DanseMacabre
2008 "Pasadena" on "25 Reload", digital compilation, AF-Music
2008 "For Tomorrow" on "Howly Night", free digital compilation, AF-Music
Klyftor växer och orättvisor blir allt fler i takt med att fler och fler människor känner att inget går att ändra på, men hur liten man än kan känna sig så kan man alltid påverka och ju fler som känner att de kan påverka desto större ändring kan man åstadkomma. 'Korrespondens i Tystnadens Tid' heter den nya låten på min sida, kom in och lyssna och kom ihåg att ensam kommer aldrig vara stark!
Tjena Tobias! Det skulle vara kul att fixa nåt ihop sen, jag gillar ert material skarpt. Vi håller på och repa in låtarna men är inte riktigt redo för gig än, kanske till våren nångång. Ni har väl ganska mycket gig just nu?/Joni
Almost Tomorrow is the third full length collaboration album from Section 27 Netlabel founders Tam Ferrans and Andrew Paterson, under their Nonima & theAudiologist guise. This time around the sound is more melodic, and has a definite feeling of a complete and more mature sound than heard on the previous LP's "Dystopian Battle Hymns" and "Ceremony After Amputation". If you are familiar with their individual projects you may even be in for a slight surprise, as the tracks are not as beat driven like before, but are more atmospheric and sound, well... "bigger". In its 75 minutes, Almost Tomorrow takes you on a trip from the digital rain-soaked cavernous scraping in "Thoughtograph", the ethereal beat jittering of "The Colour of Rain", intercepted transmissions from unknown places in "Com-Intercept", "Ganzfeld"s huge yet strangely insect-like beats until everything you knew comes crashing around you in "Almost Tomorrow". Burning pianos, glitched out soundscapes and intricately programmed beatplay, this may well be their best work to date. Consider it the soundtrack to a rainy overcast day, but with just that glimmer of sunshine peeking from the clouds. "Almost Tomorrow" wears its heart on its sleeve.
Ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear threat?
A while ago I found stuff that inspired me to make this film:
Living Under the Shadow of the Nuclear Umbrella
Both artistic (ensure you get the background music!) and educational, it primarily comprises official British government civil defence advice.
Though source materials are quite aged, much remains relevant today.
I encourage all to visit the YouTube page to learn more (Show support! Rate! Comment!) and responsibly circulate as widely as possible, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIim3Rj7L4
Hallå! MIssa inte BODONI 23/10 21-03 RICHARD LINDGREN + MADMANS MOUSTASCHE! Entre 100 kr ink garderob! STOR STARK 30 spänn före kl 23. Välkommen hälsar Fast Future Event Förköp via http://www.kulturcentralen.nu/i/?5353
23 Oktober 2009 21-03, Richard Lindgren och Madmans Moustasche på Bodoni, Bergsgatan 20 i Malmö! Entre 100 kr inkl garderob. STOR STARK 30 KR FÖRE 23!! Missa inte detta.
..HEY HEY !!!! :)).. ..Thanks for rockin with us & kudos to you all Emerald Park* !! ...Post your awesome stuff to our comments anytime and please stay for a play or few ;)) !!!..You'll find most of the tunes are all DIFFERENT in their own right !!!..hope you find something to love along the way..
...150+ songs on the player now !!! & 1000's of posties you can use from our photo albums also ;)..PLEASE VISIT ;)..PLEASE ENJOY ;)... NOW LET'S ROCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
..Thanks again & have an awesome rest of the weekend ;) .......Rob* & Todd* :)
Nu kör vi igång vår HÖSTKAMPANJ 09 med riktigt bra priser på bland annat: tröjpaket och mössor med brodyr. Vi har ett mycket stort sortiment av merchandise till ert band eller bolag! Besök vår webbsida redan idag för mer info. www.vodrecords.se
Vi önskar alla våra vänner på MySpace en riktigt rockig höst! Vod Printings ------------- We print & supply t-shirts, merchandise & backdrops to the independent music scene, contact us for more info! www.vodrecords.se
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