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SKYRON ORCHESTRA
Tracklist: Free Ride (3.19); The Tunnel (3.52); Call It Love (5.11); Earthy Ground (3.09); Soft Palate (4.01);
Nobody's Diary (4.21); The Doll (4.24); Exploding Mind (3.10); Pax Aeterna (6.37); Alena (4.13)
I don't have anything in the way of background on this band, and their website does not seem to provide a biography, so the best I can do is to tell you that they are a quintet from Sweden comprising Veronica
Lostjarna (Vocals), Tomas Modig (guitars), Anna Glans (Organ), Jonas Elgemark (bass) and Strefan Orstrom (drums).
This, their debut album, is very much a retro affair which harkens back to the heady days of psychedelia in the late 60s and early 70s.
The band's sound is very much dependent on the use of heavy swirling Hammond organ sounds, and it is primarily the style of the keyboard work that grabs the attention when playing this album.
While at times the album is in danger of being dominated by the keyboards, there is certainly some very fine guitar and bass work to be found here too. This often comes across with a hard, almost bleak no frills edge
to it, but is all the same very effective for the most part.
The vocals, which are delivered with an almost monotone style, certainly add to the hazy spaced out atmosphere that the music conjures up and while on the one hand it is true to say that the singing generally suits
the sound the band is creating, ultimately their is perhaps just too little in the way of variation to make Veronica Lostjarna's contribution to the album outstanding.
The opening track is fairly typical of what the album provides and it does have a very immediate feel to it. From the outset one can hear 'The Doors' meets 'Siouxsie and the Banshees', as wild keyboard sounds
superbly complement the restrained vocals.
The guitar work, which was kept in the background during the opening track comes a little
more to the fore in 'The Tunnel' and creates a harder and darker edge to the sound. The vocals are delivered in the same laid back style as the opening number, but once again the contrast between the vocals and the music creates a point of interest.
The problem for me is having set the tone with these opening two tracks, much of the rest of the album simply provides more of the same. Any single track taken in isolation is fine, but as a whole, it does get
a bit samey after a while.
Having laid that point of criticsm though there are still some high spots that show what the band are capable of and three of the remaining tracks in particular are worthy of note.
'Nobody's Diary' for example moves away form the heavy 60's keyboard sound of the doors, to an altogether more relaxed style.
The softer approach on this number gives more reign to bass and guitar to explore different avenues, and rather than take over the show, the keyboards fit neatly into the picture. The latter stages of the track put me very much in mind of some of Bo Hannssons work (particularly his Lord of the Rings album).
'Exploding Mind' has more of a jazz edge and is at times a little more quirky in nature.
There is something of a stop start element to the sound here and the music is punctuated by a strong bass line with driving support from drums and guitars. Again, this is very different to the majority of the album, but provides a glimpse of how the band could develop.
The last track I wanted to mention, 'Alena', is also the final track on the album.
This is a purely instrumental number with a more ambient style. The music is very atmospheric and has a dark brooding presence - for me this one is the pick of the crop.
In the final analysis I would have to say that this album is a good opening effort for Skytron Orchestra, and while there are moments of brilliance, there is just not quite enough variation to make this a great album
overall.
For those who like lots of retro keyboard sounds in their music, this is probably an album worth getting your hands on. For the undecided why not check out the samples on the band's website and see what you think for yourselves!
Simon 20th February 2005
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