And just like for the previous records, I'll do an "impulse review" again. I listened to the album exactly one time now, and these were my thoughts while listening - while the comments in italics were added about one and a half month after the album release (and of course after listening to all songs quite a bit):
- 1) Philemon Arthur & The Dung
- Well, that song is well-known already. I haven't been enthusiastic about it - you cannot dance to it (rather: it's impossible to move to it in any way at a concert), and the lyrics are completely incomprehensible to me. Even in the translation. Anyway, first thought when I closely listened to the song now: Hey, great guitars! And with the additional information that the song is supposed to tell the daughter about a philosophy of life, the lyrics make a little more sense.
I still don't really get the lyrics, but I think they are really "powerful". Just like the whole song - even though I had heard it live before; now, after the album is out and people sing along every single word at concerts in Norway: The song is just amazing! Especially as opening song (or rather as opening for the Violeta part). Starting slowly, getting it going quickly, the perfect start! - 2) Diamant till kull
- Yes, yes, yeeeesss! That's how I like it. =:-) The beginning seems pretty familiar to me (but I listened to the snippets that were release earlier once, so that might be the reason). I just LOVE the deep, underlying backing vocals in the chorus, and overall, the chorus is just great! As is the flute ending. And then the great transition into the following 5/4 beat ...
Yes, yes, yeeeesss! Did I write that before? So what. It's still right to the point. And the song works out fantastically live. The chorus is the kind of melody that doesn't get out of your head for days, but still you can't really be bothered by that. =:-) - 3) Femtakt filosofi
- ... which I find fascinating anyway, especially in connection with the shift to 6/8. Or 6/4, whatever, all the same. *g* The song isn't new either as it's been played live before, and I liked it pretty good right from the start. But then, it's also hard to dance to (unless you're limping). The trumpet sound is awesome, really funny! And overall: so many details in all the songs, just fantastic! For some reason, I thought the lyrics where different from the version that was released before - but no, it's precisely the same. Weird. Maybe you really interpret it in a different way once you have a rough idea of the story.
A _great_ composition! And a five-four time tune that doesn't get out of your head. (But then, I've been walking around with the 7/8-time from Don Quichote in my head for days now, so probably I'm not really representative here ... *g*) And again: Even though I knew the song before, it sounds completely different to me now that the album is out. Oh, and I just remember, I need to get a toy trumpet before the tour starts ... *lol* - 4) Din kjole lukter bensin, mor
- Yep, another song we've heard before - and the beginning is exactly the same as in the acoustic live version. I hadn't expected that! Janove sounds strange somehow, kinda like ... uh, Violeta in the Hjerteknuser video? Well, not that you would hear her there, but you can SEE that she would sound like Janove does here. Hmm, weird ... does he maybe sing in a different dialect? That would be great if the characters were distinguished in this way! Or maybe it's just the "youth slang"? Anyway. The cowbell is great, but it gets a bit annoying after a while. Less cowbell! *g*
Hmm. I gotta admit that I tend to find the song a bit annoying on the record sometimes. It's just too chaotic and childlike, so I can't really take it serious as a "real rock song". Maybe that's because of the way of singing (seems there are no different dialects, pff ... *g*). Live, on the other hand, the song is awesome. The audience counts up in the middle, and the singing in the end is beautiful. - 5) En for orgelet, en for meg
- The song isn't new either, we've heard it in various versions already. It's just a nice and fun song - and the whistling and the beer flutes are fantastic.
I spent quite some time on the different versions of the song by now - but I still love it! And I also love the live version: The bass drum at the end builds momentum again, and Hellraizer's version of the Violeta rap part is hilarious. I know that quite a few people hate the live version of the song, but I can't understand that at all. It's definitely one of the highlights for me! - 6) Tumor i ditt hjerte
- Actually, this is the first song that was completely new for me (at least I didn't remember hearing a snippet of it). First thought: soundtrack. Second thought: This song doesn't fit in. Not in a negative sense though! The song's just different from the others, much more "normal", not so typical for Kaizers. Nevertheless it's really nice (even though I already forgot how it sounded, and I have no clue what the melody was) - and you can dance to it! Awesome: the "is i"/"easy" part. Even those fans who don't know Norwegian will be able to sing along here. =;-)
Another clear "hmm" from me. On the one hand, I think the song is really really nice, and it's also a catchy tune that you can't get out of your head. But then, it's also the song that I skip most often. I haven't heard it live yet, but I didn't really like the live version they did at the P3 Sessions concert. The song is just "different" and doesn't really fit in. - 7) Hjerteknuser
- Well-known - and I've analyzed the song quite a bit earlier on. =;-) My first thought when I finally heard the Kaizers version back then: Now I have worked with this song for so long, and I know Kaizers so well, but I would NEVER have come up with this "staccato" kind of accompaniment (which is really so typical for Kaizers!) ... weird. But well. But shouldn't the whole song be in the "Violeta dialect"? At least if there IS a difference in dialects. And what's that bubbling sound at the end?
Well, it's Hjerteknuser. A lovely song, but I've heard it way too often by now ... - 8) Psycho under min hatt
- After the acoustic gigs, this song was my favorite of the album. And, yes, I wasn't disappointed! I guess you could call the style "chaos punk" or something ... =;-) And all the little details again! And the last verse! Yay! =:-)
Still one of my favorites, I love it! Both the lyrics and the music. And it's a lot of fun at concerts as well - even though I had expected it to be even better live. But I think this will change at the concerts in Europe, because usually, the audience prefers the "punkier" songs here. So I expect the song to be met with even greater enthusiasm than in Norway. =;-) - 9) Svarte katter & flosshatter
- Another song that I didn't know at all. Several people wrote that this song was actually a Bond song - and yes, of course, there's an obviouse reference there. Even though I was really confused at first: Wait, I know that?! Ah yes, the intro of Omen på preprod ... When the singing started, I was flabbergasted: Yet another dialect? Or is it really just the way of singing this time? No clue, but it sounds perfectly like the cosmopolitan Kenneth. And both thumbs up for that - I never expected that the characters would be displayed in different ways. But this is awesome! Hopefully this will continue in the coming albums. The song itself will probably need a few more rounds for me ...
Yes, it did need a few rounds, but by now I love the song. There's so much variation in it! Omen's megaphone part is awesome, the verses and the chorus as well, and the only part that I find a bit annoying is the "ghost part" at the end, before the brass comes in again. This is the only part that doesn't really work live either, I think. All the rest is just great! - 10) Sju bøtter tårer er nok, Beatrice
- Another well-known song in the end, but with much more piano than in the live version. I'm a bit ambivalent about the song; in a way it is really great, but I think the bass in the chorus is terribly irritating. It just doesn't fit, it is WRONG, argh! *grmbl* And what's with the voice in the chorus? It sounds as if the mic was too far away, somehow ...
I figured out the bass by now; 6/8 in 2 against 6/8 in 3, of course. But still it doesn't fit and sounds wrong ... =;-) However, I do like the song, and the contrast between the calm verses and the hectic chorus is nice. But, even though it was my favorite among the three songs that were known before the album was out, this one's clearly behind Philemon Arthur and Femtakt filosofi ...
So: thumbs up! And I'm really curious what I will say after listening to the album on heavy rotation for two weeks. I'll let you know here! =:-)
... and after six weeks on heavy rotation (I'm way too optimistic when it comes to time estimations ... *uhem*), both thumbs are still pointing straight up! Now I'm really interested to see how much of the album Kaizers will show off in Europe. The new songs work great in concert, but I assume they won't be as well-known here as the older songs. Still, I hope there will be quite a bit of Violeta here as well!