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The Low Frequency in Stereo | Futuro

Rune Grammofon (2009)
By MICHAEL BRODEUR  |  March 3, 2009
3.0 3.0 Stars

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Unlike some of my fearless reviewers, I suffer from spells of apprehension when confronted by a Rune Grammofon release. It's a label that likes to wallow in its own abstraction — which, to be fair, sometimes means divinely wrought jazz accidents, but it can also be like someone honking a bike horn in my face for half an hour.

Sense a curveball coming? The opening smash of "Turnpike" is a clear enough indicator that the Low Frequency in Stereo — a Norwegian five-piece (who on occasion bring along Nils Økland and Kjetil Møster of Ultralyd) — are operating very much on their own terms.

Well, with respect to Rune, at least. Truth is, Futuro is a reference bomb: the bottomless psych-rock groove of the Black Angels is all over the opening track; "Texas Fox" could be a lost ditty from Th' Faith Healers archives; "Sparkle Drive" sports Sonic Youthful guitars and the rattling percussive drive of Blonde Redhead; and throughout, there are enough moments that conjure Stereolab to make you wonder why more of the songs aren't named after discontinued oscillators. It figures that to stand out on the Rune roster, a band have to encompass everything Rune traditionally leaves behind — but with a potion this potent, who's to bitch about the formula?
Related: Review: Humcrush | Rest at World's End, Various Artists | Money Will Ruin Everything, Asobi Seksu | Hush, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Blonde Redhead, Norway, Stereolab
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