CD Reviews

The Low Frequency in Stereo | Futuro

Rune Grammofon (2009)

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | March 3, 2009

3.0 Stars

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: Psapp, Asobi Seksu | Hush, Soundcarriers | Harmonium, More

Topics: CD Reviews , Stereolab, Norway, Blonde Redhead

| More

Add Comment

HTML Prohibited

Friends' Activity

Popular

Most Viewed

See more deals

view all

[ 04/13 ] "Carnevale in Venice" @ Oberon

[ 04/13 ] "Comedy Lab" @ ImprovBoston Mainstage

[ 04/13 ] Handsome Furs + Grimes @ Great Scott

ARTICLES BY MICHAEL BRODEUR

FOLK ACT | June 26, 2010
Vikesh Kapoor

BOSTON PRIDE WEEK: OFF THE MAP | June 07, 2010
We may seem a little cranky, but us local gayfolk just love a parade, and we’re actually heartened by this annual influx of brothers and sisters from every state of New England and every letter of our ever-expanding acronym.

THE NEW GAY BARS | June 02, 2010
If I may channel the late, great Estelle Getty for a moment: picture it, Provincetown, 2009, a dashing young man with no discernible tan and an iffy T-Mobile signal languishes bored upon the sprawling patio of the Boatslip Resort.

ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI | BEFORE TODAY | June 01, 2010
If the gradual polishing of Ariel Pink’s sound — and it’s not all that much more polished — puts his loyalists at odds with his albums, I count that as good news.

MORE THAN HUMAN | May 26, 2010
It’s hard to talk about Janelle Monáe when your jaw’s fallen off.

See all articles by: MICHAEL BRODEUR

Most Viewed

Most Emailed

HBO'S GAME OF THRONES(1)
In spite of the obstacles to making Martin's story succeed as a TV show, someone at HBO must be a fan, because Game of Thrones — named after the first book in his series — makes its live-action television debut this Sunday, April 17.

OUT: ROCK AND ROLL RUMBLE PRELIMINARY WEEK
Midnight was fast approaching late last Thursday, April 7, when Keith Pierce of Mellow Bravo extended perhaps the standout set of this year's Rock And Roll Rumble preliminary week.

PHOTOS: SIXTH NIGHT OF PRELIMINARIES AT ROCK 'N' ROLL RUMBLE
Rock 'n' Roll Rumble at TT The Bear's

BOSTON BALLET’S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
George Balanchine didn’t create a slew of full-length ballets, but it’s easy to see why a setting of Shakespeare’s ever-popular A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of them — and not just because, back home in St. Petersburg, when he was eight, he played a bug in a theater production of the Bard’s moonbeam-muddled comedy.

PHOTOS: FOURTH NIGHT OF PRELIMINARIES AT ROCK 'N' ROLL RUMBLE
Rock 'n' Roll Rumble at TT The Bear's | April 7, 2011

PHOTOS: ''BUMPKIN FORWARD'' RECEPTION AT MOBIUS
The reception for the "Bumpkin Forward" exhibit on Bumpkin Island comes to Mobius on April 2, 2011. Sara June and Max Lord do a performance art piece, preceded by a talk by Cara Brostrom.