Trachimbrod - Leda

Labels: Damnfinetapes!/Dog Knights Productions/Through Love Records/Tokyo Jupiter Records/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 03 Apr 2017

Tracklist:

1. Rum utan fönster

2. Allt är som det alltid var

3. Tärd

4. Begränsad

5. Medskyldighet

6. Ett annat liv

7. Vi två

8. Hjärnspöke

9. Saker de säger

This, while being my latest Zegema Beach Records roster series review, is also rather embarrassingly one of only a few reviews I've written that also features a release from UK/EU label Dog Knights Productions. That's strange in itself because ever since I started this blog, I've been religiously buying everything that Dog Knights and it's imprint Left Hand Label has released. It also comes at a time when DKP has announced an indefinite hiatus from label activity, for the forceable future at least.

Leda by Swedish post-rock/screamo band Trachimbrod (known as Come Across Trachimbrod in their easier days from 2009 - 2012) was released in April 2017 on vinyl by DKP, ZBR and Through Love Records. It was also released on tape via Damnfinetapes! and on cd via Tokyo Jupiter Records that same year. It serves as their last release to date.

This review might get a but sentimental, so apologies in advance. Owning records like Leda and living with it’s music for so long actually makes it’s harder to write about (for me anyway). I don’t know why but it just does. Album opener ‘Rum utan fönster’ is so musically pleasing and lighter than you might imagine given Trachimbrod’s post-rock/screamo leanings. Even when the screams come in over the top of the instrumentation, there’s no reason to be put off. It’s a record by a Scandinavian band that kind of sounds like a record by an Asian band to me, but that’s maybe because I’ve been listening to a hefty amount of Asian screamo lately, away from this blog. Musically it’s fantastic.

‘Allt är som det alltid var’ is beautifully pop-like, in the vein of I Love Your Lifestyle. It’s variation that suits Trachimbrod’s sound one hundred percent. The vocals switch from clean to harsh towards it’s end and when both are together, they work perfectly. As somebody who swings wildly from ludicrously heavy music to catchy and upbeat music now more than ever, ‘Tärd’ is a glorious mix of both. It may read like this is the first time I’ve listened to this record, but if truth be told I haven’t listened to it for a while (a symptom of always buying music I guess). I’ve forgotten how much I love it though!

After the slightly shorter ‘Tärd’, ‘Begränsad’ gives Trachimbrod’s sound a slight art-rock vibe, thanks to the lovely melodic guitar tones and time-signatures used throughout. It’s dreamy and is exactly what’s needed at this midweek point. The bass that concludes ‘Begränsad’ leads you into the quite explosive ‘Medskyldighet’, which is the shortest song of Leda but also the heaviest so far. It brings to mind Via Fondo, Suis La Lune and Shirokuma for me, thanks to it’s honest intensity.

‘Ett annat liv’ mixes the intensity of it’s predecessor with the vocal melody that was heard during ‘Allt är som det alltid var’, yet with a greater leaning towards those screams. Again, it’s so hard to ignore the exquisite musicianship that envelopes it all. The drums sound so organic and lively, while the bass and guitar work is sensitive and easy on the ear. I think it’s for that reason that this whole record sounds so perfect, as ‘Vi två’ rings out of the speakers. 

You reach penultimate song ‘Hjärnspöke’ all too quickly and with it, Trachimbrod’s heavier edge gets the heart racing once again. I’m not really a fan of symphonic/orchestral metal/rock, and I’m in no way comparing Trachimbrod to that, but there’s something dramatic about their sound here that makes me think of an orchestra. I can imagine them on a live stage, all moving individually (seemingly and rhythmically) while playing as one. I’ve seen bands do that before live and it’s a joy to behold when you’re lost in it.

Album closer ‘Saker de säger’ is the final illustration of just how great Trachimbrod’s music is. It brings to life the highs that you feel when listening to this album. Music is to be treasured and I treasure this LP so much, which is why I own two variants still to this day, and I’m not collector scum believe it or not!. This album is great from start to finish. Thanks and admiration goes to Trachimbrod and to all of the labels that were involved in bringing this to so many ears, Also, special thanks to DKP for all of the music that I hold so dear.

For fans of: Blue Friend, Via Fondo, Suis La Lune, Shirokuma, I Love Your Lifestyle and Heaven In Her Arms

You can stream and purchase Leda digitally as a name-your-price download from Trachimbrod's bandcamp page below:-

Trachimbrod - https://www.facebook.com/trachimbrodofsweden

Remaining physical copies can still be purchased from the releasing labels below:-

Dog Knights Productions - UK/EU/ROW - https://dogknightsproductions.com/collections/12-dk/products/dk103-trachimbrod-leda-12-lp 

Dog Knights Productions - USA/CAN - https://dogknightsproductions.com/collections/dog-knights-us/products/us-only-dk103-trachimbrod-leda-12-lp

Tokyo Jupiter Records - https://store.tokyojupiterrecords.com/collections/460391-tokyo-jupiter-records/products/19407580-trachimbrod-leda-cd

Zegema Beach Records - CAN/INTL - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/zegema-beach-releases/leda

Dog Knights Productions - https://www.facebook.com/dogknights

Through Love Records - https://www.facebook.com/ThroughLoveRec

Tokyo Jupiter Records - https://www.facebook.com/tokyojupiter

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords

Via Fondo - Efter, Utan Under

Labels: Through Love Records/Tokyo Jupiter Records/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 11 May 2014

Tracklist:

1. Avstangd

2. Var Inte Radd, Min Van

3. Jag Vill Anda Vakna

4. Januari

5. Vita Staket

6. Isolerat Kall

7. Morkret

8. Strategi

I realised the other day that I hadn't done one of these for over a week (I promised myself I'd write one Zegema Beach Records roster review each week), so instead you're gonna get two over the coming days. One tonight and one over the weekend, in between a myriad of newer releases. It's been a strange few days as since 23rd of Jan, each day has seen blog views rise well beyond the 1,000 mark and I want to make sure that keeps happening, not for any personal gain (I've been told in no uncertain terms that I can't monetise the blog because it contains 'too many swear words') but because it means that more people are checking out the bands I'm writing about.

Anyway, enough about me and more about tonight's centrepiece. Efter, Utan Under was(or is) the first and only full-length to come from Sweden's Via Fondo. After an initial digital self-release back in May 2014, the album saw a full vinyl release thanks to both Through Love Records (EU) and Zegema Beach Records (CAN/USA) a little later on, alongside a CD release from Tokyo Jupiter Records (JPN). 

It’s not often that I start a review close to or past the 8pm mark (mainly due to my own laziness) but I’ve gone a few days without writing and I wanted to remedy that. Being pretty at ease with life right now, despite the current lockdown and waiting for five records to arrive, sinking into more music only makes sense. Via Fondo is a band that I’ve reviewed here in the past, though that was a few years ago now. Back then it was the Fast EP that caught my attention, which was released in the same year as Efter, Utan Under. 

Opening song ‘Avstangd’ is melodic yet slightly jagged screamo/post-hardcore with percussion and guitar raised up in the mix, and vocals lower down. It’s mid-paced for the most part but there are occasional fast bits as well. I love how the tempo of ‘Var Inte Radd, Min Van’ gets faster even before the full band kicks in. It isn’t a song that sticks around very long though it’s groove and steadiness later on make it one to dance too, if that’s your thing! It’s infectious in the same way that Refused and The Hives are, while being completely separated from both of those comparisons.

‘Jag Vill Anda Vakna’ presents a vey different atmosphere thanks the higher-pitched, semi-clean vocals employed during it’s first half. They really compliment Via Fondo’s music and even when the harsher vocals join in, they’re still prominent. The song’s latter half is instrumental and it builds a whole heap of anticipation for what’s to come. That anticipation leads to the album’s longest, grandest track ‘Januari’, which is a slightly more caustic take on Via Fondo’s screamo with subtle crust elements hidden within the music in places. There’s something really organic and innocent about this album and it’s encompassed within this song. So much feeling was put into this release and it leaps out at you on every listen.

‘Vita Staket’ utilises Via Fondo’s very adept melodic and instrumental skill once again, where it’s plain to see that they favour musicality over anything that could be considered lazy and commercial. That should come as no surprise though. Oddly enough, as you get deeper into the second-half of the album, the music becomes slightly more simplistic and ‘Isolerat Kall’ is a mix of lighter passages and crunching hardcore that gives a sense of two sides coming together. The percussion; however, is anything but simplistic and the off-kilter rhythms produced lead you down an ever deeper rabbit hole that should have been spotted much earlier. It’s great!

Penultimate song ‘Morkret’ brings together Via Fondo’s penchant for classy, structured melody and the dissonant hardcore that makes their heavier moments so engrossing, turning it into the catchiest and most listenable song on the album, at least for me. There’s a repetition amongst it’s hooks that really makes you smile, while the post-hardcore backbone keeps everything grounded. Album closer ’Strategi’ is the polar opposite of the song it follows, instead trusting in the band’s punk/crust influences to propel it forwards in a much more chaotic fashion. It’s hard to truly do it justice but there’s no denying it’s ability to energise and galvanise. In short, Efter, Utan Under is still a release to be proud of and while Via Fondo are silent their legacy lives on. Screamo/Post-hardcore bands seem to live fast and die young (so to speak) but in doing so, they leave a much greater impact.

You can stream Efter, Utan Under and download it (name-your-price) below:-

Via Fondo - https://www.facebook.com/viafondo

Physical copies are still available via the below links:-

Through Love Records - https://shop.throughloverec.com/collections/releases/products/via-fondo-efter-utan-under-12-lp

Tokyo Jupiter Records - https://jstore.tokyojupiterrecords.com/

Through Love Records - https://www.facebook.com/ThroughLoveRec

Tokyo Jupiter Records - https://www.facebook.com/tokyojupiter

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords