| Print |

Written by Vella Mour Monday, 30 March 2015 11:08

Scandinavia is something to be taken in, with the gloomy and paranoid tones surrounding the listener, giving away to spellbinding vocals and guitar.

 

 

Doom and gloom basslines erupt out of the echoing lyrics that are just barely understood, but don’t need to be understood. Scandinavia brings the traditional sound of post-punk into the new age with its repetitive guitar licks, expanding synthesizer notes, and basic drum beats. It hypnotizes the mood, bringing it down and into the self, taking over and becoming the subconscious.

RA released Scandinavia, their first full-length album, on March 3. With the angst-filled lyrics and blazing distortion, there is no way post-punk lovers could pass them over.

“The Void,” one of the favorites, features a dual vocal with Hey Elbow’s Julia Ringdahl. This trippy, double vocal for the verse makes the listener dizzy. At first the hissing noise may seem distracting and overdriven, but it soon snakes its way into your head and filling it with fizz.

Another noteworthy track is “The South,” which features a scratchy, spiraling sound. It rings out, surrounding the listener. Lightheaded and mesmerized, the album breaks into its last track, “Winter 2012,” which is a fast-paced, jogging song. It features a hypnotic vocal, like a sitar’s droning tone, over the stereotypical post-punk handclap synth sound.

Scandinavia is something to be taken in, with the gloomy and paranoid tones surrounding the listener, giving away to spellbinding vocals and guitar.

For a debut album, it definitely creates a place nestled nicely between Corners and Natural Child. This bewildering whirlwind will stick inside your mind, forever sucking you down farther and farther into its sound. A | Vella Mour