Customer Reviews

120 Days

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120 Days is a trio from Norway that has been preparing for this debut for a number of years, releasing a couple of EPs. If you're not familiar with their sound, their music is a mix of dark but nevertheless upbeat synthesizers powered by guitars, building a wall of sound. Their sound reminds me of The Faint-meets-New Order-meets-VHS or Beta, with a slice of Kraftwerk for good measure.

"120 Days" (9 tracks, 53 min.) is built around 3 key, momentous tracks: the opener "Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone" (which is getting some air play--see below), "C-Music" and the closer, an epic 12 min. "I've Lost My Vision", all of which thematically are the same: a long instrumental build-up, great middle vocal section, and another long outro. All of the 9 tracks play as one long song, with a couple of short instrumentals. This is a mood album, pure and simple, but oh so satisfying. The liner notes suggest these songs represent "the dedolation of cold, dark, long Oslo nights", and in a sense they might, but I would venture to say they are much more than that. Just great synth-based, up-tempo (even danceable) songs for most of the way.

If you wonder how I became familiar with 120 days, I discovered them listening to WOXY.com (The Future of Rock and Roll), the great internet-only station that truly brings the most cutting-edge indie music, as they have done for more than 20 years, and which has "Come Out, Come Down" on its current playlist. "120 Days" is a great album, and I can't wait to see how these songs will translate in a live setting (the band is touring the US in support of this October, 2006 release).

120 Days put out a solid rockin stage show- from the first note to the last- at Coachella 08. The drumming was absolutely solid, a mix of synth and programming. My music tank was nearly on Full from the Verve reunion and Kraftwerk, but these kids stood out from the crowd. I'm not flying to Helsinki or wherever the hell it is to see them, but its a good solid album "...and you can dance to it. I'll give it a 95, Mr. Clark."

The initial reviews I read for this led me to believe it was something other than an indie rock album. Kept seeing names like "Kraftwerk" and words like "electro" mentioned in the same breath.

Don't buy that hype.

This is completely average, satisfying an almost formulaic criteria for selling an album to indie kids:
a) They're scandanavian, therefore "exotic,"
b) They have adapted just enough electronic influence to seem current to people who don't know better (and who usually find actual electronic music boring), and
c) Vocal stylings are lifted yet again from the Cure, U2, and insert-your-favorite-1980s-band here.

The majority of current rock music is either overly nostalgic or attemting to preserve its existence through the co-opting of elements from other, more vital genres. This album exhibits both characteristics, not unlike indie rock in general.

It is not an absolutely horrible album, just there's nothing especially individualistic about it. Indie-kids love this stuff, paradoxically using it to promote an individualistic self-image.