Customer Reviews

Forever (Dlx) (Dig)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me just start off by saying i had to gasp at the price that Amazon has this CD listed as here. Wow.... Anyway...

This is trully a great CD and even greater is the Bonus Remixes CD that go with it. I'm actually liking the Remix CD more than the main album, but you get a great variety of sounds and songs for the price, so i should not complain.

This is some raw techno, funky dance beats, grungy dirty powerful and not so polished as their previous efforts and it's a bit more instrumental than their previous CDs. This might appeal to some and it might alienate some old time fans. After all Gus Gus is not the band they used to be, but with only 3 members they still remain edgy, creative, cutting edge and just basically they produce great dance/pop songs that sound fresh and different.

Don't worry, Daniel Agust makes a guest appearance here (he's one of the original vocalists) and he has one of the stand out tracks in this album, a hypnotic song called "Moss" that's a remixed version of a song taken from Daniel's first (and very classical) influenced debut album. I'm also loving how the female lead singer (Urdur Hakonardottir a.k.a. Earth) sounds more soulful, more confident and more empowered in this release. Not that she didn't have umph before in their previous album "Attention", but here she just seems more mature. If you miss the old band members you can check out DDD Featuring Blake (you'll most likely find it at Icelandic online shops) and even Hafdis Huld's solo album (she won best pop album at the Icelandic music awards and she is a blast to see Live). But they are no longer Gus Gus members so let me focus back again on the remaining band members and their great new album.

The songs are deeper, darker and more for late night partying moods in the remix CD (maybe the Icelandic long dark winter is the inspiration for it?) and more playful and sunny on the first CD (like the long daylight infused Summer days that Icelanders are used to).

If you liked "Attention" you are going to love "Forever" even more, the beats are a bit more retro, more nostalgic of an earlier era (for some of the songs), it's just so tough to describe them, i guess it's more disco vibes for the new century infused with a "let life be & have fun with it" attitude as we party along. This is a creative CD, a breath of fresh air in the dance music scene, that's been shunned lately by R&B and "Idol-type" everyday borring old fashioned music we are so bombarded by every second of the day. Kudos to these mainstream defying Icelanders for doing what they do best. Making music for fun and dancing. So check this album out and make sure you turn the volume way up.

Great follow up to 'Forver', Earth's vocals are less aparent on this cd there is more of an electro presence. I personally think Gus Gus can do no wrong so I may have a biased opinion but everyone I put on to Gus Gus falls in love with them. They are very unique sounding, you can listen to this cd while driving, dancing, working out etc. Its solid.

Something happens in Gus Gus' transition from a 9-person collective to a threesome. The eclectic funky mix that appeared on their 4AD evaporated, and they became just another electro band. On their 4th album, _Forever_, they attempt to recapture some of the magic by blending their electro leaning into other genres, whether the R&B of "You'll Never Change" or the Chicago house of "Hold You." Many of the intrumental tracks, however, fail to take hold of the imagination, including the title track, which attempts some acid manuevering, but without real impact. Mr. Scruff's "Sweet Smoke" gets namechecked here, but the original still stands above. "Porn" goes deeper and succeeds for it, but with the original line up, the tracks -- even the long jams -- had a sense that anything could happen. Not so much anymore. "Demo 54" mines the same lines over again. It's not that these tracks are bad, by any means, but you do wonder where they could have gone. Listen to Daniel Agust's return with "Moss," and you'll hear the difference immediately. Indeed, "Mallflowers" sounds as if it came from the old T-World days. Though it's a little early to start indulging in late 90s nostalgia, in this one case, I'll allow it.

I LOVE Gus Gus and I mean ADORE them but Forever never really tickled my fancy the way their other albums do. There is really not much of a flow to this disk but there are some really cool songs. Sweet Smoke and You'll Never Change really show how bad ass Earths voice is. If you like Gus Gus its worth buying but all in all they have had much better efforts like 'Attention' and '24/7'

Disappointing if you're hoping for more of the über coolness of "Polydistortion" and "This Is Normal".

Wake me when it's over.

Zzz...