Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Majestic pop music. Unsurpassed songs and arrangements., August 13, 2003
The best album of 2002 finally gets a release stateside! I already own this record as a Japanese import, and it's never left my active playlist, ranking alongside Taste of Joy's Trigger Fables as one of the top five records in my collection.Swedish band Pineforest Crunch had already released the gorgeous Shangri-La (also known as Water Garden) in the late '90s, which was a quantum leap from the band's charming, whimsical 1996 debut Make Believe. Shangri-La sounded like a career-best masterpiece, but Panamarenko tops it, incredibly, by upping the energy and turning to even more eccentric instruments than usual. The musicians are virtuosic: Mattias Olsson's agile and flavourful drumming propels each track, locking in tight with bassist Mats Lundgren; guitarists Olle Soderstrom and Jonas Pettersson go from chiming Big Star tones to grinding riffs with equal ease; and singer Asa Eklund has perfected her vocal technique, using her high, demure voice to sing some of the loveliest melodies in pop music, while chipping in on weird instruments such as stylophone and organ. Her trademark flute doesn't make an appearance on this record, but her singing is the finest it's ever been. The songwriting on this record is exemplary. The heartbreaking "Innocent" is my favourite, with its aching lyrics, fluid guitar lines and sublime harmonized chorus; "Slowly", despite its title, is an aggressive and dark rocker with an unforgettably strange guitar sound and rumbling bass; "College Radio Listeners" sounds like an instant car-radio classic, all strummy acoustic guitars and soaring vocals but dropping to a sexy whisper in the middle; and "Car Crash"'s flowing melodies will stay in your head for days. The band also experiments with ambitious arrangements: "Romantic Strings" sounds like a Casio keyboard demo with vocals, "Wake Up" distorts Eklund's lead vocal to an oddly fitting, muffled squeak; and "Coronation" sets machine-like beats (Olsson is also a whiz on synthesized drum pads) against a mighty chorus and one of Eklund's gutsiest lead vocals. Simply put, this is a record that belongs in every music library. Snap it up, and also look for the EP for "Innocent", which contains the cynical yet sexy B-side "Happiness and Freedom". This album is one in a million.
|
|
|
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Uncover the windows.. let the light shine in..", July 25, 2004
Somewhere in the Swedish mountains lies a secret laboratory dedicated to a curious form of songwriting alchemy. The participants are dedicated to the highest form of modern pop-craft: testing melodies, blending non-standard instruments and concocting a pure alloy of ultra-tasty ear-candy sweetness, uncontaminated by monotony or cliche. The result is a marvel - a brand of addicting pop almost too yummy for words. Even with a darker turn or two ("Car Crash" is a portrait of fatalistic apathy, "Slowly" is a hurt sticks-and-stones lament, the vague "Happy Valentine" is possibly about prison and murder), the overall feeling it gives is still one of giddy sugary happiness. Whether it's with sunny strumming guitars, irresistibly bubbly vocal lines, sinuous electronic beats or soft sexy rays of sunshine, these songs refuse to stay downbeat for very long.
The writing is easily strong enough to withstand dozens and dozens of listenings - which is the bare minimum you'll want to give it after these oh-so-sweet hooks stick in your head anyway - and Asa Eklund's is one of the most angelic voices I've ever heard. All kinds of organs and synths are sprinkled around to give some extra flavor, but that's far from the only reason Pineforest Crunch sounds unlike any other pop band I've ever heard. It's everything.. from their superb skill at gorgeous flowing melodies and heart-tugging atmospheres, to the masterful way they cover a remarkable stylistic range and never seem awkward, to their subtle-yet-impeccable level of musicianship.. everything about them sets them apart from the crowd.
My meager skill with words is hopeless for really conveying the sheer bliss of Panamarenko. So yeah, um, well, go buy it and you'll be really happy you did. Then go back for their first two albums and you'll be even happier.
|
|
|
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"we are free, we are loved, damn you who say we're not.", January 22, 2004
I came across Pineforest Crunch because of their affiliation with Anglagard (the drummer for PC, Mattias Olsson, plays with Anglagard and also performed on the second and third White Willow albums; vocalist Asa Eklund worked with Anglagard too -- if you listen closely, you can hear her sweet wordless voice on their album _Epilog_, and she sings the White Willow song "Thirteen Days").Given my previous review, this is redundant information. But I want to write a good review because Pineforest Crunch's _Panamarenko_ is an utterly delightful Swedish pop treasure. If "Swedish pop" makes you think of the Cardigans, purge your mind. This is eminently more listenable, enduring, and rife with delicious songcraft than most of the bands on the mainstream "Swedish pop" radar. Just thought I should say that. (Although maybe it is worth mentioning that PC's first album, _Make Believe_, was a runaway hit of sorts in Sweden, selling around 100,000 copies.) Anyway, the music of Pineforest Crunch is outstanding. The band's songcraft, vocal melodies, arrangements, and performances know few peers in pop music. The band has an incredible sense of texture and they use many varied instruments (including Mattias Olsson's old-school collection of synthesizer artifacts like orchestron, mini-moog, and mellotron). Asa Eklund's voice is sweet, seductive, tastefully breathy, beautiful, distinctive (love the accent), and she endearingly delivers the band's masterful hooks. The production perfectly complements the music, subtle and restrained but also clear, robust, and polished. Also, the music is highly diverse and every song is excellent. The album gives you twinkling acoustic, string-tinged ballad (with feisty piano solo!) "Wake Up", spectacular guitar power pop like "Situation Endless" and the enchanting anthem "College Radio Listeners", and the quirky, jangling verses & lush, Moog-backed chorus of "Leave It All Behind". The mellotron-rich "Romantic Strings" sounds almost like a proto-symphonic-prog ballad but with far more innocence and charm than the gigantism of archetypal symph-prog. "Coronation" smoothly dances on a deft drum beat with electronics, subtle synths, and acoustic guitars filling out a beautiful array of texture. "Innocent" is a stunning, driving beauty with acoustic guitars scintillating around silky electric guitars riffs, and one of the most listenably melancholy pop choruses ever. I wont describe every song, but trust me, they are all amazing. And Mattias Olsson, in addition to being one of the most rhythmically vigorous, tasteful, and imaginative drummers in progressive rock, is one of the best percussionists in pop music too, whether he's behind the kit or programming his drum machines. Highly recommended! And if you are some kind of prog elitist who scoffs at pop music, you suck and you're missing out on something truly wonderful. It's more addicting than crack.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Pineforest Crunch 
