Customer Reviews

Up Against the Legends

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

 

 

I love everything I've heard from Johann Angergard and he's a really nice guy to talk to to boot. People who think the top 40 or Billboard or Grammy related "artists" are where it's happening just have no clue. And don't forget that Grammy gave Starland Vocal Band Best New Artist Grammy over Elvis Costello and also choose Milli Vinilli as Best Artist in another year so why would you want to listen to Grammy winners when you could be listening to the true Legends?

...isn't james brown. it's johann angergard. the legends is relatively new band for me. it's surprising i hadn't heard them sooner because i love johann's other two bands, acid house kings and club 8. so, oddly enough, i love the legends, too. i don't know how he manages to split his time between three stellar pop bands, but somehow he does. he could probably front five or six and still continuously churn out top quality hits.

the legends debut album isn't *that* radical a departure from his other projects. the majority of the songs are upbeat, snappy, and sincere. one never gets the feeling that johann's songs are contrived, silly, or anything but authentic. he's a fan of 60s pop, but also contemporary pop and takes the best of both worlds to form something that sounds familiar and new (oh, that wretched rock critic cliche). what's different about this album is that johann stretches the bounds he normally imposes on himself, allowing for richer textures and deeper atmospheres than you'd find on any AHK or club 8 record. it's also a slightly more agressive record (though not necessarily heavy). the guitars are cruchier, the vocals less polite, but the hand claps and tambourines are ever present. in this way johann manages to inject a little of his former self in to the legends. angergard borrows from early 'modern life is rubbish' era blur ('call it ours'), the jesus and mary chain, ('your song'), and it's a precursor to the heavily-saturated, tones on tail & early cure inspired 'public radio,' their second album.

as previously mentioned, johann may be the hardest working man in pop. how he continues to release so many consistently satisfying, catchy records is a marvel. it's a shame more people aren't familiar with work. if you like your pop interesting, melodic, interesting and sincere with a dash of goth-boy cynicism, 'up against' the legends is your ideal jumping off point. a great record.

If you like the poppy/melancholy sound of The Smiths, you'll love this album. My personal favorite track is #5, Nothing To Be Done. The light fem lead vocals that come in on the second half of the song send shivers up my spine every time I hear it. The entire album is teriffic. If you like the style, every song on this CD will grow on you eventually.

If you mix up the awesome Primitives from the 80s, with the Spector wall of sound , in a Swedish garage with some power pop licks you might get something like The Legends.
That being said they are not rigidly classifiable.
Just great music. This was one CD I was glad I got and have played it the most in the last couple of months.

Think california 60s pop channeled via Jesus and Mary Chain, but Swedish. Something here reminds me of Oasis too. Don't know why. Pitchfork gives a great review, and i'll agree. For what it is, the Legends debut shouldn't be anything special. But it is. Each song is consistantly well constructed and catchy as hell. This album really shouldn't stand out as much as it does for me right now, with amazing releases by interpol and arcade fire, however I'd highly recommend the album due to surprising irresitability. One complaint though is that this album should have come out at the begining of summer, not the end.

The first review on Amazon stated it nicely saying it's like 60's pop (Think "Be My Baby")meets the Jesus & Mary Chain. The singer has a soft voices which completely contrasts the music. I was pleasantly surprised to like every song on the cd. I'll be listening to this for a long time. I also highly recommend the new Killers cd.

This album is fun, but there seems to be no way whatsoever to get their first EP if you're an unlucky American. Their first EP has this song on it which rocks:

"It's Not Going to Happen"

I've tried everything short of WinMX to get this great tune, but no luck.