ALC #2: STURLE DAGSLAND - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

mickilennial
The Most Trusted Name in News

Gender: Female
Age: 35
Location: Detroit

An interesting art rock album with some interesting experiments, though I personally found it to be a mixed bag.

Outside of Hulter Smulter, the Swedish Scat influences don’t really give me a nu-metal or alternative metal vibe vocally and I feel making the allusion is inherently flawed. That said, the album is at its best when it doesn’t really focus hard on those vocal eccentricities. Tracks like “Waif” and “Noaidi” are absolutely wonderful to hear and I will likely return to those two songs in particular. However… beyond those two tracks I’m unsettled by a streak of songs I don’t enjoy or in part actually moves me to want to hit the ‘skip’ button. “Hulter Smulter” is one of the most obnoxious and borderline unpalatable things I’ve heard on an art rock or art pop record for the last twelve years and it doesn’t have any inspired experimentalism by my ears.

It’s all rather wonderfully produced, composed, and put-together. When it works it really works and there’s a sense of a manic, eccentric energy that I really can get behind when in the right mood. But I find that the album doesn’t work most of the time, which I feel is one of the big problems. The drums and long vocal sustains also remind me of the most bland moments of post-1992 U2 which I find personally grating. Some of the manic energy works, obviously taking a look at Kate Bush and Bjork’s past and trying to marry it with its own original inventiveness. I wish I liked the record more than I do, but I don’t find it detestable like so many others seem to. My end result is “this is fine outside of one or two songs” or at least that’s how I feel about it when recollecting about it.

Good choice, nonetheless. Glad I heard it.

EyeKanFly
Head Bear Master/Galactic Emperor

Age: 33
Location: Gotham

Ok, went back and listened to it for the second time, I have some comments.

Overall I don't think it's as unique or out there as a lot of other comments seem to indicate. The closest thing I can think of is actually Grimes. There's weird guttural screaming/barking/crying/singing laid on top of and in between fairly solid instrumentals. Not as quality as Grimes though.

The barking definitely sounded like MJ, and some backing moaning sounded like Bjork, to the point where at first I thought this was a weird plunderphonics-type album. (Not entirely convinced it's not, although if it were truly a sample of Michael Jackson then I doubt it would be cleared to stream on Spotify).

Some of the vocals are like metal singing, but just without the metal music. It's interesting. It reminds me a bit of the song "Fearless" from A.A. Williams's great album released last year. (Side note, that album is nothing like Sturle Dagsland; Forever Blue is mostly folk with classical and metal influences but that one song has some screamy metal vocals).

"Kusangi" sounds like if Flea (as Donnie Thornberry) voiced the dialogue of a Dark Souls/Seikero video game. Actually a lot of the tracks (sans vocals) sound like they could easily be video game music. Subtle enough that it's easy to focus on something else going on (in video games, controlling your character; on this album, the vocals).

I think for February, this will easily fit into my best of 2021 chart, but I doubt it'll find a place there by the end of the year.
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CharlieBarley

Gender: Male
Age: 48
Location: Mount Olympus

I liked this a lot
And from other reviews I was expecting it to be unlistenable but it was really kinda fun.

Sounded like the brothers had a good time recording this album.

I could hear the MJ noises but I was also reminded of the late singer from Fishmans, when he sings in that high-pitched cat-like way.

It was quite manic but I like that. Crazy and out-there stuff I like.

Purplepash
ranker, rater, & music list maker

Gender: Male
Age: 54
Location: Western Australia

Well I really enjoyed the album. Mostly agree with CharieBarley that it is manic fun. It was unusual enough for me to pay close attention throughout the whole thing and not get bored at any stage, even if I wasn't as into some of the later parts of the album. I was entertained, and still ready to hear more when it ended. It's quite likely I will be revisiting this album, and maybe put a couple of songs on my regular current rotation playlist.

KitchenSink

been extremely tired and somewhat cognitively-impaired as a result lately, but didn't want to just ignore the thread so please forgive whatever ramshackle nonsense I'm about to type out *downs 14 liters of coffee in a single ungodly gulp*

Streams wrote:

Had to check this one out based on y'alls reactions lol

I think the Scandinavian scat rap has been addressed and I'm fine with what's said, especially concerning melodrama, histrionics, etc. Like a lot of lyrical music, the music suffers to center the voice. The production is way more annoying than the voice to me. Tracks are simple, usually no more than 2-4 non-vocal layers at a time and they don't change much within the track outside of drop outs and then a big overlay with maybe one or two new layers for climaxes, which are regularly occurring. The sounds are saturated to fill space from the lack of instrumentation and everything sounds incredibly unnatural and smooth; it takes the hair/friction/pulse/vibration out of the strings on tracks like "Dreaming" or "Nyckelharpa," similar to the worst of new age music production. Drums are generic, static, buttons on a pad or keyboard locked in the prison of time. Anonymous electric drones have no pulse, throb, or hum, just smooth as eggs. Volume is consistently loud, no appreciable dynamics, no concept of silence or space. No emotional content to be had from the lyrics since they're largely unintelligible and they consistently alternate between drawn out and frenzied, but that might just be lost in translation from local language and delivery so no harm. The only thing worthy of praise is the vocal technique; love its androgynous moments and appreciate the range of engagement from the whole vocal mechanism, if not exactly extended; might be great performing someone else's experimental vocal music. Worst thing I've heard in a long time

although I wouldn't go so far as to call it the worst thing I've heard in a long time, these are basically my thoughts here. earlier critiques focusing on his voice were weird to me as like Streams says I believe the vocal technique here is far and away this album's best quality (and I concur this dude would likely sound great performing someone else's music). but yeah just to echo this, production feels extremely tinny, drums feel like uninspired came-with-the-software sample pack assets, the way these tracks develop felt very unnatural to me as well, very little build or progression to or from a song's climax, no real logic to how things are sequenced in that what could otherwise be more emotional moments of a song instead just kind of happen, like "oh ok i guess there's more drums here now sure whatever" (the abovementioned lack of dynamics doesn't help), and it also doesn't help that I hear a very limited instrumental and compositional palette, for as deliberately frenzied as I feel like this tries to sound, there's really not all that much going on here, and as such it grows stale pretty fast. or rather, it would if again it weren't for the vocals, which, to reiterate, are by far the most interesting thing here. quite frankly I feel like this would've worked better re-imagined as an a capella effort haha.

essentially I get the sense that this was conceptualized as primarily a vehicle for a unique and engaging vocal display, problem is I'm not sure anyone involved necessarily knew how best to go about crafting said vehicle. similar to Gowi's album, I feel like there's a lot here that, if recontextualized and retooled a bit (maybe bringing in a few more creative voices on the writing and producing side of things), could become a genuinely good or great album, just not sure this is that album. BUT there's enough here for me that I think I'll keep an eye on future Sturle projects, fingers crossed the production team is expanded by then.

despite being critical as I am about this thing I'm actually really glad you recommended it. probably would've slipped completely by me otherwise, and sometimes yknow you hear an album that even if you don't particularly enjoy all that much, there's enough you find interesting or food-for-thought in it that you're at least happy you gave it a spin. thinking this ended up being one of those for me
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musicoed

Gender: Male
Location: SPb

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Last edited by musicoed on 04/06/2021 19:00; edited 1 time in total

Mercury
Turn your back on the pay-you-back last call

Gender: Male
Location: St. Louis

Well, I am glad this was heard by so many and its good it was divisive i suppose. I have listened a few times since the comments that utterly sacrificed it to the music gods. And if I am being honest, I can hear where y'all are coming from. I don't have the detailed musical ear of Streams, nor quite the articulation skill of skinny or possiblymichigan, but you know what I do have? idk. I was trying to think of something funny, but couldn't - which is the whole point of that run-on sentence. Where was I...? Oh yes, the drums do indeed sound stiff and lifeless and garbo mostly. The whole album is so erratic and so committed to its non-commital, free flowing non-sequitur blasts of whatever the next idea may be that no coherence or shape can easily be found in its short run time.

But on these last listens I also felt a deepening love of the vocals and the histrionics thereof and the fascinating strangeness of it all. Obviously just my opinion, but as a vocalist and performer vocally Sturle absolutely no-holds-barred kills it here. Its just great.

I have a tendency to react very very favorably to an album that is to me very new and exciting in its newness. This hit me in that sweet spot when I heard it on repeat on Friday the 5th and it still manages to tap dat sweet spot, if not quite hit it like before. Future albums will be much anticipated from these 2 people who form a group called by the name of one of these 2 people.

100/100, A+, BNM, Strong 9 to a 10, etc etc.
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-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

Repo
BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

Mercury wrote:

Well, I am glad this was heard by so many and its good it was divisive i suppose. I have listened a few times since the comments that utterly sacrificed it to the music gods. And if I am being honest, I can hear where y'all are coming from. I don't have the detailed musical ear of Streams, nor quite the articulation skill of skinny or possiblymichigan, but you know what I do have? idk. I was trying to think of something funny, but couldn't - which is the whole point of that run-on sentence. Where was I...? Oh yes, the drums do indeed sound stiff and lifeless and garbo mostly. The whole album is so erratic and so committed to its non-commital, free flowing non-sequitur blasts of whatever the next idea may be that no coherence or shape can easily be found in its short run time.

But on these last listens I also felt a deepening love of the vocals and the histrionics thereof and the fascinating strangeness of it all. Obviously just my opinion, but as a vocalist and performer vocally Sturle absolutely no-holds-barred kills it here. Its just great.

I have a tendency to react very very favorably to an album that is to me very new and exciting in its newness. This hit me in that sweet spot when I heard it on repeat on Friday the 5th and it still manages to tap dat sweet spot, if not quite hit it like before. Future albums will be much anticipated from these 2 people who form a group called by the name of one of these 2 people.

100/100, A+, BNM, Strong 9 to a 10, etc etc.

Dude, u should get busy listening to hip hop albums. I'm about to kick your ass fifty ways sideways! Razz

Meanwhile, off on stage left, I'm quietly shitting my pants with thoughts that Ryan has most of his high rollers still firmly up his sleeve. Anxious

Mercury
Turn your back on the pay-you-back last call

Gender: Male
Location: St. Louis

Repo wrote:

Mercury wrote:

Well, I am glad this was heard by so many and its good it was divisive i suppose. I have listened a few times since the comments that utterly sacrificed it to the music gods. And if I am being honest, I can hear where y'all are coming from. I don't have the detailed musical ear of Streams, nor quite the articulation skill of skinny or possiblymichigan, but you know what I do have? idk. I was trying to think of something funny, but couldn't - which is the whole point of that run-on sentence. Where was I...? Oh yes, the drums do indeed sound stiff and lifeless and garbo mostly. The whole album is so erratic and so committed to its non-commital, free flowing non-sequitur blasts of whatever the next idea may be that no coherence or shape can easily be found in its short run time.

But on these last listens I also felt a deepening love of the vocals and the histrionics thereof and the fascinating strangeness of it all. Obviously just my opinion, but as a vocalist and performer vocally Sturle absolutely no-holds-barred kills it here. Its just great.

I have a tendency to react very very favorably to an album that is to me very new and exciting in its newness. This hit me in that sweet spot when I heard it on repeat on Friday the 5th and it still manages to tap dat sweet spot, if not quite hit it like before. Future albums will be much anticipated from these 2 people who form a group called by the name of one of these 2 people.

100/100, A+, BNM, Strong 9 to a 10, etc etc.

Dude, u should get busy listening to hip hop albums. I'm about to kick your ass fifty ways sideways! Razz

Meanwhile, off on stage left, I'm quietly shitting my pants with thoughts that Ryan has most of his high rollers still firmly up his sleeve. Anxious

LOL! Don't tell me what to do! You're not my daddy! lol

Anyway, with any luck I will pick albums much like this one for the next round and be soundly defeated. I am quite happy I don't need to face Supreme Clientele. I guess we will see how the standings come out so far. Depending on what I need to move onto quarterfinals, I shall either be strategic or strategic, like but in different ways and stuff. Total War may need to be employed against you, and if that is the case, just know that it is not personal.
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

Repo
BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

Mercury wrote:

... I shall either be strategic or strategic, like but in different ways and stuff.

Fuck! You're going all Wu Tang on me already! That's not fair! lol

Yeah. I know, brother. It's all good. Just don't think I'm going down easy! Twisted Evil