alternative | ENTERTAINMENT REALM

music review: Vulkano

Posted by Amy Steele in Music on July 6, 2014

Often when you sing you lose any accent. But if you listen to punk-pop bands like Cibo Matto and Shonen Knife or indie pop bands Ivy [led by French singer Dominique Durand] or French band Stereolab, you’ll hear bits of the singer’s native tongue in a charming or progressive manner depending on the band and musical genre. It’s both with Vulkano. In every song you can hear lead vocalist/drummer Cissi Efraimsson’s beguiling Swedish accent. It absolutely differentiates this duo from other post-punk bands. Not only that but it’s a duo with two women—not seen nearly enough– who complement each other with every arrangement. Keyboardist/ percussionist Lisa Pyk-Wirström produces intriguing, creepy and energetic melodies while Efraimsson showcases her vocal range and drumming skills.

“Choir of Wolves” drops in with supercharged keys and a strong melody—“we’re howling in the moonlight/crawling naked in the rain.” Efraimsson’s vox are the focal point on the swirling, ambient “Vision Tricks”—that Swedish accent bold and urgent. The exhilarating “We Ride” would make the perfect work-out or spin class song with rumbling drums, whirling keys and repetitive chorus of “We ride.” I adore how Efraimsson vacillates from subdued to screaming on the darker, beautiful “Psycho Girl.” Perhaps the album’s best song. On first listen, I thought this a merely fun album but on further listens it revealed itself to be much more layer by layer and that’s the best musical discovery of all.

Live Wild Run Free [released July 1, 2014]
Vulkanomusik

Facebook

purchase at Amazon: Live Wild Die Free

alternative, post-punk, Vulkano

Steele’s Picks for Best Music of 2008

Posted by Amy Steele in Music on December 18, 2008

Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs
poetic, romantic. my favorite band right now

Juliana Hatfield, How to Walk Away
sweet and moody tunes.

Keane, Perfect Symmetry
smooth and deliciously melodic

Goldfrapp, Seventh Tree
trance. ethereal. The stuff I love and cannot listen to enough.

Alanis Morrissette, Flavors of Entanglement
less angry, still edgy

Dido, Safe Trip Home
great comfort in Dido’s voice and her songwriting for me. as if she gets me or she’s been through similar things.

Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst
brilliant singer/songwriter with something about his voice. I like to listen before I go to bed. it’s so sexy and soothing.