Labels: self released
Review by: Gareth L
After listening to this CD by Scandiavian post-rockers Ioseb, I immediately listened to it again. Not necessarily because it was so wondrous and amazing I wanted to relive the experience (although I definitely enjoyed it), but because I felt I didn’t quite get it. The structure of the songs are non-traditional even for the genre, omitting the familiar quiet introspection/build up/crescendo/quiet introspection and instead, unlike a lot of bands in this genre, living in the moment, recognising that sometimes some simple guitar and drum work, ambient effects and a few vocals can be just as effective.
Sweden seems full of these kind of bands – capable of sounding both forlorn and fragile yet intensely creative and downright foot-tapping, and this EP is no exception, the blustery winds sampled throughout unable to penetrate the warmth provided by the music, like a bowl of miso soup on a February night.
The whole album conjures up images of windswept fields, solitary lampposts and empty playgrounds. Or perhaps that’s just because that’s what I saw on my walk to work very early this morning whilst listening to ‘Agartha’. Either way, it’s certainly very beautiful, in a unique, ‘alternative’ sort of way.