Album Review: Aggrasoppar – MIDNÁTTARSANG
Aggrasoppar call themselves "a secret Faroese flowerpunk naprap semi-supergroup". But in reality they are bigger than this label. Moreover, they are probably more of an art collective than a band.
Aggrasoppar
We're trying not to stay in the same lane for too long. We might delve into other genres in entertainment as well as music in the future.
The band's artistic world is full of fantasy and nuance. Their influences include musicians as diverse as rap's enfant terrible Danny Brown, Faroese folk legend Niels Midjord, Danish outfit Kogekunst, Ella Fitzgerald, James Blake and Fiona Apple. However, besides all the sophistication, the collective's music and live shows are always pure fun – for both the audience and Aggrasoppar themselves.
Knowing of all of this made it easier for me to approach this review of the band's latest album. The challenge for me is to write about music as textocentric as rap without knowing Faroese – the band's native language that they write lyrics in. The group's art transcend's genre labels, and fun is always at the heart of what they are doing. So why not dive into the review of their record with the same approach?
Besides that, the group has participated in some of Europe's biggest and most respected showcase festivals, playing for audiences that are not fluent in Faroese, just like me. And finally, everything inside the album is happening in a dream... And when you are in a dream the only thing left to do is just go with it.
Knowing of all of this made it easier for me to approach this review of the band's latest album. The challenge for me is to write about music as textocentric as rap without knowing Faroese – the band's native language that they write lyrics in. The group's art transcend's genre labels, and fun is always at the heart of what they are doing. So why not dive into the review of their record with the same approach?
Besides that, the group has participated in some of Europe's biggest and most respected showcase festivals, playing for audiences that are not fluent in Faroese, just like me. And finally, everything inside the album is happening in a dream... And when you are in a dream the only thing left to do is just go with it.
Aggrasoppar
Our new album is called "døgurðaslang / MIDNÁTTARSANG" which translates to "midday nap / MIDNIGHT SONG" – the two main ingredients of Faroese culture. The old school working man would have a short midday nap after eating lunch, before he returned to work. Midnight song is what we call the big sing-along at midnight with the traditional chain dance on our Faroese national day, Ólavsøka, on July 29th. I think it has the world record for the biggest chain dance, like 5.000 people?
We enter the dreamworld at a crazy speed – 75 KM/T. That is the name of the first song, full of abrasive ditorted texures, watery organ timbres and vocals that sound like psychedelic guitars. The song boasts a catchy hook that we only hear once. There's no time for more when you are moving at the speed of 75 KM/T.
PEANUTBUTTER & BANAN is the treat we get next. Have you ever dreamed of a rap beat that is just drums, tabla and demonic wailing in the background for a while, and then everything gets swallowed by a wall of noise? If yes, this is your jam. Or rather, your peanut butter.
The next track is dark and dreamlike with the beat that is airy and textural but still features a heavy dose of random screaming. Heavenly choirs meet demonic screams. Is this heaven or hell? We don't know, and honestly we don't care, as long it sounds as brain-exploding as this.
EIN GENTAF lets us get some rest and meditate. Sound-manipulated guitars are relaxing and ghostly at the same time, and the vocals are super chill. But you should never fully relax in this afternap dreamworld. Who knows what's gonna happen next?
And what happens next is the album's big single – KONSEPTUALISERA SAMANHALD HVØRSÍNAMILLUM. The band desribes it as "a minimalistic and sad meditation about human connection". The beat that sets the scene for this is intricate and full of details: overwhelming hi-hat pattern, bird chirps, delayed vocals and weird textures sound disorienting and unsettling, making you want to replay the song as soon as it finishes.
But the album continues. The next composition is not nearly as busy but is no less detailed with a beat that can be described as a postmodern take on early 2000s lounge music.
The last two tracks are the longest on the record, both keeping on the minimalistic and meditative mood. The first one introduces some unexpected but insanely catchy melodic vocals and the closer ditches the vocals altogether, making the exit from the afterdinner nap as smooth as possible.
Overall, the album is short and vivid, without a single song that is longer than two and a half minutes. It's like you are taking shots of different kinds of magic elixirs one after another, experiencing new effects on your body and mind at lightning speed, before the effects from previous potions even set in. The album is not just fun to listen to – it's extremely inspiring. I am seriously considering starting my own art group / flowerpunk band after diving into its world. So listen with care. Your life might not be the same after you turn it on.
PEANUTBUTTER & BANAN is the treat we get next. Have you ever dreamed of a rap beat that is just drums, tabla and demonic wailing in the background for a while, and then everything gets swallowed by a wall of noise? If yes, this is your jam. Or rather, your peanut butter.
The next track is dark and dreamlike with the beat that is airy and textural but still features a heavy dose of random screaming. Heavenly choirs meet demonic screams. Is this heaven or hell? We don't know, and honestly we don't care, as long it sounds as brain-exploding as this.
EIN GENTAF lets us get some rest and meditate. Sound-manipulated guitars are relaxing and ghostly at the same time, and the vocals are super chill. But you should never fully relax in this afternap dreamworld. Who knows what's gonna happen next?
And what happens next is the album's big single – KONSEPTUALISERA SAMANHALD HVØRSÍNAMILLUM. The band desribes it as "a minimalistic and sad meditation about human connection". The beat that sets the scene for this is intricate and full of details: overwhelming hi-hat pattern, bird chirps, delayed vocals and weird textures sound disorienting and unsettling, making you want to replay the song as soon as it finishes.
But the album continues. The next composition is not nearly as busy but is no less detailed with a beat that can be described as a postmodern take on early 2000s lounge music.
The last two tracks are the longest on the record, both keeping on the minimalistic and meditative mood. The first one introduces some unexpected but insanely catchy melodic vocals and the closer ditches the vocals altogether, making the exit from the afterdinner nap as smooth as possible.
Overall, the album is short and vivid, without a single song that is longer than two and a half minutes. It's like you are taking shots of different kinds of magic elixirs one after another, experiencing new effects on your body and mind at lightning speed, before the effects from previous potions even set in. The album is not just fun to listen to – it's extremely inspiring. I am seriously considering starting my own art group / flowerpunk band after diving into its world. So listen with care. Your life might not be the same after you turn it on.