The Danish music scene may not be the most famous one, but recently some of the shockingly good albums I’ve heard (Mew -‘Frengers‘, The Receiver – ‘Transit‘) are from there!
Thomas L. Fagerlund & Søren B. Corneliussen (Synths, guitars, vocals), Hasse Mydtskov (backing vocals, drums and percussion) and former members, Rune Pedersen (bass-backing vocals) and guitarist Daniel Skjoldmose are (The) Kissaway Trail, the Danish band stepped out at discography in October 2006 with the ‘Into the Ocean And Rise Again EP‘.
A year later, they presented their self titled debut and three years later, in 2010, ‘Sleep Mountain‘. All excellent albums, but their latest work ‘Breach‘ (2013) is my favourite! Indie pop-rock base, shoegaze elements, like Arcade Fire overdosed with testosterone!
‘Breach‘ starts with the characteristically bell-like melodic indie pop guitars we used to love, all fans of Cherry Red/Sarah Records/Labrador. ‘Telly The Truth (The Breach)‘ is sweet and harmonic, an ideal opener for the album. ‘Nørrebro‘ the first highlight, presents a melancholic, fading yet almost redemptive, guitar riff that drives the song away. ‘Cuts Of Youth (Razor Love)‘ continues cool and beautifully with an easy to remember chorus “nothing else matters to me”. The next song is the second highlight! ‘The Springsteen Implosion‘ runs frantically in the fields, through a bombastic drums’ explosion. At 2’39 we witness an impressive, epic clash between guitars and atmospheric drums blazing. An unbelievable song reminding me of timeless ‘Sensitive‘ by The Field Mice. A perfect song for a walk under a clear sky. ‘Beauty Still Rebels‘ is also “free”, fast, up tempo, with furious drums, a similar tune to ‘The Springsteen Implosion‘. ‘Sarah Devo‘ shouts loud into a complex music web, and ‘So sorry, I’m Not‘, presents a tide of angry vocal distortion, drum-punches ‘at the stomach’, electro clash synths and biting guitars. ‘Sara (R.I.Punk)‘, an instrumental that ends into a cinematic mood is the imaginary “intro” for the next big gem; ‘The Sinking‘! What a Tour de force! What a masterpiece! Τhe catapult drums waving the flags of a euphoric anthem! Sing out! On repeat again and again! ‘Shaking The Mote‘ is another paean, another highlight. Arcade fire-like chorus-riff, merciless drums and awesome, almost divine symphonic grand finale. ‘Robot (Think Of Me As One You’d Never Figured)‘, is the second instrumental of the LP. Excellent warm ambient through drum demolition, is the prologue for the closing track of the album ‘A Rainy Night In Soho‘, a melancholic track, like stocktaking.
No fillers, no lies here, and it’s the truth, very rarely do we meet albums with no indifferent songs! Impressive sound ideal for live performances, ‘Breach‘ is built for headbanging, and great escapes with fast cars! Filled with 12 fantastic songs, each one better than the other, ‘Breach‘ is an album honor to indie music and its fans.
Theodoros Rentesis