Frankly you are faced with a stark choice when you receive a press release that declares that a new song is “musical alchemy and cinematic kraut” and then goes on to say that the band that made it “has emerged, like a vessel in symbiosis between nature, the dreamy and the violent” and that “the mood is Twin Peaks for tadpoles.” ¿Qué?
You can confine it to the ‘pretentious nonsense’ bin or you can give it a listen, what the heck…
I chose the latter course and while it was hard work to start with ultimately I’m glad I did.
LJUD & BILD means Sound & Image, ‘Under Vattnet’ is ‘Underwater Network’ and the project began with Karin Pallarp Nilsson and Anders Kjellberg but has since grown into a quartet that has been noticed on the Gothenburg music scene.
Trying to pigeonhole ‘Under Vattnet’ the best I can come up with is Kraut shoegaze, the Kraut bit being measured in the construction, the methodical Essen production line drumming and the enduring, weirdly pleasing synthesiser chord that pervades the song throughout; while the shoegaze manifests in the almost competing ambience which you rarely find on the Autobahn.
(Am I being pretentious now?!)
The longer it goes on the easier it is to get the Twin Peaks analogy. There is something ever so slightly disturbing about it but not necessarily in an unpleasant way. Like you’re fumbling against the clock to open Pandora’s Box with no idea what’s in it.
The band name suggests a video should go with it. As it stands it’s ‘Ljud & Watch this space’. I can’t find one but I’d urge them to consider making one. One reason is that I noticed that Ylva Holmdahl is a member, credited with drums and percussion.
I wondered what had happened to Ylva, whom I know from Wildhart and one of my favourite Scandi songs and videos, for ‘New Beginning’, six years ago.
This is a talented crew that hasn’t been around for long. I can’t find any social media posts prior to September last year.
I don’t think this is the last you’ll be hearing from them in NMC.
Band Members:
Karin Pallarp Nilsson – Guitar, keys, vocals
Anders Kjellberg – Guitar, keys, vocals
Erik Ridelius – Keys, bass, percussion, vocals
Ylva Holmdahl – Drums, percussion
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ljudochbild
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ljudochbildmusic/
