Tiergarten (Norway – Apocalypse Lux (single/possible future album track)

I’ve often tried to get a handle on Tiergarten’s song titles and their meaning along with the lyrics but more often than not I’ve had to give up. As I’ve observed in the past the only certainties are that (1) they’re deep; (2) you’ll be expected to make of them what you will.

There seems to be a growing fashion amongst some bands in Norway to offer the indecipherable. A couple of weeks ago it was Das Body and their latest, baffling offering.

In their case at least you can feel confident that the subject matter is interpersonal relationships, or the lack of them, usually set around some of the seedier areas of Oslo.

Not so with Tiergarten, who go for much bigger, philosophical grand projets.

‘Apocalypse Lux’ doesn’t have anything to do with measuring the end of the world by units of illumination. It is short for ‘apocalypse luxurious’ and they promoted the idea, whatever it is, with a social media post reading “Creation if oblivious, apocalypse luxurious” (which is also the line on which the song hangs) with an accompanying photo of band leader Mats Rybø inside what could be the bowels of a recreated industrial sized Viking long boat or a spaceship.

Nope, still none the wiser.

After the unexpected funkiness of their last single we reviewed, ‘Lulu’, this one returns to the familiar territory of electronic grandiosity, with huge synthesiser – supplied power chords and thumping beats.

‘Apocalypse Lux’ lacks a little in the melody department compared to many of the songs in their last album, ‘Bluemass’, but what you lose on the swings is more than compensated for by what you gain on the roundabout by way of a diversion into prog rock territory towards the end as Mr Rybø does a passable imitation of the late, great Keith Emerson on his synthesisers, nourished by Trine Skullestad Hølland’s super powerful vocal.

I don’t know if anyone reading this remembers Farscape, the ridiculously far-fetched but immensely watchable TV sci-fi series of the early 2000s? This is the sort of music I can imagine that motley crew of Crichton, Aeryn Sun, D’Argo, Chiana the grey girl and the rest who are propelled from one wormhole to another in their living spaceship Moya, listening to in their rare moments of relaxation as they seek to escape the evil Peacekeepers.

Especially when Tiergarten seem somehow to work Montserrat Caballé into their recording. That’s as bizarre as Farscape ever was.

You’re all going to check out Farscape now, aren’t you? Fine, but leave it until you’ve listened to ‘Apocalypse Lux’, which is released today, 9^th February.

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