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"Though not in the same league, nor as ambitious as the Wolf Parade’s
and Arcade Fire’s of this world, Skeleton is an impressive debut by a
young band, with enough melodies that stick and songwriting tricks up
its sleeve to suggest that a more adventurous follow-up imbued with a
little more of their own personality could just be something special." |
Figurines
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| Skeleton |
By: Dimitri Kalagas |
Listening to the second album of Danish indie rock outfit Figurines, it’s hard to believe they hail from Scandinavia and not the American Pacific Northwest or even Canada. So completely does frontman Christian Hjelm appropriate the high-pitched nasal delivery and intonation of singers like Granddaddy’s Jason Lytle, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock and Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug, you’d be forgiven for pencilling in Skeleton as the latest in a string of North American imitators for the mantle occupied by those bands. Once you get beyond the incongruous vocals though, Skeleton shows the Danes may have a little more staying power. Starting slowly with the cocktail-hour piano chords of ‘Race You’, second track (and album highlight) ‘The Wonder’ ratchets up the tempo with some furiously strummed guitar before Hjelm launches into a sing-along chorus to the backing yelps of his bandmates. ‘Ambush’ is all off-kilter swagger, while ‘Rivalry’ nods to Neil Young in balladeer mode, building to a climax of multi-tracked, harmonised ‘wahs’. Though not in the same league, nor as ambitious as the Wolf Parade’s and Arcade Fire’s of this world, Skeleton is an impressive debut by a young band, with enough melodies that stick and songwriting tricks up its sleeve to suggest that a more adventurous follow-up imbued with a little more of their own personality could just be something special.
Alexis Kalagas
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