Carinou - Bound
Code666 Records - code022 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Note to people suffering from clinical depression - stay away from this album. Carinou have branded their particular style of musical expression as 'negative metal', and I suppose it's pretty much 50% accurate. The missing half comes from the fact that the icy, minimalistic electro-synth soundscapes in Bound are only occasionally visited by electric guitar and human drumming. Rather, Fredrik Soderlund (whom you may know from Puissance) and his cohorts Maggie Elving and Sofie Svenson choose to craft bleak, skeletal songs around washes of ambient electronica and Fredrik's... errrm... rather unusual vocal style.
You see, there's really no two ways around this... on Bound, Fredrik sounds like a cross between Brian Molko of Placebo and Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys. And this is where the problem arises. The downbeat atmospherics and Gary Numan-meets-Depeche Mode leanings of the music are dragged screaming into the abyss of unlistenable noise pollution by the characterless, uncharismatic, effete whining of the vocals. Admittedly, the suicidally morose inflections conjured by Fredrik's chosen vocal style suit the music well, but the voice itself jars across the nerves. It's as infuriating as watching an episode of Dawson's Creek.
There are moments where the simplistic, affecting soundscapes behind the voice shine through and make you forget all that, though - the sucker-punch that is 'Trust' knocks the listener out of the contemplative trance they've been lulled into with some punchy riffage, while the introspective 'Carinou' sends them right back into it a few tracks later. Moments like these cause a gentle see-saw affect, alternately relaxing then re-doubling the album's hold on your attention.
Overall, if you're gagging for some seriously bleak electronica-based rock, then you could do worse than searching out Carinou, but be warned - the vocals could prove to be a huge off-putting element.
6/10
Code666 Official Website
Code666 Records - code022 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Note to people suffering from clinical depression - stay away from this album. Carinou have branded their particular style of musical expression as 'negative metal', and I suppose it's pretty much 50% accurate. The missing half comes from the fact that the icy, minimalistic electro-synth soundscapes in Bound are only occasionally visited by electric guitar and human drumming. Rather, Fredrik Soderlund (whom you may know from Puissance) and his cohorts Maggie Elving and Sofie Svenson choose to craft bleak, skeletal songs around washes of ambient electronica and Fredrik's... errrm... rather unusual vocal style.
You see, there's really no two ways around this... on Bound, Fredrik sounds like a cross between Brian Molko of Placebo and Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys. And this is where the problem arises. The downbeat atmospherics and Gary Numan-meets-Depeche Mode leanings of the music are dragged screaming into the abyss of unlistenable noise pollution by the characterless, uncharismatic, effete whining of the vocals. Admittedly, the suicidally morose inflections conjured by Fredrik's chosen vocal style suit the music well, but the voice itself jars across the nerves. It's as infuriating as watching an episode of Dawson's Creek.
There are moments where the simplistic, affecting soundscapes behind the voice shine through and make you forget all that, though - the sucker-punch that is 'Trust' knocks the listener out of the contemplative trance they've been lulled into with some punchy riffage, while the introspective 'Carinou' sends them right back into it a few tracks later. Moments like these cause a gentle see-saw affect, alternately relaxing then re-doubling the album's hold on your attention.
Overall, if you're gagging for some seriously bleak electronica-based rock, then you could do worse than searching out Carinou, but be warned - the vocals could prove to be a huge off-putting element.
6/10
Code666 Official Website
