SV: OFF: Help with Scandinavian space/psych

[Doug Pearson]

On Thu, 1 Oct 1998 16:12:28 -0400, Keith Henderson <henderson.120 at OSU.EDU>
wrote:
>And has anyone heard the 1970 album by 'Tree, Grass, and Stones'?  Cranium
has
>it on their site and it sounded interesting.

Yes, I have this one (it's actually credited to the Swedish spelling of the
name, which I won't attempt, since I know I'd be missing numerous
diacriticals :^).  Very cool sorta laid-back heavy fuzzed-out rock, with a
few bizarre covers ("Satisfaction" is one) and some fine originals.
Perhaps a bit like Monster Magnet if Dave Wyndorf was stuffed to his gills
with quaaludes (hmmm ... not at all an unlikely possibility?).  Anyway, I
like it, for whatever that's worth.

My other favorite recent Swedish discovery is Algarnas Tradgard (sorry for
the missing diacriticals!).  I REALLY like this band, partially because I
love any spacy band with a good violin player.  Lots of electronics on it,
too, and a very strong Scandanavian folk vibe to it.  Almost like Faust
meets Third Ear Band, in Sweden, of course.

And speaking of bands with cool violin sounds, I saw a band in SF last
night called Deadweight (they were on the same bill as us at a music
festival, otherwise I probably never would have checked them out) who were
a violin-cello-drums trio.  Both string players used effects quite
tastefully (just enough distortion on the cello to make it sound like a
chunky rhythm guitar), and were quite talented (almost made me feel like
hanging up my bow).  Difficult to describe, but very rocking and tuneful,
with unique melodies and textures that you'd never get with a guitar band.
The violinist said that they have recently been more "heavy metal" than
their earlier "psychedelic" material.  They have a CD out, but
unfortunately I was short on cash ... next time!  The only disappointment
for me was that when they chose to play a cover for their encore, it was
"Devil Went Down To Georgia" (uh oh, there's that Southern Rock thread
rearing its ugly head!) and not "Saenonymous" (they really did sound like
High Tide at times).

        -Doug
         ceres at sirius.com