Halasan Bazar

With heartbreak as his muse, Danish songwriter Fredrik Eckhoff feverishly recorded the 12 songs that became Space Junk. Enigmatically, he masks his melancholy, bottling it up in his music, only allowing the despair to seep through in his vocal delivery. A bizarre blend of Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes), David Berman (Silver Jews), Frank Black, Beck and Syd Barrett, Eckhoff's warble is unique and indelible; it's quite the contrast to the relatively uplifting musical accompaniment. Sixties acid folk, '70s country rock, '80s college jangle and '90s lo-fi are all represented, to some degree, on this record. It's as if Eckhoff and his companions in Halasan Bazar are avid record collectors, eager to showcase their influences without giving way to outright emulation. A crafty brew such as this is always interest piquing, especially when it's sprinkled with a light dusting of lysergic bliss. Catharsis has never sounded so enjoyable.