The Legends

You've got to hand it to Johan Angergård; he certainly isn't afraid to take chances. Since he first introduced the Legends in 2003, the Labrador label boss as well as member of Club 8 and Acid House Kings has never repeated himself. Call it a vanity project, but the Legends is an ever-morphing outfit that allows Angergård to indulge in his favourite genres. In order, he's done '60s pop, gloomy post-punk, electro pop and now distortion-heavy indie pop. The Legends is often fixated on paying homage to other bands, and it's undeniable that he isn't crushing on the Jesus & Mary Chain this time around. First single "Seconds Away" and "Always the same" waste no time confirming that with buzz-saw guitars and suffocating feedback, not to mention the rudimentary drumbeats. But why Angergård can get away with it is because he can dream up hooks in his sleep. However, Over and Over suffers from being too ambitious. Angergård doesn't keep up the ear-splitting noise and wanders for more than half the record into these beautifully delicate pop reveries that makes the album too distracting and unreliable. Essentially, he's made two records here, which makes me wonder why he didn't just save one for the next time around because both sides are worthy of getting full-lengths.