If by chance you've been following the career of Johan Angergård's off and on one-man band the Legends since 2004's debut, Up Against the Legends, you'll know to leave your expectations at the door. A self-proclaimed genre wanderer, the Stockholm-based Angergård, who also moonlights in Club 8 and Acid House Kings, and is the owner of the Labrador label, is a true nomad when it comes to his music.
A true popsmith, so far he's dabbled with a '60s-heavy jangle pop (Up Against the Legends), straight-up synth pop (Facts & Figures) and the truest take on the gloomier and more melodic side of later post-punk, à la the Cure and New Order (Public Radio). So what's left? Well, screaming walls of feedback and buzz-saw noise, of course.
As Angergård says on his MySpace blog, "I need noise now, so the first single will sound like someone is drilling a whole in your head. In a pleasant way that is. The single is called 'Seconds away' and is about the wonders of tryptizol." Hallelujah to that.
Channelling the brotherly chaos of the Jesus & Mary Chain, it's obvious where his inspiration now lies. But "Seconds Away" is a glorious noise pop homage that proves this appallingly underrated songwriter excels at recreating whatever is currently playing on his stereo.
Maybe I'm being selfish but part of me wants to see him next indulge in his Swedish history and try using something like ABBA, At the Gates or how about Europe (?) as his muse.
The Legends "Seconds Away"
A true popsmith, so far he's dabbled with a '60s-heavy jangle pop (Up Against the Legends), straight-up synth pop (Facts & Figures) and the truest take on the gloomier and more melodic side of later post-punk, à la the Cure and New Order (Public Radio). So what's left? Well, screaming walls of feedback and buzz-saw noise, of course.
As Angergård says on his MySpace blog, "I need noise now, so the first single will sound like someone is drilling a whole in your head. In a pleasant way that is. The single is called 'Seconds away' and is about the wonders of tryptizol." Hallelujah to that.
Channelling the brotherly chaos of the Jesus & Mary Chain, it's obvious where his inspiration now lies. But "Seconds Away" is a glorious noise pop homage that proves this appallingly underrated songwriter excels at recreating whatever is currently playing on his stereo.
Maybe I'm being selfish but part of me wants to see him next indulge in his Swedish history and try using something like ABBA, At the Gates or how about Europe (?) as his muse.
The Legends "Seconds Away"
