Originalljudet: Originalljudet
Kalligrammofon

Apparently the name Originalljudet translates into English as “original sound” or “odd sound” but it's clearly that latter that's more on point. On its self-titled, half-hour debut recording, the Stockholm, Sweden-based collective favours an endearingly warped take on multiple genres, with many of them often colliding in the same song. Think woozy Viennese waltzes, Piazzolla-esque tangos, drunken polkas, and the kind of gin-soaked ballads one might hear at a seedy Berlin club as performed by woodwinds (alto and baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), double bass, accordéon, piano, and make-shift drums, and you'll have some idea of the group's mongrel sound. Adding to the grotesquerie of “Wrap Your Dream in Waltz” is the warble of Samuel Lundström's saw and Hansjörg Ehammer's accordéon, while the vocal cry of Lundström's violin also helps elevate the macabre march “The Oral Solution (with pear).” The tempo increases to breakneck speed in “The Chair, The Wheels, The Chaos” but ends before the track spirals completely out of control; not surprisingly, “After Chaos” offers a pensive recovery. Originalljudet is brothel music with jazz overtones (due largely to the saxophone playing) and don't be surprised if you hear a smidgen of Rota and Satie along the way (interestingly, the group's “Limping Satie Medley” could pass for a lost track from Carla Bley's Social Studies sessions, especially with a braying trombone as the lead voice).

June 2010