Sheriff: Sheriff
Hapna

Originally released in 2001, Sheriff's self-titled album from Gothenburg duo Magnus Granberg (guitar, piano, and vocals) and Henrik Olsson (drums and cymbals) pursues a musical approach that's minimalistic, even skeletal, by design. Vocal content, for example, consists of little more than a song title intoned repeatedly in place of conventional lyrics and verse-chorus structures. Instrumentally, too, Sheriff establishes a track's character at the outset and then strays little from then on; consequently, even the slightest unusual inflection assumes pronounced significance. “Untitled #1” begins promisingly enough with Granberg's soft guitar clicks in tandem with Olsson's forceful drum patterns but, with next to no development, the seven-minute piece ultimately seems tedious. Might the vocal tracks engage more? Granberg incessantly utters the title in “Lord Have Mercy,” an effect that calls to mind the tramp's prayerful chant on Gavin Bryars' Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet but, aside from a modest range of modulation in Granberg's delivery, the ultimate effect isn't vastly different from the instrumental pieces. In short, Sheriff's intimate music with its entrancing sway almost transfixes yet just doesn't engage deeply enough to sustain its intended hypnotic state. Surprisingly, though, the last and longest piece, the ten-minute “Untitled #4,” proves a satisfying and compelling coda, due perhaps to its trance-inducing gamelan-flavoured cymbal tones and its background field recording of mercurial urban noises.

October 2004