Thank the lord that our borders in this fine country of America are porous enough to let through the foreign hordes of music and art. What would we do without the all-important wake-up call that Americans are not responsible for starting, or finishing every single trend in popular culture? That is not saying that we aren't the prime movers in some fields (like waging useless wars), but one look at this CD compilation will prove that we aren't the only country making and listening to beautiful and amazing music.
First off, not every song on this widely varied compilation of Scandinavian music may be something you are into, but it's worth a shot, and It's A Trap certainly rises to the challenge. Maybe you think that the land of ice and snow has only black metal to offer? Well, then this set of music will probably change your mind, with a broad spectrum of singer-songwriters and bands both loud and soft.
The real trick is to not sit here and say, "Check out the song by Jose Gonzalez. He is like Sweden's answer to Iron & Wine"… That kind of nationalism just dilutes these artists' works. I will say that of all the songs on this compilation, I really enjoyed the quieter pieces of work, like Gonzalez and the Lionheart Brothers. Where some of the heavy bands, like KVLR, succeed in their task of rocking the northern lands, some of them on this comp fall short, and that is all right, as long as they are ok with not becoming the next Hives or International Noise Conspiracy (please don't ever do that…)
Go and get this comp, probably from their website… it is a webzine that puts it out… and then check out the liner notes on the site. Explore and listen to it all. You never know what you will discover.
In conclusion, with the daily shrinking of the world and the increasingly hostile environment we find ourselves in, let us hope that peace and music become synonymous and synergistic to keep us all good neighbors. In that sense, all of this music on this comp is from local bands, local bands that are playing in a whole other time zone.
- Grant Capes | 2004-11-01
