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Hemgraven bring a nice follow up to their 12" released on Peter Out Records earlier this year. This ep has two songs that show the range that this band has and the growth that has occurred over this year. Slightly more experimental in sound with heavy dark no wave influences. This is a split label release with Peter Out Records from Sweden.
Our take: Two-song single of dark new wave / goth music from these Swedes. I kind of like the fact that Hemgraven are unashamedly wimpy... it has something of the vibe of the Smiths or Echo and the Bunnymen in that it has sucked the confrontational sexual energy out of rock music and replaced it with something a bit more androgynous and mysterious. While that's the overall vibe, something about the vocal melodies in particular seems inherently Swedish to me... even if they didn't sing in their native language I could have picked this band out as Swedes in a matter of seconds because their melodies just remind me of bands like Terrible Feelings and Masshysteri even though the texture and vibe of the music is quite different. Maybe there are just some melodies that certain cultures are raised with that can't help but filter into their rock music... I feel the same way about being able to identify distinctly Japanese riffs and melodies. At any rate, I'd venture to say that if you dig the new wave-informed stylings of later Masshysteri or Hurula you'll like this too, and if nothing else this gorgeous little slice of graphic design will look great sitting on your record shelf.
Our take: Two-song single of dark new wave / goth music from these Swedes. I kind of like the fact that Hemgraven are unashamedly wimpy... it has something of the vibe of the Smiths or Echo and the Bunnymen in that it has sucked the confrontational sexual energy out of rock music and replaced it with something a bit more androgynous and mysterious. While that's the overall vibe, something about the vocal melodies in particular seems inherently Swedish to me... even if they didn't sing in their native language I could have picked this band out as Swedes in a matter of seconds because their melodies just remind me of bands like Terrible Feelings and Masshysteri even though the texture and vibe of the music is quite different. Maybe there are just some melodies that certain cultures are raised with that can't help but filter into their rock music... I feel the same way about being able to identify distinctly Japanese riffs and melodies. At any rate, I'd venture to say that if you dig the new wave-informed stylings of later Masshysteri or Hurula you'll like this too, and if nothing else this gorgeous little slice of graphic design will look great sitting on your record shelf.