Pascal
Forbi Fabriken
Novoton
Pascal’s Forbi Fabriken is introduced with two wordless yells from singers Isak and Manuela. It’s one of the few moments that’s not lost-in-translation thanks to the Swedish lyrics. With so many Scandinavian exports feeling the need to adopt English for a more universal appeal and understanding, it’s nice to the native tongue roll off these songs regardless of how far over my head it flies. Besides, there’s something endlessly awesome about hearing a rock song with a spoken-word verse in Swedish.
It’s hard to pin down exactly in which camp the band belongs as they hit so many bases. On “Do Inte Nu” the guitars drip with honey reminiscent of classic Jesus and Mary Chain, while “Sjuk” and the title track do jittery disco as well as the best of today’s dance-punk revival. The less thunderous and thoroughly glockenspieled “Jonnie” has a surprising “Earth Angel” ring to it. The one common factor to all the various sonic guises the group wears is their commitment to bludgeon with riffs, repetition and relentless rhythm. As heavy an album as it is, there’s still room for melody and the quasi-surf riff that rides out the incendiary closer “Kyss Mig” is a near perfect crest to the 50-foot wave that is Forbi Fabriken.
Novoton Records: http://www.novoton.se
