A Sunset Panorama in Bloomington, MN

Although the
Hydra Head
label is usually associated with
noise
bands, there are a few exceptions, such as the 2005 release by
Logh
,
A Sunset Panorama
. When you think of "melodic
alternative rock
" circa the early 21st century, mediocre/same-sounding bands that rule the radio immediately come to mind, but this Swedish outfit shows that it certainly doesn't have to be that way. Picture
Sonic Youth
reborn as an
emo
band -- thanks to the sullen vocals and sparse guitar lines -- and you come close to what
sounds like. For the group's third release overall,
wanted to try a new approach, so they hunkered down for six months, rehearsing steadily. They then entered the recording studio with producer
Pelle Gunnerfeldt
(best known for his work with
the Hives
Sahara Hotnights
, etc.), where they recorded the complete album in a ten-hour span -- supposedly only breaking for lunch. The plan worked, as
have assembled their best album yet, on the strength of such standouts as
"Destinymanifesto,"
which features some very
Thurston Moore
-like vocals from
Mattias Friberg
, and
"Asymmetric Tricks,"
which includes some nice xylophone touches. For a while, it looked like
were the best
rock
export to come out of Sweden in some time. But with
may soon be getting the nod. ~ Greg Prato