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- Date Released: January 1, 2005
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative
- Label: Playlouderecordings
Norwegian shoegazers just wanna rock.
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We Say...
Fronted by ex-Silver member Emil Nikolaisen, Oslo, Norway's Serena Maneesh may embrace the noise and nuance of shoegazing, but they're just as content to rock out like their favorite garage bands. This multifaceted approach makes their eponymous full-length debut sparkle and rip. Starting with the Velvet Underground drones and Boo Radleys-style harmonies of "Drain Cosmetics," it's clear that Serena Maneesh aren't interested in exploring the past as much as forging new ground. Throughout the album, they challenge themselves and their audience with a lively range of psychedelic guitar curls ("Candlelighted"), Stooges-style jams ("Sapphire Eyes") and an echoing, 12 minute-plus improvised sax-colored space odyssey ("Your Blood in Mine"). Their discoveries are our rewards.
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They Say...
When you put this album on for the first time, you can perhaps understand why some have branded Serena Maneesh as neo-shoegazers. The often tranquil vocals are extremely floaty-sounding, drenched in reverb and buried deep in the mix, very much like those heard on what came to be the Bible of shoegaze -- My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. The bouncy, fill-heavy drumming also resembles that typical of the genre, at times not unlike Loz Colbert. But it should not take the seasoned listener too long to grasp that Serena Maneesh transcend the narrow boundaries of shoegaze. With a leader as musically diverse as Emil Nikolaisen, how could they not? They are not trippy all the time, either; one needn't go further than the fifth track, "Beehiver II," before it gets really heavy. Starting out not unlike Nikolaisen's old punk band, Silver, with great semitone chord changes and distorted vocals, it eventually culminates in a frighteningly demonic, screaming crescendo, almost resembling extreme metal in its aural attack, before ending in a total ramshackle of Stooges-like wah-wah fuzz and pounding drums. Despite its opening track, "Drain Cosmetics," being chosen as single of the week by The Guardian, this is of course not a particularly accessible record. Some tracks are immediate, though, especially the delightful two-minute pop explosion of "Un-Deux." Other tracks, like "Selina's Melodie Fountain" and "Candlelighted," are extremely monotonous, holding the same note for unheard-of amounts of time. These compositions rely on rhythmical dynamics and pure sonic experimentation to produce hypnosis, and are not songs or tunes in the traditional sense. The tune fundamentalists should hereby consider themselves warned, while the more adventurous are in for a real treat. Emil Nikolaisen has never tried to hide his spiritual and religious leanings, and on this album they are more evident than ever. Many of the songs serve as battle arenas where harmonic melodies and dissonant walls of noise clash together furiously, the ever-roaring struggle between good and evil put to a rock record. This is present on virtually every song, but perhaps most evident on the album's last track, the cathartic 12-minute-long "Your Blood in Mine." Starting out all trippy and monotonous, it adds layer upon layer of noise and increases in tempo and intensity before ending with a solitary piano playing a simple, beautifully harmonic melody. The light, it seems, prevails in the end.
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| 01. |  |
Drain Cosmetics |
3:41 |
|
| 02. | |
Selina's Melodie Fountain |
5:39 |
|
| 03. | |
Un-Deux |
1:56 |
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| 04. | |
Candlelighted |
6:36 |
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| 05. | |
Beehiver II |
4:44 |
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| 06. | |
Her Name Is Suicide |
3:44 |
|
| 07. | |
Sapphire Eyes |
7:09 |
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| 08. | |
Don't Come Down Here |
7:20 |
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| 09. | |
Chorale Lick |
3:16 |
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| 10. | |
Simplicity |
1:56 |
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| 11. | |
Your Blood in Mine |
12:09 |
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11 Total Tracks, 58:10 Total Length
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Credits
- Martin Bisi - Sampling // Martin Bisi - Mixing // Hilde Bialach - Cello // Morten Lund - Tape Transfer // Björn Engelmann - Mastering // Tommy Akerholdt - Arranger // Tommy Akerholdt - Drums // Daniel C. Smith - Arranger // Daniel C. Smith - Vocals (Background) // Daniel C. Smith - Producer // Anders Møller - Percussion // Greg Norman - Engineer // Greg Norman - Distortion // Morten Andersen - Photography // Sufjan Stevens - Flute // Sufjan Stevens - Marimba // Christian Engfelt - Mixing // Ingar Hunskaar - Pre-Mastering // Emil Nikolaisen - Organ // Emil Nikolaisen - Bass // Emil Nikolaisen - Guitar // Emil Nikolaisen - Mandolin // Emil Nikolaisen - Percussion // Emil Nikolaisen - Piano // Emil Nikolaisen - Drums // Emil Nikolaisen - Harmonium // Emil Nikolaisen - Vocals // Emil Nikolaisen - Vocals (Background) // Emil Nikolaisen - Producer // Emil Nikolaisen - Engineer // Emil Nikolaisen - Sampling // Emil Nikolaisen - Mellotron // Emil Nikolaisen - Vibraphone // David Wallumrod - Organ // Harald Frøland - Guitar // Lina Holmström - Vocals // Lina Holmström - Vocals (Background) // Lina Holmström - Voices // Asle Eikrem - Tambourine // Ketil Fagervik - Cover Art // Espen Høydalsvik - Percussion // Espen Høydalsvik - Engineer
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