j o e

When it comes to prog genre music, the Scandinavian region has a reputation (or perhaps more accurately, a stereotype) that precedes itself, for making music of minor-keyed intensity embellished by tufts of mellotron, and maybe inclusion of such instruments as cello and/or flute. Enter Paatos, a new Swedish band to emerge from out of those plains of winter, featuring former members of Landberk. Where do they place on the Ingmar Bergman chessboard? From the opening strains of "Sensor," I was won over quickly. The song's introductory dalliance into a lush fusion vibe with electric piano, congas, and earthy drumming, caught me quite off guard. From there, the band shifts into the main part of the song, a robust rock number with a lot of energy. The three middle tracks, by contrast, scream "Scando-Prog!" right at you: case-studies of moody introspection building into swelling, oceanic instrumentals. I like all of these well enough, though Petronella Nettelmalm's vocals here, especially on "Hypnotique," seem overly stylized. Indeed, with her deep gulps of breath in-between phrases particularly noticeable and the teethy whispering of lines like "I am a flower, smell me," the degree of fragility suggests she would catch pneumonia while on a tropical cruise, and comes off as somewhat affected. "Quits" is quite different from the others, and draws the most upon contemporary pop elements. At heart, it's an extended pop song driven by d 'n' b elements (i.e., hyperkinetic programmed percussion and booming, repetitive bass lines) that in its final minutes turns and dives wholesale into a volatile, improvisatory segment. In my view, the band does considerably better when they crank it up and Petronella isn't doing the girlish vocalisms. Huxflux Nettelmalm's lyrics don't strike me as anything special, but his drumming skills are one of the major positives of this album. Listen to him tear it up on "Sensor" and the climaxes of "Téa" and "Quits." Though planted more within a straightforward rock footing, with such natural ability, I could see him entering the foyer to the pantheon of wildcat drummer greatness where such legends as Christian Vander and Tatsuya Yoshida dwell. I hope that on future releases the band lets him cut loose from holding down the beat even more. So then, an impressive debut, definitely worth checking out. review by Joe McGlinchey — 3-13-05 —

b r a n d o n

The pleasant surprise about this album is its diversity. Given that two members of the group are also important members of Landberk, one would expect a heavy dose of the "usual" melancholy Swedish prog in that group's style. Which would have been cool, too, but Paatos isn't content to be a "usual" prog group. Fortunately for the rest of us, as it turns out. True, much of the album and especially the middle three tracks remind strongly of the likes of Landberk, Anekdoten, Morte Macabre (particularly in the somber mellotron sound), and occasionally White Willow (I know, not Swedish), with slow-cooking atmospheric vocal passages contrasted against harder-rocking instrumental ones. But the first and last tracks differ considerably. Also, female vocals predominate, aggressively in some places and laid-back and breathy in others. I'm actually not a great fan of these vocals - Petronella Nettermalm's voice is a bit too breathy and girlish for my tastes - but they're by no means poorly done. Of the tracks most like the aforementioned Swedish groups, "Téa" is my favorite. The vocals here are in Swedish (English everywhere else), and Nettermalm sounds more comfortable singing in what is presumably her native language. This track, especially its Mellotron work and the opening guitar riff, sounds like it could have come straight off of Symphonic Holocaust. The first track, on the other hand, is a rollicking fusionish ride, something a bit different, and quite well done. Okay, you say, what's the big deal... so we have Yet Another Depressing Swedish Band here that's pretty good. Yawn. Well, the big deal is "Quits" - the last track. Far and away the most interesting piece on the album, "Quits" starts off fairly conventionally but soon enough it leaves prog-rock territory and phases into a pretty sweet drum 'n' bass middle section - lots of extremely active percussion, most of it programmed I assume. I don't think it ever gets too repetitive for those not inclined to like this sort of thing. In any case, around the nine-minute mark things change up entirely again, with the entrance of a menacing bass motive that reminds me of nothing more than Yeti. Here, it starts getting crazy, with wild flailings on sax, trumpet, and trombone atop overactive drumming and that deep, evil bass sound. It ends on a great note, with everything stopping except the brass, which sounds a brief, angsty farewell wail. That's when you think: that kicked ass. My impression of the first few tracks was middling - it's good stuff, but nothing that we haven't heard before. But "Quits" is phenomenal to my ears, mixing elements of traditional prog, electronica, and avant-prog all into one tasty closing track. Great stuff, and it makes me interested in this Huxflux Nettermalm dude - the percussionist and the one responsible for said closing track. And, the whole thing comes in a nifty purple digipack. What are you waiting for? review by Brandon Wu — 1-11-03 —