Boo

Boo is the debut album of the Swedish two piece Dag För Dag. The band has a distinctive sound, using rich vocal textures, guitar sounds and ambient sound-scapes in a way similar to the psychedelic side of recent new-folk. This spacious, placid side of their music is brought to life by its opposite – frenetic and dense, often abrasive, though still quite psychedelic, post-punk. Their sound experimentation is, mostly, structured by their more conventional song writing.

The two sounds, although different, are balanced brilliantly. Many of their songs hold an accessible middle ground, bringing together elements of both, simultaneously and apart, to great effect. On ‘I am the Assassin’, for example, the vocals are slightly distorted throughout. When the song is built up, and the vocals are at their most forceful, the effect is strained and adds to the intensity; when more subdued, it creates a pleasantly fuzzy quality. The result is a degree of consistency and cohesion that is rare in music with this kind of dual sound.

This approach, of keeping a common element through fairly drastic changes in feel, is evident across the album as a whole as well as on individual songs. On a song, a particular motif, sound or effect will be used; across the album it is a more general style, such as the abstract sounds already mentioned, and, perhaps most notably, the distinct drumming style. Generally speaking, the drumming is rhythmically complex and quite drum-orientated. This rhythmic busyness is found in both the calm and its opposite, but is sometimes stripped down for a sparser sound, leaving the complexity to come implied and the dynamic changes it will bring anticipated. Such constancy keeps their music from being easily divided in two: the two styles are blended superbly into one unique voice.

At some of the record’s gentler moments, the brilliant spacious arrangements are let down by the simple, short and repetitive melodies that here sound undeveloped and leave the song feeling empty. These melodies do, however, work perfectly elsewhere, where they are energetically sung, accompanied by a rawness that suits their simplicity and a busyness that needs it to keep from overcrowding.

In all, then, Boo is an often wonderful and always exciting debut, full of ideas and holding great promise for the band’s next record.