Wildbirds & Peacedrums, The Snake (The Control Group)
Sep 4, 2009 3:18 PM, Patrick Sisson
Some groups sound tribal, as in around-the-campfire drum circles and lame world-music jams. Wildbirds & Peacedrums—the Swedish husband-and-wife vocal-drum duo of Andreas Werliin and Mariam Wallentin—sound tribal in the sense that they're wild savages who might harm you.
Wallentin's visceral singing, far and away the strongest and most expressive instrument on the album, can recall the gut-bucket blues of P.J. Harvey and, occasionally, the creepiness of The Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson. When she gets unhinged, like when her chant "my eyelids ache from too much darkness" during "There Is No Light" builds into guttural scat singing, Wallentin is a primal force.
The collective racket—a series of chugging drums, cymbals and xylophones accented with a few strings—is efficient and sleek, much heavier and full of dread than its relative sparseness suggests. Other tracks, such as "Who Ho Ho Ho" and the incantation "Island," filled with lyrics that could come straight out of Norse folklore, showcase a more mystical sound. But the songs aren't all wicked beats and intense lyrics. "My Heart," with the sweet line "I'm lost without your rhythm," shows this musical couple completes each other in more ways than one. [4 out of 5 stars]
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