“Samme Stof Som Stof”
Under Byen
Paper Bag Records
Release Date: 09|26|2006

There’s something magical in the environments some artists place themselves to foster the kind of inspiration that becomes the heartbeat of an album. Danish band, Under Byen (pronounced Oh’nah-Boon) did just that on their latest Paper Bag Records release, “Samme Stof Som Stof” (Don’t ask me what that means – like the title of a Sigur Rós song, I nod politlely like I know what means and just kick back and enjoy the music).

The band held up in an 18th century house in Brussels, complete with dilapidated leather wallpaper and creaky old floorboards – the kind of atmosphere that leaves you a little on edge. Off kilter even. And it’s evident in this body of work. The songs progress in what sounds like an inward descent to the soul. It’s an experimental and perspective-bending journey that has a beginning and a story that’s never the same, twice.

The recording process found band members challenging each other to work with unfamiliar sounds and shaping songs in less traditional ways – even editing and dropping songs late into the evening before mastering. And in the end it works… it sounds like the things you would hear cast in shadows of the brilliance of The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds”. But, darker and more moody.

Standouts on the album for me are “Den her sang handler om at få det bedste ud af det” and “Tindrer” where the obvious comparisons to Portishead or Bjork may come. But this feels more stripped down and kind of broken. The album ends on “Slå sorte hjerte”, a kind of opus where you realize that house just may have become the album.

It’s not an album that takes you a few listens to get hooked. You are compelled from the first moment – hooked right in, wanting to see and feel more. You feel like you’re taking a walk into the deep, creaky recesses of that creepy 18th century house, afraid to stay, afraid to leave.

Web locales:
http://paperbagrecords.com/bands/under-byen
http://www.myspace.com/47795897

Label:
http://www.paperbagrecords.com/

Band members:
Henriette Sennenvaldt – vocal
Thorbjørn Krogshede – piano, etc.
Nils Gröndahl – violin/saw
Sara Saxild – bass
Stine Sørensen – drums, vocals
Morten Larsen – drums
Morten Svenstrup – cello
Anders Stochholm – this and that

[John Teeter]