| HitSession.com CD Review |
| Penti
|
| by Doug Cornell |
 Foreign-language pop music is fun. If you've enjoyed listening
to "Du Hast" by Rammstein, then you are the kind of
listener who can take pleasure from hearing vocal melodies
that have no apparent meaning (kinda like REM before Michael
Stipe learned to annunciate).Penti, who come from one of those Scandinavian countries like Sweden or Finland (their words are chock full of umlauts), have created a compellingly simple collection of post-pop songs. The tunes frolic along in happy melodic and rhythmic patterns, never demanding too much but somehow managing to imprint themselves into your head. While Penti would be enjoyed by fans of the Feelies or the Eels, their song structure and melodies are completely unique, perhaps due to the fact that we don't hear much Scandinavian pop here in the States. Notwithstanding having the world's longest song title, the opening track "Som På En Skateboard - Güra Tricks Utan Kontroll - Det Kan Inte Sluta Väl," is a beautiful and amazing piece of song craft. One can only guess that this quiet rocker is about skateboard tricks, but the melodic guitars, bells, and munspel (?) all combine to sweep the listener away into a state of bliss. The band enters Feelies jangle-rhythm territory with "Fakum" and the world's 2nd longest song title, "Det Var Inte Du Och Jag Som Gjorde Att Allt Gick Snett." Subtle beauty drives "Pappersplan," while the pristine guitars and understated vocals are allowed to build to a thunderous crescendo in "Sömn." Penti knows how to rock hard, and shows off their chops with "Besvär," with its raging guitars and powerful vocal harmonies. This is a band who appreciates texture and dynamics, as demonstrated by "Rundgäng" and the 45 second piano solo, "Ensamheten." The album closes strong, as "En Enkel Melodi" builds upon a quiet piano/guitar melody, and "Rundgäng" lets loose with all of the power and grace the band can muster. If this album had been released in America in the early 90's, and sung in English, it might have been elevated to the status that the Feelies and REM achieved at the time. Now that the Feelies are long gone, and REM are charting top 40 songs, do yourself a favor and check out the wonderful noise that Penti have created solely for our listening pleasure. Miss this at your own risk. Download 4 Penti MP3's: nära kanten(demo) faktum(demo) Visit the Penti Website (good luck reading it!)
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