DEMAGOGUE DAYS

There seem to be countless Scandinavian bands out there that put out sad and melancholic music that it has almost become a genre in and of itself. This is not the case with Suburban Savages album "Demagogue Days" however. It's been several years since their last album "Kore Wa!", and there have been a few line-up changes since then. In that album, there seemed to be more of a unfocused sound that might spring from the fact that the band was trying to work in too many styles like Zeuhl and punk which almost created a haphazard feeling even though the album itself turned out pretty decent.

For their 2021 album "Demagogue Days", the band seems a lot more focused on a style that quite effectively melds bright poppy music with complex progressive styles. Remember the days when you could whistle, hum or silently sing those complex songs from Gentle Giant or Yes? Well, this album seems to have hit on this quite well. While the band seems to have moved a bit away from the avant-pop music from before, they still retain an impressive level of complexity while making their music bright and cheery sounding. It's a surprisingly great combination on this album that may surprise you quite pleasantly.

You'll pick up on the sophisticated pop style on songs like "Aroused and Confused" where electronic and traditional rock instruments alike work together to create some interesting timbres throughout. Also, with three vocalists, you'll hear a layering that creates an almost choral effect in the 2nd half of the track that will remind you of Pure Reason Revolution. This will also come to play in the title track, which is simple and complex at the same time. You'll notice that the band does not use standard song styles, yet the melodies are simple enough to be memorable, yet complex enough to keep things interesting.

It's not all bright and cheery, however. "Iconoclast" starts off with a solid rhythm section supporting a darker synth melody which eventually slips quite comfortable into a very Gentle Giant-like melody where the vocalists participate in a very tricky interchange. In the midst of all this, they still leave space for some resolute instrumental sections and a great guitar-led section to end it all off with. Styles also meld together in the instrumental "Krystle Fox" as a fast moving, arpeggio-like tonal percussion supports a slower moving guitar melody creating an interesting contrast. Other atypical instruments are brought in and given time to play around with the theme before things get heavy as everything is brought together.

"Under Mirrored Skies" is also a highlight of the album, utilizing vocals in a different way by allowing individual singers to create lyrical sections that have their own melodies. After a few long verses, the synth and guitar move into a call and answer section which builds in tension and heaviness as the guitar pounds away and the synth flies off into the stratosphere.

This album quite effectively combines simplistic with complex and that is what makes it the most interesting. This is accomplished both by vocal and instrumental sections and it all melds together quite well. The band's aim seems to be finding that fine line between accessible and complex, a line that has been found before in some of the classical prog bands of yesteryear, and a line which The Suburban Savages find here, yet they also make everything relevant and modern so there is no mistake that they are developing their own style and finding their own niche.

Attention bomb: Suburban Savages launches into the bath in 2007 with Tr-Ond And The Suburban Savages after having worked on Panzerpappa from the new millennium and played on White Willow. Avant-garde rock; here pop- rock-synth-musical in the lineage of Henry Cow, Lars Hollmer, Happy The Man, Magyar Posse, Brian Eno, the most recent Pure Reason Revolution or even the very controversial Meer; far from the RIO, zeuhl, jazz, Canterbury or crimsonien from the start. An OMNI album.

"Aroused And Confused" on a synth-pop tune, a bit of the Keanes of the time before, Camels for the dancing melody, quadraphonic instrumentation, brit-pop; mid-term change of mood with Japan, Bowie for 'Furyo' BOF, a bit of Oldfield to put in a trance; the pearl piano at the base then orgasmic pleasurable rise, it causes from the start. "Taciturnity" on a syncopated drums, almost military air and melancholic introduction quickly erased by a fresh, cheerful and evolving rhythm; the polyphonic voices bring this more innovative to an extraordinary singular title; a gilmourien solo hooks up with the prog movement at the end for a wavian futuristic retro prog. "Demagogue Days" and an obvious radio-edit; voice, tune, catchy chorus, that of the first title in addition ?; innocence of the instruments and grace of the melody which does not hesitate to leave in such a short time in a mysterious symphonic country as we like them. "Krystle Fox" an instrumental on some basic notes of synthesizers helped by a warm guitar; minimalist tune à la Eno which starts in crescendo, dreamlike rise worthy of a Mono on melancholic and dazzling post-rock, an oxymoron that I love you in this troubled year.

"Iconoclast" flows onto the second side, a thunderous intro quickly caught up by energetic choir voices, some would say Gentle Giant, in indelicacy with them I can't find; Camel melody that melts; expressive title, punctuated in the Anglican atmosphere, out of time; be careful, you risk seeing a rabbit in a hat come out of the enclosures; yes the synth is indeed the art-musical instrument of the 2020s. "Let's Talk" and the new-age, airy, ethereal interlude; bucolic, atmospheric atmosphere, voice of goddesses in a meadow by a stream introducing "Under Mirrored Skies" which denotes by the choppy vocal attack of the singers and the synthetic instrumentation; a basic conventional psychedelic or even jazzy, monolithic, a little brit-pop, a little bit about the B-52's; Paf rhythmic break on keyboards coming from heaven or hell, it spins deliciously with the guitar suddenly more present; vocal final as some Scandinavian groups know how to do by bringing a cold and warm atmosphere. "The Silence Afterwards" and the 2nd instrumental with aerial synths and electronic Collins-style drums, a tad Latin; distinct evolution with well-established flourishes of instruments, synths, guitar and drums; symphonic rise then return to the starting and final rhythm as on certain tunes of 'Duke', slowly but surely; be careful, the repeat key starts up again without me having to tell you.

An innovative, catchy, dancing, progressive, eclectic sound, based on synths and classical instruments brings a fresh, innovative post rock tune with catchy and relaxed minimalist melodies, art-rock as I say it. The catchy and frolicking simplicity mixed with the hallucinating complexity of progressive rock for an album talking about altered communication in this crazy pandemic world. A strange, not prog album where the notes plunge into a magnificent avant-garde progressive rendering, Trond, Anders, Mari and Thomas shaping a jewel; just listen, listen and you will be won over. CD, digital and vinyl format.