THE RAZOR SKYLINE
FADE AND SUSTAIN
ALBUM COP, SUBSPACE COMMUNICATIONS/PLAYGROUND RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 6, 1999 (SCANDINAVIA) REVIEW: OCTOBER 8, 1999
The Cop bands intrigue me. Not one band hailing from this American label has
failed in making me ponder the genre issues, coming up with new, sometimes
interesting and sometimes just annoying, concepts for alternative music. The
Razor Skyline land somewhere in between these two adjectives.
It's the kind
of band appropriate for fragmentary listening, even though I doubt that was
the intention of "Fade and Sustain". I suspect they wanted to create a
dreamy, ambient kind of dark pop, but with guitars thrown in as spice in
almost every track. Think Delerium, using guitars and without creating the
dreamy soundscapes they're so good at. Electronic and guitars try to mate,
but often they just want nothing to do with each other.
However, a moody
album with strong bits, but where the weak ones are too dominant to climb
further up the grade ladder. "Oblivious" and "Strangeness" make you want
more, whilst "Hex" just makes you shake your head. Karen Kardell does a good job singing though, and the mix of elements is
enough innovative to reach acceptable levels.
NIKLAS FORSBERG