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Miike Snow
Miike Snow
Downtown Records
out May 12th
[67]
[Rating Scale]
[rating:67/100]
I swear, I thought it was a typo.
Luis asked me, “Have you ever heard for Miike Snow?” I honestly answered, “No”, but told him that I am always down for new music and after hearing a clip of their stuff, I had to agree and say that I could write an honest review of their self titled album, which debuted on May 12th of this year.
Inner monologue ensued. “Miike Snow? Two I’s? Luis was on his iPhone so maybe he hit 2 i’s by accident?” As I tried to figure it out, I visited the Miike Snow myspace page to find out that he indeed had not made a mistake. Andrew Wyatt, Christian Karlsson, and Pontus Winnberg make up this ecletic band from Sweden (which explains the ice block on their well-designed album cover), which was named after the controversial movie director and producer Takashi Miike from Japan. This guy made his mark for making extremely bloody, sex-filled anime-type movies.
So yeah, as I was about to hit ‘play’, I must admit I was a little bit scared. Was I going to hear a Nine inch nails type rock? Was it going to be Sin City like electro-hard, drum and bass? Honesty? I had no idea what to expect and intrigued, I threw on my headphones, turned up the volume, and let it fly.
And with the first few beats, a smile crept up on my face and my head was bumpin’ to ‘Animal’, the lead single, the lead track and by far, the best song on the album, giving a very nice “Huey Lewis, Passion Pit vocal collabo”, as my friend, Dave so eloquently put it. The song is so damn catchy; the beat starts off-beat the vocal staccato and you kind of find yourself boppin around the room for no reason other than just to… err… bop… around.
The progression from track one to eleven is seemingly a reflection of their influences; you can feel and hear the electronica of europe with the feel of emotional filled vocals that resemble the bands coming out of Brooklyn as of late. The album, as a whole, transitions seamlessly from one track to the other, with the drum and bass acting as the core that brings you along for the chill ride.
After listening to the tracks several times, I get the feeling that these guys picked the name Miike Snow not to represent the blood, gore, and sex, but to pay homage to another fellow artist who never let critics deter from his vision. Being artists, I found holds true to the last track ‘Faker’, which starts out sounding like a ring-tone rap, MIDI-sounding track. At first, I was a little turned off, but figured that this was done on purpose with the properly titled song. Just like Jay-Z’s cry to do away with the ring-tones that flood and degrade hip hop, I thought ‘Faker’ was Miike Snow’s way of saying, “Do away with the fake, and here’s our call for real music.”
Even now, I am looking forward to the Swedish trio of Wyatt, Karlsson, and Winnberg to jump several fold from this self-titled debut to an even more eclectic follow-up album, which I boldly predict will propel them into the forefront of the indie world.
That is, if the remixes to this remix-vulnerable album doesnt already do that well in advance (yes, to all of you aspiring producers/djs, remix these songs and let’s see what you got!)
To enter to win a copy of Miike Snow, leave a comment with your thoughts on the tracks you’ve just sampled, or (if you’ve listened to it) the album. Make sure you leave your name/email address in the provided fields! Entries will be accepted until June 22nd
Richard Yoon is contributor here at Pretty Much Amazing. While he’s not runnin’ around the hospital or listening to music, he is blogging over at Music is My Hot Hot Sex.
Tags: Miike Snow
Great song althaught teh crookers edit is way better
as for Burial… DJ Mehdi masters it! You should put them up!
i heard a live session of theirs on KCRW and they sound amazing live…i’m gonna try to catch them tomorrow @ spaceland in LA! woohoo!
this is great stuff! i love animals..the remixes from that song are great…they also remixed passion pit! what a great new band
Okay, first off I must disagree with you. You obviously haven’t ever seen a Takashi Miike movie. Those movies are controversial, sure. But at the same time they are cult classics. For example, Ichi the Killer. Probably one of the most well known Asian spoken movie in Europe. And I think that’s what appealed to the guys of Miike Snow. They wanted to make a piece of art unlike the mainstream and still appeal to a large crowd. And I think they succeeded. Starting off with Animal you directly feel that you’re in for a wild ride, but in my opinion the album hasn’t reached it’s top yet. Not at all, it keeps getting better. Burial, Silvia, both pieces of art. But it keeps getting better. Song for No One and Black & Blue form the best piece of this album followed by even more Miike Snow delight that I’ll surely be enjoying for years to come. I’d rate this album 9/10 despite what everyone says. (Uhum, Pitchfork)
I love that this band is just a bunch of talented guys that have been around forever. The buzz words I’ve been hearing are Kylie Minogue and Brittany Spears, of course, so I had no CLUE what to expect from the music, mixing, vocals… the tracks could have so easily been vapid, catchy, and little else. But it turns out, the sound is substantial! I haven’t even gotten to listen to the whole album yet, and I find myself hoping this won’t be a one time collaboration for these three music-makers.
I have to say Im glad to see a decent review for (as Ive been told to pronounce as meekay sno)’s cd. Sadly, the monopolicious Urban Outfitters has one of his songs in their playlist but, to be honest, that made me dislike them. Kudos for renkindling my interest in a well deserving, talent-full collection of musicians.
It is indeed pronounced as Meekay Sno.
No it is not. They’ve said that they were inspired by Miike and the spelling of his name but that it should be pronounced Mike in an interview, watch it on youtube.
I’ve been very excited by this band since animal came out earlier this year it’s been my summer song since then. I’m glad you didn’t give the album a raving review, but allowing them to grow and do better things. I like this album from what I’ve heard but it hasn’t really grabbed a hold of me instantly
Awesome, i’d like to hear more please.
Great band, perfect for summer. The remixes they have done are great, but their CD is amazing. One of those bands who’s songs are perfect just the way they are.
great jams!!!! i like animal
I loved the single Animal since it’s release, have been pretty excited for the album to come out. And I am not suprised with how you reviewed it, pretty much what I was expecting. I am sure it will be a great CD to own
Miike Snow- Animal (Treasure Fingers Remix) is rad as well!!!
Honestly I like very much the song on the Urban Outfitters playlist (Burial Benny Blanco Remix). It shouldn’t matter where it’s coming from.. whether it’s on the radio or only known on blogs like this or maybe from a UO playlist. Good music is good music and that’s all that really matters
Honestly I like very much the song on the Urban Outfitters playlist (Burial Benny Blanco Remix). It shouldn’t matter where it’s coming from.. whether it’s on the radio or only known on blogs like this or maybe from a UO playlist. Good music is good music and that’s all that really matters
Like Animal. Sort of not liking Faker so much.
I love both Animal and Faker!
I have to agree with Richard about the whole double ‘i’ fiasco (obviously I am/was not in the know how with the Takashi Miike).
But I am hearting the album art thus far…alongside with Animal. Have not had the time to listen to the rest of the album ;(
wow, i found out about this band a couple weeks ago from kcrw (they kept playing ’song for no one’) and i got hooked immediately! they are seriously one of the best bands i’ve found out about recently, right next to passion pit. burial is by far my favorite song on the album!
I previewed the album and it rocks! As soon as I heard “Animal” I had a feeling Bloodshy & Avant were behind it. Being a fan of their work already, I knew this project would be amazing. For anyone who is not convinced or wants to check out another track listen to, my favorite, “Cult Logic.”
67? Really? I call bologna on that. Miike Snow are THE (my) hot shit right about now.
Hell yeah to Adam G for hollerin’ at “Cult Logic.” That is my M-Fing jam these days. Though “In Search Of” is creeping fast…
I saw them at Spaceland and although they doubled their lineup to 6 for their live show I was underwhelmed. I guess that’s to be expected from a technical/producer band. Whatevs, crank the album, jump on the couch with your eyes closed, and save 17 dollars.
loves miike snow…perfect timing.