Retrospektiv

Album Review

As the title Retrospektiv implies, this is a collection of tracks recorded by the Swedish experimental rock collective Audionom, in various lineups, over the period 1999 to 2002. Audionom are largely an instrumental unit, one that constructs simple guitar riffs and keyboard lines and sets them to driving rock rhythms for tracks that range from less than two minutes ("Det Var På Den Tiden Vi Bodde i Skogen och Hade Svans") to nearly 15 ("Horisont"). To Anglo-American ears, the group bears similarities to 1970s punk bands such as the Buzzcocks (particularly on the one English-language vocal, "And You Said I Was the Only One"), although its sound also goes further back than that. The Velvet Underground are definitely a touchstone, and "Spindlar" combines a synth line reminiscent of "Peter Gunn Theme" with the harsh, austere sound of Gang of Four. You might say that Audionom sound like what the Ventures might sound like if they tried to take on the punk and post-punk eras.