About a month or so back, I was listening to Bagel Radio and a fantastic song came on on that really piqued my interest - "The Pilot" by The Confusions. Doing what I normally do when a new song or band strikes me, I went into serious research mode - I checked the band's MySpace, found out about their label, etc. The Confusions are a six piece from Sweden, who have been releasing records since the early nineties. As it turned out, "The Pilot" was from their 2002 record, Trampoline, yet its getting a good deal of American radio play right now. I downloaded Trampoline and it is a great rock record with hints of Oasis and the Stone Roses.Fast forward a couple of weeks and the Confusions have a brand new record out - The Story Behind the Story. You can find it at all American digital outlets, and in their homeland, the band is signed to Massproduktion - "Sweden's oldest punk label." With a vast variety of influences, the Confusions manage to successfully create one well-crafted rock song after another while managing to jump between rock sounds. The seven minute opener "There Ain't No Easy Way Out of Here" has epic folksy hints of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," with maybe just a pinch of Peter Gabriel. It is then followed up with the agitated "Dead Afternoon," which has the angst and energy of early eighties post-punk and late sixties garage rock.
"Thin" - my personal favorite - is maybe the most "Pilot"-esque tune, ie the one with most potential to break into the American marketplace. Its simply a catchy tune pop tune with a great chorus. I was kind of reminded of South - who I have been listening to a great deal lately.
Lead single "Logo" returns the album to the folksy atmosphere of the opening, with slight vocal distortion and minimal sound loops. With its chorus of, "The logo on your t-shirt is not who you are," perhaps this critique of brand identity is also examining the negative influence of American popular culture around the world.
What makes The Story Behind the Story successful is its ability to make slight genre changes, while displaying a wide range of influences and remaining free of gimmicks. Few bands anywhere can claim that. At 17 tracks, it leaves a lot of room for discovery. In fact, with a lengthy back catalog, there's much for the American audience to discover about the Confusions. Hopefully, some well-deserved attention will be showered on them shortly.
Video - "Logo" (first single from The Story Behind the Story)MP3 - "Painted People" - The Confusions
(from 2002's Trampoline)
3 comments:
Thanks for the hat-tip! Glad you are enjoying The Confusions.
Anytime Ted! There are many of us who claim discovering great new music on Bagel.
This is the most incredible album I have heard in years... It is a sonic journey not just a record built around a single. This is a must have for those Sunday morning paper reads and every cool kid living in The Mission in San Francisco to Silver Lake in LA! The Confusions have a solid effort that reminds me of the freshness of when I first listened to AIR's Moon Safari (Not that this sounds like it)
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