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Eugene Hütz

Old Gods of Asgard review

For a band that's purely fictional, exists only in the universe of a video game, and has about three actual songs, Old Gods of Asgard are remarkably good. Played by Finns Poets of the Fall and presented in the Alan Wake franchise as a team of Scandinavian mythology-obsessed rockers, they released six albums over a period of seven years, in the process of which losing all their members but the original founders- the Anderson brothers. Two of their songs- Children of the Elder God and Balance Slays the Demon respectively- are classic seventies epics, pretentious guitars solos and all, whereas The Poet and The Muse is bittersweet acoustic piece until Odin Anderson finally finds his guitar lead, around three minutes in. The lyrics of said song seem almost too much like a narrative to those unfamiliar with Alan Wake. However, those who have played through the game will have realised that it was not an accidental feature of the song, given that it is one of the key elements of the plot. Children of the Elder God, on the other hand, is just used as backing music for shooting creepy possessed guys in the face.

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Music Press

Clumsy (Our Lady Peace) Review

   Clumsy, perhaps the most famous album of Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace, kicks off with a bang: "but ordinary's just not good enough today" wails vocalist Raine Maida in his signature falsetto, before launching into the chorus of Superman's Dead. The call out on media is followed up by the eccentric Automatic Flowers- much like almost every Our Lady Peace song, it has a curious plot to it, with Maida describing an unnamed woman taking solace in a pop-up book of flowers from her childhood.
   Seven songs in the title track is finally revealed. Emotional, even for something written by Our Lady Peace, Clumsy is said by Maida to be: "about making decisions. There is a connection between the song Clumsy and it being the title of the album. The lyric; 'I'll be waving my hand/watching you drown/ watching you scream' is about seeing something, but not seeing it for what it really is. You may decide to help... or to just wave back."
   The song following Clumsy is potentially one of their most under-rated. Hello Oskar is the perfect embodiment of Our Lady Peace's grunge influences, from the borderline hysterical vocals to the repetitive chords. However, it is Car Crash that leaves a lasting impression of the album. It is the last song on the album, but it could be in the first, with what little coherent words there are dissolving into animalistic croons by the end of the five minutes, supported a simple, striking bassline.
   Clumsy is considered by many to be overrated beyond repair, but it would be hard not to be fond of of at least half the songs on the album.

Mumiy Troll 7th September 2012 Gig Review

   There's something almost endearing about the whole show- possibly it's just the sheer intimacy of it, possibly, as vocalist and general madman Ilya Lagutenko informs us towards the end, it's because the venue is the very same one that Mumiy Troll played their first English show fifteen years ago, following the release of Morskaya.
   It's probably not a coincidence, then, that most of the songs on their setlist come from that very album- picking up a battered acoustic guitar, Ilya says, in English: "this is an old Russian lullaby" before launching into the opening verse of Utekai.
   Delfiny and Vladivostok 2000 follow, the latter sung so loudly by the crowd that the band struggle to make themselves heard above the screams of "uhodim, uhodim, uhodim...".  Ilya is the raconteur, telling anecdotes to roars of laughter from the audience, finally pulling on stage the person responsible for the backing vocals on their 1997 album during a reprise of Zabavy.
   Mumiy Troll, after almost twenty years, are one of Russia's most famous rock exports, and, after tonight, I'm certain that most can see why.