Casiokids :'Finn Bikkjen'/'Gomer Mamma'
Released: 3rd August 2009
Label: Moshi Moshi Records
I had never heard of this band before. I did my research however and discovered they were a fairly experienced, Norwegian melodramatic pop group and had been involved on the same label of bands such as Late of the Pier and Florence and the Machine. I had high hopes in the knowledge of this. I was then disappointed…
A Cheesy synth track with irritating high pitched vocals that instantly reminded me of the Scissor Sisters was what greeted me with this track. The middle part of the song sounded like the group used clips of Super Mario off of the Super Nintendo, which sounded like knackered old samba drums.
To start off with a review of this negative magnitude is rare for myself but the first half of the track is just an annoying piece of music. It does pick up in the second half of the record however, when it tones down to something a bit more discreet, with some niche keyboarding and drumming going on. And then the end picks up where the opening 2 minutes left off....great.
The 2nd track, 'Gomer Mamma', is a lot more pleasurable to listen to. It contains no whiney voices of any kind and is a nice flowing instrumental with some good percussive elements laid underneath the track. As the track progresses it has hints of Ian Brown’s Unfinished Monkey Business about it, with experimental twangs of digital sonar sounds dotted left right and centre. It has a sort of dark element to it in some respects, with the changes of tone that occur around every 40 seconds or so during the track.
All in all it’s a game of two halves. The first track is just annoying and diabolical but no doubt somebody out there will find it ‘amazing’. The second track is a well balanced melodic tune which uses light experimentation to good use.
This is a route the band should really take up, a more Royksopp approach would win a lot more fans over.
Unless you’re a mega fan of the quintet or really like the weird and wonderful, then this is not one to get too excited about.
Words: Sean Wright
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