Coalmine:5 - Fem Fot Fra Sahara flac album

To my ears these sound like a combination of different groups, most obviously CAN although this is lust one side of their sound, The album comes with an A4 lyric sheet with some impressive pictures / graphics, what looks like a story, a list of instruments (I like the idea of Bambusfløyte & Pusseskinne). In addition is one of those family tree-type histories (in English), and an A5 lyric booklet with all titles/words translated into English. Side one opens with "Ditt Kvalmende Minne", a medium-paced thing with a poppy CAN-like sound with elements of MAGAZINE circa "Murder, Magic & The Weather" - fairground quirkiness mixed with a simplistically catchy tune. "Ni/Ai/Go" comes next a nice ballad-like thing reminding me a little of THIS HEAT's "Sleep", plus the slower stuff the SMITHS used to do. Couple with this a spoonful of OMD & perhaps a pinch of THIS MORTAL COIL, and... well, you get the picture? "BaTToca" has a military snare pattern with children's TV organ sound plus a deep vocal style. The organ has sudden absurd fits where it sparks off at odd angles. "Kryptisk Kulokk", opens with clattering, tinny guitar, bringing to mind the kind of early 70's stuff that hung around the bottom end of the 'pop charts'. I cannot describe it easily except that it has many voices driving it through. Okay - imagine late Sixties/early Seventies Art School Country & Western? No? Well, don't expect me to get any closer. "Kulkompaniets Tapre Sønner" is part song in English (chorus) - another difficult track to describe - mildly commercial, the most obvious hook on this track is the voice - a sort of JIM MORRISON after his voice breaks for a second time. "Natt Til Leningrad" is the next track, again favouring overlayered voices over a jangling guitar piece of Folk akin to NEW AGE. "Jumping Parade" is more in the field of this magazine - loose structure & manic disconnected drum fusillades while squeals & other noises wrestle with the vocalist. It concludes with an ambient sound of someone running down stairs. Side two opens with a sort of flatulant animal sound - someone failing to blow their wind instrument properly. "For Noen Bare En Drøm" is a loose structured thing built on a sort of sonar blip while flute & pipes tussle with chimes & various unusual percussion while something drips in a wet echo. "Til Niagara Faller" comes next, fading in on a drum machine sound it sets about a CAN-like medium-paced pattern with some subtle backward FX. It also reminds me a little of MAX GOLDT, although the likeness is in the beholder. "Kjølvann" strums in on a darker guitar structure bringing SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES' "Voodoo Dolly" to mind. It's an effective & atmospheric track, ending again in watery ambience. "Walsa Mortalis" has a slow fairground sound like MAGAZINE's first album at half speed, creating images of weird goings on at Midnight carnivals. "Planktonisk" is a strange twisted/twisting thing, shapeless & actually quite descriptive of the myriad bizarre shapes & forms which make up these microscopic creatures. "Ditt Kvalmende Minne" again return to a sort of simplified CAN form with elements of GOLDT again - the easy talk-over voice & the occassional quirkiness to the tune. The end of the album closes with the sound of some animal slurping up liquids rather noisily. Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.