Tafra
"Why Even Bother" CD
Series Two Records
Genre: lo-fi, indie pop, twee
Sweden
Feb 23, 2009 |
You know that buzzing sound that occurs when
your cellphone gets a transmission when it's
too close to your computer speakers? Swedish multi-instrumentalist
Tafra builds the first song on Why Even Bother, �Cheesy
Epic View,� around that sound. How cool is that?
With that in mind, Tafra's nifty little album is a decidedly
lo-fi pop romp, replete with electronic drum beats, acoustic guitars,
and melodic synths. On �At the Cemetery� and �I Wrote a Song...� he
designs swift little electro-twee nuggets � marshmallowy dream puffs
of sound that are unspectacular yet solid
empty calories nonetheless. Meanwhile, he exhibits Go-Betweens
influences on excellent �Why Do You Have to Be So Complicated Baby�
and infectious �Oh Daniel.� Why Even Bother has several
interesting nuggets, although it is also somewhat inconsistent. �Dear
Satan� is a bland drudge, and �Your Ex-Boyfriend MP3's,� a coy techno
experiment surprisingly reminiscent of Dubnobasswithmyheadman-era
Underworld could have used better execution. Tafra's
verbose confessional style � as well as his singing
voice - is seemingly influenced by
Magnetic Fields' work (think 69 Love Songs � mandolin and
all), although his songs tend to be more simplistic and his lyrics
involve less wordplay. Still, this intriguing lo-fi disc is a
worthwhile journey into Niklas Tafra's world of personal
bedroom pop.
tafra's myspace
72%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 11 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released 2008] |
