aluminum babe
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aluminum babe

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"aluminum babe Vit.ri.fied"

Aluminum Babe shows splendid growth and maturity in their sophomore release, Vit.ri.fied, delivering a passionately charged record laced in colors of pop and indie rock. This is a candid and poignant release full of calming, dreamy and ethereal tunes, as the trio blends sweet Abba-like female vocals with chorus-laden guitars and luminous percussion. The lead vocalist displays a hauntingly original vocal technique, helping to fully captivate the band’s overall musical vision. The opener “I Don’t Wanna Be Loved” is enriched with beats and melodies that genuinely resonate the listener emotionally. “Dream Dancing” brings forth a meditative state of mind and body, complete with darker, introspective lyrics discussing themes of loneliness, emptiness and being unloved. To sum things up, Vit.ri.fied is a successful effort, able to grip and tug at one’s heartstrings, only then to move them in a more responsive way through dance. Perhaps a weakness is the inability to decipher the lyrics clearly, due to the heavy focus on synthesizers and delayed guitars. The material on much of the record is not feasible for commercial radio, yet their style and sound does merit college radio airplay, even though some tunes seem to lack a highly identifiable chorus or change of tension and dynamics through the use of a suitable bridge. Still, being produced by the band itself is a remarkable undertaking, and Aluminum Babe should be rewarded for their creativity and intelligence. The dance track “Standing and Waving Goodbye” shows the group’s talents to the highest degree. - Shawn M. Haney - Copper Press, 2005


"aluminum babe Vit.ri.fied"

THIS is how it's done, kids. If you want a thorough
primer on how to make a classic album utilizing
well-worn pop/rock templates (in this case, '80s-era
new wave dance pop, early punk and high-energy Swedish

garage rock), give a close listen to Aluminum Babe's
Vit Ri Fied, yet another gem from the verdant musical
gardens of Sweden. Separately, no single element of
Aluminum Babe—including the youthful, seemingly

carefree vocals of frontwoman Anna—is all that
startling. But when blended together, the results are
revelatory. You kinda think you've heard something
like it before, but wow, you wonder—what did they do
to make it sound so fresh? Mentioning past musical

references isn't really that useful, although the band
clearly had to have been influenced by female-fronted
outfits like Blondie, Berlin, Katrina and the Waves
(boy does that name have different connotations now),

Missing Persons, etc. Their bio also mentions the Sex
Pistols, which I don't really get. But there are three
things that distinguish Aluminum Babe from their
modern-day competitors: a truly killer rhythm section

made up of Jorge Musa on bass and Darren Fried on
drums (Musa's fluid, prominent thumping is a gas!), a
keen ear for infectious melodies and interesting
arrangements, and Anna herself, who sings with a
completely natural exuberance and has the ability to

alter her style at will. She's a knockout! On "Upside
Down," Anna purrs in French alluringly on the verses
(when was the last time you heard a Swede singing in
French?), then shifts her timbre just a bit for the

English chorus. The whole thing is incredibly sexy,
with sweet guitar and a soft rhythm locking it down.
"Dream Dancing" is sheer perfection—a lush, melancholy
trip hop-tinged tune that gains power from the

tasteful interplay between Fried and Musa, and the
romantic angst Anna conveys with understated emotion.
And speaking of dream dancing, "Standing and Waving
Goodbye" and "Everything 2 Me" are delirious dance-pop

gems that should pack the floors of any club, with
Anna's breathy high register on the former rivaling
her Nordic sister Annie for frothy poptronica
splendor, and the latter's simple chorus of "I want
you to be/Everything to me" proving completely

irresistible when coupled with the bubble-icious synth
lines. Elsewhere, you get some brisk, no-frills indie
rock ("Little Girl," "Disease Contagious" and "Not 2
Easy 2 Forget"— a foot-tapper that's performed with

unabashed glee) and a pair of wild covers: an
improbably delicate acoustic take on Ween's "Baby
Bitch" and a thrilling, rock-your-ass-off update of
Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi," in which
Anna's high-pitched "Ooh ooh ooh ooh" after each verse

made me giddy with delight. Quite simply, Aluminum
Babe have made one of the most uninhibited, purely
joyous records of the year, and they've done it with
high production values and ace musicianship. By the

way, the word "vitrified" means "converted into
glass." And this one is filled to the brim with
something cool, bubbly and refreshing.
--Kevin Renick
- Playback--St Louis


"aluminum babe Vit.ri.fied"

Aluminum Babe have a lot going for them on this album.
Led by the one-name singer and guitarist Anna, who comes off
sounding like Björk in love with the Cranberries or Controller.
Controller, the group nail the dance-fuelled, disco-tinted
leadoff song "I Don't Wanna Be Loved." The song works in large
part to Anna's excellent lilt and slight accent, but it also shines
thanks to the tight, winding rhythm section of bassist Jorge Musa
and the hi-hat frenzy from drummer Darren Fried.

Think of an early Pulp song and you get the gist of this new look at
retro-new wave pop. This well-crafted niche is explored on the
French-sung "Upside Down" with its great bass line and groove
that attacks one's hips or head, causing either or both to swing
immediately as Anna sings about having to stop your emotions in
English later on, á la early Blondie.

There are several quality songs that bring to mind
the Concretes or Feist, particularly during the bouncy, frantic, and
criminally infectious "Little Girl" that is short but terribly sweet.
However, even this nugget pales compared to the stellar
"Not 2 Easy 2 Forget" which, well, isn't easy to forget at all.
Starting slow á la the Cure before picking up a heap of "grrl" punk
steam, the song resembles something Shout Out Louds might
consider churning out. The band gives a grittier performance on
the minimal, mid-tempo but catchy What Is What that relies on the
vocals and a simple guitar riff to carry the tune.
This tone continues, showing a different shade of the band on the
sparse, tension-builder Dream Dancing that sounds like it came
out of the late disco era. After a folksy-meets-Celtic attempt during
Baby Bitch, the new wave, art pop flavor returns on
"Standing and Waving Goodbye."
A true surprise is the garage rock feel of the Strokes heard throughout
Disease Contagous but the rowdy, punk cover of Plastique Bertrand's
Ca Plane Pour Moi manages to even top it.
- www.allmusic.com


"aluminum babe Vit.ri.fied"

Big strides forward for Aluminum Babe on their second album, Vit.ri.fried. This band can rock out, especially on the zesty "Disease Contagious" and a frenetic cover of Plastique Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi;" but on much of the record, they move away from the garage rock aesthetic of their self-titled debut in favor of smart, rhythmically charged indie pop. Particularly danceable are the songs "I Don't Wanna be Loved" and "Standing and Waving Goodbye." Lead vocalist/guitarist Anna has a pliant, appealing voice which is shown off particularly well in a supple ballad performance of Ween's "Baby Bitch." Rhythm section Jorge Musa and Darren Fried are a tight unit; I particularly like the intricate mid-tempo interplay they adopt on "Dream Dancing." It's exciting to hear a sophomore album avoid the slump and instead aim for a meteoric rise. - Christian Carey
- Copper Press


"aluminum babe Vit.ri.fied"

Had the members of Blondie listened to just a little more Talking Heads and started off at “Rapture,” they might very well have sounded like Aluminum Babe does here. The opening “I Don’t Wanna to be Loved” and “Upside Down” recall Deb Harry & Co.’s best work as crossed with more contemporary NYC “dance” bands, while “Standing And Waving Goodbye” imagines a more pitch-oriented Yoko Ono leading the world’s hippest modern day disco band. But AB isn’t stuck anywhere, as evidenced by the late track “Disease Contagious,” where the band gets its female-led Strokes on. There’s not much here in the way of an all-time classic but it’s a more than fun way to pass the time. – Jedd Beaudoin - Copper Press


"aluminum babe Vit.ri.fied"

"Take the Cardigans, rub off their shiny surface
and stick them in a filthy underground club and you may get an approximation of Aluminum Babe.
But they elude simple comparison. They yank the bittersweet guitar song violently into funky disco
terrain and then gently lick it with a creamy female falsetto – as heard in this selection of spiky and extremely original songs.

But this band are not merely austere pop fodder, and there is much more to them than your average Farnz Ferdinand name-check.
Aluminum Babe not only bop to disco while rocking to guitars, but they wield a sensual, subtle electronic undercurrent that could be found in some of the most obscure avant-dance corners.
The moody acoustic pulse of "Dream Dancing" squeezes in among altogether more raucous, driving dance-punk energies, making for a fascinating sonic journey that is highly recommended".
(8 out of 10) Amy McGill - Rock Sound


Discography

aluminum babe, EP 2004
vit.ri.fied, LP 2005
everything 2 me, 2005 single

Photos

Bio

In sept' 2005 aluminum babe recorded a session for BBC's RADIO 1 Huw Stephens show that aired on october 11th, it will be in the archive for a week. The band also released their first single in the Uk, "Evrything 2 me", on october 3rd. It will include a video to the album track, "Everything 2 me", a re-mixx by the unstoppable DJ Downfall and a previously unreleased track....."not 2 easy 2 forget" The legendary swedish comic Gunnar Lundkvist provided cover design and concept. aluminum babe toured the UK from Sept 22nd to Oct 9th with frommars from Cwmbran in Wales.... "We had the best time.......these guys are sooooo coooool......and we miss them so much.... In Sweden "Vit.ri.fied" was realeased on September 21st and In the US on Oct 11th, 2005 on LUCERO RECORDS. Over 100 stations around the country are already playing "aluminum babe" including the great K-Roq-LA. Stay tuned to the band The New York Press called "An instant classic". Aluminum Babe: Vit Ri Fied (Lucero Records) "Take the Cardigans, rub off their shiny surface and stick them in a filthy underground club and you may get an approximation of Aluminum Babe. But they elude simple comparison. They yank the bittersweet guitar song violently into funky disco terrain and then gently lick it with a creamy female falsetto – as heard in this selection of spiky and extremely original songs. But this band are not merely austere pop fodder, and there is much more to them than your average Farnz Ferdinand name-check. Aluminum Babe not only bop to disco while rocking to guitars, but they wield a sensual, subtle electronic undercurrent that could be found in some of the most obscure avant-dance corners. The moody acoustic pulse of "Dream Dancing" squeezes in among altogether more raucous, driving dance-punk energies, making for a fascinating sonic journey that is highly recommended". (8 out of 10) Amy McGill. Rock Sound.