Sort Sol
Unspoiled Monsters
Columbia / Sony Music

Copenhagen band Sort Sol (meaning Black Sun) has this year released another haunting, distorted and melodic album.

Many speculations on the future of the band arose when guitarist Peter Peter split, but Sort Sol has proven that they can still create that raw, rattling, scrambling guitar sound, and in the production you can hear that Sort Sol are no technofobic act. There is a very modern sound to it.

Sort Sol started out as a punk band with the 1978 debut Minutes to go. Since then their sound has developed a lot and the band incorporates modern technology naturally and painlessly, still being true to the noisy guitar dominated sound.

The atmosphere that sets on you when listening to Unspoiled Monsters bears resemblance to the mood on Nick Cave ballads, though less dramatic. There is always a brooding feeling to Steen Jørgensens vocals and on this album it manifests itself in the many quiet, down-beat songs where the melody and guitar riffs really creep under your skin and tingle down your spine - especially the ringling guitars and howling sounds on the closing track Erlkönig.

The album opens with a much more rough sound. The untitled first track is a dark and distorted business with a refreshingly untypical of guitar bands drumtrack. The dark sound pervades throughout the album but a lot of beautiful melodies unfold in the dusk. On the brilliant My Stars the simplicity and beauty are lifted by the strings of Luisiana Museum Art Ensemble

All in all a very worthy follow-up to the band's 1993 success Glamourpuss.

Copyright © 1996 Tina Christensen