After their first album, this duo from Gothenburg, Sweden were named the Swedish Jazz Act of the Year. While I have serious concerns about the flexibility with which the the Swedes use the term jazz, I heartily agree that this band deserves some sort of award for their primal and rhythmic music. Now, after touring with the likes of Efterklang, Wildbirds and Peacedrums are ready to complement the poppy contributions of Peter, Bjorn and John and mellow sounds of Jens Lekman with an entirely different kind of Swedish import.
Mariam Wallentin looked otherworldly in a snakeskin dress, heavy black eye makeup, black tights with shiny black patches over the knees, black boots and a shimmering black jacket. Andreas Werliin looked, well, Swedish, in his funky t-shirt and the kind of haircut you can only get from your trendy Gothenburg friend who cuts hair out of her apartment. The sound? Suffice it to say, the instrumentation had a heavy emphasis on percussion. Werliin sat and sometimes stood at his cymbal-heavy drum kit, and played an array of handheld percussion instruments. Wallentin was ensconced between a steel drum (used only on the song "My Heart"), dulcimer, floor toms, tambourine, and had a strange device that she occasionally sang into (I don't know what you would call it but the sounds reminded me of CocoRosie).
Wildbirds and Peacedrum's songs, like their performance, were minimalist but frequently explosive. Wallentin's voice was throaty and bluesy, and the vocal style mixed elements of military cadence, religious ceremony, and call and response. The vocal distortion was echoey and somewhat uncanny; it was effective but I enjoyed hearing Wallentin's unadulterated voice a lot more. I couldn't takes my eyes off this performance, and I can't wait to hear what's next for this band.
