The vault
Translated news
Here is a translation of official news that were published by Skambankt on skambankt.com, MySpace, or Facebook, as well as articles published by Norwegian and Danish media. The orginal texts have been published online. If you have an article you don't understand and want a translation up here, please give me a hint.
2007/01/24 Aftenbladet: Skambankt again
| Skambankt have not become soft. The second album is filled with dark, primal and stern fear - sing-along rock that strips capitalism to the most intime secrets and the first-person's conscience deep in the conscience's misery fog. (?!?) And as always with Skambankt: The songs are aggressive, guitar-tight, chorus-driven and supplied with lyrics that also urge the sole individuum to get up and into the fight - the fight against the system, but for love. The band's rhymes and histories are like melodies: Relievingly simple formulated, but convincingly direct delivered. RIGHT TO THE BONE: The title track "Min Eliksir" is a good example for the band's right-to-the-bone-expression: "Think of you day and night / the heart is completely occupied / The heart beat explodes from realizing / that she doesn't let anybody tame her" This is neither deLillos-elegance nor DumDum Boys-surrealism. Neither is it dull, but street-credible Jokke-realism. On the other hand, Skambankt follow more the tight and slightly slogan-coined punk tradition that Raga Rockers have continued since the beginning of the rebellious early 80s. And exactly like with Raga, there is a hard-beating boogie-motor deeply under the deck of the Skambankt-ship. It is placed next to the four-cylinder and always well-oiled punk- and chorus-motors. MORALIMS AND IDEALISM: Skambankt also make use of the slightly pompous guitar outbursts that characterize 80s bands like The Alarm and Big Country. And additionally, the band demonstrates some real doses of moralism and idealism - a mixture that some listeners of today will surely understand as unrealistic. This side of Skambankt is most visible in "Fritt fall": "Thought so many things I should never have thought / did a share of things / that I definitely shouldn't have done" And in best Luther-tradition (Luther, here as well?), the apology follows in the self-chastening and very direct chorus line: "Rens meg rein" - sanctify me. It is easy to see that the two songwriters Ted Winters (guitar/vocal) and Don Fist (bass) come from the "dark part of the country" - from Vestlandet, from Rogaland; the part of the country where the bad conscience can grow as well as weeds after summer rain. COLLECTION: Rock is, among other things, about collection and self torment, penance and purgation. Skambankt is maybe the best representative for this interesting, but difficult rock practice. And the band takes the landing. Skambankt know intuitively where the border between the banal and the primal is. And the band dares to play the simple - and they dare to play the dark. At the same time, they never let down on the melodies. At some times, the melodies and the darkness come together in higher unity: The last track "Bak låste dører" is such a unity song. The intro combines old socialist grieving songs with a very cold, dark and staccato grievance melody that drags you along. A potential concert favorite. And a little nod to Andrej Nebb and DePress? Other strong songs: The riff-driven "Nork et offer", the radio- and chorus-friendly "Tyster", the punk song "Stormkast #1" and the dynamic "Min eliksir". |
