Description:	LP on Leaf
	Format:	LP (vinyl)
	Genre(s):	Experimental Indie
	Label:	Leaf
	Price:	£11.09
	Availability:	In stock. Dispatched in 1 working day.

4
...according to our Brett on 16 April 2009.

Wildbirds & Peacedrums seem to have totally polarised the office with The Snake which can't be a bad thing now, can it? Getting a reaction's always a good thing. Phil and Business Lady aren't fans at all but Brian and I like it, the neurotic lady vocals and percussion heavy arrangements no doubt appealing to our post-punk sensibilities. Imagine Siouxsie or Diamanda being all weird, wonderful and intense over the top of a less aggressive Flowers of Romance era PiL and you'll pretty much get to the root of their main sound, although things are occasionally mixed up pleasantly with gentler tones and more conventionally poppy song structures - particularly on the lush 'My Heart' which closes the album. Good stuff.

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Sound clips for The Snake by Wildbirds & Peacedrums: on vinyl at Norman Records UK. LP (vinyl), Leaf, BAY65V, £11.09.

What their label says...

*  Sweden’s extraordinary drums and vocals duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums return with The Snake, the fierce follow up to their intoxicating debut, Heartcore, which won the following accolades:
- TIME OUT TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR: "INTENSE, MINIMAL FOLK BLUES...A TRANSFIXINGLY BEAUTIFUL DEBUT."
- OBSERVER MUSIC MONTHLY TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH : "A heady brew of pagan blues, spiritual pop and ecstatic soul music"
- 8/10 ON PITCHFORK: "Imagine Bjork’s debut seriously fiending for a rhythm fix."
- NME ‘WHAT’S ON THE STEREO’.
- THE INDEPENDENT: "The overall effect, is utterly bewitching, landing somewhere between pagan blues and skeletal, experimental soul"
- 8/10 DROWNED IN SOUND: "As bold and imaginative a debut you’ll hear all year, from a duo whose unified talent and staggering virtuosity marks out a very bright future indeed"
- THE FLY: "Absolutely stunning"
- STOOL PIGEON: "It’s no overstatement to say their self-produced debut, Heartcore, is something of a minor masterpiece!"
*  Heartcore introduced vocalist Mariam Wallentin and her percussionist husband Andreas Werliin to the world outside their lively Gothenburg scene and wound up as one of 2008’s hidden treasures.
*  The liberated abandon of Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ primitive soul music strikes an immediate and invigorating chord, as anyone who has seen them over the past year will attest. With The Snake, they deliver an adrenalin shot of passion straight to the heart, with songs that draw on anger and frustration as well as the life-affirming ardour that
propels their music.
*  Improbable recipients of the prestigious Jazz In Sweden 2008 prize, Mariam and Andreas used their winnings to record at the Soundtrack Of Our Lives- owned Svenska Grammofonstudion in Gothenburg. Vocals and drums were
brilliantly recorded live to tape, and the spontaneity of the resulting album captures the intense bond between the couple, while expanding their sonic palette to include steel drum, piano, xylophone, marimba, Rhodes and more.
*  Mariam’s uninhibited vocal expressions are matched by the kinetic sparks of Andreas’ percussion. ’Chain Of Steel’ has a racing rhythm that flares into yelps of vocal anguish, while the album’s first single ’There Is No Light’ channels the primeval spirit of rock’n’roll (and showcases Andreas’ breathtaking drumming style).
*  The Snake is balanced by slower, more resonant pieces such as the slowly unfurling opener ’Island’ and the eastern-tinged ’So Soft So Pink’. The album culminates in ’My Heart’, a wonderfully uplifting seven minutes that blossom into a full-blown gospel anthem, and feature Mariam’s haunting, addictive refrain: "I’m lost without your rhythm".