Solid Block of Ise

Today I found something interesting in my inbox. It was an email from an unknown band in Stockholm asking that I listen to their demo and if I found it good that I write about it. This was a mass-email thing, but none the less I found it interesting and kind of flattering that they included tiny old me in that list.

There’s a lot of hopefuls out there, and in my opinion too many of them have very high hopes. I’m also extremely cynical to the “music industry” thanks to various things. At first I wasn’t sure if I was interested enough, but I figured I’d give it a go and see if the music was worth listening to. The band writes that they’re trying to build up some momentum for their debut-cd that’s going to be recorded in January 2008.

The band in question calls themselves “Six Figure Transatlantic” and even though that’s a rather weird name it kind of goes well with their music. They have a homepage and of course also a presence on Myspace. Pretty standard fare, the website and Myspace-page gives you all the information you need, and in case you’re interested their demo is available for listening on the Myspace-page.

So what is the demo like? Well, it wasn’t quite what I had expected. I’m not quite sure what I expected, probably some generic pop from some hopefuls who were rejected by the Idol-jury. I was happily surprised when I was completely wrong about this.

No, Six Figure Transatlantic instead plays some very listenable melodic pop-rock. The music makes me think of older Radiohead-material, back when they focused on great melodies and interesting lyrics. As far a demos go this one is also surprisingly well-produced, making the band sound good and giving the listener a good idea of what the band is capable of as far as songs go. Overall I found the demo very accessible. I just hope that they don’t dumb down their sound in order to become more commercial - I think this band would be perfect for a small club or other intimate settings. The demo consists of five songs, one of which is a cover of an old Cyndi Lauper-hit; the five songs are an excellent showcase of the type of music SFTA makes.

If you’re into music such as Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young then you might want to give this band a listen.

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