List | B | Blipp! | 'Nov. 1997' Tape 1997

'+ Blandat Blipp!'

	Side A: Nov. 1997
Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	Radio	3:31
2.	Regn	2:58
3.	På / Av	3:03
4.	Vill Ha Allt	2:57
5.	Vind	3:52
6.	Vänner	3:14
7.	Soliga Dagar	5:00
8.	Ett	3:07
	Total Side A: Nov. 1997	27:12

	Side B: Blandat Blipp!
Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	I Skymningen Dec. 1997	3:22
2.	Egen Värld Dec. 1997	3:32
3.	Blå Ögon Dec. 1997	2:49
4.	I Alla Fall Experiment '95	2:45
5.	Tåget Går Ganska Hemlig, '94	3:27
6.	Grönt Ljus Innan 'Signaler', '92	4:02
7.	Du & Han 'Signaler', '93	3:52
8.	Stora K 'Signaler', '93	3:37
9.	Långt Bort 'Signaler', '93	2:19
	Total Side B: Blandat Blipp!	31:45

Total Time: 58:57

Comments:

I got this cassette a while back, but haven't had time to review it until now. It's mainly a new demo, with some old stuff added on the B-side - some of which I've been wanting to hear for some time. It's quite interesting to follow the evolution of this band (albeit a bit backwards), getting better at writing catchy songs and improving their vocal skills. The musical progression (or should I say professionalism) is, while clearly improving, perhaps less obviously so, since they were pretty good with their machines even back when (anyone remember Poetica Grotesque?).

The new stuff (Nov '97) is perhaps the most interesting, at least to me who has followed this band for some time. It seems they've gotten a bit more professional since their last demo effort, and also a bit more laid-back. The vocals are generally more mature and relaxed, and often a bit softer than before. For some reason I think of old Adolphson & Falk at times, although this is not really too similar - maybe it's the synthpop with the theme-like lyrics that lead me to this comparison. That, and the more intricate choruses, I suppose. The music is, as always, very well crafted, and this time it's got a more light techno-pop touch, sometimes even with housey drum machine beats. It reminds me a bit of more recent Beloved (light techno/housey dance-pop) mixed in with old synthpop sounds with techno influences on top. Even though the songs are often very short, there are some small hints of light techno-trance in places. Well, enough about the general impression, onto the individual songs (for the lazy, skip to the conclusion in the last paragraph):

'Radio' is in this new laid-back style, almost like if Adolphson & Falk wrote the lyrics to a Beloved song, with some extra techno sounds sprinkled on top. I like it. 'Regn' starts with a sound that makes me jump out and shout "Chorus!" (as in Erasure), but that misconception quickly fades once the song actually starts. It's a bit more upbeat yet softer than 'Radio', perhaps more catchy and sing-a-long-able (is that a word? :-). Maybe the vocals are just a little bit too soft for my taste, but it's an undeniably catchy song.

Then, my favourite so far: 'På/Av'. A bouncy techno-pop tune about a man's love for his television set, his best friend in the world. This one is really catchy, a typical great old-style Blipp song but still somehow better than most of their stuff. I love it, I really do. Especially the vocals are better than before, with the layered chorus. For some reason, the theme of the song makes me think of what Adolphson & Falk never did but perhaps could have.

After that, 'Vill Ha Allt' sounds like something rather weak in comparison. It's quite hard to find the melody in the verse, but the pleasent bridge is a bit like Sputnik or something from that era. The chorus is better than the verse though, but again the vocals are somewhat too soft for my taste. Still, I like that bounced-up Kraftwerk-like beat.

'Vind' is a slow, almost light-techno-trance-pop little thing, which for some odd reason makes me think a little bit of both Nåid and Björk (her more technoey stuff). It's got a nice chord progression over a repetative "boeooeooeoong"-like acidy sweep, then a simple 4/4 beat, and a slightly trancey feeling that lingers on once the vocals have faded (about halfway through the song). Slow and spacey.

'Vänner' is more poppy and bouncy. The line "jag har bott vid en landsväg i hela mitt liv" initially seems totally out of place (makes me think of Edvard Persson - aargh!), but once you get past that it's actually a quite nice tune. It's pretty straightforward synthpop, with a catchy melody and a nice bounce.

'Soliga Dagar' sounds like just that; lazy days in the sun. It's an upbeat happy tune about tweeting birds, sunshine, endless summer nights etc. It's actually quite long and trancey for a Blipp song, one of the more technoey on this demo. Not quite as "harsh" as the Millennium techno blips, but for some reason the warped out-of-control blips in the middle remind me of some more recent Kraftwerk live stuff (from Tribal Gathering, perhaps). The vocals are again quite smooth and nicely layered, but this time I have no objections - they go very well with the music and the theme of the song. Another of my favourites.

The last song of this latest demo is 'Ett', and on the theme of "two as one". Initially, I interpreted this as the regular boy-girl-relationship twosome thing, but after a few listens I'm not that sure. I tend to think more in machine terms, perhaps two identical androids or something. Clones? Or simply a couple of twins? I don't know, but I find it interesting to guess. The music is a bit like 'Radio', only more upbeat, reminiscent of Beloved or the likes. There's a haunting, spooky Theremin-like "whooo-oooo" in places; I wonder if it's the real thing. I'm not too fond of the bridge, which reminds me of the weaker side of Blipp, but I absolutely love the rest of the song, so I suppose I'll have to accept it.

Onto the B-side and some more obscure stuff: the new version of 'I Skymningen' (off the Blipp CD single) is more technoey, especially the beat and choice of drum machine (is it a 909 or just quite similar?). The lead melody is less apparent, here played on a different (sort of reso-synth-organ-like) sound, and the vocals are in this new layered style.

The new version of 'Egen Värld' (also originally from Blipp) is almost housey, light soft and a little more spacey. Quite laid-back. The vocals are a bit more intricate, with new layers and a slightly different chorus. I don't know, I still kind of prefer the old synthpoppier version, but this is a nice complement - the "laid-back house remix"?

'Blå Ögon' is a song I hadn't heard before, apart from the two previous ones from the same session. It's rather poppy, but the lyrics are a bit cheesier than most of the newer stuff - perhaps it's a remake of an old one? Sure, the chorus is quite catchy, but I'm not too fond of the lyrics, and the vocals are perhaps a bit too smooth and soft for me. Nice background blips in the bridge and chorus, though. (Later note: after having had the lyrics explained to me, they make more sense and don't appear as cheesy as I first thought).

The '95 version (older than the Telefunk version?) of 'I Alla Fall' has a few different sounds and the vocal melody laid out a bit differently, but they're essentially quite similar. Perhaps the beats are also a bit more techno-discoish here. It's pretty good, but I think I prefer the 'Telefunk' version. The trouble is that from now on I'll probably miss these different vocals in that version.

'Tåget Går' is a quite old tune, and with cheesy lyrics to match. I don't particularly like the verse much at all, but the chorus is OK. Old-style Blipp-synthpop. Ok, but half of the lyrics seem a bit only half-done. Maybe I'm a bit too picky, or maybe I just don't get it, but I don't like the verse.

'Grönt Ljus' is another old one, this one from as far back as '92. It's an upbeat straightforward synthpop tune about a man in a car waiting for green light. Vrooom! OK, so it's a bit cheesy, but for some odd reason I don't mind as much this time, since the song is so catchy. Reminds me a bit of old Page (mid-80:s), but these vocals are in tune (sorry about that one, Eddie :-)

OK, back to some sort of coherence; to end this little tape compilation are three songs from the demo 'Signaler' (which I suppose the song 'Signaler' off Telefunk was initially on). It's nice to finally have 'Du & Han' which I've previously only heard a crappy lo-fi version of on the Blipp homepage. A nice and catchy song about some girl & her new boyfriend, through the eyes of the old discarded one. A bit poor sound quality, but a great little synthpop tune.

'Stora K' is about meeting The Big Love. The lyrics are a bit cheesy and naive, but perhaps that's intended. I get a certain high-school type feeling. Well, the tune is nice and poppy, but not excellent.

Finally, the last track - it's cut a bit short on my copy due to lack of tape space. I like it quite a bit more than the previous track, perhaps because it's a bit 'rougher' in choice of sounds and with a nice and bouncy bassline to match. The vocals are a bit weak and sometimes just a teeny tiny bit out of tune, which gives it a certain demo type quality. Waitaminute - it is a demo, an old one, even. Oh well, it's alright then.

In conclusion, the old material is fun to hear but sometimes leave something to be desired in the lyrical (and perhaps vocal) department. The new stuff is quite ear-catching and (as always) quite poppy. I'd hate to compare them, but given the recent success of both Saft and Drömhus, perhaps there's even a place for Blipp in the charts? I must say that I'd much rather see them there than the two previously mentioned bands. Swedish vocals seem to be "acceptable" by the mainstream market at the moment, and the light techno-pop with slight house hints of these new songs might very well go down quite well with the pop crowd. Still, while having more commercial potential than before, I'd say they're still "enough synthpop" to be thoroughly enjoyable. I'd certainly pay good money to hear these new songs on CD, preferrably a bit more professionally produced of course (which I eventually did). I'm still humming 'På/Av'.

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