Dag För Dag

Shooting From The Shadows EP

Written by: TL on 25/10/2009 23:52:37

What would The Doors sound like if Jim Morrison had been a woman? An odd question I know, but one that Swedish/American brother/sister duo Dag För Dag seem to provide an answer for with this year's "Shooting From The Shadows EP". At least that's one of the thoughts that fly through my head while the first song "Ring Me, Elise" intensifies in my earplugs. Other thoughs that have already crossed through my mind is how much this band also reminds me of names like The Raveonettes and The Kills. Partly due to singer Sarah Snavely's hazy alto, which she throws around with reckless rock'n'roll attitude while the track buzzes progressively stronger with a raw, garage-ish production.

The song leaves a nice impression, but unfortunately it's virtues aren't continued on the next three of the EP's six songs, as they are mellower and less willing to let the guitar ring, and hence, they tend to pass by more lightly than the opener. Both "Pirate Sea" and "Words" are so subtle and easy on the ears that I find it hard to give them credit on a hard rockin' site such as this one, even though the band's other half, Jacob Snavely, chimes in with his vocals to add to the band's palette. "You Holler, You Scream" does resume some of the intensity with a nice and rumbly bass line, but still, I'm missing the recklessness that "Ring Me, Elise" grew gradually into.

Hence my mind is starting to form the words "one hit wonder" as I move towards the conclusion of the EP, and initially "Better Now" doesn't seem to be out to change that, as it starts out the mellowest of all, sounding almost like a lazy Beach Boys or Simon & Garfunkel song. However, this turns out to be a mere starting point for another odyssey that gets noisier and noisier, and this is good, because that is to me the strongest asset I can find in this, my first encounter with Dag För Dag. And it's good that I things end on a positive note, and I say end because the last track is a simple remix of "You Holler, You Scream", and this kind of minimalistic, indie-tronica remix never ever made any sense or had any appeal to me. It's not like it destroys the song or annoys the listener, but it still seems rather pointless, so you might as well skip it I think.

So overall I guess this EP does show me a band that holds some promise, yet is balancing on a knife's edge, because if they decide to go in the way of the first track, letting themselves loose in a properly unrestrained and rock'n'roll manner, then they can contend with both The Kills and The Raveonettes on their home turf, but if they go in the way of "Pirate Sea" or "Words", I think that things are going to get too mellow for be, or for that sake any of this site's readers to be interested in. Simply put, when Dag För Dag rock, they rock, and when they don't, well, they just don't.

Download: "Ring Me, Elise", "Better Now"
For The Fans Of: The Raveonettes, The Kills, Mando Diao, The Doors
Listen: myspace.com/dagfordag

Release Date 25.05.2009
Haldern Pop / Cargo / Snavely Construction

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