Back in 2004, The Legends released Up Against the Legends, a rather unfortunate band and album name for a body of work that was quite good. But the Legends have always had a sense of humor. When the record was first released, many were under the pretense that this group of C86 nostalgic bros were a nine-piece noise pop orchestra. That wasn’t exactly true, as The Legends are/is really a one-studio wizard deal a la Dungen by the name of Johan Angergård. While it’s easy to ignore The Legends since they’re Scandinavian and might be mistaken for some Stereogum overhyped garbage, you should not do this. Though not terribly groundbreaking, The Legends are awesomely interpreted sublime dream/shoegaze pop perfect for these warmer months.
The recently released Over and Over is a decidedly more polished effort than their ’60s garage fuzz pop centric Up Against the Legends, and leaps and bounds better than their dreadful Public Radio. The most intriguing aspect to Over and Over is Angergård’s ability to write gorgeous, sunshiney major-key vocal melodies while created a darker album. Over and Over is more spacious and moodier in its softer moment, while the noise and distortion is more grating in its wall of sound moments. This notion is best demonstrated with the title track and “Turn Away,” included below for your consideration. Over and Over, while not a mindblowingly original record, is a well crafted and fun-loving document of what was good about C86 and the poppier side of shoegaze.
Over and Over is available now through Labrador.
For fans of: Shop Assistants, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Vivian Girls
Fagen-Becker Quality Rating
MP3 :::
The Legends – Over and Over
The Legends – Turn Away
