Trollheart

That's only the beginning. To be fair to the genre and its fans, I've decided to do a full investigation of it, as I did with boybands back in 2012 in my "Stranger in a Strange Land" feature in my journal. Watch out for it probably middle to end of next year, or maybe 2024 even. It'll be a big one. Thinking of subtitling it "Shiny Happy People" or something like that. Maybe "Happy Smile Super Family Wish Show" or hell, I don't know.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

If you do TV, don't forget to include Pink Lady and Jeff.

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Trollheart

What?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

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Trollheart

You damn Americans!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Title: Random Soundtrack
Artist: Mirt
Year: 2016
Genre: Electro/Ambient/Field Recordings/Techno (it says here)
Challenge set by: Norg!

Things with the tag “field recordings” worry me. Norg worries me. Bands or artists I can find absolutely no information about worry me. So there are three worries here, some or all of which may be well-founded. Who knows what Norg has foisted on me? It seems even he doesn’t know, as his usual lengthy comment was “let me know what it is to save me the trouble lol”, or something. Well, as I told him, these go in order and, as everyone knows, I take my own sweet time. The days of ten Trollheart updates a day are gone, and it can be, and often is, months in between journal entries or, in this case, thread updates. So it’s been five months now since Norg asked me to let him know what this was like. I don’t know if he’s visiting Earth this week, but if so, Norg, this is for you. Hope it was worth waiting for.

“Second Track”
Okay well I don’t know what to expect when an album opens on a piece entitled “Second Track” when, you know, it’s the first, but it’s kind of grinding and echoey, sort of like wandering drunk down a hall of metal mirrors, if that makes any sense. Kind of underwater-y sounds, hollow, bouncing kind of percussion or some damn thing, and overall not bad though a little disorienting in a way. Kind of relaxing really. I see there’s a lot of “modular synth” used so I won’t bother trying to identify instruments, but there’s a definite feeling of someone playing like maybe bottles or glass harmonica, or some sort of harpstring or something. Starts to get a bit faster with a slightly jungle-like (the actual jungle, not the music genre) theme coming in. Quite like this actually.


“Must Be Something from Asia”
Much faster, sounds like marimba vibes or xylophone (I know, I know, I said I wouldn’t but I have to try to describe the music don’t I?), gives me a sense of seventies Vangelis, very fast, obviously has an Asian feel, popping percussion, very upbeat and breezy. Really nice. Some sort of low vocal going on there too. Very cool.


“Ambient Interlude”
Well I could probably guess from the title what to expect here, and yes, it’s very soft and atmospheric, with that kind of glass harmonica sound again, the return of the bubbling underwater effects, a sound kind of like a foghorn bringing the idea of the sea more fully into focus, and I think that’s a car horn is it? Guess that’s what you call a field recording huh? What’s a car doing in a field though, is what I want to know. Either babies crying or some sort of birds, hard to say as they’re low in the background. Get a kind of later Floyd feeling from this, a Waters-less one, almost perhaps something that might have found its way onto The Endless River.


“Night Sequence”
Grittier and darker, with a drone of some sort and then thick bass and a doomy rising synth, that kind of plucked sound I mentioned at the start, like stretched strings or someone playing bottles gently. No idea what I’m saying here but I’m trying to give a feeling as to what the music sounds like to me, or the idea it conveys. Always a little difficult to review an instrumental album, as this one certainly appears to be, and as I would have expected it to be, given the title. Harder, more insistent beat now like those tribal drums again and a shimmering, spacy synth flitting over the melody.


“Love Theme”
Oddly enough, this does not sound at all as I expected it would, the title being as it is. Some sort of rasping voice, perhaps through a vocoder or something, traffic sounds against a low almost Twin Peaks style ambient synth, with percussion that seems too fast for the rhythm but yet works somehow. A shorter piece, but I can’t see how this is meant to be any sort of love theme. Oh well.


“Motorboat Chase”
I would of course expect this one to ramp up the tempo and be a flying, busy synth or something along those lines, all excitement and hysteria, and it kind of is but yet it kind of isn’t. Reminds me of the Alan Parsons Project in the bouncy, buzzing synth line, with a crying guitar or violin or something behind it, slightly faster yes but not frenetic as I thought it would be. Certainly fails to conjure up in my mind any ideas of a chase of any sort, but perhaps the titles can’t be relied on, or shouldn’t be. Tripping percussion coming in now, driving the piece along, with the guitar moaning like a spirit being left behind and trying to catch up. Sharp synthy percussion stabbing across the melody like metal fingers, the guitar still wailing. Sounds like voices, more field recordings I assume, as the thing comes to an end.

“Sri Maha Marriaman”
Like most soundtracks - this is more a score really - all the tracks segue one into the other, so we have the voice that began chanting at the end of “Motorboat Chase” following us into this one, and in fact other than some ambient sounds (things like wind, and doors closing) it’s just that chant repeated, which is, to be fair, more than a little annoying. How long does this go on for? Oh, just over a minute. Okay.


“Michael’s Theme”
A low, fading in intro for this one, with what sounds like dark bells ringing, a slow thrumming bass giving the definite idea of something slouching towards you, and not something you really want slouching towards you either. More voices from those field recordings, the whole thing very slow and measured, almost funereal in its way. Not very much to it. Not a drone, but a little repetitive I feel. Motorcycle engine and traffic sounds at the end, and more voices, sounds like a rally or protest or something.


“Rush on South”
Continues on then into this, as that protest or demonstration or whatever it is goes on for a few seconds before fading out to be replaced by a pizzicato sound, slow and with a dark humming bassy synth below it. Short enough, and again not a lot to it.


“Sunrise on the Beach”
Sounds like waves crashing on the shore, and again from the title I would assume that’s what it is, and that they are actual waves recorded by what I believe may be one guy, this Mirt artist. A one-man band? Think so. Hard to say, as even on the Bandcamp page there is virtually no information about him or her, but they appear to have released a lot of music, that’s for sure. Kind of echoey guitar and soft synth here, with some sort of squeaking, shrill sound but overall pretty relaxing really. I think there may be some sort of tape loop/backward masking/some damn thing going on but I really haven’t got a clue. Get the idea of a more coherent melody coming through now as it gets near the end. Quite nice.


“Main Theme”
The longest track, at just over eight minutes, and this at least seems to have less of the field recordings and more of the music in it, with a squeaky, kind of peppy synth and bass keeping each other company as they go, some kind of horn or flute or who knows what - surely on the synth - then tapping percussion. Not quite a drone, I think, but not much change in the way of melody. It does get louder and stronger, and I think there are some voices in there now too, though they’re low in the mix and the music is drowning them out mostly. It’s a pleasant, happy little tune and you can, for once, feel your foot kind of tapping to it.


“Main Theme (Reprise)”
Just a short piece of ambient music and a rising synth that then cuts off. Meh.

Overall, not at all bad. I doubt I’d listen to it again - I’m not even sure what this would be good for listening to. You wouldn’t use most of it to fall asleep to, it’s not the kind of album you could put on in the background really, and it doesn’t, to me anyway, seem like something you would listen to closely. At best, I suppose in my case it’s an oddity, and coming as a recommendation from Norg that’s not too surprising. What perhaps is surprising is that it was enjoyable in its way, and while it was of course weird - expect that with Norg - it wasn’t bad weird, if that makes any sense. I certainly couldn’t say I was dying for it to end, but I doubt I’d listen to any more of it.

File under: okay, but not really for me. I will say this: on his or her Bandcamp page, this album is sold out, something I've never seen before. So someone likes their music. A lot of someones.

Trollheart 1 - Norg 0
Trollheart 5 - The World - 1

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Norg

hmmm interesting it deff has thoes tribal moments from what i can recall and giving the album art it makes sense ....But yeah this album didnt perk my ears like U said it was just okayyy

Trollheart

Yeah I wouldn't know who to recommend it to, but at the same time I wouldn't advise someone not to listen to it. It's clever, but in terms of musical content, for me anyway, it's a little light. It certainly is interesting though.

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Trollheart

Title: The Modern Dance
Artist: Pere Ubu
Year: 1978
Genre: Art punk/Experimental Rock/Post punk
Challenge set by: GD

Hmm. A few too many uses of the word punk there for me, and add in musique concrete (about which I have no idea, just that it seems to be synonymous with weird) and this doesn’t look a great prospect for me. Well, I suppose I’m due a defeat or two, aren’t I? Let’s see how this one goes.

"Non-alignment Pact”

Starts with some screeching feedback, guess it’s guitar, then thick bass and then an almost rock-and-roll/Johnny Be Goode style guitar, and the vocalist reminds me very much of David Byrne. Punky overtones sure, maybe elements of Devo in there too? Have to say, this is kind of fun. Can definitely see myself singing along with it and the guitars are very cool. I wouldn’t be a fan of the singer, but other than that, okay.

“The Modern Dance”

The bass line here is pretty damn cool and again it’s a pretty simple, straightforward song with not too many frills on it, good guitar riff; still don’t like the vocalist though. I only compare him to Byrne because they both have that same kind of hoarse, almost whiny quality to their voice, but the Talking Head is a far better singer in my opinion than this guy.

“Laughing”

Seems to be slower, almost a kind of tribal chant style of thing, with I don’t know, some sort of whistle? I see there’s something called a musette - which I check and find out is a type of oboe - on the album, so maybe it’s that? Think this one may be an instrumental. It’s okay but I’m not fond of horns and skirling pipes and that sort of thing, and it just kind of annoys me. Not really a lot good to say so far - oh look, it’s not an instrumental after all. Well that was surprising. The vocal doesn’t add anything to the song, though I suppose I could say it doesn’t make it any worse. Damning with faint praise, yes, but I really don’t like much about this track at all.

“Street Waves”

Another good rocky guitar riff with a somewhat confused and hard to make out vocal, putting the punk, I guess, into post-punk. Meh.

“Chinese Radiation”

Sounds almost like an REM-style guitar here, slower and more introspective, maybe this will be the one to change things? Not holding out too much hope really though. That riff really reminds me of something. Sounds like fireworks going off in the background. Singer has taken on a slightly Bryan Ferry sound now. Some applause and everything is picking up tempo, and I’m picking up a book until this is over. Pretty terrible really so far. The solo piano at the end is nice.

“Life Stinks”

Looks like this is the only cover on the album, so there may be hope for me here. Or not. Right. Seems to be mostly a mad guitar riff, bass and then yer man shouting all over a really fast drumbeat and it’s quite chaotic. Nope: nothing for me here either. Not going well, this.

“Real World”

Instrumental intro with then a sort of Beefheart/Waits near-shouted or growled vocal. A lot of strange instrumentation, shimmering and shivering and trembling and doing all kinds of things. Probably has elements of Zappa in it too, I shouldn’t be surprised at all. Only three tracks left now, so I’m losing hope that I’ll find anything here, but I’ll persevere to the end just since I’ve got this far and I haven’t given in yet.

“Over my Head”

Sounds like a train coming into the station, then an alien ship landing, and there’s a slight sense of prog meets The Doors for a moment, and possibly invite Nick Cave to join them as well. Low-key, vocal almost indistinct, explosive percussion and something flying off high into the sky. My patience could be on board at this stage. If that’s not Mark Ribot on guitar, it should be. The whole thing has a slow, plodding, somehow almost Santana feel to it. It might be the best - or, that being too strong a word, the least bad - I’ve heard on this album so far. Some of the chanting in the background reminds me of Peter Gabriel’s Ovo. Yeah.

“Sentimental Journey”

Oh crap! SIX minutes long! Well at least it’s the penultimate track. Some sounds like someone walking, breaking windows, glass bottles rolling, very slow and measured bass, and slow feedback guitar maybe too. All very arty I suppose, but doesn’t do a thing for me. This will be a struggle. Not really sure how they managed to stretch this to the length of six minutes, but there it is.

“Humor Me”

Yeah, I don’t think I will. It’s just a joke, he sings. Well I don’t get it, sorry.


Well, overconfidence and smugness eventually catches up with you, and this is where I fall. Hard. There’s no way I can pick anything out of this that I like. It’s just not my bag at all, and while I wouldn't go so far as to say I hated it, I did breathe a sigh of relief once it was over. So no, this one can’t be redeemed I’m afraid and it’s a loss for me; only the second, but still, it gives GD his first victory against me, so it’s

Trollheart 0 - GD 1

And that then brings the overall score now to.

Trollheart 5 - The World 2

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

Congrats, GD. You join me as the only other person to have defeated Trollheart so far.


You may have even topped me actually

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