Under Byen Issue #30

Samme Stof Som Stof (Paper Bag)

By Garin Pirnia
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

Scandinavia may seem thousands of miles from civilization, but the region has become a vanguard for cultured and talented bands. This year alone, Mew and Figurines have broken into North America with their mélange of pop and tundra-influenced musings. Under Byen is the next great Dane band to make headlines across the Atlantic.  

Together since 1995, the collective release its fourth full-length, Samme Stof Som Stof (translation: same fabric as fabric). The group’s melancholic experimental music brings comparisons to Iceland’s Sigur Rós and Under Byen takes that band’s emotion and weaves it with shadowy and minimal effects. “Pilot” (the only English-language titled track) opens the record with clanking sounds backed up by Henriette Sennenvaldt’s haunting Danish vocals. “Den Her Sang Handler Om at Få Det Bedste Ud Af Det” merges strident violins, a piano, and synths into an other worldly result. “Tindrer” features dreamy, delicate vocals evoking Björk’s childlike voice as xylophone tones confine the bleakness. “Film Og Omvendt” is a nine-minute chaotic trip with dingy sounds that eventually advance into full-on feedback at the end. “Palads,” with its synths, comes the closest to a song that sounds like rock. Finalé “Slå Sorte Hjerte” echoes with distorted vocals and a dirge quality slowly building and then fading away.  

Under Byen’s tracks waver between dulcet and opaque noises never becoming too precious or uncharted.