Panamarenko

Artist: Pineforest Crunch
Label: Zip Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 691045938924
EAN: 0691045938924
ASIN: B0000A59TO

Release Date: 2003-08-05

Panamarenko

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Situation Endless
Queen Of The Nineties
College Radio Listeners
Slowly
Wake Up
Innocent
Romantic Strings
Car Crash
Coronation
Leave It All Behind
Happy Valentine

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Customer Reviews:

Where's the crunch?.......2007-02-17

Amazon recommended this disc to me based on my previous purchases from their website. So I thought, what the hell, some of their recommendations are dead on and introduced me to bands that I would have never found on my own. I read the reviews that praise this as a great pop record and bought this completely on faith. For me, good pop bands include: Jellyfish, The Police, The Beatles, XTC, The Bears, Todd Rundgren and Steely Dan. What I heard on "Panamarenko" was a decent female vocalist singing some very dull music played by average musicians. I listened to this repeatedly, thinking it needs to sink in, or maybe the other reviews had a different disc, but no such luck. Over time, this was so painful to listen to that I decided to crunch it in the trash.

Too fricking good........2005-09-14

I recently picked this up on my trip to LA, and I haven't been able to stop listening to it since. The music here is just perfect, and the production is beyond cool. There are so many cool effects, like how "Wake Up" starts, making it sound like they're playing on a street corner, or "Romantic Strings", with crackling sounds like a record (which fits with the kind of 40's sounding music), and the tasteful electronic bits in "Leave It All Behind". Plus, the vocals are excellent, and the drummer is great too. Also, the guitarist kind of looks like Tobey Maguire. I'm not sure if that's important or not, but I thought I'd mention it.

Anyway, this is a great band. I'm glad I found this CD. Best pop since Blessid Union of Souls.

I never thought pop music could be SOO good!.......2005-08-15

Lately, I had been slacking when it comes to getting any new music (although I plan on some more Dream Theater CDs soon...), and felt the need to actually listen to something new, something interesting. So one of my buddies decides to get some new CDs and among those CDs, I heard this awesome CD that I never thought I'd find myself enjoying. Normally, I steer clear of pop music because of its over-saturated mentality and insipid lyrics. But in the case of Pineforest Crunch, they've taken all the qualities that make up a pop album like catchy hooks, catchy lyrics, and simplistic songwriting, and yet still churn out quality music. To that awesome buddy of mine that got this CD, THANKS.

And when listening to it front to back, I felt the same way when I heard Dream Theater's "Images and Words," Iron Maiden's "Somewhere in Time," and Andromeda's "Extension of the Wish"; although mostly different from each other (although with progressive style songwriting), the albums got better and better with each listen. The same is said of Pineforest Crunch's "Panamarenko."

The album kicks off with Situation Endless, an acoustic number with one of the most infectious verses/choruses I've EVOR heard. This WILL stick in your head, and that's THE LAW! I don't know the names of these bandmembers, but this female singer is VERY good. Queen of the 90's follows it, and it's a more entrancing track. With some interesting use of keyboards, this one takes on a midpaced tone, and I'm in a trance every time I hear it; while it doesn't sound very much like Pink Floyd at all, it takes on that same enchanting feeling that that band usually possesses. College Radio Listeners is the third track, and this one is an upbeat number with some good interplay between the vocalist and the guitarist (and it also stabs at college radio in general, which is funny and yet they are very correct in what they say). Definitely one of my top favorites on here. The fourth track and my personal favorite, Slowly, is much darker from anything else on the CD (although Car Crash comes close). This particular track really gets to me, and I couldn't begin to tell you why. Even with its subtle melancholy structure, it's very emotional. The next track, Wake Up, is slightly more upbeat and has a nice piano piece that goes along with the vocals. It also makes great use of the acoustic guitars. Innocent is faster paced and definitely infectious as well. Romantic Strings (appropriately named) is very orchestral in structure, and is especially good with the duets dominating the piece. Car Crash is the second most melancholy track on here, and also one of the poppiest. Definitely my second favorite song from the album. Coronation is hard to describe; it still maintains the pop sensibilities, but at times it sounds vaguely like Nine Inch Nails or any other electronic band, while at other moments (especially towards the middle-to-end parts) it takes on a retro vibe, much like the band Yes (the 80s Yes). Leave It All Behind is an upbeat tune with one of the catchiest bridges and choruses on the disc. This one, in particular, sounds like it could easily go on a show like "Gilmore Girls" or "Dawson's Creek" (y'know, those teen shows where they have a lot of contemporary pop music in them?) and yet is BETTER than any songs on those shows. The album closes with a lovely track called Happy Valentine which is short and sweet, clocking in just under three minutes (it almost sounds like a lullaby!).

Overall, this album turned out to be a very pleasant surprise for me. This Swedish band have the perfect combination of instruments and songwriting and have taken all the great elements of pop music and yet have discarded the genre's dark side. I NEVER, EVOR would have thought that I'd enjoy music like this, but I was proven wrong! While they use slight influences that I've mentioned above, they are still unique Pineforest Crunch. THE LAW approves of this album, and orders that you give a listen NOW!

overrated by clueless prog nerds - get "Make Believe" instead!.......2005-08-02

Sorry, but this album is a pretty mediocre affair, not only compared to earlier PF efforts but also by pop music standards. Sure, the musicianship is tight, but so it is on your average Avril Lavigne album. Thing is, "Panamarenko" is a pretty plodding affair with at best mediocre melodies (exception being the dreamy "Wake Up", an obvious send-up of the Beatles classic "I'm Only Sleeeping"). Also the album has a way overproduced, tinny sound where the rhythm section of the band has been muted and canned by synthesizers. To add to the disappointment this features Asa's least inspired vocal performance, gone is her sweet accent and urgency from the earlier albums.
"Shangri-La" was already a step down from "Make Believe", suffering from redundant overlength due to inept editing but still had strong hooks but "Panamarenko" is yet another notch down.
Get "Make Believe" first and then decide for yourself if you like the band enough to dig further in their discography.

Can it really be? Yes it is! GOOD POP MUSIC!.......2005-07-25

Panamarenko(2001). Pineforest Crunch's third studio album.

I have no idea how I first heard or became interested in it, but I just recently found an album that started off good from the first listen and got better and better with each time I returned to it. An album that no matter how many times I listened to it, I kept wanting to come back for more. An album where the songwriters truly understand the meaning of innovatively simple song composition where delightful melodies, catchy hooks, subtle intricacies, and clever instrumentation usage take centerstage. An album with a quality production job. An album with a talented drummer, guitarist, and bass guitarist who know exactly which notes sound right for the song. An album with a voice so heavenly tender and innocent that it could tame even the angriest beast in an instant. An album where each song brings a different feel, style, and sound to it. An album that may give you hope yet in a genre that's generally associated with cliche rhythms, melodies, and lyrical topics, NONE of which this album contains.

Alright, I haven't been specific at all yet. I could be talking about anything. But in this special case, I'm talking about a wonderful little unknown Swedish pop album called Panamarenko by Pineforest Crunch.

If you normally associate the words "pop music" with the mindless corporate MTV moniker, meaningless celebrity gossip, and fashion styles, then drop those notions here. This is REAL pop music. Composed of vocalist/random instrumental player Asa Eklund, guitarist Ole Soderstrom, bassist Mats Lundgren, and drummer Mattias Olsson (also in a prog band called Anglagard, though I've never heard them), Pineforest Crunch manages to deliver a quality platter of varying degrees of positive, fun, and simple songs that suit as both catchy ditties for the short attention span as well as hidden and inventive musical arrangements for those who listen closely to the music. The bandmembers are very talented, yet restrained a bit in order to concentrate on songwriting composition first and foremost. And Asa Eklund... wow. I've heard lots of lovely talented female vocalists fronting bands, but Asa is special in the fact that the combination of her charming accent and angelic, yet almost shy presence fuses together perfectly. She carries the music with such ellegance that you have to wonder how someone like this could NOT get noticed by the public.

Generally sounding like alternative pop at first glance, further inspection reveals that there is plenty of substance to be found in all of these 3-4 minute songs, both lyrically and musically. In addition to the usual drums, accoustic guitar, and bass, there are also some synths, piano, mellatrons, organs, mini-moog, and other various instruments played throughout the album helping to give the songs their dynamic edge.

Now to the songs. The opener 'Situation Endless' starts off melodically and evolves into a pulse-pounding number with an awesomely catchy sub-chorus and chorus, plus a nice integration of piano and drums later on. 'Queen Of The 90s' as many have said, is carried along by a solid mellatron melody which melds well with Asa's voice. Then there's the happy sounding 'College Radio Listeners' which is a clever song lyrically as well as sporting a stellar songstructure throughout. It's definitely one of the best ones on here. While most of the songs have a really positive feel, 'Slowly', 'Innocent', and 'Car Crash' sound melancholic in many ways, though still maintaining the solid musicianship and giant hooks. There's something for everyone on here. 'Coronation' has a little more of an electronic sheen to it, and the calm 'Happy Valentine' ends the album on a very high note. 'Romantic Strings' is very noteworthy because Ole puts down the guitar to sing in a duet with Asa over a dominating mellatron melody. Very dreamy. Everyone has their own favorite track it seems like, and mine would have to be 'Wake Up', one of the more relaxing tracks on here. Yet that chorus... it amazes me everytime I hear it, as well as pretty much the entire song.

Replayability: High. It's a pop album, and it's actually a great one nonetheless. That speaks for itself.

All in all, Panamarenko proved to be a solid musical discovery for me, and it would undoubtedly be the same for anyone else who'd give them a chance. It was a grand introduction to one of the world's most overlooked and talented group of songwriters. Plus, it gave me hope that there is such a thing as a good pop band, something I never thought I'd say. It pains me to see that crappy pop acts like Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson, Linkin Park (YES, they ARE in fact pop), Backstreet Boys, and other countless drivel are massively popular and give their genre a bad name, and yet go figure, just like all good music it seems like, Pineforest Crunch gets the shaft and will likely never be heard by most people (Though I guess they were pretty popular in Sweden and Japan). I was even more pleased to find out that PC has 2 other albums, both of which I must hear sometime soon if this album is any indication. I wish I could name off some other bands that they are related to, but since I can't, I'll just say that if you're a fan of good music, then you should enjoy this. This is an album for people who know good music outside of the radio who want something simple, yet catchy, positive, fun, dreamy, inventive, and soothing all in one. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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