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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
One of the best side-effects of running this little music blog is that rare occasion when an Almanac reader (as opposed to, say, a promo person, label staffer, or band manager) turns me on to an artist I hadn't heard and instantly love. My inbox overflows with "listen to this" emails, but every so often I get one from someone who has no stake in the band's success beyond a fan's desire to share them with the world (which, really, is exactly why the Almanac exists). And so it was when reader Roman let me know about Norwegian five-piece Syme last month, and that they'd be making their first-ever visit stateside. Together since 2002, the band is nearing the end of their very first North American visit, which wraps up this week with a couple CMJ shows in NYC (see dates below). They list Mogwai, Radiohead, and Sigur Ros among their influences on their MySpace page, and there are certainly touches of all in their sound. There's noise, beauty, and sonic depth underneath what are essentially two lead singers in Ketil Endresen (vocals & keys) and Fredrik Vogsborg (vocals, guitar, & keys). While Endresen did take a primary vocal role for most of their short set at TT the Bears in Cambridge last week (and played the dancing frontman around his keyboard), Vogsbord's vocals made him more than just lead guitarist and harmony provider. Their dual-layered vocals lasted for long stretches, and set the band apart from many contemporaries. Hopefully that'll come across in the set I'm sharing here, with the band's kind permission...  Syme Live at TT the Bear's in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 01. Rocky Rocky Mountains 02. 250 / 300 (new - fades out) * 03. Little Drum (new) 04. Fireplace (new) 05. No Spark, No Heart (new) 06. Krdish  * Yes, the excellent new instrumental "250/300" fades way too early, and you can blame my recorder for that one. Fortunately, the band has provided us with an early rough mix of the song on their MySpace page, which will appear on their next album, due sometime next year. Here's an Mp3 of the track... Mp3: Syme - "250/300" (rough mix)Joining that song on their in-progress full-length will be those three other new songs above, while "Rocky Rocky Mountains" and "Krdish" can be found on their 2005 debut disc "Swing Swing". If you're able to catch the band this week at CMJ, they've got a limited edition 2007 version of the album in new packaging with them, so pony up and avoid overseas fees. Also at their merch table is their 2006 "Modern Love" EP, which features, yes, a cover of the Bowie song, along with two new tracks and a number of remixes of songs from "Swing Swing". While the Boston area was fortunate enough to get two different visits from Syme on this short tour, I hope it won't be too long before their next trip over, as they deserved a far larger crowd than the 9pm slot at TT's gave them. I know Roman will be doing his part to make sure that happens, and I'll be here doing mine. Some Syme links...
 the ol' footnote... If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed. Labels: livemp3s  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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