Swedish duo Alvar is comprised of married couple Jonas and Johanna making music inspired deserted places, forgotten houses and old legends from Öland. Their music is a clash between techno, old school Cold Meat Industry records and hard beating electronic body music. Previously known as Alvarets Fyra Ryttare, for the past year the renamed project has quietly released some stellar underground EPs including Resurrection of the Sinner and Gold Ritual II. We heard their tracks pop up on some of our favorite mixes this year including the amazing New Brvtalism No. 059 - Zanias, and it immediately caught our attention. Earlier this month, the duo released its first full length album, Guilt Kollektion, on Dirk Ivens' Daft Records.
"Nordsee" starts things off with a slow burning, tension building sound with ominous vocals that nicely sets the tone for the tracks to come. The Cold Meat inspiration burns brightly through "Walk Among Friends" and the blackened vocals with EBM rhythms on "Ascends the Feelings" immediately infected our speakers. "Diffuse Tomorrow" picks up with the pace with a dance floor ready track that incorporates more techno into the fold and "Gated" continues the pattern with industrial beats that you can't help but move to. One of our favorite tracks on the release is the anthemic, "If This is You," and that bleeds perfectly into the Klinik-inspired "Blodpumparmuskeln".
The tail end of the release features the aggressively charged, EBM smash, "Execute a Man" before winding back down to the dark ambient infused, CMI atmospheres of "Terminal 5" and "Sweden (Red Vote Version)". Overall, Guilt Kollektion is an incredibly impressive array of tracks that shatter genre constraints and take us on fascinating journey through dark electronics. Pick up the CD now via Sleepless Berlin.
-JRS
Alvar. Photo by photo by Katri Heinämäki
Guilt Kollektion tracklist:
1. Nordsee
2. Walk Among Friends
3. Ascends the Feelings
4. Knuckle Duster
5. Diffuse Tomorrow
6. Gated
7. If This is You
8. Blodpumparmuskeln
9. To Give in
10. Wunde
11. Execute a Man
12. Terminal 5
13. Sweden (Red Vote Version)