I have seen the future of rock 'n roll...

Wow. You gotta check out this Norwegian band, Serena Maneesh. OK, maybe I'm a little behind the times, as I guess this self-titled record that's got me all excited came out last August, but it's really hard to get over here. So hard to get, I had to track it down through not-entirely-legal means, if you know what I'm saying, but don't worry, I'm going to have my local record shoppe order it in for me. It'd be a disgrace if a band I like this much didn't squeeze a few bucks outta me for their hard work. And I've been legitimately buying a whole lot of music lately, too, so lay off me, man.

Serena Maneesh are a pretty fascinating hybrid, stylistically. They're all nebulous and breathy like My Bloody Valentine or the Jesus and Mary Chain, but also pastoral psychedelic like Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, and super wigged-out skronky like the Stooges. And they can chop it up post-punk style with the best of the contemporary kids too. However they're playing, though, it's all about the sound of the guitar for them, which is what really makes it great to listen to. You know when you can tell that a musician is just enjoying the SOUND of his or her instrument as much as you are, regardless of what notes they're actually playing, and you feel privileged to be invited along on the exploration of its possibilities? I feel that way about Thelonious Monk. Well, these guys are really really into the sound of distorted guitars. The main guy even seems like he's trying to look like Jimi Hendrix.

The whole album builds really nicely to an insane climax, so it's hard to pick just one track that'll show you what I mean, but this one seems to encompass at least some of the stuff I'm talking about. Enjoy.

- Andrew