Spielbergs, This Is Not the End (2019, By the Time It Gets Dark)

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Just a quick note to pass along a recommendation, in fact the first recommendation of 2019.

Spielbergs are a Norwegian trio that formed in Oslo back in 2016. Their name is (you guessed it) a sort of tribute to Steven Spielberg, apparently after seeing Close Encounters for the first time.

This Is Not the End is their full-length debut, which came out last Friday on tiny indie label By the Time It Gets Dark Records. No doubt these kids grew up listening to ’90s-era indie as the record combines all the best qualities from the best bands of that time period. They’ve been compared to Japandroids, Titus Andronicus and No Age, but to me they’ve got more in common with the grinding indie rock of Superchuck and the massive hooks on early Teenage Fanclub albums.

A little past halfway through the album is a 7-plus minute epic tonal composition that sounds like Yo La Tengo combined with a modern-day Trent Reznor soundtrack. Titled “McDonald’s (Please Don’t Fuck Up My Order)” it underscores the understated humor that runs throughout this album. And it’s gorgeous. It’s followed by “Sleeper,” an acoustic number with the same simply beauty as “A Pillow of Winds” from Pink Floyd’s Meddle.

Those two quiet songs are the exception to the rule on an album that consists mostly of bombastic, feedback-fueled anthem rockers that are going to sound even better this summer. A great way to start off 2019…

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This month’s Over the Edge column for The Reader went online this morning, just in time for the State of the Union address. It’s a cautionary tale about what Trump would have to do to win a second term, and how easy it would be (if Trump wasn’t Trump). You can read it online here or in the February issue of The Reader, on newsstands somewhere…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.