Dråpe's Relax/Relapse is Revolver Nordic Style

Norwegian quintet Dråpe released their debut dream-gaze spectacular, ‘Canicular Days’, in 2013, two years after signing with Riot Factory records. Now an established act in Norway, they are looking to break the UK with their latest album ‘Relax/Relapse’ the release of which was met with pretty positive reviews from the likes of Amazing Radio and The Line of Best Fit.

By their own admission, Dråpe have had their share of ups and downs (and broken ribs), but riding the tide of challenging experiences seems to have not only solidified them as a unit, it has also brought a new depth and maturity to both their lyrics and sound.

I spoke with bassist Lars Boquist, to get some insight into the background to the album:

“We wrote a lot about the difficulties and frustrations we’ve experienced as musicians. We’ve tried to be as honest as possible about the problems we face, like trying to focus on the bill-paying day job when all you want to do is play music. It’s also hard to return to reality after playing gigs and travelling around the world. We’ve also written about stuff that we feel is fucked up in modern society, like the fixation on looks and sex.

The lyrics reflect everyday questions we ask ourselves about people’s behaviour, society and its trends, narcissism, and self-obsession. We also poked fun at ourselves, because realistically speaking, we are no better than anyone else. We are not above others especially when you consider all the truly awful things happening in the world."

“I’m in a band, choose second hand, I’m an original
I am so free, just look at me, I am the prophecy”

With ‘Relax/Relapse’, Dråpe have very much upped their game from the gauzy Njörunian ‘Canicular Days’ (Njörun being the Norse Goddess of Dreams). Yes, it contains the intrinsic qualities that make up the connatural Dråpe sound: 60’s trippiness, chilled vocals, and dreamy synth sequences, but with Relax/Relapse, the band has created a darker, more mature, somewhat sardonic, indie affair.

The album opener Relax is anything but. An instrumental sonic stew is probably the best description I can give it. Like someone took all the outtake sounds from the rest of the tracks, threw them together and hey presto, a musical meld was born!

Not so Joe. Relax is a brief precursor to Replica which, and here’s the clever bit, uses the same chords but with a different approach. The intro is gently led along by some cleverly understated playing by the RS, a little light percussion and some lazy jazz infused basslines, giving a nice chilled vibe until the beat is punctuated by some fairly psychotic synth sequences. While the bass remains a counter to otherwise wacky theatrics, the drumming becomes altogether more frenergetic feeding the madness of the guitar sequences. Even Hafnor, master of the ebow, plays what I would term “wonky-tonk” out of its mind on Viagra strings on speed guitar, both on this and the next track in, the deliciously two fingered ‘?’.

Question mark is an indictment of the millennial obsession with good looks and luxury goods, a fixation that is so self-consuming that it has not only blinkered our ability to see beyond our own selfish me-me-me selves, but blinded us to the global obliteration of the natural world.

“It’s black or white, High concept interior design
Anal bleaching, Louis Vuitton, the list goes on and on”

More laidback bass playing (this guy must be the most mellow dude ever!), seriously 60s keyboards played with a flourish that wouldn’t go astray on a Doors track (you are making Ray Manzarek sweat, man!), this track, despite it’s obvious acerbic cynicism, makes me smile. It’s completely bonkers, and I love it. (Don’t you just love highly technically worded reviews!).

The further you journey into R/R the more acidulous the lyrical content and it is the delicious conceit of this album that the ‘aerial’ instrumental noisefest is a foil to such earthen lyrical invective. It is a testament to Ketil Myhre’s interpretative skills that he manages to effectively convey the wordy dark against such an effusive musical backdrop. With an intuitively nuanced vocal, Myrhe skillfully squeezes and stretches the lyrics, using precise phonetic synchronicity to ensure the words land perfectly amidst the ever tumbling and looping musical sequences.

Next up track four, ‘Round and Around’. Great beat, classic military style percussion mixed with some 60s meets Madchester. Eirik Kirkemyr is one shit hot drummer. The bass is crawling the floor (I presume by now he is horizontal it’s that languid) and some seriously lush guitar playing. The vocal and synth are total dream pop and whilst the overall effect of the album is IMHO more indie than the last, the sugary fizz of shoegaze is still evident, and nowhere more so than on the next track, ‘Pie in the Sky’ which was the first single release from Relax/Relapse. A gentle vocal, 60s NYC hip dude basslines, hypnotic guitar chords are whipped up into a froth by gorgeous heavenly harmonies and effervescent synth playing. While the music is saccharine sweet, it masks a stinging lyric; the bittersweet effect that they guys are so good at producing.

It’s becoming apparent that Dråpe like to finish their tracks with a bit of a flourish; again and again, something pops out of their sleeve at the end.

“This life in solitude has gone too far, Get off your back, these dreams have no progress,
It’s time to wake up and smell the stench you’re in”

The other thing that’s becoming noticeable it the amount of tempo changes throughout each song. The same tempo is rarely maintained, they chop and change from slow to fast, from flowing to staggered and track six ‘There is a House’ exemplifies this desire to experiment with tempos and sounds. This track in particular is brilliantly executed, and all puns and superlatives aside, Dråpe as a whole, and Hafnor and Fidjeland in particular, show just how deeply talented these five guys are. It has a mesmerizing vocal, some truly spectacular guitar playing, honeyed string sequences and very well timed bass. There’s also a bit of a percussive funk out, and some obscenely good keyboard playing.

Two songs in one, sultry slow-set meets weird and wonderful rollercoaster ride, ‘There is a House’ is wonderfully imaginative, excellently performed and the standout track of the album.

“We have always played with tempos and shifts in time signatures from our first EP to now. There are a lot of time signatures going on in our music but to us they never feel weird to play, it is more to make it feel “more correct”.”

Next up, the second single released from R/R, My Friend the Scientist, probably the slickest production on the album. While Myrhe sounds as if his vocal was recorded while he was sleep walking, Hafnor is extolling the virtues of understated guitar playing and somewhere back at the ranch, Fidjeland is having a nap. This baby is owned lock, stock and barrel by Messrs Kirkemyr and Boquist with some wickedly sexy flick wristed rolling percussion and very seductive bass playing. Cranking up the psych half way through Hafnor’s playing goes from understated to searing and hello, Fidjeland has woken up and kicks in with some sweet synth chords. Yet again, the song builds towards a bish-boshing final flourish, although the final sounds do sound somewhat like someone standing on a duck.

*Note – I’d be interested to hear an acoustic version of this with some piano and double bass

“Sirens instead, We’ll use sirens instead, Until you’re one of us”

Third last – my other favourite of the album ‘And you change your mind’ which again sees the RS take the lead, with Mr Kirkemyr in particularly fine form. Frenergetic is the word I’d use to describe this track with its whirling twirling guitar and synth, thrumming bass and airy melody. Who we are; taking control of your destiny; moving on. Is it about life, a relationship? Who knows, but it’s a good ‘un with a great beat.

It was too good to last. Penultimate track ‘Still Raining’ kind of does nothing for me really. From the very off it didn’t appeal; I particularly dislike the intro. Although it does have a certain quirkiness, the tempo changes, though well executed, make it feel somewhat disjointed, and for me the whole thing doesn’t work. It’s almost as if the guys were individually pitching for three different songs, couldn’t agree and lumped them in together to keep everyone happy. Furthermore, I have can’t make hear nor tail of the lyrics! (if anyone is free to explain, you know where I am!)

“Siamese kittens raised by elephants”

Final track is Relapse and the end of the Dråpe musical journey or story which this album is telling. By all accounts it’s a strong finish. Another non-rhyming lyrical indictment reinforced by damning guitar for some pretty damning word it brings the album to a glorious close.

Relax/Relapse is wonky chassis that refuses to plunge into MBV type navel gazing angst by pulling itself up by the musical bootstraps and hitching it’s wagon onto a more indie kinda star. Heavily influenced by the Beatles it is psychedelia for grown ups. It goes beyond dream-pop by virtue of its acrid lyricism, and, because of the breadth and depth of melodic mastery and adept musicianship that are inherent in this wonderfully creative and talented group.

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