Moffarammes
Cairo
The Perfect Hoax/Häleri

Cairo is the second release from Moffarammes, a Swedish rock duo, placed somewhere in the landscape of Nirvana, The Swing Kids and Sonic Youth. You could add Silverchair or Everclear, as well as several other bands. File under: Indie-garange-punk-grunge with a touch of urban blues.

Duos are cool. In this moonth's menu we're introduced to a Norwegian two-piece as well. Anyway, Moffarammes are Samuel Järpvik (guitar, vocals) and Mikael Björklund (drums). The two met in 2003, and they formed Moffarammes in 2010 when their former band, Affordable Hybrid defunct when the other members left their hometown of Vänersborg, a small town in the South-Western part of Sweden. Not far from the Norwegian-Swedish border, which explains the link to Norwegian labels: Moffarammes had a song on Tonhjulet Kräftpest's compilation, I Don't Wanna Be A Part Of Your So Called Punk. And now The Perfect Hoax, an independent record label located in Trondheim, Norway, co-release their second record (their debut album, The Eye Of Horus, was released last year, on the Häleri label). Two albums (well, Cairo is an EP, but an extended one - is there a thing called EEP?) in less than one year is quite impressive. About turning/tuning to rock in the first place, the two state: 'We use to say you could choose between doing sports, drugs and music. We failed the first, rejected the second and got stuck with the third.' 'Samuel is the heart of the band, I am the brain,' Mikael says further. Yes, I like that: 'drums' and 'brains'! A rare combination in rock, or what...

Cairo holds 9 tracks (plus a hidden 'bonus' track - the title track?) The first two songs, "Horus Unveiled" and "The Snake Charmer", plus "Wishes" (the shortest track her; at 1:49), and the closing "Do Not Ever Leave Us" (the second shortest, at 1:51), show proof of Moffarammes' skills to write classy, dramatic and catchy rock songs. This is not very original, or innovative music. Moffarammes don't step far off trodden rock paths, but they manage to combine energetic and sympathetic riffs, verses, and choruses, without being pretentious, or sounding pompous.

Copyright © 2012 Håvard Oppøyen